Research On The "New Party" Of The Xi Feng Period

Xi Feng Political Reform , the most important reform during the period of Two Song Dynasties Period, exerted a far-reaching influence on the history of Two Song Dynasties Period and the Chinese history as a whole. However, it was beset with the so-called "Party conflict" ever from the outset. The New Party, one of the parties involved in the "Party conflict" , was the decision-maker, executor and advocator of the reform, and an important player on the political scene of that period. A research into this political group might bring to light some of the basic motivating forces behind the "New Law". The study of the New Party as a group, however, is still a hitherto neglected field. The present paper aims to shed light on the political ecology of the New Party during the Xi Feng Period by redefining and studying the New Party as a group.The present paper comprises three parts. Part One is an attempt at delimiting the concept of the New Party, whose meaning is fuzzy and needs clarifying. In much of Chinese history, the term "party" meant clique and as such carried negative connotation. The New Party is so named from the perspective of modern observers for the convenience of discussion and was not used at that period of time to designate the supporters of the political reform. Moreover, the so-called New Party is not a party in the modern sense of the word. Part Two takes as it object of study the important officials of the Cabinet of Ministers and Privy Council, Three Departments, Hanlin Academy, mechanisms of supervision and admonition and singles out from them the members of the New Party as defined by this paper. It is hoped that this identifying process will be a litmus test of the validity of my definition of the New Party and helps to clarify the political ecology of the New Party during the Xi Feng Period. Part Three is a scrutiny of the members of the New Party according to such criteria as distribution of native place, family background, political alliance and rivalry, etc., which hopefully forms a touchstone for such traditional opinions that " the majority of the New Party are southerners", that "the New Party represents a certain stratum", that "the New Party is factious" . The conclusion is drawn that some of the traditional opinions are valid while others are not.