The Study Of Officials Waiting For Positions In The Song Dynasty

In the Song Dynasty,the phenomenon of officials waiting for positions was also called Houque,Xuci and so on.When an official was conferred an position or a actual job by the Ministry of officials,it did't mean the officials ware going to take their positions right away.And they must wait for a while or even longer to obtain the vacant job when the current officer was leaving.With the prominent phenomenon of redundant officials and the aggravation of the contradiction between more officials and less posts,it had gradually become an universal topic in the Song Dynasty which the phenomenon of officials waiting for the staffs was more serious.In response to this phenomenon,the feudal government also actively took corresponding measures to relieve this contradiction,but never fundamentally solved this problem.In the Song Dynasty,the officials waiting for positions occupied an important part in the huge number of officials,and it became an important task for the feudal government to strengthen their management.The management organization of the officials waiting for positions was basically the same as that of the official selection institutions.The officials waiting for positions could still be appointed to some temporary jobs such as examiners,lode inspectors,escort officers,temporary officers and so on,which not only alleviated these officials' economic pressure to some extent,but also made full use of local talent resources to avoid waste.At the same time,the feudal government restricted or even prohibited them accordingly in some important positions to prevent their power from harming the local society too much.In the Song Dynasty,there were no salaries for lower-ranking officials.Although some salaries high-ranking officials were available,they were not high,and still needed to raise money from various sources to maintain their livelihood.The officials waiting for positions would choose to live in the capital city,hometown or other places according to their own conditions during the endless wait.In order to better manage their,strengthen the control of the central government over the local areas,and timely understand and master the dynamics of the officials waiting for positions,the fedual government also made strict and legal regulatory measures to manage their archival information,residences and so on.Behind the seemingly idle life of the officials waiting for positions in the Song Dynasty,there was also the sense of irritability and boredom.The officials waiting for positions would make full use of free time to visit relatives and friends,and actively maintain their social relationships and entertain themselves physically and mentally by means of activities such as cultural associations and friends.However,the salary of the officials waiting for positions was not much,and some of them even had no salary.In order to support their families,they had to use their spare time to teach lectures or borrow money from others,seek assistance from relatives and friends and other activities to reduce the pressure of life.In the long run,the promotion of official career was very small,which made some officials gradually lose their lost and helpless in the Song Dynasty.In the Song Dynasty,some high-quality officials waiting for positions played an important role in local society out of social responsibility.They would actively participate in relief work,suppress thieves in order to maintain local social order,and take an active part in local cultural construction activities to promote the development of local cultural and educational undertakings and so on.In addition,there would be unavoidable limitations in the place where the officials waiting for positions stayed for a long time,which might cause some bad influences such as influencing the bureaucratic system,increasing the national financial burden,corrupting social morals and the administration of officials due to selfish desire.But generally speaking,it was also worthy of affirmation that the officials waiting for positions make positive contribution in the local area.Through the research on the officials waiting for positions in the Song Dynasty,it has certain academic value to deeply understand the official management system.At the same time,it also shows the idle life of the officials waiting for positions in the Song Dynasty,profoundly reveals their different social life appearances and psychological states,as well as their influence on the local politics,economy,culture and other aspects at that time.