Research On The Local Supervision System In The Ming Dynasty

The ancient Chinese supervision system was one of the important means for feudal rulers to strengthen centralized power and consolidate autocratic rule.The local supervision system was responsible for supervising local officials,strengthening the central control over local areas,and maintaining feudal imperial autocracy,so it was valued by the highest rulers of all dynasties.The Ming Dynasty was the peak of the imperial dictatorship in ancient China’s feudal society,and the supreme ruler improved and even "innovated" the local supervision system on the basis of fully absorbing the experience of the previous dynasties,and became the master of the local supervision system in all dynasties.The system of local supervision also became the most complex and complete in China’s feudal era.The supervision system of the Ming Dynasty consisted of a central supervision system and a local supervision system,and the local supervision system was intertwined with a strict and complex structure.In general,the local supervision system consisted of the Department of the Imperial Procurator ate,the imperial inspectors and the governors.The Provincial Inspector is a permanent provincial supervisory body in Ming Dynasty;the Imperial Inspector is a supervisory body that inspects localities on behalf of the emperor from time to time;the Governor is a combination of the Governor and the Governor,which was originally set up to remedy the loopholes of the "three divisions" system and is the highest administrative and judicial supervisory official.The local supervisory bodies at all levels of the Ming Dynasty did not exist in isolation,and their supervisory powers were checked and controlled by each other,thus forming a local supervisory system with mutual checks and balances.As part of the state supervision system,the local supervisory organs of the Ming dynasty served to strengthen imperial power: they were under the direct authority of the emperor internally and relatively independent of other administrative bodies externally.This system of local supervision,which was dependent on the autocratic rule of the emperor,achieved three principle "separations" in the institutional arrangement-the separation of central and local authorities,the separation of administrative and supervisory authorities,and the relative separation of administrative and supervisory powers-to ensure the effectiveness of supervision.This was to ensure the effectiveness of supervision.The content and richness of the laws and regulations on local supervision in the Ming Dynasty are rare in the history of China’s supervision system and even in the history of the world legal system.An investigation of the Ming local supervision system will not only help to understand the status and positive role of the Ming local supervision system in the history of China’s supervision system,but will also reveal its negative impact on the development of Chinese society and the progress of social institutions through the fundamental historical background of strengthening imperial power.More importantly,by tracing the origin of the local inspection system in the Ming Dynasty,we can enlighten our wisdom,learn from the past,and provide some historical mirrors for the improvement and development of the current inspection system in China.