| Du Cha Yuan was the central supervisory organ of the Ming Dynasty and the most important institution in the whole supervisory system.In order to deal with the complex imperial situation and consolidate the imperial power,the emperors of previous dynasties before the Ming Dynasty also set up institutions to exercise the power of supervision.From the establishment of the censor’s office in the Qin Dynasty to the integration of supervisors and impeachment officers in the Yuan Dynasty,the status of the censor’s office was significantly improved,and the supervision institution was also developing continuously.In the Ming Dynasty,the supervision system tended to be improved.Zhu Yuanzhang,the emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty,realized the great disadvantages of official corruption.Before the establishment of the Ming Dynasty,he set up the censor platform in advance to exercise the supervision power.Later,the censor platform evolved into the Du Cha Yuan.In the later stage of gradual adjustment,the institutional setting of the Du Cha Yuan was determined as the governor of the capital and the thirteen ways of supervising the governor.They formed the censor supervision system,which integrates the functions of administrative supervision,judicial supervision,military merit supervision,economic supervision and so on.Their duty is to correct and impeach all officials as the ears and eyes of the emperor and correct the outline of the court.The scope of censor supervision covers almost all aspects of the court,and there are thirteen ways to supervise the censor,which can connect the central and local governments to ensure that local officials are also within the scope of supervision.In terms of the implementation methods of supervision,the exercise of power by the censor can not only pass the examination of documents,but also conduct on-the-spot investigation,either explicit or secret investigation,both regular and irregular supervision,in various ways,in order to ensure the authenticity of the supervision results.Moreover,the censor of the Du Cha Yuan has independent supervision power,which is not restrained by any other administrative organ.He directly belongs to the emperor.Impeachment officials can directly correct impeachment regardless of the other party’s rank.Due to the great power of the censor,the management of the officials of the Du Cha Yuan is also very strict.Only officials with virtue,knowledge and more mature can serve as the censor,and the censor has a special evaluation mechanism.If the evaluation is unqualified or there is dereliction of duty,he will be deposed.In the early Ming Dynasty,the Du Cha Yuan was valued by the emperor,and the exercise of power by the censor was based on special laws and the strict law enforcement,which achieved good results.On the other hand,even if the censor had great power,it could not change the nature of his vassal imperial power.The word "Yu" of the censor meant the emperor,which was the official of the emperor.Therefore,the exercise of the censor’s supervisory function needs to rely on the emperor.The Du Cha Yuan is an institution established to ensure the effective operation of the state machinery.It is a means under the control of the emperor.Through supervision and correction of corrupt officials and impeachment of corrupt officials,it can ensure the supremacy of the rulers and the long-term stability of the world.However,in the middle and late Ming Dynasty,after the commodity economy developed,the emperor gradually relaxed in the management of the court and government,and paid less attention to supervision than before.Coupled with the serious corrosion of the dirty atmosphere of the struggle between the party and the followers,the interior of the Du Cha Yuan also began to be lazy in performing its duties and corrupt.However,on the whole,the Du Cha Yuan of the Ming Dynasty did play a positive role in rectifying discipline at that time,and promoted the clarification of official governance and the stability of state power. |
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