China's Ancient Political System-Authoritarianism Centralization I. Concept: Authoritarianism Centralization should be understood as two concepts: absolutism and centralization, and attention should be paid to the relationship between them. 1, absolutism: it is the opposite concept to democracy, and refers to the dictatorship of one person or several people, which is embodied in the lifelong system of the throne and the hereditary system of the throne. Its main feature is that the emperor is arbitrary and dictatorial, which combines the highest power of the state, and is arbitrary from decision-making to the exercise of military, political and financial power. 2. Centralization: Compared with decentralization, it is characterized by the fact that local governments have no independence in politics, economy and military affairs, and must strictly obey the orders of the central authorities and obey everything. 3. The connection between them: ① Both the local government and the central government must obey the emperor. (2) When the autocratic chairman's imperial power is strengthened, centralization is often more effective, and when the autocratic imperial power is weakened, centralization is often weak. Second, the implementation reason 1, the need to maintain the feudal economic base. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the improvement of social productive forces led to the disintegration of the old relations of production, and Shang Yang's reform in Qin established the dominant position of feudal economy, which was manifested as a self-sufficient natural economy. It is a feudal individual small-scale peasant economy. This economic model needs a strong state power to safeguard national unity and social stability and ensure the production and reproduction of small-scale peasant economy. The emerging landlord class also needs to establish centralization to consolidate its dominant position, safeguard its political and economic interests and protect its land ownership. This feudal mode of production decided the establishment of centralization of authority. 2. The need to consolidate and safeguard national unity. Qin learned the lesson of warlord regime's incompetence next week, and established autocratic centralization after national reunification, in order to eliminate local separatist forces and safeguard national unity. 3. Legalism laid a theoretical foundation. Since Shang Yang's political reform, the Qin Dynasty has always taken legalism as its ruling ideology. Han Feizi summed up a hundred theories and founded a complete set of centralized political theory, which laid a theoretical foundation for Qin Shihuang to establish autocratic centralization. Third, the basic content 1, imperial system; 2. Central exercise system; The core of local administrative system is to concentrate all power on the emperor. Fourth, features: 1, the principle of the supremacy of imperial power; 2. Lifetime system and hereditary system of the throne; 3. Officials at all levels from the central government to the local government are directly appointed and removed by the emperor; 4, the emperor from decision-making to the exercise of legislative, judicial, administrative and other arbitrary powers; 5. Propagandize "divine right of monarchy"; 6. Ideological and cultural dictatorship. Basic contradiction: 1. The contradiction between the central government and local separatist forces. 2. The contradiction between imperial power and relative power (contradiction within the central government). 6. Development and evolution: 1. Germination (Warring States): Shang Yang established the county system, which was established from the feudal bureaucratic system of sovereign decrees. 2. Establishment (Qin Dynasty): The establishment of the feudal monarchy centralized political system. Establish an imperial system with the supremacy of imperial power, a central official system and a local county system. 3. Consolidation (Western Han Dynasty): ① Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty "cut the vassal" to pacify the Three Chaos in Seven Countries. (2) Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty issued an "Enzhi" to remove the title of vassal and solve the problem of the kingdom. (3) "To oust a hundred schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone" strengthened ideological autocracy and consolidated autocratic centralization. 4. Perfection (Sui and Tang Dynasties): ① There are six departments in three provinces, and the governors of the three provinces are equivalent to the prime ministers, which contain and restrict each other, avoiding the autocratic power of the prime ministers and curbing the autocratic monarchy to a certain extent, which is a further improvement of the autocratic centralization. (2) The imperial examination system allows people from humble backgrounds to participate in political power and expand the foundation of the ruling class. 2 5. Strengthening (Northern Song Dynasty): Taking the right of "drinking poison to quench thirst", the local administrative, military and financial powers were centralized, which prevented the emergence of local separatist regimes and strengthened centralization. 6. Development (Yuan Dynasty): The establishment of the Central Secretariat Province, as the highest administrative body in China, ensured the implementation of the central unified government decrees. The establishment of "provinces" and the implementation of the provincial system will also have a far-reaching impact on the future. 7. Aggravated decline (Ming and Qing Dynasties): The Ming Dynasty abolished the prime minister and produced absolute monarchy. At the local level, the establishment of three departments to further weaken local power, the establishment of factories and health secret service agencies in various places, and the implementation of stereotyped writing are outstanding manifestations of the strengthening of absolutism. The Qing dynasty followed the Ming system, and then added the Ministry of War, which strengthened the imperial power unprecedentedly, forming an extreme monarchy, and the autocratic centralization system reached its peak. Seven. Role: 1. Positive effects: ① It is conducive to the establishment, consolidation and development of a multi-ethnic feudal country and to safeguarding the unity and territorial integrity of the motherland. ② It can effectively organize manpower, material resources and financial resources to engage in large-scale production activities and economic construction, which is conducive to social and economic development. (3) In a unified environment, it is conducive to the integration of all ethnic groups and economic and cultural exchanges in various regions. 2. Negative effects: ① autocratic imperial power easily leads to tyranny and corruption, which is a factor that hinders historical development. (2) The ideology is exclusive, which stifles the ideology. (3) At the end of feudal society, it hindered the budding development of emerging capitalist relations of production.