|
The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) of ancient China was the second imperial dynasty of China, following the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). It was divided into the periods of Former Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and Later Han (25–220 AD), briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) of Wang Mang. The capital of Western Han was Chang'an, and the capital of Eastern Han was Luoyang. The emperor headed the government, promulgating all written laws, serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and presiding as the chief executive official. He appointed all government officials who earned a salary of 600 bushels of grain or more (though these salaries were largely paid in coin cash) with the help of advisors who reviewed each nominee. The empress dowager could either be the emperor's actual or symbolic mother, and was in practice more powerful than the emperor, as she could override his decisions. The emperor's executive powers could also be practiced by any official upon whom he bestowed the Staff of Authority. These powers included the right to execute criminals without the imperial court's permission. Near the beginning of the dynasty, semi-autonomous regional kings rivaled the emperor's authority. This autonomy was greatly diminished when the imperial court enacted reforms following the threats to central control like the Rebellion of the Seven States. The End of the Han dynasty came about during a time of civil, military and religious upheaval, which resulted in the period of Three Kingdoms. The highest officials in the central bureaucracy, who provided advisory, censorial, executive, and judicial roles in governing the empire, consisted of cabinet members known as the Excellencies, heads of large specialized ministries known as the Nine Ministers, and various metropolitan officials of the capital region.〔Most of the English renditions of the Chinese titles used in this article are taken from Rafe de Crespigny's ''A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms'' (2007); alternative renditions are provided in parentheses and are taken from Hans Bielenstein's ''The Bureaucracy of Han Times'' (1980) and Wang Yu-ch'uan's ''An Outline of The Central Government of The Former Han Dynasty'' (1949). Note that sometimes there is only one variant English title in the parentheses; this means that Bielenstein and Wang used the same English rendition. See Translation of Han dynasty titles for a list of different renditions.〕 Distinguished salary-ranks were granted to officials in the bureaucracy, nobles of the imperial family, concubines of the harem, and military officers of the armed forces. Local government divisions, in descending order by size, were the province, commandery, county, and district. Local fiefs of the nobility included the kingdom, which was modeled largely upon the regular commandery, as well as the marquessate, modelled largely upon the regular county. Although the central government's monopolies on salt, iron, and liquor eventually failed and were relinquished back to private production, the government successfully nationalized the issuing of coin currency through its imperial mint, which lasted from 113 BC until the end of the dynasty. The conscription system for commoners as non-professional soldiers was reduced in size in favor of a volunteer army and a substitution tax by Eastern Han. A small professional standing army existed throughout Western and Eastern Han. During times of crisis, the volunteer army increased in size, but large militias were raised and certain officer titles were revived for temporary use. ==Salaries== During the Han dynasty, the power a government official exercised was determined by his annual salary-rank, measured in grain units known as ''dan'' (石, a unit of volume, approximately ). However, approximately half an official's salary in grain was made in payments of cash coins,〔Bielenstein (1980), 131; de Crespigny (2007), 1221.〕 the standard of which, after 119 BC, was the ''wushu'' (五銖) coin measuring 3.2 g (0.11 oz).〔Nishijima (1986), 587.〕 The other half of an official's salary consisted of unhusked grain and husked grain measured in ''hu'' (觳, approximately 20 L / 676 oz); since one ''hu'' of unhusked grain was equal to 100 coins and one ''hu'' of husked grain was equal to 160 coins, the conversion ratio for unhusked grain to husked grain was 10 to 6 (see table below).〔Bielenstein (1980), 127 & 131.〕 The most senior officials in central government earned a 10,000-''dan'' salary. The officials who oversaw nine specialized ministries each earned the Fully 2,000-''dan'' rank, while the magistrate of a county earned a 600-''dan'' rank.〔de Crespigny (2007) 1221; Bielenstein (1980), 11–17; Hucker (1975), 159.〕 Occasionally, emperors bestowed luxurious gifts of wine, foodstuffs, and silk clothes upon high officials. These gifts, in some generous cases, could equal as much as half the value of the officials' standard annual salary.〔de Crespigny (2007), 1221; Bielenstein (1980), 127.〕 Aged officials were often retired from service and given a pension.〔Hucker (1975), 159.〕 Below is a table outlining salaries measured in coin cash, unhusked grain, and husked grain for the highest to lowest-paid officials in Han officialdom:〔Bielenstein (1980), 131.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Government of the Han dynasty」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|