This is the Forbidden City located in the center of Beijing. It was the place where the Ming and Qing emperors handled government affairs and daily life. It was the center of the highest power, and imperial edicts were issued from here, reaching the whole country. In the Ming Dynasty, the drafting of imperial edicts was mostly not in the Taihe Hall of the Forbidden City, but in a secluded place next to it. Even now, tourists rarely visit this place, which is the Wenyuan Pavilion. The Wenyuan Pavilion of the Palace Museum in Beijing is not only the national collection of books, but also the original place for cabinet scholars to discuss politics. In the late Ming Dynasty, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Huang Jingfang, wrote in “The Old Stories of the Guan Ge” that the Wenyuan Pavilion is a place of strict prohibition, with imperial edicts on the door. Those who are idle and dare not peek at it will follow the class from the gate to the gate, and the only two writers are allowed to enter, each giving a plaque for verification. It was in the heavily guarded center of the Wenyuan Pavilion that the important political system of the Ming Dynasty, the cabinet system, emerged. The prime minister system has existed in Chinese history for over 1000 years. During the Tang Dynasty, the harmonious relationship between Emperor Taizong of Tang and prime ministers Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and others was known as a beautiful talk in later generations. After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he also adopted the prime minister system. He imitated the old system of the Yuan Dynasty and established the Central Secretariat, appointing Li Shanchang, Wang Guangyang, Hu Weiyong, and others as prime ministers of the Central Secretariat. The prime minister of the Central Secretariat was a high-ranking official of the first rank, overseeing the affairs of the world. The existence of prime ministers could help the emperor handle daily affairs and allocate energy to major policy issues related to domestic and foreign affairs. However, Zhu Yuanzhang realized that as the leader of various officials, the prime minister had too much power. If appointed improperly, it would pose a huge threat to imperial power. The Chinese Ming History Society – Zhang Xianbo: In all dynasties, there have been instances of prime ministers and prime ministers acting recklessly, especially in the Yuan Dynasty. The prime ministers and prime ministers of the Yuan Dynasty had a very large power, which was called the transfer of authority and obedience. So Zhu Yuanzhang also accepted the lesson of the downfall of the Yuan Dynasty. The Ming City Wall History Museum, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, lasted for 12 years during the early Ming Dynasty. According to Zhu Yuanzhang’s design, the central government mainly established three institutions, namely the Secretariat, the Imperial Censorate, and the Grand Governor’s Office, which were responsible for administration, supervision, and military affairs. When the Imperial Censorate was first established, Tang He served as the Imperial Censorate, and the main person responsible for the work of the Imperial Censorate was the Imperial Censor Liu Ji. Liu Ji’s Hometown in Wencheng County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province. After more than 500 years of vicissitudes, these buildings have become relatively dilapidated. However, these plaques demonstrate Liu Ji’s position in the Ming Dynasty. However, even the founding hero Liu Ji, who made remarkable achievements for Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, cannot limit the power of the Central Secretariat. There are also institutional and personnel reasons for this. The President of the Ming History Society of China – Shang Chuan: Although the power of this imperial censor is not as great as that of the Central Secretariat, it is mutually restrictive with the Central Secretariat because it can supervise the actions of the Central Secretariat, and all officials of the Central Secretariat, including all officials of the court, are under his supervision. Therefore, Liu Ji played a very important role in balancing the power of this Central Secretariat at that time. The excessive power of the Central Secretariat also caused dissatisfaction among Zhu Yuanzhang. Taking advantage of the illness of Li Shanchang, the Left Prime Minister of the Central Secretariat, he resigned from his position as Prime Minister and appointed Wang Guangyang and Hu Weiyong, who had slightly less experience, as the Prime Minister of the Central Secretariat. Starting from 1376 AD, Zhu Yuanzhang also began to adjust the pattern of the Central Secretariat’s overall governance. He reduced the level of political affairs and advisory affairs of the Central Secretariat, leaving only the Left and Right Prime Ministers and Left and Right Prime Ministers. At the same time, he abolished the Executive Secretariat, which was in charge of local governments, and divided its powers into three parts, including the Administrative, Supervisory, and Military Affairs Commissioners, the Prosecutors, and the Commander in Chief. This actually indicates that political system reform at the central level will also take place, and the skeptical Zhu Yuanzhang is particularly worried that he will be deceived by his subordinates. President of the Ming History Society of China – Business Biography: Why did Zhu Yuanzhang establish a communication bureau, right? Why did he request that the personnel of the communication bureau could hold all the people’s letters from outside and below, pack all the things, and send them directly to the emperor. The emperor should open them, and everyone would be nervous. I may not be saying who I’m talking about when I open them. When I ask you what’s going on, the officials are very afraid. Now, he’s afraid of this matter, so he brought it up. Your Majesty, don’t look at it that way. It’s too tiring. Let’s categorize all these things for you. What kind of things do you want to look at? We’ll give you what kind of things. Your Majesty thinks this is good, it’s not good at all. In order to ensure a clear understanding of the situation, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Office of the General Administration in the tenth year of the Hongwu reign, ordering all officials outside to report matters to the emperor through the Office of the General Administration. However, the power of the prime minister was rapidly expanding. From the sixth year of the Hongwu reign (1373 AD) to the thirteenth year of the Hongwu reign (1380 AD), Hu Weiyong was responsible for the affairs of the Central Secretariat for eight years, and his power was extremely expanding, holding the power of life and death. Senior officials like Liu Ji who had once offended Hu Weiyong were also inevitably subjected to Hu Weiyong’s cruel hands. Liu Ji was ordered to return to Nanjing, but due to illness, Zhu Yuanzhang sent Hu Weiyong to Liu Ji’s house as an imperial physician. Unexpectedly, Hu Weiyong took advantage of this opportunity and poisoned Liu Ji with chronic poison. Hu Weiyong deliberately recruited some officials who were guilty and punished, engaged in secret communication, and embezzled money and violated the law. In January 1380 AD, Hu Weiyong, the Left Prime Minister of the Central Secretariat, who was below one person and above ten thousand people, became a prisoner and was immediately executed. He was also executed along with the Imperial Censor Chen Ning and the Imperial Censor Tu Jie. This case directly triggered a huge change in the Ming Dynasty system. The founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of the situation to abolish the Central Secretariat and its prime ministers. From then on, the prime minister system that had been implemented for over 1000 years in Chinese history was abolished. The name of the prime minister can be abolished, but the functions of the national administrative center cannot and cannot be abolished, so a new system is brewing. The President of the Chinese Ming History Society – Shang Chuan: Why was Hu Weiyong later killed? He brought together all the people and meritorious officials from Huaixi. Whatever the matter was, you would handle it for me, and I would handle it for you. Everyone would handle it together, without the need for an emperor. Anything could be done, and this led to problems. So, one thing is that the power of the Central Secretariat was too great. Another thing is that Hu Weiyong has committed the biggest taboo in terms of exercising power. Vice President of the Chinese Ming History Society – Zhang Xianbo: I’m not saying that everything must go through the emperor. The Central Secretariat has the power to issue decrees, which we can call a second level decision. So, this first level decision puts many things of the country under the jurisdiction of this Central Secretariat. Now, after Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the Central Secretariat, this level decision no longer exists, and all things have to be done by the emperor alone. After the abolition of the old prime minister system, the emperor’s authoritarian power also reached its limit. Zhu Yuanzhang was determined not to appoint a prime minister anymore, and even issued such a decree that in the future, he could not negotiate the appointment of a prime minister. If his subordinates requested the establishment of a prime minister, they would be punished with extreme punishment. Now, all decision-making power is concentrated on the emperor, who seems to have peace of mind. However, a new system has not yet been established, and the normal operation of the vast empire has encountered difficulties. The difficulty of handling political affairs for Zhu Yuanzhang has doubled. According to statistics, from September 14th to 21st in the 17th year of the Hongwu reign, within eight days, there were a total of 1660 memorials from various internal and external departments, involving 3391 matters. On average, Zhu Yuanzhang had to read 207 memorials and handle 423 political affairs every day. With the passage of time, the number of political affairs that the emperor had to deal with continued to increase rapidly, even the diligent Zhu Yuanzhang felt difficulties. Chinese Ming History Society – Zhang Xianbo: If one day is enough, two days, or three days are too long for him to bear it anymore, then Zhu Yuanzhang still has no choice because the decision-making power belongs to him. In fact, by removing the prime minister, he is equivalent to acting as the prime minister. Therefore, the pressure on the emperor is too great, and there must be auxiliary ministers. This is a difficult problem facing Zhu Yuanzhang. He attempted to establish a new system to stabilize imperial power, which could effectively control court affairs and efficiently handle government affairs. In order to solve these problems, Zhu Yuanzhang began to set up four auxiliary officials. He recruited several old Confucian scholars from the people and had them rotate on a monthly basis to guide his administration. The position of the Fourth Assistant Official was very high, and he was a third rank official. However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not give them much power because they were just old Confucian scholars with little political experience, with a mellow temperament and no official positions. They also had little influence in the court, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very reassured. However, two years later, the four auxiliary officials were abolished by Zhu Yuanzhang because they were unable to play a role. Chinese Ming History Society – Zhang Xianbo: Because he couldn’t find so many people, he only set up spring and summer officials. Then, the autumn and east officials were temporarily vacant, and where else could they be replaced? He found seven or eight people, but the four auxiliary officials were not suitable for Zhu Yuanzhang’s political requirements because he didn’t have experience in governing or handling daily affairs. They came from the fields and were simple and incompetent. The failure of the experiment on the four auxiliary officials made Zhu Yuanzhang realize that good auxiliary officials needed to be selected through new channels. He not only encouraged various regions to recommend talents, but also quickly restored the imperial examination system to select talents from all over the country, and appointed Confucian officials from the Hanlin Academy to serve as advisors. In 1382 AD, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Palace and selected Confucian scholars from the Hanlin Academy as the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Palace in preparation for the emperor’s consultation. During Zhu Yuanzhang’s reign, the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Palace had little influence on politics, and they only waited for the emperor’s consultation at any time without the power to read the reports of various departments. However, the practice of selecting the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Palace from the Hanlin Academy in preparation for the emperor’s consultation laid the foundation for the later formation of the cabinet system in terms of form. Chinese Ming History Society – Zhang Xianbo: The Ming Dynasty only had one or two important central institutions, which were not found in other dynasties. One was the Department of Political Affairs, and the other was the Cabinet, especially the Cabinet, which was not before. Therefore, he had to explore the power positioning and functions of the Cabinet, which would take some time to determine. Before his death, Zhu Yuanzhang passed on the throne to his grandson Zhu Yunwen, but his fourth son Zhu Di was not willing. Zhu Di was appointed as the King of Yan by Zhu Yuanzhang, holding a heavy army and having a strong influence on the army in Beiping. He rose up in the name of the withdrawal of the Qing Emperor, and eventually led a large army to capture Nanjing and seize the throne. Just as Zhu Di rode into Nanjing, a civil servant suddenly blocked his way. Zhu Di was about to get angry, but the civil servant reminded him that His Highness was preparing to pay respects to the tomb first or to ascend the throne first. Zhu Di was momentarily stunned and immediately awakened. He immediately turned his horse’s head and went to pay respects to the Xiaoling Mausoleum. The Xiaoling Mausoleum is located at the southern foot of Zhongshan Mountain in present-day Nanjing, at the foot of Mount Everest. It is the tomb where Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma were buried together. Chinese Ming History Society – Zhang Xianbo: Because he usurped the throne, he should not have been the emperor. So you have already had a problem, so he must go to the tomb first to show his loyalty and filial piety, because Zhu Yuanzhang once said that the way of Yao and Shun is only filial piety. If you don’t have this thing, then it’s over. How can you become an emperor. Zhu Di, like his father Zhu Yuanzhang, was diligent in politics and tightly held the power of the court in his own hands. The prime minister system was also abandoned by him. However, Zhu Yuanzhang’s practice of selecting the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Palace as an advisor to the emperor was inherited in the form of a cabinet during his reign. Zhu Di ascended the throne less than a month ago and ordered seven people, including Jie Jin, Huang Huai, Hu Guang, Yang Shiqi, Jin Youzi, Hu Yan, and Yang Rong, to enter the Hanlin Academy and direct the Wenyuan Pavilion for pre maintenance. Yang Rong was the civil servant who reminded Zhu Di to pay respects to the tomb. He became an important member of the first batch of cabinet scholars and has since been highly valued by Zhu Di. The responsibilities of a Cabinet Bachelor mainly include drafting decrees for the emperor together; One is to consult with the emperor on machinery, and they became the emperor’s most core think tank, playing an increasingly important role in court politics. They were ready to accept the emperor’s advice at any time. One night, there was a report that Ningxia was besieged. Zhu Di summoned the cabinet scholars overnight, and it happened that only cabinet member Yang Rong was on duty. Zhu Di showed the memorial to Yang Rong. After reading it, Yang Rong said that Ningxia’s city defense was strong, and the soldiers were brave and skilled in battle. This memorial was sent more than ten days ago, and it is estimated that the siege has been lifted by now. In the middle of the night, there was indeed a report that Ningxia had already lifted its siege. Chairman of the Chinese Ming History Society – Shang Chuan: When Zhu Di became emperor, Ming Chengzu still had to solve this problem. At this time, he combined these two, one was the intermediate officials selected by his father, officials below the fifth grade, and the other was his nephew. He selected officials who were truly capable of doing things, but were not those who were incompetent. So, when these two were combined, who was the most suitable person? That was the young and low-level officials, who later became the main officials of the Hanlin Academy. With them as the main body, a secretary team was formed, and this secretary team came to the palace to work, which was called the cabinet. Among the first batch of cabinet scholars, the most famous were Jie Jin and Yang Shiqi, but their ultimate fate was completely different. This is the “Collected Works of Jie Wenyi” exhibited in the collection of Jishui County Museum in Jiangxi Province. These texts engraved on fired blue bricks are memorials and eulogies written by Jie Jin back then. The staff is currently organizing the “Jie Jin Ink Scroll”, which includes nearly 10000 words of ink from Jie Jin, including regular script, running script, cursive script, as well as Jie Jin’s insights into calligraphy. Jie Jin was a knowledgeable and talented individual who excelled in poetry, literature, and calligraphy in the early Ming Dynasty. Due to the drafting of the imperial edict, Jie Jin gained the trust of Ming Chengzu and became a member of the Wenyuan Pavilion, becoming Zhu Di’s chief advisor. Jie Jin was also commissioned by Zhu Di to participate in the revision of the “Annals of Taizu” and was responsible for compiling the “Great Collection of Documents”, which later became the “Yongle Encyclopedia”. Nowadays, the statue of Jie Jin holding these two books stands in the central park of his hometown Jishui County, Jiangxi Province, with a gloomy expression. However, due to his involvement in the succession dispute between the Crown Prince and the King of Han, Jie Jin was exiled to Guangxi and soon to Jiaozhi. In 1410 AD, he returned to Nanjing from Jiaozhi and met with the Crown Prince Zhu Gaozhi, who was currently supervising the country in Nanjing. He was accused of paying his respects to the Crown Prince privately and was thrown into the Jinyi Guard prison. A few years later, he was buried in snow and frozen to death. Chairman of the Chinese Ming History Society – Shang Chuan: Perhaps death was the best destination for Jie Jin, because he could not adapt to such a monarchical autocratic regime. In such a autocratic regime, he could not adapt to it, transform himself, and become an adaptable person. The Jiejin Tomb in Jishui County, Ji’an City, Jiangxi Province has undergone multiple relocations in history and is now located in the county town of Jishui. The descendants of Jiejin have also experienced a tragic fate of exile, and this period of history is also recorded in the family genealogy of the Jie family. Jie Jin: Jie Jin’s family is still in Liaodong. At that time, due to being exiled, they walked from Jishui to Liaoning Province, which was far away. Our family all migrated there to suffer. This is the place of exile. Zhu Gaochi said that Jie Aiqing’s family is still there. Let’s first release his family back to their hometown and distribute their property, and then come back now. Now, there are still people from our Jie family in Liaodong because some people cannot return, it’s too far away. Yang Shiqi’s Tomb is located in Taihe County, Jiangxi Province, more than 100 kilometers away from Jishui County. It is the tomb of Yang Shiqi, the Minister of War and Grand Scholar of the Huagai Hall of the Ming Dynasty. Yang Shiqi’s fate is much better than that of Jie Jin. In front of Zhu Di, Yang Shiqi behaved respectfully and handled the situation appropriately, earning Zhu Di’s trust. After Zhu Di appointed his eldest son Zhu Gaochi as the Crown Prince, he specially appointed Yang Shiqi as an official in the Eastern Palace to assist the Crown Prince. In 1409 AD, Zhu Di patrolled Beijing and ordered Yang Shiqi and others to assist the Crown Prince in supervising the country in Nanjing. At that time, Zhu Di was very vigilant about the actions of the feudal lords. Once again, Zhu Di, who was far away in Beijing, wrote a letter to Zhu Gaozhi, saying that the heart of the King of Zhou was unpredictable, and you should be more cautious. You can show this imperial edict to Jian Yi, Jin Zhong, Huang Huai, and Yang Shiqi, and do not leak it to anyone else. Such a highly confidential imperial edict can be given to the Minister of Personnel Jian Yi and the Minister of War Jin Zhong, as well as to the two cabinet scholars Huang Huai and Yang Shiqi, reflecting that the cabinet scholars are indeed participating in the maintenance. Chinese Ming History Society – Zhang Xianbo: Zhu Di basically completed the cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty because he integrated the resources of his previous two generations as auxiliary politicians, so he basically completed the cabinet system. In the summer of 1424 AD, Zhu Di passed away in Yumu River during his northern expedition. With the support of Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, Jin Youzi, and others, Crown Prince Zhu Gaozhi succeeded to the throne. At this time, Yang Shiqi and Zhu Gaozhi had been together for 20 years, and their relationship was extraordinary. After Zhu Gaozhi ascended to the throne, he promoted Yang Shiqi to the position of Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Huagai Hall. Soon after, he was promoted to the position of Minister of War. When Zhu Di passed away, Yang Rong received rewards for supporting Zhu Gaozhi. He was promoted to the position of Minister of Works and Grand Secretary of the Jingshen Hall, and Jin Youzi was promoted to the position of Minister of Rites. Zhu Gaozhi also gave a silver medal to each of the Ministry of Personnel, Jian Yi, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Jin Youzi, with the words “correcting mistakes” engraved on it. When reporting to the emperor in secret, Yang Rong used the title of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, which led to the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. The status of the government has been elevated, marking the beginning of the gradual weighting of cabinet power over departmental power. Researcher at the Palace Museum – Li Zhangping: Each person was given a silver medal that was wrong, engraved with ropes, faults, corrections, and miao. The rope is called the standard, which is the standard; Rules, faults are faults, and miao is a mistake. What is the purpose of giving them these silver medals? If you feel that I have any shortcomings in court politics, or if I have not followed the advice of the courtiers, or if you have any good suggestions that I have not taken seriously, then you can write them down and seal this chapter in a sealed form to remind me. During the reign of Emperor Renzong Zhu Gaochi, Yang Shiqi’s status was further elevated. Emperor Renzong appointed Yang Shiqi, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, as the Junior Tutor, ranking first in rank. Unfortunately, Emperor Renzong passed away in less than a year. But the death of Emperor Renzong did not hinder the actual growth of the cabinet’s power. This is the Wenyuan Pavilion, located in the southeast of the Forbidden City in Beijing. It is a simple and elegant Wenyuan Pavilion, which was mainly used for collecting and compiling books in the early days. Except for the Yongle Encyclopedia, which was stored in the Wenlou, all other books were officially included in the Wenyuan Pavilion in the sixth year of the Zhengtong reign of Emperor Yingzong (1441 AD). At that time, Yang Shiqi, who was in charge of counting and compiling, sorted each book one by one, assigned a character number, collected in a bookcase, and compiled into the Wenyuan Pavilion Bibliography. While carrying the functions of collecting and compiling books, and used as a place for the emperor to teach and read, the Wenyuan Pavilion was also the place where the officials of the Pavilion went to work directly. The cabinet of the Ming Dynasty was established here, and with the development of Ming politics, the Wenyuan Pavilion became a forbidden area for secret pavilions. Researcher at the Palace Museum – Li Huping: The Wenyuan Pavilion is a place for collecting books, and also serves as the duty place for these ministers. This system has been continued like this. Therefore, according to records, there are a total of ten Wenyuan Pavilions, five in the west, with a Wenyuan Pavilion plaque hanging in the middle. However, it does not have a cabinet plaque hanging in the middle. The reason why it is called the Cabinet is because it is located in the palace and often accompanies the emperor, so it is called the Cabinet. Initially, the Cabinet Bachelor and Advisor were mostly achieved through face-to-face conversations with the emperor, but as the emperor became increasingly reclusive, the advisory duties of the Cabinet Bachelor could gradually only be presented in written form. In this way, face-to-face discussions were replaced by written discussions, and drafting for the emperor gradually became an important task for cabinet scholars. The Chinese Ming History Society – Zhang Xianbo: The emergence of vote drafting can be traced back to Zhu Yuanzhang’s abolition of the Central Secretariat and the Prime Minister. He introduced this form of political consultation, but the cabinet’s political consultation cannot be close to the emperor because advisors must be together. Is that correct? If all rely on vote drafting, it is not called advisors, but rather dealing with chapter reports. Therefore, with vote drafting, the advisory function of the cabinet is basically weakened. Vote draft, also known as note draft, refers to the use of ink by the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet to write opinions on small notes, and then ask them to be pasted on the memorial and submitted to the emperor for decision-making reference. In the Xuande Dynasty, ministers such as Jian Yi, the Minister of Personnel, and Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue, could also draft votes for the emperor. In 1435 AD, Zhu Zhanji passed away, and Crown Prince Zhu Qizhen was only nine years old. Zhu Qizhen became the empress dowager, and the court officials invited Empress Dowager Zhang to listen to politics behind the curtain. Empress Dowager Zhang followed the ancestral law of the empress dowager and did not want to listen to politics behind the curtain. She ordered anyone to submit a decision to the cabinet for deliberation and implementation. With the support of the Empress Dowager, Cabinet Three Yang actually became the ruler of the court, and the vote proposal gradually became a full-time member of the Cabinet. The emergence of the draft vote system was a symbol of the complete cabinet system, and the cabinet also played an increasingly central role in the political system of the Ming Dynasty. The Chinese Ming History Society – Zhang Xianbo: The cabinet only provides suggestions on the chapters provided by other yamen, or suggests what the emperor should do if it is not suitable. It does not have the authority to replace these yamen of the Six Ministries in taking over responsibilities. Then, it proposes some implementation plans for illegitimate politics. It does not have this right, and the cabinet is only an institution with the function of deliberating on politics. These are two herbaceous memorials submitted by Zhang Fengyi, the Minister of War of the late Ming Dynasty, to the emperor. They are stored in the First Historical Archives of China. After the drafts are revised into writing, they will be copied in regular script, stamped with an official seal, and then submitted to the emperor for review. In the Ming Dynasty, the original copies of imperial memorials or inscriptions were not allowed to leave the imperial palace, and due to war or fire, almost all Ming memorials were destroyed, making it difficult to find them. At that time, there was nowhere to find the cabinet ballot proposal that was posted on the memorial. Archivist – Gao Huanting: After the question book is sent to the cabinet, the cabinet ministers mainly discuss the handling opinions based on the content of the question book, as well as the Ming Dynasty’s laws and historical records, for the emperor’s reference. Then, they copy these handling opinions on a small piece of paper, which is called a draft. The small piece of paper that has been drafted is called a draft. From the records in the Ming Huidian, it can be seen that the cabinet has a lot of powers, and there are also many powers in addition to drafting votes. For example, they have the authority to know the classics and prepare the “Records”, which is to oversee the education of the emperor’s collection of imperial family, as well as the work of compiling national history, including presiding over major ceremonial activities. However, the core powers of the cabinet are summarized in 21 words in the “Ming History: The System of Official Positions”, which includes whether to replace or not, following Chen’s rules and regulations, conducting inspections, drafting proposals, and answering questions, in order to ensure the smooth governance of the common people. Among them, the approval of the draft is of utmost importance. The object of the draft is the official reports of various departments, expressing the Cabinet’s handling opinions on the reports. If the Cabinet’s draft receives specific opinions from the Emperor, it must be recorded according to the decree and used as the topic book for the draft, forming the so-called Silk Book. Archivist – Gao Huanting: The red inscription on the question book, transcribed by cabinet ministers, is bound into a book called the Silun Book, which is commonly known as the “King’s Words Like Silk” and “Qi Chu Rulun”. The emperor’s words are very detailed when they first come out, and their power is not particularly great. When they are sent out for execution, they play a significant role together, so they are like silk. Although the effectiveness of vote drafting is ultimately determined by the emperor, when vote drafting becomes a system, the emperor also has to pay special attention to it. For example, in February of the second year of the Jiajing reign (1523 AD), shortly after, Emperor Jiajing Zhu Hougui, who lacked experience in handling government affairs, did not allow the cabinet to vote on it. Instead, he made a response to a memorial from the Imperial Censorate requesting the Imperial Censor to patrol salt, resulting in an error and being returned to the six departments. For this reason, Huang Chen, a member of the Right Censor of the Criminal Investigation Department, submitted a memorial stating that our court established a cabinet and appointed literary officials. For every hundred chapters that were submitted, the first draft was made, and in the end, Emperor Zhu Houqian had to change the approval process to the same format. In addition, all documents issued by the emperor to the lower level were also included. The edicts, including edicts, edicts, regulations, and official documents, as well as edicts, letters, symbols, orders, and proclamations, are all drafted by the Cabinet. As a result, the Cabinet is known as the place where the government is based, and its importance exceeds that of the six yamen departments. As an institution that assisted the emperor in decision-making, the cabinet filled the power space after the abolition of the prime minister in the Ming Dynasty, and the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet was often referred to as the prime minister. However, the formation of the cabinet does not equate to the return of power. After becoming cabinet scholars, officials always humbly say that they are appointed to handle affairs by the Wenyuan Pavilion, and the cabinet scholars are only assistants to the emperor and cannot independently make decisions on affairs. In the late Ming Dynasty, Xu Jie, the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, said that the position of a cabinet minister was no more than a draft. If the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet wants to take certain measures or impeach a certain official, he cannot directly report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Usually, he needs to instruct the six ministries, procuratorates, or provincial officials to initiate suggestions through memorials and implement their will through their own votes. At the same time, the cabinet often finds itself in a difficult situation. On the one hand, they need to share the emperor’s worries as much as possible to ensure that they gain the emperor’s trust. On the other hand, they also face pressure from bureaucratic groups. When the emperor and the civil government are deadlocked on certain issues, the role of the Grand Secretary in the cabinet as a mediator is quite awkward. Moreover, the power of the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet is severely constrained by the autocratic power of the monarch. In short, the ultimate decision-making power lies with the emperor, not in the Cabinet. Researcher at the Palace Museum – Li Boping: In the first few years, with the support of Empress Dowager Ming Renzong, the Empress Dowager, who was still alive, any issues that needed to be dealt with were entrusted to the imperial envoy. The so-called envoy was the eunuch in the palace who went to the cabinet for consultation and then decided how to make a decision after receiving a response from the cabinet. Chinese Ming History Society – Zhang Xianbo: In fact, after the draft appeared, the memorial can be kept in the middle, and the reply can be delayed. Then, it can even be repeatedly discussed because the emperor cannot see me. I just need to take that batch, and there will also be a process in the middle, where a ceremonial supervisor will appear between the emperor and the cabinet, representing the emperor to approve the red. As the power of the cabinet increased, the power of eunuchs also increased. While the cabinet gained the power to vote, the most important institution in the eunuch’s 24 yamen, the ceremonial supervisor, also gained the power to approve red envelopes. Pai Hong is an opinion drafted by the eunuch in accordance with the cabinet vote, and after being approved by the emperor, it is written on behalf of the emperor with a red pen. In this way, most of the annotations and answers to the imperial edicts were made by eunuchs, so the proposed vote of the cabinet had to be decided by the approval of the inner supervisor, and the term “temple officials” refers to eunuchs, as the power was transferred to the temple officials. For this reason, the philosopher Huang Zongxi of the late Ming Dynasty said that the cabinet not only did not have the name of a prime minister, but also did not have the real name of a prime minister. Those who had the real name of a prime minister are now palace slaves. In the late orthodox era, eunuch Wang Zhen became the first authoritarian eunuch of the Ming Dynasty because he was in charge of the Imperial Household Department. Chinese Ming History Society – Zhang Xianbo: Wang Zhen, due to the relationship between this and the drafting of the draft, could easily deceive the emperor if he was inside. Chairman of the Chinese Ming History Society – Shang Chuan: If the cabinet does not draft this vote, then nothing can be discussed or achieved. However, if you draft this vote, and the eunuch Bingbi from the Ministry of Rites does not approve it, then you will also draft it in vain. Therefore, the combination of these two is necessary. Later on, the cabinet and eunuchs will have to collude. If they collude, their power will be great. If they confront each other, this matter will never be resolved. In 1966, archaeologists discovered an important Ming Dynasty tomb in Majiashan, Nanjing, and cleared out more than 100 precious cultural relics of ceramic, purple sand, copper, stone, and other textures. Among them, the most precious was the Yiwei pottery figurine group. This batch of pottery figurines included pottery horses and horsemen, horse officials, officials, servants, cavalry warriors, cavalry attendants, cavalry flag warriors, cavalry drum blowing figurines, etc., civil and military officials, flag and drum bands, forming a grand procession, reflecting the tomb owner’s journey during his lifetime. A grand momentum. According to the unearthed epitaph, the owner of the tomb was actually a Ming Dynasty eunuch named Wu Jing. Nanjing Museum – Wang Tao: This tomb was from the mid to late Ming Dynasty. As we all know, during the Ming Dynasty, especially in the later period, the power of eunuchs became increasingly powerful. The most famous is Wei Zhongxian, who controlled the entire East Factory. In the Ming Dynasty, as the power of eunuchs increased, cabinet officials became more and more polite to eunuchs due to the need to frequently interact with them. In the early years of the Wanli reign, Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, was the most powerful cabinet chief in Ming Dynasty history. However, he also had to make friends with eunuchs because without the support of eunuchs such as Feng Bao, who held the seal of the Imperial Household Department, Zhang Juzheng could not have obtained the support of the Empress Dowagers of the Two Palaces and could not sit on the throne of cabinet chief. Zhang Juzheng Statue, Former Residence of Zhang Juzheng, Jinzhou City, Hubei Province – Chinese Ming History Society – Zhang Xianbo: Some people always explain that the acting cabinet was the prime minister, or similar to the prime minister, but in fact, it was very different. Its function was to discuss politics rather than make decisions. When people studied them, they were not very clear about this distinction at the beginning, so they always believed that the Ming Dynasty was cabinet politics. Business legend: Some people evaluate it as a true prime minister, saying that they are already like prime ministers. Therefore, it should be said that to some extent, it is close to the prime minister, but you should not forget that it is not like a prime minister. It can never achieve anything, but if it wants to complete anything, it passes through the eunuch. If it does not pass, it cannot be completed. Who is the eunuch? The eunuch is the emperor. In fact, the eunuch is the emperor’s servant, but the emperor is lazy and does not want to do it well. He allows his closest servant to extend his hand on his behalf. The coexistence of the Cabinet, the Department of Rites, the East Factory, the Imperial Guards, and other mutually restrictive institutions in the Ming Dynasty allowed the emperor to have unprecedented control over the court. Even if Emperor Jiajing practiced Taoism and alchemy for thirty years, and Emperor Wanli did not go to court for twenty years, it did not affect their firm grasp of the highest power of governance. However, once upon a time, this extraordinary institutional constraint led to a lack of vitality within the entire regime. Apart from control, there was no fresh wind blowing, and the court became a stagnant water. Since Zhang Juzheng, there has been a widespread and sluggish style from the central to local levels. The ministers were ordered by the emperor to be obedient, blindly conservative, and greedy and corrupt, becoming increasingly conservative. Obviously, this system has had huge drawbacks. Chairman of the Ming History Society of China – Business Biography: Zhang Juzheng died, and the Ming Dynasty’s cabinet changed. No decent people came out of the future cabinets, all of them were mediocre people. In the Chongzhen dynasty, with only fifty prime ministers, there were fifty cabinets, and the change of cabinet elders was meaningless. In seventeen years, fifty people were replaced, and no one had the heart to manage the politics of this country. This is the Forbidden City, with high red walls that once surrounded the central area of the Ming Dynasty like copper walls and iron walls. The Wenyuan Pavilion is also within it. The edicts drafted by the cabinet can be transmitted to every corner of the country. After all, the Wenyuan Pavilion cannot do without the Forbidden City. Amidst the high walls and sanitation, the cabinet’s power has reached an unprecedented peak. Due to being constantly shrouded in the shadow of imperial power, the cabinet failed to show new vitality and was destined to disappear into the sunset with the corrupt imperial politics. 90 seconds in history: The Tumu Fort Incident occurred on August 15, 1449. Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Qizhen, led a 250000 strong army to retreat to Tumu Bao. They passed through Tumu Village in Huailai County, Hebei Province, and were followed by Mongolian Valar cavalry. They cut off a stream 15 miles upstream of the Ming army camp, causing 250000 people to run out of water and panic. They dug a well two zhang away but couldn’t see any water, causing chaos. The Valar army was gathering more and more, and the Ming army’s defense line was in danger. The situation was on the verge of collapse, so they suddenly sent people to negotiate peace. Eunuch Wang Zhen took the opportunity to order the relocation of the camp to the water, and the Valar cavalry took advantage of the Ming army’s relocation by about three times. When they were four miles away, they immediately rushed forward and surrounded the Ming army. The Ming army was in chaos, with countless soldiers fleeing east and west. The battlefield was littered with corpses, and abandoned weapons turned into a jungle of swords. In this battle, almost all of the 250000 soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were annihilated, with over a hundred civil and military ministers following them, Almost all of them died, and the legitimate emperor Zhu Qizhen was also imprisoned, known as the Tumu Fort Incident in history.
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