Douluo: The Lower Realm of the Children of the King of God and the Lord God

Chapter 49 The Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System

The Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System, also known as the Nine-Rank Official Personnel Law, was an important official selection system during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Cao Pi adopted the opinions of Shangshu Ling Chen Qun, and later all parties involved basically followed this unwritten rule.In the first year of Huangchu (220), Cao Pi ordered Chen Qun to formulate a system with legal significance.This system gradually became complete in the Western Jin Dynasty, and changed again in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.From the beginning of the Cao Wei Dynasty to the establishment of the imperial examination in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it existed for about 400 years.

The Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System inherited the imperial examination system of the Han Dynasty and the imperial examination system of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It occupies a very important position in the history of ancient Chinese political systems. It is one of the three official election systems in Chinese feudal society. It is actually a continuation of the imperial examination system of the Han Dynasty. and development, or another manifestation of the inspection system.

The nine-level Zhongzheng system generally refers to the selection of a Dazhongzheng by each state and county. The Dazhongzheng elected must be an official serving in the central government and has a high reputation.The great righteousness will give birth to the small righteousness.Zhongzheng is the official title for evaluating talents.After the big and small Zhongzheng are established, the central government distributes a talent survey form, which divides talents into nine levels: upper upper, upper middle, upper lower, middle upper, middle middle, middle lower, lower upper, lower middle, Next.On this list, the local officials and officials from various places registered all the exiles from various places, whether they were serving in official positions or not, according to their own knowledge. The list details the annual loan items, their rankings, and comments.Xiao Zhongzheng assists Dazhongzheng to review the form and submit it to the Ministry of Personnel, which then promotes and dismisses officials.This system provided an objective standard for the selection of officials at that time. In fact, this standard still adopted local mass public opinion and public opinion, retaining the legacy of the Han Dynasty's rural election.The implementation of the nine-grade Zhongzheng system on the one hand solved the problem of non-standard selection of officials and clarified the administration of officials for a while.On the other hand, it eased the tense relationship between the central government and the aristocratic families, and laid a solid foundation for Wei and Jin to realize the unification of the country.

History background

By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the imperial examination system in the Han Dynasty had been manipulated and exploited by the powerful gentry. They influenced the public opinion in the countryside at that time, causing the imperial examination to breed various corruption phenomena, and it was in conflict with the small and medium-sized landowners and their intellectuals who wanted to participate in politics. Sharp contradictions arose, and the struggle over how to select officials was fierce.After Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi adopted Chen Qun's initiative and established the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng system, which was the main official selection system during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.But at that time, Chaju had not been completely abolished.The Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System came into being under this background situation.

Fundamental contents

The content of the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System mainly consists of three articles.

Set up Zhongzheng

This is a key link in the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System.The so-called Zhongzheng refers to the person in charge of criticizing people in a certain area, that is, the Zhongzheng official.Zhongzhengguan can be divided into big and small. The state has Dazhongzhengguan, who is in charge of the evaluation of people in several counties in the state. Each county has another Xiaozhongzhengguan.Zhongzheng officials were initially elected by the governors of various counties. After the Jin Dynasty, they were selected and awarded by Situ among the three princes of the imperial court.Among them, the small and medium-sized officials in the county can be recommended by the large and medium-sized officials in the state, but they still need to be appointed by Situ.Under normal circumstances, the chief officials of the prefectures and counties are concurrently held by the current central officials recommended by Situ. Sometimes, Situ or the Minister of Civil Affairs also directly serve as the chief officials of the state.This is to ensure the central government’s direct control over the election and avoid interference by others in the affairs of the Central Committee.Zhongzhengguan, big and small, also has subordinates named "visiting".

Characters

This is the main responsibility of the Zhongzheng officer.The Zhongzhengguan is responsible for evaluating the scholars of the same country as him, including those in the state and those scattered in other counties.

There are three main contents in the evaluation:

1. Family background: that is, family origin and background.Refers to the seniority, official status and title of the father and grandfather.These materials are called books or books, and they must be mastered by Zhongzheng officials in detail.

2. Conduct: It is a general evaluation of personal conduct and ability, which is equivalent to a moral evaluation.The general comments in the Wei and Jin Dynasties were generally very concise, such as "talented and talented, outstanding", "virtuous and capable but few", etc.

3. Determined product: that is, to determine the grade.In principle, the determination of products is based on career status, and family background is only used as a reference.But after the Jin Dynasty, the rank was determined entirely by family background.A person from a poor family can only be rated as a low-grade person no matter how high his performance is; a person from a wealthy family can only be ranked in the top grade even if his or her performance is not good.As a result, the situation was formed at that time that "there were no poor families in the upper class, and no noble families in the lower class".

Selection basis

The results of the Zhongzheng evaluation are submitted to the Situ Mansion for review and approval, and then sent to the Ministry of Personnel as the basis for selecting officials.The character grade assessed by Zhongzheng is also called "rural character" and is closely related to the official career of the person being evaluated.The official character of those appointed as officials must be consistent with the character of their hometown. The starting point for becoming an official (also known as "an official") with high rural character is often an "upright official", and he will be promoted faster and be respected by others. The starting point for becoming an official for those with lower rural character The starting point is often a "bad official", promotion is slow, and people look down upon.

The evaluation figures of Zhongzheng are adjusted once every three years as usual, but Zhongzheng can also upgrade or demote the evaluation figures at any time.After a person's local rank rises or falls, his official rank and official status often change accordingly.In order to improve fairness, the government also prohibits reviewees from filing unjust lawsuits.However, Zhongzheng's products are illegal, and the government must investigate his responsibility.

Development History

Begin to take shape

The nine-level Zhongzheng system followed the tradition of rural appraisal in the Eastern Han Dynasty, developed under the conditions of the migration of people during the war, and was also developed to adapt to the political characteristics of the early Cao Wei Dynasty.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao, who represented the central government, made many moves to suppress the glitz and glamor of wealthy families.Cao Cao was not from a famous family, and his grandfather was a member of the eunuch group that was opposed to famous scholars.Many celebrities looked down upon Cao Cao and opposed Cao Cao's regime.Therefore, Cao Cao must suppress the local powerful forces represented by famous celebrities in the Qing Dynasty. For example, destroying friendships with cronies is one of his measures.However, during times of war, Cao's regime still had to rely on local celebrities, because they had a high reputation in the countryside, and it was impossible to completely abolish the township review.All the Cao regime could do was to bring Qing discussions into the orbit of the regime and make celebrities cooperate with the regime.In this way, the regime representing "national interests" gained a certain degree of control over local celebrities by setting up Zhongzheng officials to specifically handle high-ranking figures for reference for official advancement.But on the other hand, the deliberation of local celebrities was also legalized, thus creating conditions for their development of power.

The selection of officials based on rank began with Cao Cao and has become a system.For example, "Three Kingdoms·Wu Zhi·Biography of Lu Su": "Now Su welcomes Cao, and Cao should repay the township party with Su, and appreciate his reputation and position without losing his job under Cao. Riding in a carriage, serving as an official, and tired of being an official Don't lose the state or county. The general welcomes Cao and wants to return home in peace."

However, the name Zhongzheng appeared in historical records after Cao Pi became King of Wei. "Three Kingdoms·Wei Zhi·Chen Qun Biography": "Emperor Wen was in the East Palace and respected Qi Yan deeply. (Short of the middle) When he ascended the throne, he granted Qunchang the title of Marquis of Wuting and moved to Shangshu. The method of making nine-rank officials was built by Qun. "

In the early Wei Dynasty, Zhongzheng officials were appointed, the prefectures were the capitals of the states, and the prefectures and counties were the Zhongzheng officials.For example, the "Three Kingdoms·Wei Zhi·Chang Lin Biography" annotated "Wei Lue" and cited Ji Mao, Shi Miao and others as the "Qing Jie Biography", saying: "...in the previous period, the country began to make nine grades, and each county selected Zhongzheng. ...Wang Yan, the captain of the Qiang school in Maotong County, was the county guard in the first few years and was not named Qingbai. However, Yanzi Jiajia served in various counties and became a Tongren again. In Jia Dynasty, he was still a Sanqi Lang, and in Feng Yi County, he moved to Jia and became Zhongzheng." .

It can be seen that the county chief is being elected by the chiefs of each county, and the current official is concurrently elected.To a certain extent, this achieved the goal of the Cao regime, which was to bring the private evaluation of celebrities, which was prone to clique and glitz, under the control of the government, and the county chief selected the current official to concurrently serve as the Zhongzheng, responsible for the character of the person.To be a genuine character, you must provide three items: family background, status, and rank. Volume 214 of "Taiping Yulan" quotes "Jinyang Qiu": "Chen Qun was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and he made the nine grids and used them, all because of Zhongzheng. He checked the records and then appointed them." It shows that the Wei Dynasty had re-established family background, but still Not a complete standard.

Due to political and military needs, Cao Cao issued meritocracy orders many times.Therefore, in terms of character, although family background cannot be ignored, in the early stages, talent and learning may be more important.For example, "Song Book: Preface to the Biography of Enxing": Cao Wei established the nine-level Zhongzheng system, "for the purpose of judging the merits and demerits of talents, not the superiority or inferiority of the family."

The election of the Han Dynasty has been referred to.A statement is a specific description of a person's moral ability.The statements made by Zhongzheng often consist of one or two sentences and are general comments.Quality is a comprehensive evaluation based on family background and career.The grades are divided into nine grades, and the first grade is a virtual position, the second grade is actually the highest grade, and the second and third grades are still top grades in the early stage.The products here are "genuine products", which are different from official products.At the beginning of the Wei Dynasty, Zhongzheng emphasized the emphasis on rural areas.In the early days of the Cao Wei Dynasty, Zhongzheng took counties as the basic level. The counties really played the role of high-ranking figures. They were still under the exclusive control of local nobles, while the states only took charge of their discussions.Therefore, the wealthy families at the center have not been able to control the Zhongzheng system well to serve them.But after Cao Fang, the situation changed.

gradually develop

An important symbol of the development of the nine-level Zhongzheng system during this period was the establishment of the state Zhongzheng system.Its establishment was based on the proposal of Sima Yi, who was more powerful in the court at that time. Volume 265 of "Taiping Yulan" quotes "Fu Zi": Wei Sikong and Chen Qun began to establish the nine-rank system. The counties were placed in Zhongzheng, and the talents of the same level were ranked according to their generation.A state establishes a capital and manages its discussions.Emperor Xuan of the Jin Dynasty eliminated the nine-rank system, and established a Dazhongzheng in the state. He argued: In the case of the Ninth-rank case, the Zhongzheng failed to assess the talents, so he thought that the nine-rank system could be eliminated, and the state established a Dazhongzheng.Volume 32 of "Tongdian" also states: "Emperor Xuan of the Jin Dynasty added Dazhongzheng, so there are big and small Zhongzhengs, and their employment is very important." Cao Xi disagreed.Later, Cao Xi and his brother Cao Shuang were both killed by Sima Yi.

From the establishment of Zhouzhongzheng to the two Jin Dynasties, the nine-level Zhongzheng system gradually completed the transformation into a clan, and eventually became an election tool for the clans.

Different from the previous selection of county Zhongzheng by local officials, the county Zhongzheng in the Jin Dynasty was recommended by the state Zhongzheng.For example, "Book of Jin·Xian Zhuan of Fu Xuan and Fu Zi": "Xia Houjun, the Dazhongzheng of Yuzhou, sent a message to the Sikong Sima Kongyu, the Xiaozhongzheng of the Lu State. He moved to various hospitals and was unable to receive the guests. I asked Cao Fu, the minister, to replace Yu. On the tenth day, I returned to the emperor. Yu is Zhongzheng, Situ has three choices, and Jun Gu is the Zhongzheng." The big and small Zhongzhengs have also been selected by Situ.

This situation seems to be a further transfer of political rights in elections to the central government by the state power, which is conducive to cracking down on local gentry.On the one hand, this is correct, but on the other hand, it facilitates the powerful central noble families to expand their power. They control the local and even central government official selection systems, while those local noble families who hold low-ranking officials or do not hold official positions do not. Declining.Those who threatened the regime representing "national interests" were not the local elites of the early Wei Dynasty, but the newly emerging bureaucrats from aristocratic families who dominated the court - the powerful gentry.

Basic molding

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it has become a fact that family status is more important than family status. "Book of Jin·Zheng Miao's Biography of Zimo" says: "In the beginning, Emperor Wu of Jin regarded him as a noble son, and no one in the village dared to take him as his own. "After the Jin Dynasty, people continued to criticize the disadvantages of focusing on family background in election experts.

Children of high-ranking gentry clans were often selected into official positions directly from their families by the Ministry of Civil Affairs without having to go through inspections.Before that, everyone had achieved high status and high status by virtue of their family status.For example, Fu Chang, "he was not weak at the age of 192, and he had a great name, so he was selected to serve in the Eastern Palace."Xie Yan, "The weak crown is called chastity and Qian, and he is beautiful and graceful... he is worshiped as a writer."Wang Qia, "the most famous among the disciples of (Wang), has the same reputation as Xun Xian. Weak Guan, Li Sanqi and Zhongshu Lang".Of the 56 people who entered the official ranks in the Western Jin Dynasty, 209 were directly admitted. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was even greater development. Among the 118 people who entered the official ranks, [-] were directly admitted.

The appointment of state officials and the promotion of talents are mainly the main official careers of the middle-level gentry and the Wu and Shu gentry.They are the children of the so-called local "village tycoons" with a lower status.However, the official career path of Junpi Zuoli and Cha Xiaolian, which was highly valued in the Eastern Han and early Wei Dynasty, was reduced to the official career of low-level nobles and poor people.This change fully shows that the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System has become a tool for high-ranking families, which only emphasizes family status and neglects virtue and talent.Of course, this change will change with the development of the power of the noble families.

In fact, the establishment of the clan system has turned the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng into a political decoration.Zhongzhengpin was determined only by his bloodline. The higher the family status, the higher the rank. At this time, it was enough to distinguish between the common people and the common people. Zhongzhengpin was just a routine matter.It is also said that "there are no poor families in the upper class, and there are no noble families in the lower class", and "there are public servants in public houses, and ministers in high-ranking families". ("Book of Jin·Biography of Liu Yi", "Book of Jin·Biography of Wang Chen")

Looking at the changes in the electoral system in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and even the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it is obvious that there is a development trend of imperial power from prosperity to decline and then prosperity, while the power of aristocratic families is the opposite. The trend is that at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the decline of aristocratic families and the emergence of new ones The family began to prosper, and it became a noble clan in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. It reached its peak in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and reached its peak in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The Southern Dynasties also declined and reached the Sui and Tang Dynasties.The electoral system has also evolved from the Eastern Han Dynasty, which emphasized filial piety and integrity, to the Wei and Jin Dynasties, which valued family status and despised filial piety, integrity and talent. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, talent and virtue were emphasized - the imperial examination system (there was a brief suppression of family status in the early days of Cao's regime). Act of).

decline abolition

At the beginning of the establishment of the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System, the criteria for evaluating characters were family background, morality, and talent.Liang Dynasty historian Shen Yue even said that it was used to judge the merits of talents.In the Sui Dynasty, with the decline of the clan system, this system was finally abolished.

An important system in ancient China was the real reason why Sima overthrew the Cao Wei regime.

Prosperous in the imperial examination but failed in the imperial examination, how did the ancient "rich families" go from prosperity to

Cao Cao advocated "evaluation based on talents". Why did Cao Pi implement the "nine-grade Zhongzheng system" after he came to power?

positive meaning

1. It plays the role of selecting talents, and its selection criteria pay equal attention to family background, moral character and ability;

2. The implementation of the nine-rank Zhongzheng system also deprived state and county chiefs of the power to appoint their own staff, and transferred the power of appointment and removal of officials to the central government, which was conducive to strengthening the power of the central government.

negative meaning

At the beginning of the establishment of the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System, the criteria for evaluating characters were family background, morality, and talent.However, since those who served as Zhongzheng during the Wei and Jin Dynasties were generally of the second rank, and the second rank had the right to participate in the election of Zhongzheng, and those who obtained the second rank were almost all from aristocratic families, so the aristocratic families completely controlled the right to select officials.Therefore, in the process of Zhongzheng ranking, the standard of talent and virtue was gradually ignored, while family background became more and more important, and even became the main criterion for the Zhongzheng system of nine grades. By the Western Jin Dynasty, a situation was finally formed in which "there are no poor families in the upper grades, and no noble families in the lower grades".The nine-level Zhongzheng system not only became an important tool for maintaining and consolidating the rule of the clan, but also constituted an important part of the clan system.

By the Southern Dynasties, in the evaluation of Zhongzheng, only the names of distant ancestors between the Wei and Jin Dynasties were valued, and to identify bloodlines and surnames, one only needed to check the genealogy, and the character of Zhongzheng became an insignificant routine.In the Sui Dynasty, with the decline of the clan system, this system was finally abolished.

Understanding the aristocratic trend in the Eastern Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Chen Changqi has objections to the formulation of the "nine-grade Zhongzheng system" commonly known in historians.He pointed out that the existing historical materials of the Wei, Jin and Southern Dynasties did not mention the "nine-level Zhongzheng system", and the earliest mention was the "nine-level official system".

In fact, it is wrong to think that the "Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System" is the "Nine-Rank Officials' Law" and there is no need to distinguish between the two; or that the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System is a more accurate expression of the Nine-Rank Officials' Law.The root cause of this misunderstanding lies in the misunderstanding of people in the Wei and Jin Dynasties' evaluation of the law of nine-rank officials.

People in the Wei and Jin Dynasties focused on attacking the Zhongzheng system and Zhongzheng's unfair evaluation of talents.Since the Zhongzheng system is an important part of the Nine-Rank Officials and Persons Act, some scholars have misunderstood and mistakenly regarded the Zhongzheng Nine-Rank System as the Nine-Rank Officials and Personnel Act.In fact, the Zhongzheng Nine-Rank System or what we often call the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System is only a part of the Nine-Rank Official Law, not the whole of it.

Rating grade

Chen Changqi pointed out that the Nine-Rank Officials Law includes two contents: one is to evaluate current officials, and the other is to evaluate candidates for officials.The former was perfected and developed into the nine-rank official system, and the latter was formed into the Zhongzheng nine-rank system, which is customarily called the nine-rank Zhongzheng system.People are accustomed to calling the grades of the nine-grade official system "official grades", while the grades given by Zhongzheng to the evaluation of the qualities of officials and marquises are sometimes called "Zhongzheng's grades", while others are called "Zhongzheng's grades". "Country product".

He believes that under the nine-rank Zhongzheng system, the power of evaluation is in the hands of Zhongzheng. The level of rank is often tied to family status and seniority. A person's clan status and father, brother and official title, that is, "qualification", play an important role in evaluation. A very important position. Therefore, using the concept of "property" to refer to the "quality" that Zhongzheng comprehensively gives to officials, marquis and benefactors in the Nine Officials Law is both customary and in line with the facts. , in essence, is a kind of "qualification and rank" for official appointment based on the family background and family status of the person being criticized.

relationship problems

The hierarchical distinction between official positions adopted by the official rank system can easily cause people to misunderstand and confuse it with the official rank system.

In fact, the most important feature of the official rank system is to distinguish official positions according to their grades, and accordingly stipulate the official status, power and corresponding salary treatment.

The official rank system starts from the needs of official talents and also adopts hierarchical distinctions among official positions.In this regard, the two have the same form, but their essence is different.However, the official system brought about by the Nine-Rank Official Personnel Law and the hierarchical distinction of official positions based on official talent standards will inevitably produce a tendency of official hierarchy.In the early years of the Southern Liang Dynasty, the traditional official rank system was officially replaced by the nine-rank official system and determined as the official rank system, which combined the official ranks and the official rank system, and the official rank system began to officially evolve into the official rank system.

Distinguish the problem

Zhang Xuhua believes that Cao Wei established the nine-grade Zhongzheng system. Although there are nine grades of Zhongzheng, there are only two categories, namely high-grade and low-grade.For a long time, people have been accustomed to regard the upper and lower grades of Zhongzhengpin as belonging to the ranking sequence for distinguishing the merits of talents, and use this to examine official appointments in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and their relationship with local grades and official grades, leading to a lack of understanding of this issue. The research has gone awry. In fact, although top and bottom grades have basically the same attributes, that is, they are both a form of grading evaluation made by Zhongzheng to distinguish the merits of talents.However, under specific historical conditions, rural products with the same basic attributes have a new connotation and social attribute.During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, due to the formation of the clan system and the strict distinction between the ranks of scholars and common people, upper-class and lower-class people were more and more closely integrated with the social hierarchy, and the differences between them became increasingly obvious.The meaning of top grade has also undergone a qualitative change, that is, it has transformed from a first-class rural grade title that simply evaluates the merits of talents to a status symbol that represents the social status of the gentry, and has become one of the landmarks to distinguish between gentry and common people. [7]

Experts’ controversy over the establishment of the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System and its powers

1. The establishment time, specific name and organizational structure of Zhongzheng.

Tang Changru believed that when Zhongzheng was first established, it was limited to counties.The establishment of Zhou Zhongzheng was relatively late, and it can be determined that it was during the time of Cao Fang, and it was no later than the second year of Jiaping (250) and no later than the first year of Zhengshi (240).Zhouzhongzheng is also called Dazhongzheng and Zhoudu.As for the county Zhongzheng, there was no test in the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

Han Guopan believes that the election method of the nine-level Zhongzheng system is quite complete, that is, the state has a large Zhongzheng, also known as the capital Zhongzheng, and the county has a small Zhongzheng, also known as Zhongzheng.

2. The issue of authority of Zhongzheng.

Tang Changru believed that the task of Zhongzheng was to identify people and prepare the basis for government employment.All official appointments and appointments must be reviewed by the Central Committee, except for those handled by the emperor's prerogative.The title of "Zhongzhengpinpin" is not just a false reputation, but is inseparably related to the way to enter an official position and the appointment.The official position must be consistent with the rank. Demotion is equivalent to removal from the official position. Promotion must also be promoted at the same time.

Wang Zhongluo believed that Zhongzhengzhang searched for recommendations to help the Ministry of Personnel select scholars.Zhongzheng is divided into nine grades from top to bottom based on the character of the people in the management. Zhongzheng has the right to advance or retreat, "may raise five to four, six to five", "may retreat to six with five, or retreat with six", officials The selection of parts is based on the "quality" of Zhongzheng.

Experts dispute the time and reason for the creation of the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System

1. There are generally four views on the founding time of the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System.

The first is the theory established by Chen Qun in the first year of Yankang.Changru of the Tang Dynasty believed that the establishment of the Jiupin Zhongzheng system was in February of the first year of Yankang (220) before Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty. This is clearly stated in "Three Kingdoms·Wei Zhi·Chen Qun Zhuan". The "Book of Song: Preface to the Biography of Enxing" written by Li Chongyu and Shen Yue in the "Book of Jin: Li Chongzhuan" advances the time to Cao Cao, which may be due to a misunderstanding.This issue does not need to be discussed ("Explanation of the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System", contained in "History of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties", Sanlian Bookstore, 1955 edition).

The second is the theory that Cao Cao started the construction during the Jian'an period.According to Shen Yue's "Preface to the Biography of Enxing in the Book of Song Dynasty" cited above and relevant records in "Book of Jin·Biography of Wei Guan" and "Tongdian·Selection Code", Han Guopan believes that the nine-level Zhongzheng system began in the time of Cao Cao, and It was created when the army was in full swing ("Historical Outline of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties", People's Publishing House, 1983 edition).

In addition, there are Zhang Xuhua's "Theory of the Germination of Wei Wu" and Liu Fangshi's "Theory of the Battle of Shouzhang".

2. The reasons for the emergence of the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System.

Han Guopan believes that the emergence of the nine-level Zhongzheng system is due to the corruption of the prefecture and county inspection system in the Han Dynasty. Furthermore, at the end of the Han Dynasty, household registrations were displaced, that is, many landlords and scholars also lived in other places. The prefecture and county inspection system no longer applies. Therefore, , it must be changed.Cao Cao's orders for seeking talents re-established the principle of election, which is the standard for selecting talents. However, how to achieve this standard requires specific methods and systems to ensure implementation. This system is the nine-grade Zhongzheng system.

Tang Changru believed that, according to people at the time, the establishment of the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System was due to the migration of people after the Yellow Turban Uprising. It was impossible to check the criticism of rural areas in government elections. Therefore, on the one hand, the old tradition of rural assessment was taken into account, and on the other hand, the On the one hand, in order to adapt to the new environment of people's migration, we selected an appropriate person from the hometown to take charge of the task of assessment, so we established the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System. This reason is correct.

Wang Zhongluo believed that after Cao Pi succeeded to the throne as King of Wei, he would accept Zen and ascend the throne of emperor in the next step.In order to gain the support of the aristocratic families and do a good job in changing the dynasty, they had to make concessions to the aristocratic families.At that time, Chen Qun, the minister of the great landowner family, proposed to the government the plan of "nine-grade officials", and Cao Pi approved it without any difficulty.After this kind of compromise, he ascended to the throne of emperor ("History of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties", Volume 1979, Shanghai People's Publishing House, [-] edition).

In addition, experts such as Tang Changru, You Weimin, Shi Ronglun, Chen Changqi, and Liu Fangshi also have their own opinions.

(End of this chapter)