The Native Chieftain System and the Governance of the Dynastic State
Limited by unadvanced transportation and information technology,the mode of governance of traditional states was very different from that of modern ones.Traditional China,with its vast territory and many people,has long been governed under household registration system,which is a miracle in the history of mankind.However,in the remote southwestern region,which had its own"tradition of the head of the state"and"tradition of the absent head of the state",the central government generally governed in a mode close to that of a territorial state.Even in the region after the so-called"bureaucratization of native officers",there often existed the joint governance of native headman and government officers,or even if there were no more native officers in the system,but in practice,it was tolerated to a large extent that those who used to enjoy the power in the native chieftain regime continued to control the local society.At the same time,in the areas governed by the distributed government officials in the inland,the gentry,clans,and petty officials often controlled the local society.Therefore,although there were some major differences between the chieftain system and the inland assigned official system centering on the household registration,they also shared some common grounds.
万方数据
维普
