Domination,Recommendation and Restriction:Appointment and Abolishment of Hereditary County Magistrates in Qufu,Shandong in the Ming and Qing Dynasties
The system of hereditary county magistrates was a unique governance mode of Qufu in the Ming and Qing dynasties,which aimed to ensure that the descendants of Confucius were not governed by others,so as to highlight the imperial court's respects for Confucianism and preferential treatment of his offspring.However hereditary county magistrates had been in constant conflicts with the duke of Yan Sheng Gong and the Kong's clansmen due to the contradictions in patriarchal clan,public and private interests,and rights and duties,which resulted to bad governance.Therefore,the system had been controversial.In response,the court had constantly changed the appointment criteria,scope,process,and the numbers of hereditary county magistrates,which led to the rise of the court's control and the fall of the power of Duke Yan Sheng Gong.The system underwent from continuous restrictions to final abolition,reflecting not only the central government's grip of local governments and the intention of national unity in the Ming and Qing dynasties,but the growth and decline of the Kong's big clan and small clan,clan power and political power,the local and central government.
Ming and Qing dynastiesQufuShandonghereditary county magistratesgovernance model
万方数据
维普
