As ordinary people, the number of times you can see high-ranking officials in your life is very small. Those who deal with more are usually local "parent officials".
The lowest administrative organ in China is now the township government, that is to say, the "parent official" of the common people is the township chief. In ancient Chinese society, the lowest level of administrative organ was the county government.
As for the chief executive of the county, some people call it "county order", some people call it "Zhi County", and many more people think that there is no difference between the two. So which statement is true? Explosive Shijun will introduce it to you today.
People
Origin of the county order
First of all, let me introduce the origin of the county.
Many people know that after the unification of the world, Qin Shi Huang abolished the division of seals and set up counties, so "counties" were regarded as the original creation of Qin Shi Huang. In fact, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, counties as political districts had already emerged.
At that time, Qin, Jin, Chu and other countries set up counties in the newly annexed border areas, and later gradually spread to the interior. During the Warring States period, Han, Zhao, Wei, and the State of Qin had begun to call the county magistrates Ling.
Qin Shi Huang set up a county
The county order was originally directly subordinate to the monarch, and at the end of the Warring States period, the two-level system of counties and counties was formed, and the county was subordinate to the county, and the county order also became a subordinate of the county sheriff. As for the title of county-level chief executive, the Qin and Han laws also made strict provisions: "
In counties with a population of more than 10,000 households, the county official is called the county order, and the rank is 600 stones to a thousand stones; Those below 10,000 households are called county magistrates, with ranks of 300 to 500 stones.
"And whether it is a county order or a county magistrate, it belongs to the Zhengwu pin official." For example, the "Official Code of Counties" once recorded:
"The county commander, the head of the government decree, is also the five products."
Magistrate
In the Western Jin Dynasty, due to the Turmoil of the Three Kingdoms, there were too many casualties, so the standard also declined.
"Jin Ling" Yun: "More than 1,000 households in counties, more than 500 in prefectures and counties, are all orders; Dissatisfaction with this is long. ”
At that time, the number of households under the jurisdiction of the county order was less than one-tenth of that of the Han system. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, wars became more frequent, and the rulers simply lifted the population limit, and the county-level administrators were all called "county orders".
The origin of Zhi County
Zhixian first appeared in the Tang Dynasty.
At that time, the county order of a certain place had been vacant, and the Tang Ruler had the adjutant official (other official officials in the county) act as the county commander for the county affairs, and the position of "Zhi County" officially appeared.
After the Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin established the Northern Song Dynasty, he felt the threat of local moderation to the imperial court, so he no longer selected county orders from the localities, but appointed officials from the central government to serve in the localities, that is, "governors". For example, if you serve in a county-level government, it is called "knowing county affairs". Those who serve in the government at the prefectural level are called "Quan Zhi Fu", referred to as "Zhi County" and "Prefect".
Song Dynasty Zhi County
Because Zhixian was sent from the central government. Therefore, the power is greater than the county order, in addition to being responsible for handling the administrative affairs of the county, if there are soldiers stationed in the local area, the county is also a soldier or a soldier or a prisoner, and also in charge of the military.
ZhiXian usually has two assistants, the county clerk and the main bookkeeper. The county clerk assists zhi county in managing the county administration, and the main bookkeeper is responsible for managing the county's grain tax, household registration, etc. In the Yuan Dynasty, because it was a regime established by the Mongols, it did not follow the Han system and changed the chief officer of the county to a county yin.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Zhixian became an official name, and the rank was Zhengqipin.
The "seven sesame officials" we often hear refer to Zhi County.
Qing Dynasty Zhi County
The difference between the two
Before the Tang Dynasty, the main title of county officials was "County Order". After the Tang Dynasty, the title of the county official was changed to "Zhi County";
From the perspective of rank, the county order belongs to the zhengwupin, and the zhixian belongs to the zhengqipin; In terms of power, the county order is mainly responsible for the administrative affairs of a county, while the Zhi county is also in charge of the local military and soldiers; From the perspective of treatment, the county order is 600 stones to 1,000 stones, and the county is less than 300 stones
(The Ming Dynasty Qipinzhi County Feng Lu was seven stones and five buckets, and the Qing Dynasty Qipinzhi County Feng Lu was Lu Mi 22 stone 5 buckets). Although there are differences in weights and measures between different dynasties, in general, the treatment of ZhiXian is far inferior to that of the previous county orders.