Ancient government compound: Who lived in the county government?

If the subordinate officers below the chief are in the same compound as the purlin, they naturally have their own living places. As can be seen from the previous section, the office wall of local government, which integrates administration and justice, includes offices, courts, archives, warehouses, prisons and other areas. In addition, the yamen office also includes the living space of all kinds of "office" personnel, such as self-officials, assistants, etc., similar to modern government dormitories. These "living areas" are separated from the street outside the office by high walls, and there are also walls, fences and other buildings inside to isolate them from other areas. Local government officials must live in government offices in order to perform their duties and facilitate their work, environmental safety, integrity and confidentiality. According to historical records such as The Story of the East, when Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty proclaimed himself emperor, Cui Ying was appointed as the capital of Zhao Yin, and a "prisoner escaped from prison" incident occurred. The emperor then ordered Jing to build a residence in the official's son, and solemnly declared that Jing was not allowed to leave the court. Know that this system existed at least in the Tang Dynasty. In the 21st chapter of Water Margin, Tang wrote that he wanted to help Song Jiang get away from being entangled, and lied that "the magistrate of a county" was attacked in class and wanted to find many escort agencies ... "Yan Po immediately exposed him and said," This morning and evening, the magistrate of a county will go back to his office and have a drink with his wife for fun. What's wrong? " The so-called "returning to the official position" here is to return to the official residence where Yuncheng magistrate and his wife live. So this dialogue is also evidence that local officials and their accompanying families lived in yamen in Song Dynasty. This system was maintained until the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It should be noted that the courtyard where the Chief Executive and his family live is usually the best, commonly known as the "building"; Because both men and women are wary and suspicious, they are also very closed, especially wives, who generally do not come out. The philosopher Feng Youlan's father served as the magistrate of Chongyang in the late Qing Dynasty, so he also had the experience of living in Houya with his parents. He recalled in the preface to Sansongtang that when he entered the mansion gate and turned west, it was the greenhouse, where the county magistrate received visitors. At the western end of the reception room, there is a suite called the signing room, where the county magistrate works. Behind the living room, there is a yard. This is the building. Mother led us all to the room upstairs. There are also scattered houses such as kitchens, all in the east yard. This model and system are probably the same in all prefectures and counties. In fact, if it is a yamen with better conditions, there are artificial landscapes such as ponds, rockeries, pavilions and pavilions in the inner living area for those ladies-in-waiting who are surrounded in the yard to walk around. For example, Jiajing's Records of Jiangyin County in Ming Dynasty (volume 1) describes the official's son buildings in Jiangyin County, including Ruomei Pavilion, Lianjiang Pavilion, Cuiguang Pavilion, Yanghuachi Pavilion and Lianfeng Pavilion. Identify screen friends, long-term easy-going waiters, maids, etc. People who work or wait in the back office also live in the back office area, and the housing conditions of Screen Friends are better. According to the Travel Notes of Lao Can, the Governor of Shandong invited Mr. Lao Can to enter the screen and said to the recommender Gao Da Shi, "Tell them to tidy up the three southern study rooms at once, and only ask Mr. Tie to move to the yamen for reference at any time." For convenience and confidentiality, the office and living room of Screen Friends are often connected to form a small unit. For example, in the fourth episode of Guanhai, Zhuang Yan of Yamen went to his favorite screen friend Shao's room and saw that he was "busy with business" and said, "Don't say hello, just do your thing"; "Say, then casually lying on Shao Xiaolian's bed, unconsciously yawned, a little hazy ..." Screen friend Xiao here is still single. If screen friends take office with their families, they have to be assigned to a relatively isolated space. In this regard, Feng Youlan also described it in the Preface to Sansongtang-this tout holds a high position in the yamen, and officials will call him "Old Master Q" when they see him. They earn the highest salary, but they live a hard life. According to the rules, they can't contact people outside the yamen, even those inside. They only live with their families in a separate small courtyard in the yamen, and their homes are isolated from the world. If the subordinate officers below the chief are in the same compound as the purlin, they naturally have their own living places. Some are built alone, some are built by mountains, and some are built by walls. The Ninety-first Story of the Ming Dynasty novel "Marriage Story of Awakening the World" tells the family life of Wu (also known as "the punishment hall", the assistant minister in charge of the punishment name) and Di, the person in charge of sending and receiving documents and printing documents. Di Chen Xi "lived in the office next to the execution hall and farted with each other, and everyone heard him". Coincidentally, the concubine Tong Jie, whom De experienced and brought to the post, is the devil who overthrew her husband, while the wife of Wu Tuguan, including the official confession, is the king who suppressed her husband by force-at first Tong Jie was afraid of the dispute in the execution court and did not dare to be evil; Grandma is afraid that Germany will experience family jokes and refuses to be violent. Listen, one and a half Jin, one and a half Liang. You can't call me bald, and I can't laugh at you for being blind. Sometimes Wu tuiguan suffered in the official office, and Dixichen was amazed; Sometimes Dixie Chen Ya was beaten, and Wu Tuguan was sad; Sometimes pushing officials and experiencing suffer together, and pushing officials and experiencing grandma do evil at the same time: it's really the voice of a lion roaring, and you advocate me to follow. Later, because Wu Tuguan was afraid that his wife would affect his work, he was teased by several leaders and discussed with his colleagues that the east wind overwhelmed the west wind, or the west wind overwhelmed the east wind. A medical staff told him that this kind of domestic violence happened in almost every family in our office compound-the grandfather (the number one boss) in the class was not a coward, and he clashed with his grandmother in the summer and was slapped by her. How can you still scoff at your master? Even Hu Ye, who went to the martial arts school, was often beaten by his grandmother, and there was nowhere to escape. He went out with his head covered and barefoot and sat in the classroom. Cecilia Yip's grandmother in the Grain Museum is more interested. When Cecilia Yip hides in the classroom, grandma will be kicked out of the classroom, and she will be admonished by the law. Shuban, Menzi and Atto hurry up. In the morning, they knelt in front of Er Dan's grave and begged for mercy for Cecilia Yip. You can't be forgiven until you see everyone's scores. When an official commits a crime, Cecilia Yip will scold him several times. He also reported, "On a certain day, grandma will punish the master in class, and the children who have lost a lot have begged the master for a little money many times. I forgave this time. " Cecilia Yip also had to make do. Although the master is a little timid, he has never been beaten by his grandmother, nor has he ever been beaten by his grandmother in class, let alone let the chief speak for him. Why is he still laughing at him? In this way, it is inconvenient to live in the same compound, at least some personal privacy is not easy to hide. The family life of some historical figures is often made public in official ministries and commissions, and I am afraid there are also reasons for this. Officials working in yamen, such as bookkeepers, are required to live in yamen. It is not that the state intends to take care of their lives, but to prevent them from cheating inside and outside the yamen. This is a universal system in the Han and Tang Dynasties. The story in Peacock Flying Southeast says that Jiao Zhongqing works as a small official in Lujiang House and only goes home to reunite with his wife Liu Lanzhi during holidays, which is an example. The dormitory of bibliophiles is mostly built on both sides of the hall in the south of the yamen, within the instrument door. Jiajing's "Jiangyin County Records" in the Ming Dynasty recorded the organizational system of the county government, saying that "the official residence is behind the Liushixuan", which is representative to some extent. Jiajing's Annals of Nanning (Volume 4) recorded many "official residences" in Xuanhua, Wuyuan, Hengzhou, Yongchun, Shangsi and Long 'an, which showed that officials had to live in government dormitories, which was still a common phenomenon in the Ming Dynasty. The number of official dormitories is roughly the same as the number of officials in the establishment. For example, there are "22 county halls" in Volume II of Wanli Yingshan County Records. Based on three to four people living in each room, it is estimated that there are about 70 to 80 government officials. Hongzhi recorded the building of this yamen in Volume II of Jurong County Records. There are 40 official residences, so the number of officials in the establishment can be estimated as 145. Officials' dormitories are mostly located in the yard, and their living conditions are much worse than those in the inner government. For example, Zheng De's "Xinxiang County Records", Volume II, describes that the county government "the wall is not as shoulder-length, and the hair can't cover the sun" and can't stand the "living in the street", but this violates the system that prohibits officials from staying outside the official residence. Later, when the new magistrate came, he abandoned the old site and built a new house. In the company, seven; In terms of time, six out of sixty is perfect. "For officials, this is a good leader who cares about the lives of subordinates; For leaders, it is to implement rules and regulations at the same time, so-called kill two birds with one stone. But the system is written on paper, and whether it is truly observed is another matter. For example, Song Jiang in "Water Margin" got a building in the west lane of the county seat, and he and his mother-in-law raised a small honey Yan Poxi. Later, his colleague Zhang Wenyuan also hooked up with Yan Poxi, "inseparable, leaving tomorrow night", another unruly escort! (Editor: Cai Ping) The article is excerpted from "The Yamen in the World" Author: Hong Yan Lombardi Publishing House: China Archives Publishing House More articles enter the book selection channel >>& gt