If you were born in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, what channels would you have to become an official?

As the "Three Generations of Time", the most famous "story" of the Shang Dynasty is the link between the past and the future.

But as a real Shang Dynasty, from the destruction of Xia by Cheng Tang to the destruction of Yin and Zhou, it went through seventeen generations and thirty-one kings, about six hundred years, and the thousands of years of Chinese dynasties, but It is the dynasty with the longest longevity.

The soup that extinguishes summer

The "civilization" left to us by the Shang Dynasty is extremely rich, from "black technology" bronze ware to the "oldest writing" oracle bone inscriptions, and its connotations Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, military, prison, law, warfare, astronomy, calendar, meteorology, medicine, etc. are all very rich and "advanced" precious treasures of civilization.

If you want to govern a country smoothly, it is not enough to have a great and wise king. The implementation and implementation of most "government affairs" and "people-friendly" policies require subordinate officials to implement them. Only by working together can the Shang Dynasty be overthrown after more than six hundred years.

In this article, the author would like to first talk about the foundation of governance in the Shang Dynasty - the official selection system, which is an extremely unique system of serving internal and external officials. 01 The official selection system of the Shang Dynasty

"In ancient times, my ancestors only wanted to appoint the old people to govern."

——"Shang Shu"

This statement expresses the core point of selecting officials or "executors" in the Shang Dynasty - "appoint people only for the old."

Among them, this "old man" is inherited from Xia's creation After "Jia Tian Xia", people of the same clan, same clan, same generation, etc. are closely related by blood.

Therefore, the selection of officials in the Shang Dynasty, especially those in the most "important" positions, can be said to be based on nepotism, such as the Shang king's fathers, elders of the same clan, brothers of the same generation, and nephews of younger generations, etc. ( Such as Prince Bigan, etc.).

Of course, these alone are not enough to form a huge bureaucratic group. After all, there were three major events throughout the Shang Dynasty: sacrifice, divination and conquest. The "people" who made great contributions in the conquest cannot be ignored. For example, Yi Yin assisted Shang Tang in destroying Xia at the end of the Xia Dynasty, thus achieving the "effort of following the dragon". As a result, he was granted a title with a different surname and became a hereditary noble.

So, if we are both "blood relatives" and have only so many official positions, and they vary in severity, how do we choose?

1. "Blood relationship" distance:

Naturally, uncles, brothers of the same generation, and biological nephews are the closest blood relatives and the best ones. The official position is generally theirs, and secondly, the position is "arranged" according to the distance of the blood relationship, which is extremely "fair";

2. Loyalty:

Of course, only blood relationship can maintain the relationship. is not enough, the key point is "surrender". If someone has second thoughts towards the King of Shang and does not submit to "rule", then granting him an official position will be harming "oneself" (the King of Shang), so loyalty is a very important selection criterion;

3. Selfless:

Since we are selecting officials, it is of course impossible not to look at their "official" abilities. The most basic point is to always uphold the "public spirit" of putting the country first. Don't be selfish or forget public service;

4. "Be kind to the people and love the people":

After experiencing the "abuse" of the war in the late summer, King Shang gained the world. They will naturally learn from the "lessons" of previous generations, so "loving the people" and "loving the people" became one of the criteria for selecting officials in the Shang Dynasty;

5. Maintain "honesty":

The most important duty of being an official is to be "conservative", which means that you should pursue your political affairs in your position. The most important thing of being an official is to do the "work" you should do well, not to slack off casually, and not to "increase or subtract rashly" "Government orders, etc.

Of course, if the selection of officials in the Shang Dynasty was based on nepotism, it would be impossible to govern the country well. After all, no one can guarantee that future generations will all be "virtuous people." Looking at the past dynasties, "the family and the world" Under the framework of , which family does not have a few "unworthy" descendants.

So even though the Shang Dynasty focused on "blood ties" when selecting officials, it still included the "breakthrough" of meritocracy, which was especially reflected in the "reform" period.

For example, Yi Yin, the hero who destroyed the Xia Dynasty, was composed of a "cook Ding" (one said to be a dowry "eating slave") who "cultivated the fields with Xin", and a garrison "guard" " and other sayings) Because of his superb cooking skills, he was often "narrated" by Shang Tang, and his "talent" was gradually discovered. Later, when Shang Tang wanted to destroy Xia, he was appointed as the prime minister, and eventually assisted Shang Tang in establishing the Shang Dynasty.

There is also the period of "Bi Jiu Shi Chao" ("Historical Records") during the Shang King Wu Ding's period. Because of the difficulty and chaos of the general environment at that time, various long-standing disadvantages were difficult to change, so those who grew up in the "folk" After Wu Ding succeeded to the throne, he wanted to carry out reforms, but unfortunately most of his relatives were incompetent, so he turned to the private sector for talents.

At this time, a city-building slave named Fu Shuo, who "lived on the island of the North Sea, on the round soil, wore brown clothes and belts, and built the city of Fu Yan" ("Mozi"), was Shang King Wu Ding "heard" that he was talented, so he wanted to select him as an "official". However, the Shang Dynasty still followed the nepotism system when selecting officials, so it was very difficult. So the clever Wu Ding began to use the method of "entrusting dreams". After three years, When you have more than one year, you have to look for good talents. Of course, the result is that the king and his ministers will get along with each other, overcome the shortcomings and encourage the new, and finally create a "prosperous age".

Two points to add here. One is a special policy for selecting officials in the Shang Dynasty - "temporary officials". The initial purpose of appointment was because sometimes new "projects" appeared or were subdivided. When "responsibilities" appeared, the number of officials needed would increase. However, because these temporary "projects" or "responsibility" existed for an uncertain period of time, in order to cope with it, the selection and appointment of "temporary officials" appeared. (Details can be found in the theory of "imperial affairs" recorded in oracle bone inscriptions. Usually, there are many selections and appointments when performing divination.)

But in the later period, it evolved into the method used by Shang kings to consolidate their rule. A "special" system to fight against "blood group" bureaucrats, its purpose is to divide the "heavy power" in the hands of "unionized" interest groups and reduce the constraints and threats to royal power.

A bit like the county guards and county magistrates in the county system vigorously promoted by the country headed by Qin in later generations. They were directly selected and appointed by the king. They naturally obeyed everything and were relatively "obedient". In the hands of the king rights have also been consolidated.

The second point is the extension of "temporary official", "idle official" and "criminal official".

The formation of "idle officials" is because after the Shang Dynasty was passed down from generation to generation, although there were many more official positions, there were more and more descendants, so there were "not enough points", especially for those within the clan. Brothers and nephews of "side branches" with low status can only be assigned to "temporary officials". After the "project" or "duty" is over, it is difficult to be dismissed immediately, so they become "idle officials" raised by the government. .

The word "criminal officer" is generally selected from some particularly "useful" prisoners of war, criminals and slaves, and used as "temporary officers" for "special" official positions. For example, in the Oracle "Collection", there is The record of "Qiang Zhou Qi Wang" ("Qi" can sometimes be interpreted as a vanguard force) means that Qiang Zhou, a prisoner of war, was appointed to the official position of "temporary official" and served as a vanguard force to fight for the country. 02 The unique official system of serving internally and externally in the Shang Dynasty

"The more they serve externally, they are Hou, Dian, Nan, Wei, and Bangbo; the more they serve internally, they are Bailuo, Shuyin, Weiya, and Weifu , Zonggong, who lived among the common people (jun). "

——"Shang Shu"

"Shang Shu" Shu Ying

The appointment of officials in ancient times was extremely important. The expression of position is called "service", and the "service" we widely use today is derived from this, and the meaning is similar, that is, what is done in what position (responsibility).

So the meaning of "internal service" and "waifu" obviously comes from the division of the areas ruled by the Shang Dynasty. Internal service refers to the area directly ruled by the king of Shang, while external service refers to the area ruled by the king of Shang. Indirectly controlled areas. The same is true for the internal service officers and external service officers who are connected.

Here is a supplementary concept about the "scope" of the king's rule, which is the "Five Service Map" advocated at that time, that is, with the emperor as a concentric box, the five areas are divided in sequence according to the degree of local "surrender". area.