Regional Governments of Military Governors

Transcription

1 1 Regional Governments of Military Governors 1. Tang Dynasty 1.1 The administration of Military Governors During the Tang Dynasty regional governments had two main levels of administration: the prefecture (, zhou) and the county (, xian). Counties were further subdivided into local administrative divisions: districts (, xiang) and villages (, li). 1 However, early in the Tang Dynasty, the original Military Governors were not involved with regional administration. Military Governors had numerous titles, including, jie du shi,, fan zhen,, fang zhen. These Military Governors were sometimes given additional titles in which case they were given distinguished military governor names such as, tuan lian shi,, fang yu shi,, jing lue shi. 2 (Military governors were also called other names such as, guan cha shi.) 3 These officers in the early Tang Dynasty were posted along the frontier to serve as military leaders of the armies. 4 Most of the military governors were established in regions facing military border threats. The Military Governors administered local military garrisons, zhen (they were also named, wai zhen and during the Five Dynasty period were called, xun zhen). The military garrisons were commonly established in economic centers of the county. Each military garrison was assigned a garrison commander, zhen jiang (also called, zhen shi,, zhen bing ma shi,, zhen du zhi bing ma shi) whose main function was to maintain public security. 5 The garrison commander had various assistants to help manage his affairs. Although the military garrison administrations varied under different military governors, each garrison commander had five main officials under him: (1), zhen fu jiang, (2), fu bing ma shi, (3), yu hou (also called, du yu hou), (4), ya ya, (also called, ya wu), (5), shi jiang. 6 Two of these officials, zhen fu jiang and yu hou, were senior officials under the garrison commander. Early in the Tang Dynasty these two officials enforced military rules and regulations, but during the 1 Hino (1967), p Hino (1938b), p. 216 and Hino (1942), pp Wang (1969), p Han (1958), p. 34 and Hino (1942), pp Hino (1938b), pp Hino (1940a), p. 198.

2 2 Five Dynasties these officials gained civil administration authority. 7 The bureaucracy of the military governors had numerous administrators ( ) including officials such as garrison commanders, jiang xiao, garrison scribes,, zhen de wen shu, and accountants, hui ji, as well as military troops,, bing, and warehouse managers,, qiang ku, and others. 8 The assignment of garrison commander (, zhen jiang) was typically given to a trusted person of the m selection. Some capable common people were given this post. For example, Dong Chang ( ) of the Linan people ( ) was originally a member of a small local militia. In 892 after catching a mountain thief he was made garrison commander of the Shijing military garrison ( ). 9 The military system that originally served as the base for the armies of the military governors was the fu bing,, system. The foundation for the fu bing system was the, jun tian, system, which was a land allocation system based on household registers. The fu bing system served as a method to recruit soldiers. The fu bing system had the advantage of not requiring its troops to leave their jobs permanently. It also had the advantage of preventing high-ranking military officers from gaining too much direct control over their armies and becoming threats to the central government. 10 During the period, the jun tian system broke down and the mu bing,, s governors got most of their soldiers from, guan jian, and the militia played a secondary role. During the civil war and not long thereafter the central government controlled the fiscal support of the guan jian troops. The guan jian are also called, tuan lian bing,, tuan gei bing, and, tu yuan bing. Theguan jian troops are mainly relatively strong farmers. In fact, the government picked the soldiers. The guan jian troops farmed at home and trained during the slack season. The guan jian troops served as complements to the regular soldiers (, zheng qing bing, from, mu bing zhi, system). The, min bing, militia troops played a relatively minor role. 11 guan jian and tuan lian bing troops came under the authority of the military garrisons. Most of the tuan lian bing were local people with interests that were tied to their home area. When the interests of tuan lian bing troops coincided with the military governors they tended to cooperate in military defense. However, when their interests did not coincide with that of the military 7 Hino (1940a), pp Hino (1940a), pp Hino (1940a), p Han (1958), p Hino (1940a), p. 204; and Han (1958), p. 34.

3 3 governors, they might not obey the orders of the military governor. Thus the tuan lian bing served as a check on the power of the tuan lian bing were willing to defend against robbers in their area. However, when military governors became ambitious and sought expansive wars, the tuan lian bing found these wars not in their interests and would not want to fight much. So it was difficult for military governors to control tuan lian bing. Thus the tuan lian bing in effect controlled the military governors. 12 However, since fu bing system was destroyed, the military governors can raise or collect soldiers on their own. So the military governors began to raise new armies called, jia bing (jia bing is a Japanese term for soldiers). Military governors resided in a region and struggled for power with the prefecture and county officials. Slowly, military governors began to raise armies, financial resources and gain administrative authority. Over time military governors began to administer prefectures (zhou), not merely having land, but also gained control over the local people, armies (jia bing) and resources. Prior to the An Lushan rebellion military governors were established on many hinterlands. After the An Lushan rebellion, the central government was unable to control all of the military governors. The central government sought compromise with military military governors. The army generals who surrendered were given positions as military governors throughout China. In this way many military governors were established throughout interior China, not merely on the frontier. 13 Some military governors who wanted to improve their financial situation sought financial loans from businessmen, called jie shang ( ). Some military governors did not repay these loans and these military governors became predatory fiscal officers. 14 During the Northern Wei Dynasty ( ), the zhen and zhou administrations were parallel institutions with similar powers (i.e. the zhen was not under the zhou, nor vice-versa). During the Tang Dynasty, military governors were called zhen. Inthe mid-tang Dynasty the military governors started to send their soldiers to their administrative areas. The military governors resided in a city or strategic location inland or near the sea, which were political or economic centers. Military governors appointed trusted subordinate high-ranking officers (such as zhen jiang and zhen shi). This kind of legion is always called a zhen. 15 Before the Tang Dynasty, economic markets were restricted to the cities and towns (cheng yi, ) of the seats of prefectures, commanderies and county 12 Hino (1940a), p Han (1958) p Ju (1978), p Umehara (1958), pp ; and Hino (1938b), p. 216.

4 4 administrations. Numerous strict rules were enforced that limited these markets. However, after middle Tang, the population of the political seats of fu, zhou, andxian increased greatly as the previous political barriers began to break down. Many citizens gained numerous liberties and local towns experienced economic development. In addition, numerous small rural markets began to develop in the countryside, away from the cities and towns of political administrations. These small markets away from the cheng yi were generally called cao shi ( ). 16 The commercial activity of the cao shi drew the interest of the military governors. The military governors sought to gain control over many of the cao shi, some of which became areas where military garrisons were established. 1.2 Military Governors Military governors originally were concerned only with military affairs. Most of the military governors administered about six or seven prefectures (but at least two to four prefectures). The prefecture in which the military governor resided was called shi fu ( ). The other prefectures (in which the military governor did not reside) under shu zhou ( ) orzhi jun ( ). 17 At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty the prefectures and counties were originally grouped into 10 provinces. Later the number of provinces increased to 15 in total. The Tang court adopted a system that was originally developed in the Han Dynasty appointed officials to inspect the prefectures and counties. These official inspectors, mi fang shi ( ), were sent to monitor the shi zhi ( ) officials in the prefectures and counties. The mi fang shi did not intervene in the regional administration. However, during period the military governors had gained the powers of local oversight of the mi fang shi in their prefectures and counties and also exercised control over the civil administration. For example, the military governor of Fanyang ( ) also held the position of mi fang shi in Hebei province. After the An Lushan rebellion, key local officials (du jia, ) throughout China sought to obtain positions as more powerful officials, such as military governors (, jie du shi,, fang yu shi, and, jing lue shi) and regional inspectors (mi fang shi). Military governors usurped salt and other powers in their regions and began to become the highest authority in the area under their control and also began to concern themselves with local administration. In this way, the administration of the military governors began to form a third level of regional administration, above its constituent prefectures and counties. 18 Many of the military 16 Hino (1967), p Sudo and Nakajima (1981), p Shang (1981), p. 176.

5 5 governors of this period were local powerful officials (du jia, ). During this period many military governors and powerful local officials (jie du shi and du jia) gained control of garrisons and main forces at important, strategic locations. The military governors took over various other local duties and authority, which allowed them to become military governors with additional titles (such as,,,,, ). Under each military governor there were numerous officials including,,,,,,,,, and staff included 10 vice military governors (jie du fu shi, ), 4 guan ya xun guan,, 4sui jun,, and also one each of fu yuan fa zhi guan,, yao jie,, jia yao,, and qing shi,. This was the basic staff of the military governor. 19 The original function of the military governors was to prevent invasion by barbarians. Troops were set up along the border of the country for this purpose. The fu bing system collapsed in the 8 th century. The military governors began to raise armies ( troops hired between the collapse of the fu bing system and the appearance of professional troops [730]) and gain control of both finance and civil administration period, the jun tian system ( ) was destroyed and the military governors gained military leadership by raising armies. The pace of economic development on the manors (zhuang yuan, ) increased during this time. 21 After the An Lushan rebellion, the development of manors (zhuang yuan) continued and rich people made large land mergers (da tu di, ) and private ownership of land developed. Military governors themselves had become large landowners or owners of manors. For example, during the mid-tang Garrison Commander Guo Ziyi ( ) had much land in Suinan ( ). 22 During the later Tang, military governors sent their troops to establish additional military garrisons at important transportation points within their domains. Military governors made attempts to gain complete control over military and police affairs in the military garrisons, zhen prefecture- authority. In practice the court could only control the prefecture-county system. 23 After the An Lushan rebellion, military governors of the period were 19 Shang (1981), pp Sudo (1981), p Han (1958), p Han (1958), pp Umehara (1958), p. 476.

6 6 extremely defiant and rebellious, especially in places such as,,,. The military governors refused to send tax revenue to the central government. They also appointed as their garrison commanders local powerful people or those with ability. The central authorities gained some degree of authority during the reign of Tang Xianzong ( ). Originally the military governors had under their authority the zhen troops ( ) in the prefectures and counties of their region. But during the reign of Tang Xianzong ( ), in each of the non-resident prefectures under the military governor (zhi jun) the emperor gained the right to appoint an official (ci shi, ), who took control of the zhen troops within the prefecture. Military governors could keep control over the armies in their resident prefecture (shi fu) and their other powers in their prefectures. Emperor Xianzong appointed civil officials as military governors so as to weaken the power of the military governors. But civil officials serving as military governors fought poorly during such times as the Huang-Chao rebellion. 24 Not long after the reign of Emperor Xianzong, the military governors regained their powers, and through the Five Dynasties period these military men effectively ruled in the regions. In summary, military governors controlled troops and land then gained control of finances and civil administration in their regions and tended toward independent authority in effect. On one hand the military governors wanted to maintain their own power, yet on the other hand the military governors could not directly offend the central government. So some military governors during the late Tang and Five Dynasties period made use of false father and son adoption (jia fu zi, ) to maintain or expand their power. Some military governors had close personal relations with the central imperial family to keep informed of the situation of the central government. Many of those adopted were military men and eunuchs, who had close relations with the imperial family. 25 In addition, the military governors moved from frontier to interior areas. After the An Lushan rebellion there are gradually more military governors in the inland regions of China, and during the late-tang there are military governors in all parts of the country. These military governors administered at least a few and some more than 10 prefectures. Military governors had control over both civil administration and financial affairs and this era can be regarded as a period of military political system Garrison Commanders The armies under the military governors were called zhen (also named wai 24 Sudo (1981), p Kurihara (1953), pp Sudo (1951), p. 3.

7 7 zhen and during the Five Dynasty period they were called xun zhen). Zhen was an important military place and most of the zhen were located at important political and economic centers. Military governors sent military officials jiang xiao (other titles include:,,, ) who they trusted to every zhen. These officials were generally called garrison commanders, zhen jiang,. 27 We can say that the increase in the number of garrison armies (jun zhen, ) is related to the destruction of the fu bing zhi and the establishment of the new system of raising troops (mo bing zhi du, ). In the early Tang period of , the frontier soldiers were raised by the military governors under the mo bing zhi du ( ) and were drawn from the local northern population. In principle, vagrants were not regarded as potential troops. During the period the vagrants were numerous. To maintain social stability and avoid social conflicts with the vagrants the military governors began allowing vagrants to serve in garrison armies, jun zhen, and to open up new lands in the military colonies. 28 During the period the number of troops assigned to the frontier was increased and central government expenditures increased. Although the military governors were stationed in the northern regions, the fiscal revenues of the central government came from the southeastern region. The military governors played a minor if any role in fiscal affairs. In addition at that time, the situation was such that the southeastern region could and the expenses of garrison armies jun zhen caused many problems. Finally, the An Lushan rebellion broke out. 29 Although the right of appointment of ci shi belonged to the central government, there are still some independent military governors that had the right to appoint ci shi and xian ling. Ci shi could not make reports to the central government unless the military governors instructed them to do so or the these officials were specially instructed by the central government. These Tang Dynasty military governors gained authority over soldiers, people and resources. In fact, the powers of these military governors were quite strong. 30 After the middle of the Tang Dynasty, due to the increased use of currency, increased commercial activity, and decayoftheoldcitysystem(jiu shi zhi ) many centers of communication, such as the prefecture and county towns as well as other towns, became centers of commercial activity. During this time the military garrisons (zhen, ) became the center of commercial activities and commercial activity increased in these zhen Hino (1938b), pp Hino (1939a), p Hino (1939a), pp Hino (1939a), pp Umehara (1958), p. 477.

8 8 During the period following the end of the An Lushan rebellion, the central government in order to avoid further wars at that time allowed the military governors to remain and problems with these military governors increased. 32 For example, in 777 a military governor named Li Zenxi ( ) attempted to become independent in Henan. Because the central government was unable to effectively stop him, the central government allowed him to gain control over numerous nearby prefectures. With the tacit acknowledgment of his position came a stable relationship between this military governor and the court. 33 After the reign of Tang Xianzong ( ) there were some achievements in restraining the rampant military governors. But in effect, the military governors continued to disobey the central government as before. 34 During this period there was an increase in the number of military garrisons (wai zhen, ). Due to conflicts between military governors and regional banditry, the military governors encroached on territories by establishing military garrisons, including throughout interior China. 35 After the An Lushan rebellion, the military governors of each governors sent garrison commanders to garrison the main strategic places. Military governors sent garrison commanders in the prefectures under their control. For example, Yang Zilin ( ) was dispatched as a garrison commander with authority over two politically important prefectures, Tanzhou ( ) and Tanlang ( ). 36 Although there were about 1,500 counties throughout China during the Tang Dynasty, we only know the details of 110 garrison commanders who were set up in the counties throughout the country. 37 Military governors sent garrison commanders to every Zhang Nian ( ), was appointed as the garrison commander of the military garrison at Gaosheng ( ) and also military commander at a strategic mountain pass. 38 This was also true at strategic locations along rivers, wharfs and key water transport locations ( ). Military governors also sent garrison commanders to these key areas, so the military governors can manage inland navies. These key locations supported military governors since these commercial centers were important sources of fiscal revenue for their garrison commanders. Initially, the military governors wanted to avoid conflict with the prefecture and county administrations, so the military governors sent garrison commanders to the small cities away from the seats of 32 Hino (1939a), p Hino (1939a), p Hino (1939a), p Hino (1939b), p Yang Zilin had originally been the Ci Shi over Tanzhou. See Hino (1939b), p Hino (1939b), p Hino (1939b), p. 25.

9 9 prefecture and county administrations. For example, in 790 A.D. a garrison commander in Wei Chao ( ) managed an official grain storehouse for his military governor. 39 chaos caused by war. There was banditry in addition to the occupation of the military governors. Commerce grew rapidly relative to previous periods. With the development of rural markets (cao shi, ) in the countryside came the assignment of garrison troops to these rural markets. For example, in 818 in Ande county ( ) of Dezhou prefecture ( ) a unit of garrison troops was dispatched to the Quanjiako rural market ( ), located at Fucheng ( ). The garrison troops established their position nearby this rural market and provided security and protection for the area. Fiscal revenues from the Quanjiako rural market area supported this unit of troops. 40 In fact the military governors were a leader of a dao ( ). Within their dao they controlled the rights of soldiers, the people and the wealth. On the surface, the central authorities had the right to determine the appointment of civil and military officials (wen wu guan yuan,, suchasbao di,, wu guan,, ci shi,, and xian ling, ), but in practice the central authorities largely accepted the appointments of the military governors. 41 And the military governors wanted to strengthen their force, so the military governors dispatched trusted subordinate officers to the cities of the prefecture and county administrations in order to manage or control the ci shi and xian ling (the subordinates of the military governor observed or kept an eye on the ci shi and xian ling for the military governor). For example, in 807 at Zhexi zhenhai ( ) the military governor Li Qi ( ) dispatched 5 trusted subordinate officers (zhen jiang, ) to 5 prefectures to observe the Ci shi ( ) and the military governor gave these 5 zhen jiang the right to kill the Ci shi ( ). 42 The main support of the military governors came from their garrison commanders (zhen jiang, ). During the late Tang Dynasty most of the military governors either came from local armies or were thieves. 43 One study of the background of the military governors during the A.D. period reveals that over 200 known military governors, one of every eight (13.2%) was previously a thief. 44 Many of these military governors either fought with or were on bad terms with the central government. Many military governors did not enforce the laws 39 Hino (1939b), pp Hino (1939b), pp Hino (1940b), p Hino (1940b), p Wang (1969), p Wang (1969), p. 262.

10 10 pronounced by the central government. 45 Examples include,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and, who were all known thieves that became military governors. 46 During the late Tang Dynasty, most of the military governors gained their position by force of arms and subsequently made the central government accept their authority and extend legitimacy to their position. For example, in 807 in Hezhou ( )aci shi ( ) by the name of Qin Yan ( illness, seized power by force of arms and set himself up as the next military governor of Xuan? ( ). Then Qin Yan was able to force the central government to recognize him as the legitimate military governor. The military governors, backed by their armies, were very unruly toward the central government, ignoring many rules and orders making the central government weak. 47 However, due to rivalries among the regional military governors and their power struggles during the late Tang Dynasty, the military governors did not dare to openly rebel no matter how weak the central government was. Generally speaking the military governors nominally accepted the central governments authority and dominated their own region. 48 sty, the military governors played roles as administrative officers in the local places and dispatched army detachments (zhen bing, ) and garrison commanders (zhen jiang, ) to important local rural markets (cao shi, ) to maintain public security and to control the local economy. In the chaos of the late Tang and Five Dynasties, local military groups increasingly formed from the local inhabitants and the troops under military governors were sent to every local rural market (cao shi, ), which developed into commercial cities. The military governors often recruited troops for their armies from the local military groups. The military governors called these new commercial cities zhen. Military governors built walls around these commercial cities ( ) to protect them from thieves. This is how many new commercial cities (zhen,, andshi, ) formed and developed during this era The military governors of the Five Dynasties. 45 Wang (1969), p Wang (1969), p Wang (1969), p Wang (1969), p Hino (1967), p. 46.

11 11 The Five Dynasties was the golden age for the military governors. The politics of them military were everywhere, from the local areas to the central government in the Five Dynasties. So this period can be regarded not only as a continuation of the foundation laid by the military governors of the late Tang Dynasty, but also as a transition. Gradually social and economic development moved toward the South. The chaos in the North caused by wars left the south as a relatively stable opportunity. So many immigrants moved from north to south (the Second Great Migration, ) and the commercial economy developed in consequence. 50 The political system relied mainly on military people. The emperors of the five dynasties were typically previously a military governor, so the military governor system was important. 51 Emperors previously competed with other military governors before taking the throne. For example, the Later Liang ( ) Emperor Zhu Wen ( ), Later Tang ( ) Emperor Li GUOYUAN ( ), Later Jin ( ) Emperor Shi Jietang ( ), Later Han ( ) Emperor Liu Zhiyuan ( ), and Later Zhou ( ) Emperor Guo Wei ( ) as well as others were all originally military governors. In the case of Shi Jietang ( ), he gave 16 prefectures in one northern region to the Qidan tribe ( ), an enemy barbarian group, who then adopted Shi Jietang ( ). The Qidan tribe was powerful and backed Shi Jietang ( ) as he rose to become emperor. Zhao Yanshi ( ) and Yang Guangyuan ( ) also colluded with the northern Qidan tribe to invade and assist in setting them up as emperor The domination of the military governors Prior to the An Lushan rebellion, military governors were limited to the frontier regions. However, after the An Lushan rebellion the military governor system gradually spread south of the Yellow River. They also came to own their personal lands in their regions and also gained much power in military, civil and fiscal administration. 53 In late Tang, there were about 29 to 31 military governors throughout all of China. But in the Later Liang Dynasty there were 28 military governors in northern China south of the Yellow River alone. 54 Military governors were originally full-time military officers, but they gradually expanded their influence. The Five Dynasties political systems were largely inherited from the Tang Dynasty. But there were some changes, such as the Shu Mi Shi ( ), a high ranking court 50 Lin (1997), pp ; Sudo (1951), pp Sudo (1981), p Han (1958), p Sudo (1962), p Sudo (1981), p. 30.

12 12 official, whose position expanded its power in the central government. In the regional governments, namely the prefectures and the many newly established military garrisons, there were clearly numerous changes. 55 Most obvious was that during the Five Dynasties military men effectively gained control over everything. 56 During the late Tang Dynasty, the military governors originally came from both military and civil personnel. In the Five Dynasties, many emperors were originally military governors. All military governors owned a large amount of land and also large manors (da zhuang yuan, ).Forexample,inHeyang( ) the military governor Huang Fuyu ( ) bought up much land. The military governor Li Yanyun ( ) of Hezhong ( ) while serving in the prefectures Deng ( ), Suai (, and Jin ) bought a lot of land, collected taxes from the farms on his lands and became very rich. 57 Since these military governors came to own much land, they naturally sought in their own interests to maintain and strengthen their power over their zhen and moved to gain fiscal independence. Military governors moved to gain independent control over their finances. For example, in Weibo ( ) the military governor Fan Yanguang ( ) never allowed the central authorities get any taxes from his 6 prefectures in Weibo ( ) when he was in the region. The military governors never let the central authorities or other zhen interfere in their affairs. It was natural for military governors to monopolize authorityin their region of the country (du zhan yi fang, ). 58 During the Song Dynasty, the policy was to strengthen the center and weaken the regions (qiang gan ruo zhi, ), and the system, which was controlled by the military governors, broke down. At this time the military governors lost their power and the civil officials gained power The Government System during the Five Dynasties Here the main government structure of the Five Dynasties is introduced, with a focus on the organization of the military governors. (A) Central Government The central government had three main organizations: (1) Zhong shu men xia sheng,, (2)Shu Mi Yuan,, (3)San si. TheZhong shu men xia sheng and Shu Mi Yuan were central government bureaus under key officials. The officer San si shi,, inthesan si,, bureau largely administered the 55 Zheng (1991), p Han (1958), p Han (1958), p Han (1958), p Sudo (1962), p. 575.

13 13 ynasty period essentially adopted this central government structure of the late Tang and Five Dynasty period. 60 (B) During the Five Dynasties, the military governors had their administrative headquarters set up in the main prefecture under their control this prefecture was called shi fu,. There were various main officers under the military governor including,,,,, and. All of the main officers were military officers. Military governors also hired civilian officials to serve as lesser officials, such as,,,. In addition, military governors also set up military garrisons, under the command of garrison commanders, at important economic and strategic locations to gain control of the location. 61 In effect, the military garrisons were local governments in the military 62 organization are introduced. ya jun, ) The foundation of the military governors was their military guard, ya jun,, which was also called,, military governor and was entrusted with protecting the capital city (ya cheng, ) where the military governor lived. 63 [According to Wang Gungwu, p. 13 military governor selected men from the army for a residential garrison, or ya jun, a ya jun the Five Dynasties. During the Five Dynasty period almost every son of an emperor served as a military governor. Military power was very important for them for them to serve as a future emperor. These (very loyal troops) became imperial troops of ). 64 The ya jun were mainly troops that came from the garrison troops ( ) orlocal people hired as professional soldiers. In addition, some troops in the ya jun came from the ranks of soldiers that had surrendered (lu bing, ), captives (cai nan, ), criminals (fan zui zhe, ), and capable, strong men from the local population ( ). Generally speaking these people were chosen by the military 60 Sudo (1981), pp Sudo (1962), p Sudo (1962), p Sudo (1951), p Sudo (1951), p. 66.

14 14 governor for their ability. In this way the ya jun in effect became the private army of their military governor and they were the main military source of support for the military governors. For example, the military governor Tian Chengsi had 100,000 troops in his ya jun,, inwei Bo zhen,. 65 The troops in the ya jun, regardless of where they came from, who proved themselves through achievement could be promoted to some of the highest official positions, such as ya jiang ( ), chu jun jiang ( )andshu mi shi ( ) and others. 66 Virtually all of the emperors of the Five Dynasties were previous military governors, but from the reign of the second emperor of the Later Tang, ( ), there were ya jiang,, who became military governors or even emperors (some ya jiang became close friends with sons of emperors). So we can see that the system of rigid social status broke down in the late Tang Dynasty. 67 * Zhong shu men xia shi (abbreviated Zhong men shi, ) (sometimes called Zhong jian shi in Japanese) The Zhong men shi was an official who managed military-political affairs of the military governor from the Later Tang Dynasty ( ). Zhong men shi were the central organizations of the military governors. 68 Many Zhong men shi officers came from troops in the ya jun. During the Later Tang Dynasty, many military governors set up Zhong shi men within their regions to manage political and military affairs. For example, in Hedong ( ) the military governor Li Cunzui ( ) established Guo Zonghan ( ) ashiszhong men shi. Also at Zhenbo ( ) the military governor Li Siyuan ( ) established An Zhonghai ( ) ashiszhong men shi. These two Zhong men shi became very famous in their time. Guo Zonghan later became the Shu mi shi ( ) in the central government during the reign of Emperor Zhuang Zong, ( ), and controlled military and political affairs throughout the country. Guo Zonghan had the authority to appoint and relieve military governors and to transfer armies. The position of Zhong shi men ( ) was extremely powerful so that only close friends and relatives of the military governor who could be trusted came to serve in this post. 69 *Yaya( )anddu ya ya ( ) [also named Du ya ya ] These officials were mainly concerned with military finance and civil 65 Sudo (1962), p. 676; and Han (1958), p Sudo (1951), p Sudo (1951), pp Sudo (1962), p Sudo (1981), p. 35.

15 15 administration. 70 The official Ya ya was often originally a military commander (ya jiang, ) of the military governor, and was also known by the titles Ya qian ( ) or Ya qian ( ). Besides military affairs, Ya ya were also heavily involved in distribution of items stored in warehouses and managed the receipt of commercial and wine taxes. The Du ya ya were important staff members of the military governors whose affairs were related to military secrets. When military governors became emperor, the Du ya ya would commonly become the highest-ranking military officer or an important administrator in fiscal affairs. 71 * Ma Bu Du Chi Jun Shi, Ma Bu Du Chi Jun Shi ( ), Zhe jun chi jun shi ( ), and Ya nei du chi jun shi ( ) (the latter were often the children of the military governor) When military governors became emperor these military commanders were brought into the palace to serve as in the imperial army ( ). 74 * Five officials: (1), (2),(3),(4), and (5). The three officials, and were all military commanders in the Zi Mu Yuan ( ) and managed military and fiscal affairs. The official supervised the collection of taxes. While the official collected taxes from trade. 75 * Ke Jiang ( ) Ke Jiang ( ) ortong Gong Guan, (also named Tong zhi guan, ) conducted negotiations with other countries and had the duty of welcoming foreign guests. 76 * Ma Bu Du chu Hou ( ) This official was a military commander of the Ma Bu Yuan ( ) and administered justice, including punishment and prison Sudo (1962), p Sudo (1981), p Sudo (1962), p Sudo (1962), p Sudo (1981), p Sudo (1962), p Sudo (1962), p Sudo (1952a), p. 290; Sudo (1952b), p. 521; and Sudo (1962), p. 576.

16 The Garrison Commanders of the Five Dynasties period ( ) There were garrison commanders in every area administered by military governors. The main duties of the garrison commanders in his area were to manage the military and police, handle disputes and lawsuits and collect taxes. 78 These local administrations served as the foundation of support for the military governors. The garrison commanders were mainly established at important locations, such as in the county seats, harbors, strategic traffic points and important economic centers. These local garrison commanders (zhen jiang, ) were also called zhen yue shi ( ), zhen shi ( ), and bu cai jiang ( ). The garrison commander had numerous assistant officials in his administration. The main assistant officials were fu jiang ( ), pan guan ( ), du hou hou ( ), yue jia guan ( ), shi jiang ( ), ju dang zhen wu ( ), and zhen ce ( ). Their main jobs were in police, mediation, military and tax collection. The collection of taxes was of particular importance since the taxes collected were the foundation of the military governors. 79 The military governors managed the military garrisons under their command and many of these military garrison towns developed into centers of local commerce. Military governors appointed their own retainers or hired local strongmen in the area to serve as garrison commanders. However, some of the garrison commanders were appointed by the central government, some of whom were military officers who had been degraded because of crimes. 80 Military governors hired numerous local strongmen to serve as garrison commanders or du ya ya. The military governors used their relationship with these local strongmen to control powerful people and aristocrats in the area. 81 Military governors also collected taxes through the garrison commanders, who had gained authority over local administration, military and fiscal affairs. These military officers not only administered the area around their military garrison, but they had effectively extended their authority throughout the region. The local officials in the prefecture and county were powerless to resist the encroachment of these military officers and the authority of the county administrations declined dramatically. The evolution of the du hou hou ( ) reflects the increased power of the military governors during this period. Originally, the du hou hou was an official of minor importance under the military governor. As military governors gained power and increased their scope of affairs under their management, the du hou hou became a powerful official under the Zhong men shi Sudo (1962), p Sudo (1952a), p. 291; and Sudo (1962), p Sudo (1962), p Sudo (1952a), p Sudo (1952b), p. 521.

17 17 The local military garrisons served as the fiscal base of the military governors. Military governors established many military garrisons around a county seat and named their military garrison towns after a nearby county. This was done to help gain legitimacy for their administrations at the expense of those of the nearby county seat. For example, during the late Tang, in 888 a military governor established a military garrison named Tai yang ( ) intai yang county ( ). During the Later Jin Dynasty, in 937, another military governor established Xia lu military garrison ( ) inxialu county ( ) inweizhou prefecture ( ). During the Later Tang Dynasty in about 924, Garrison commander Li Hongwen ( ) was sent to establish Xinxiang military garrison ( ) inxinxiang county ( ) ofwei prefecture ( ). During the Later Zhou Dynasty ( ), Liu Renzui ( ) establish Huang military garrison ( ) inhuang county ( ) ofwei prefecture ( ). 83 The local military garrison administrations were in conflict with the original county administrations. During the Five Dynasties the garrison commanders not only administered the affairs inside the garrison town, but also the surrounding areas including the villages in the countryside. 84 From the Five Dynasties, garrison commanders or du hou hou controlled the local police administrations in the villages authority. These local police administrations completely rejected the authority of county administrations. 85 During the Five Dynasties military governors appointed their most trusted followers as garrison commanders and directed them to confront the county magistrates. It was declared that all county public affairs should be directed to the prefecture administrations in order to further reduce the duties of the county magistrates. The collection of taxes by the garrison commanders was an important source of resources for the military governors. In order to further reduce the role of the county magistrates, military governors also provided civil administrative services; so military governors began to employ civil officials in the areas of finance, diplomacy, punishment and prison, etc. Military governors came to oversee all regions under their jurisdiction so as to gain the right of collection taxes. 86 leader. But during the Five Dynasties period, in addition to military leadership, the garrison commanders gained more authority, including local law enforcement (police or catching robber rights), legal affairs, collection of taxes, etc. 87 The military officials took part in local political affairs and policy. For example, 83 Sudo (1952b), p Sudo (1952b), p Sogabe (1958), p Sudo (1981), p Hino (1938b), p. 224.

18 18 originally the authority to oversee lawsuits belong to the county magistrates or the county sheriff (who were county civil administrators), but the authority to oversee lawsuits shifted to the military garrison administrations when the garrison commanders became active during the Five Dynasties period. 88 By the Five Dynasties period, military governors had many military garrisons within the prefectures in their domain. In the headquarter prefecture ( ) ofthe military governors, a garrison commander ( ) commonly also served as Prefect ( ). In some exceptional cases, military governors also influenced the appointments of key officials in the non-headquarter prefectures in his domain. 89 During the Five Dynasties period, within all of the prefectures under a military governor, the county magistrates were not allowed to issue orders to garrison commanders within the county. County administrations were not allowed to control nearby military garrisons. However, in many cases military garrisons gained control over county administrations, while in other cases these administrations had equal local authority. Therefore, within each prefecture there were county seats and military garrisons, each of which had an area of control. However, during the Five Dynasty period the powers of the garrison commanders were generally greater than those of county magistrates. Also, during the Five Dynasties period, military governors established new military garrisons within their prefectures. 90 During the Five Dynasties, the garrison commanders worked with the local populace to keep peace and order and often teamed together with local strongmen, who became officers or aides. In some cases, local powerful men were given the position of garrison commander and enjoyed more power than the nearby county magistrate. The appointment of the assisting officers came under the authority of the nearby garrison commanders. [Note that it was during the Song vacancies for these appointments came to be filled by the central government.] During the Five Dynasties, honorific medals were conferred much more often to local garrison commanders than to county magistrates. This indicates the superior power of the garrison commander over the county magistrate during the Five Dynasties. 91 Leaders of local law enforcement organizations (zi jing tuan, ) inthe countryside were often picked by military governors to become garrison commanders. Many of these men were originally rich and powerful local people (tu hao, ). 88 Hino (1938b), p Hino (1938b), pp Hino (1938b), p Hino (1938b), pp

19 19 The area under their control ranged from over 10 to several 10 square li. The garrison commanders had authority over police, dispute mediation and tax collection duties as well as others. Therefore we can see that both the military garrisons and the counties were administrative units at the same level, both under the prefecture. 92 There was conflict between the military garrisons and the counties, but during the Five Dynasties the authority of the military garrisons was much greater than that of the counties. 2.3 Garrison Commanders subordination The Tang central government initiated reforms in 819. The central government gained control over the armies under the military governors (, aswellas military governors with additional titles, such as,, ) in prefectures other than his headquarter prefecture. The authority over these prefecture armies was transferred to ci shi officials in the prefecture ( ). Thus the ci shi also held military appointment, but there were still some military governors that were allowed to control the armies in their non-headquarter prefectures in a few frontier cities. 93 During the late Tang Dynasty, a military governor in Wei Bo ( ) disliked the authority over his garrison troops in other prefectures by the ci shi in He suo ( ). So the military governor of Wei Bo had a trusted subordinate serve as Du you ( ) and to restrict the authority of the ci shi. 94 Furthermore, the military governors in He suo ( ),,,,, whose positions had become hereditary, were the most difficult for the central government to control Military Governors as Capitalists During the Five Dynasties, military governors were actively involved in commercial pursuits. 96 The military governors of the Five Dynasties often used their power to accumulate private wealth. 97 The military governors came to own numerous warehouses, shops, manors, and land. 98 In addition, the military governors also accepted bribes and used their own wealth to support their armies. For example, in Jin Yang ( ) the military governor Li Sizao ( ) relied on the local resources of Shanxi ( ) and was also heavily involved in commercial business. In other 92 Umehara (1958), p Hino (1940b), p Hino (1940b), p Hino (1940b), p Miyazaki (1950), p Miyazaki (1979), p Sudo (1981), p. 48.

20 20 instance, minerals such as chu, tie, and shi yao (, and ) were very important in war and these resources were exploited by military governors. In northern Shanxi there was silver ( ) and a military governor managed a silver mountain in the area. Traffic routes were made to develop quickly. Later, military governors traded with the barbarian groups along the border areas. 99 Some military men set up institutions to protect their power and intimidate those who criticized them. For instance, Zhao Zaitan ( ), who was originally a staff member of a military governor in Wei Bo ( ), became a military governor himself in Gui de ( ) after the Later Tang Dynasty. When he was appointed to Song prefecture ( ), he established an institution hai ding qian ( ) to punish those who criticized him. 100 During the Five Dynasties many powerful military men accumulated wealth and engaged in commerce. These military men were very different than their predecessors who were limited to life on a manor. These military men of the Five Dynasties gained wealth and capital from commercial activities. They used their power to obtain special commercial privileges, such as avoiding taxation or having monopoly rights. These military men were involved in semi-private and semi-public business and also involved in speculation and numerous monopoly business activities. 101 Military governors of the Five Dynasties played an active role in politics. They required taxes in grain from rich farmers and recognized landlord rights. The military governors also allowed the xiao zuo institution ( similar to ) to develop. 102 Some military governors got involved in loaning money for profit. For example, during the Later Jin Dynasty, in 943, the military governor of Chengde ( ) Du Zhongwei ( ) announced that his funds were insufficient for army provisions. In fact Du Zhongwei had 1,000,000 units of grain, but reported to the central government that he only had 300,00 units. He loaned the difference in grain to peasants for profit The peasant life under the military governors 99 Miyazaki (1979), pp Miyazaki (1979), p Miyazaki (1979), p Miyazaki (1979), p Sudo (1981), p. 48.

21 21 After middle Tang Dynasty, the jun tian system ( ) was destroyed. The tax system of the early Tang Dynasty, zu yong tiao (????? tiao or diao both possible???) fa ( ),whichwasbasedonthejun tian system, became impractical and gave way to the liang sui fa ( ) tax system in practice. Up to the late Tang and Five Dynasties, the liang sui fa had a large impact on the peasants. The powerful people, military people and the government officials, etc. annexed lands and forced many peasants to become vagrants. 104 The military governors arbitrarily taxed peasants in the regions to increase their income and used these funds to build their private residence or city. For example in the Later Tang Dynasty ( ) in Song prefecture ( ) the military governor Zhao Zaitan (( )) established a fine, hai ding qian ( ), and used this to fine the common people who criticized him to increase his revenue. 105 After the liang sui system ( ) was established, tax revenue was divided into three parts: shang gong, liu shi, (also called song shi,, which was held by the military governor), and liu zhou, (given to zhou, jun etc. and other regional government administration). 106 The funds used by the military governors were the liu shi,, and the liu zhou,. The military governors also sent their garrison commanders and ya jiang,, to obtain revenues from other sources, including profits from trade, commercial taxes collected in strategic mountain or water transportation points (such as ferry crossings) (guan jin, ). In addition, these officials of the military governors oversaw the collection of the liang sui fa within the county. 107 For example, near the end of the reign of Later Tang Dynasty emperor Ming Zong (, ) a military governor sent a garrison commander to both Tai zhou ( ) andcheng zhou ( ) to collect taxes. He also established a military garrison to control the county administration. There were typically two types of garrison commanders under a military governor. The first type was a trusted individual. The second type was that of a local powerful person, some of who inherited their positions while others were originally common people. For example, during the Later Jin Dynasty, ( ), there was a powerful person who bribed the military governor Zhang Wanjin ( ) and he became bu zei jiang, (a local law enforcement officer whose job was catching thieves) under the 104 Sudo (1981), p Sudo (1981), p Hino (1940b), p Sudo (1952b), p. 526.