宋代の御筆手詔

Abstract

This monograph is to clarify the following points: 1) The Imperial Edict from the Emperor himself was developed from the Imperial Edict from the Inner Court 内降手詔, which appeared in the first year of the Xining 煕寧 era (1068 A.D.), into an established form of imperial pronouncements 制書. 2) Through the Imperial Edict from the Emperor himself, various kinds of Inner Court Instructions 内批 were lumped together under his name. Its appearance was closely related to the principles of amending the compiled edicts 編勅 under the reign of the Emperor Shen-zong 神宗 of the Northern Song. 3) The Imperial Edict from the Emperor himself was then adopted as the most convenient mechanism, under which the bureaus and bureaucrats concerned were entrusted to formulate the law only approved by the Emperor. It was because they were thought to be more suitable than their superiors for this job considering the conditions of the society for which legislation was made. 4) The Imperial Edict from the Emperor himself, as a system to draft imperial pronouncements, promoted close working relationship between the Emperor and the Palace Domestic Service under the Department of Ministries 尚書内省 which was staffed and operated by the Palace Women. This newly introduced imperial pronouncement brought about considerable change to the nature of advisory bodies, such as the Three Departments 三省 in the Song government, and the direct command of the Six Ministries by Chinese emperors was first realized in the Song instead of the Ming. The author pays special attention to the fact that the Imperial Edict from the Emperor himself, officially added to the list of imperial pronouncements in the Southern Song period, created a new way through which orders and permissions of the emperor directly became law. The author suggests that it should be noticed in discussing this question. To conclude, the author takes a different view from many other researchers about the historical significance of the Imperial Edict from the Emperor himself in the Song period. The author doesn't think that its introduction implied political corruption during the Emperor Hui-zong 徽宗 era, nor does he think that its system served as a successful attempt by domineering Grand Councillors to achieve excessive power and keep it in hand.