前漢後半期の外戚と官僚機構

Abstract

In order to comprehend the political power of the relatives of imperial consorts外戚 which emerges in the second half of the Former Han, it is indispensable to examine the character and function of inner court 内朝 which is distinctive of the bureaucracy in the Former Han period. The officials of this inner coterie maintain their original character as the attendants close to the emperor, which was bestowed upon them in Wu-ti 武帝 era. The inner court is characterized by undifferentiated official duties and absence of hierarchical order. The members of inner court consist of two types of officials: one type is those who have a promising talent and the other is those who have close relationship to the emperor, namely the nobility. The noble group is supervised by one of the relatives of imperial consorts who has both titles of Commander-in-chief 大司馬 and General 將軍. He brings the ties of blood into the inner court which served the emperor individually in its origin. As the bureaucracy develops for the dictatorship of the emperor, the inner court begins to support emperor's control over the administrative machinery, and an assistance of Commander-in-chief is needed in the course of maturity of the Han administration. The political power of the relatives of imperial consorts is essential for the bureaucracy in the Han period.