北宋前期の資格論と財政官僚

Abstract

In the first half of the Northern Song period, Sansi 三司 was run by a group of bureaucrats who were experts in financial administration, and who seemed to have been assigned to their positions according to their ability, just as "the right man in the right place" The appointment system to qualify and promote officials in proportion to their tenure of office had been gradually formed. Thereafter, the posts of Sansi were also incorporated into the qualification system, and any official without the Sansi background could proceed to its posts. Many historical documents show that officials in Sansi were replaced frequently and that they were reluctant to engage in financial affairs. A man cannot be designated as a' financial expert' just because he had experience in Sansi ; actually he may not have acquired any real knowledge or skills during short tenure of office. If Sansi officials had a poor knowledge of finance, the well-balanced management of the Imperial fiscal administration could hardly be expected. It was a natural consequence that a better assignment system for Sansi officials was called for. When Wang Anshi 王安石 initiated the New Laws, he largely appointed young official candidates whose qualifications he neglected on purpose. It was due to the reaction against his policies that the qualification system was praised in the later periods. When we use the term 'financial officials' for the Sansi bureaucrats, it is necessary to distinguish between the periods before and after the establishment of the qualification system. In this paper, the term does not refer to those who assumed in financial offices after the establishment of the qualification system.