<論説>明代内閣職掌形成過程の研究 : 經莚制度の成立を分析の焦点として

Abstract

明代宣徳以前、皇帝の修学は、各帝が宮中で任意に読書を行なうにまかせられていた。正統初年より、英宗皇帝に対する進講が始められるが、それは英宗が幼年で即位するという事態に対応するために、臨時的に実施された施策であった。その後、正統末年に惹起した土木の変に到る政情への反省から、当時の臣僚たちは、朝儀以外の時問に於いても皇帝の日常を一定程度管理する方法を模索する。結果として、景泰初年にすでに成年に達していた景泰帝を対象とした進講が開設された。つまり、明代に於いて皇帝がその年齢如何に関わらず臣僚によって教導の対象とされる体制が出現した背景として、正統から景泰に到る政情の推移とそれに対応しようとした臣僚たちの動向を措定できるのである。この一連の流れの中で、「同知經莚事」を帯びることになった内閣官は、皇帝に対する進講を主導するという職掌を獲得したのであった。

The grand secretariat (neigeguan 内閣官), which was established during the reign of the Ming Emperor Yongle (1403-1424), continued to maintain a steady influence on the politics of the day within the political system of the Ming dynasty. One of the specific responsibilities borne by the grand secretariat was to present lectures to the emperor, in other words it was charged with classics colloquium, (jingyan 経莚). In addition, it can be assumed that as a result of implementing the classics colloquium it is possible that the formation pf a path for promotion of Ming-dynasty bureaucrats of the Hanlin Academy to the grand secretariat was advanced. Therefore, in the study of the history of the grand secretariat system, the existence of the classics colloquium cannot be disregarded. The aim of this article is to elucidate the turning point during which the classics colloquium system was established. In the first section, I survey what form instruction of the emperor was carried out prior to Emperor Xuande (1426-1435) and confirm each emperor during this period was left to his own devices to read as he saw fit. Moreover, I indicate the fact that prior to Xuande, the object of the instruction of the bureaucrats was the heir apparent who was anticipated to ascend to the throne. Thereafter in this section I analyze the sequence of events that led to the providing lectures to Emperor Yingzong in the Zhengtong era (1436-1449). In the pertinent portion I first confirm the situation in which the Dowager Empress Zhang, the grandmother of Yingzong, maintained influence on political settlements after his accession to the throne. Then, I clarify the fact that there was a plan to begin providing lectures to the heir apparent Yingzong in the last years of Xuande's reign and that bureaucrats who would have been close to the heir apparent, who was raised during the Xuande period, were made to participate in the classics colloquium for Yingzong. In addition, I state that the classics colloquium in the Zhengtong era was a measure implemented on an ad hoc basis in the form of evoking the actual plan of instruction that was from the first planned for the heir apparent because Yingzong was a child at his accession and not sufficiently mature to carry out political affairs. In the second section, I introduce the memorial to the throne of Hanlin Academy expositor Liu Qiu 劉球, which was submitted in the Zhengtong era, and comment on the fact that the effect of regulating the daily life of the emperor came to be seen in the implementation of the classics colloquium. In addition, I analyze the content of the memorials that were submitted by the bureaucrats chiefly from the period directly after the Tumu Incident through the reign of Jingtai, 1450-1457, seeking to encourage the emperor to study by means of the classics colloquium. Then I make clear that the bureaucratic officials of the time struggled to find a method of managing to a certain extent the daily life of the emperor beyond court functions based on their reflections on the politics leading up to the Tumu Incident. Moreover, in the first years of the Jingtai reign, Chen Xun 陳循, who had obtained a position in the grand secretariat prior to Jingtai's accession to the throne, strongly led the preparations for implementing the classics colloquium. As a result the classics colloquium was implemented for Emperor Jingtai. Due to the implementation of the classics colloquium in the reign of Jingtai, there arose a situation in which the emperor would be the object of the instruction of the bureaucrats regardless of his age, and the grand secretariat acquired the position whose duty was to instruct the emperor. As a result, the proper place of the grand secretariat, which was to administer the classics colloquium, was clearly specified in the regulations for implementing the classics colloquium. In short, by the implementation of the classics colloquium during the reign of Jingtai, the grand secretariat first found its place in the rituals of the state. In this section I also address this sequence of events. Following the appearance of the system in which the emperor would be the object of instruction by bureaucrats, the implementation of the classics colloquium was repeatedly sought as a means of restraining to a certain degree the emperor's actions during the Ming dynasty. In this article, I present the view that the situation faced by the Ming dynasty and the actions taken by the bureaucratic officials in response to them from the accession of the child emperor to the throne until the Tumu Incident that was triggered by the reckless action of the emperor can be assumed to be the specific background that produced this situation Then, I offer the conclusion that within the flow of this series of events the grand secretariat acquired the duty of providing lectures to the emperor.