中国古代地方治理的经验:清代之“梗”的透析

The Experience of Local Governance in Ancient China: Analysis on The Defects of Local Governance in The Qing Dynasty

国家治理实践中,地方政府与中央政府具有同样重要的地位,甚至某些情况下其影响会大于中央政府。历史与现实告诉我们,任何一个国家只要国土、人口等要素达到一定规模,若要实现治理的正常化,必须设置风格各异的地方政府组织,中央与地方政府协调一致,才能完成国家、社会治理事务。作为中国最后一个帝制王朝,清朝统治者在总结前代经验基础上,把君主集权制度发展到最完美成熟最精致的地步。其地方政府制度设计对后世产生的影响巨大而久远。清代地方政府治理存在三大弊端:督抚位高权重,基层政府主官事权独揽;胥吏干政弄权,地方吏治黑暗腐化;地方政府机构层次繁杂,官员职权交错混乱。今天的中国是历史中国的延续,在历史文化、民族心理、政治运行、政府过程诸多方面具有很多相似性。鉴往知今,相信当代中国治理体系与治理能力现代化建设过程中,一定能够从历史文化的宝藏中获得有益的启示。

In the practice of state governance,local governments have the same important status as the central government.In some cases,the impact will be greater than that of the central government.History and reality tell us that as long as the country,population and other factors reach a certain scale in any country,in order to achieve normalization of governance,it is necessary to set up local government organizations with different styles,and the central and local governments can coordinate to complete national and social governance.As the last imperial dynasty in China,the Qing dynasty’s rulers developed the monarchical system to the most perfect and refined stage on the basis of summing up the experience of the previous generation.The influence of its local government system design on future generations is huge and long-lasting.There are three major drawbacks in the governance of local government in the Qing Dynasty:the supervisory position is highly weighted,and the main government officials in the grassroots government monopolize;the government has been empowered by the government,and the local government has been corrupted.The level of local government institutions is complicated and the authority of officials is staggered.Today’s China is a continuation of historical China,with many similarities in history,culture,national psychology,political operation,and government processes.In the process of modernization and governance,we believe that we can get useful inspiration from the treasures of history and culture.