完整制与分离制:宋代地方行政权力的转移

Centralized vs. Separate System: The Transfer of Local Administrative Power in the Song Dynasty

宋代地方行政制度的最大特色,是在同一高层政区存在多个平行的行政组织与长官,即在高层政区实行“分离制”。从“行政幅度”的角度进行审视,这种制度是宋代中央政府重新分配地方行政权力,使权力分配的格局更有利于中央。“分离制”成为宋代中央集权程度超越前代的一个直接原因。南宋时期,在同级的不同机构之间,官员互相兼职的现象日益普遍,导致事实上的机构精简;在中央政府与高层政区之间,出现一级“跨高层准政区”。这两个因素减弱了“分离制”实施的力度,导致南宋中央的集权程度明显不如北宋。

The local administration of the Song dynasty was characterized by parallel administrative organizations and officials at the same rank at high administrative levels, that is, the“separate system”at high local administrative levels. In terms of administrative scope, the separate system enabled a redistribution of local power in favor of the central government. It contributed directly to the increased degree of centralization in the Song compared with previous dynasties. In the Southern Song, it was increasingly common for an official to take several positions in different departments at the same level, which led to the de facto streamlining of government organs. In the meantime, a cross-level quasi-administrative division emerged between the central government and high-level local administration. These two factors weakened the separate system and centralization in the Southern Song period, compared with the Northern Song.