“吏无脸”——清代刑部书吏研究

“Humble Clerical Officials”——A Research on the Clerical Officials of the Ministry of Justice in Qing Dynasty

清代政治,有"与胥吏共天下"的特点,其中权势最盛者,当推中央部吏。清代部吏已形成职业垄断,又利用行政程序,代"所学非所用"的官僚士大夫发布、执行政令。六部中以刑部专业化水准最高、政务最为繁冗,但刑部书吏恰恰地位最低,舞弊问题最少。盖因刑部在雍正以后调整了行政运作程序,又能调动司官的能动性,改变了部内官吏关系所致。

Abstract： To share the domination with the clerical officials is one of the features of the politics in Qing Dynasty. Among the clerical officials, those who work in the national central ministries are the most powerful ones. On one hand, the ministry clerical officials in Qing Dynasty have already formed kind of professional monopoly. On the other hand, they take advantage of their familiarity with the administrative procedures, to promulgate and implement government decrees on behalf of the government officials who are scholar bureaucrat with little professional knowledge in this field. Among the six natfonal central ministries, the Ministry of Justice is the busiest one and keeps the highest level of specialization. However, the clerical officials of the Ministry of Justice are the humblest and have least problem of fraud and corruption comparing with their fellow work in other ministries. This is a result of the reforms to the Ministry of Justice since the reign of Yongzheng which changed the relationship between the goverment officials and clerical officials in the ministry by readjusting administrative procedures and stimulating enthusiasm of the government officials,