明代後期國家決策機制研究

The mechanisms of the state decision making of Ming China

帝制中國的國家決策機制,在明代發生了重要變化,發展爲聖裁、閣議和廷議三種機制並行的複合機制。其中較晚出現的廷議制度,是一種比較公開、公平和公正的新機制,具有近代決策機制的若干重要特徵。經過不斷改進,廷議在明代後期日趨完善,在國家決策的形成中作用也日益重要,成爲帝制中國國家決策機制發展史上的新事物。然而,由於妥善處理聖裁、閣議和廷議三種機制關係的手段尚未形成,這種複合機制在運行中存在諸多問題,未能發展成爲一種更加有效的國家決策槻制。

The Ming dynasty witnessed a significant change in state policy making of imperial China. As a result, a multiple mechanism evolved in which major state policies were made by the throne itself, by the Great Secretariat and by the Court Meeting. The Court Meeting, a new institution of policy making, manifested some of major characteristics of modern policy making - openness, impartiality and fairness. The Court Meeting, having been evolving continuously for a century, became comparatively matured and played a very important role in state policy making in the late Ming. The innovation of the Court Meeting represented a significant advance in the long history of state policy making of imperial China. The three mechanisms - by the throne, by the Great Secretariat and by the Court Meeting co-existed and constituted the multiple mechanism of the state policy making in the late Ming. Because no institution was invented to handle the relations between three mechanisms properly, the multiple mechanism encountered many problems when it was working. These problems caused uncertainties of the policy making which made the mechanism not be more effective.