Uniformity and Regional Variation: The Xiangli System in the Sui Dynasty

制度的地方差异性与统一性:隋代乡里制度及其实行（英文）

As defined in a decree issued in the spring of 583,the three heads or sanzhang system,designed to be implemented chiefly in the old Northern Qi area in Shandong,basically followed the Northern Qi version of 564,with slight modifications.With the setting up of a system of xiang heads(xiangzheng乡正)who would hear disputes among the common people,as recommended in Su Wei’s memorial of the same year,the judicial position of xiangzheng coexisted with the administrative positions of the three-heads(or two-heads)system.The xiangli(乡里)system announced in the edict of 589 targeted the territory previously under the Chen dynasty;it was basically a continuation of the xiangli system of rural control originally based on a Han dynasty model and followed since then in the south under the Eastern Jin and the Southern dynasties.With the reform of the bureaucratic system in 607,the xiangli system centered on xiangzheng and lizhang became the basic system of rural administration under the Sui dynasty.In the course of its design and creation,the system had to take into account the institutions already existing in the target area and the question of feasibility.Thus“inconsistency”or“regional variation”was built into the system.However,in actual practice there was a tendency toward convergence that led to uniformity of implementation.In Chinese history,the coexistence of regional variation and uniformity was a marked feature of the formation and implementation of different systems.

隋开皇三年(583)春所颁新令规定的三长制,主要是针对山东齐国故地制定的,基本沿用北齐河清三年(564)令而略有调整。开皇三年苏威奏置主理民间辞讼的乡正之后,属于司法系统的乡正与属于民政系统的三长(或二长)并存。开皇九年(589)制书规定的乡里制度,是针对陈国故地颁行的,基本沿用东晋南朝以来南方地区一直沿用的以汉代制度为基础的乡里控制体系。大业三年(607)官制改革后,以乡正、里长为核心的乡里制遂成为隋王朝控制乡村的基本制度。乡里制度在设计与制定过程中,必须考虑其实行地域的固有制度背景与可行性,故本身即具有“非一致性”或“地方差异性”;而在实行过程中则会逐步“趋同”,从而在实行层面逐步达致制度的“统一性”。统一性与地方差异性并存乃是中国历史上诸种制度在其形成与实行过程中共有的特征。