清朝中枢稳定的制度性原因

The Institutional Causes of Central Stability in the Qing Dynasty

清朝的中枢政治制度集2000余年专制王朝统治经验之大成,同时又带有鲜明的清朝特色,使王朝中枢实现了以往历朝都不曾达到的结构性稳定。具体而言,清朝的秘密建储制度较为成功地解决了最高权力的平稳交接问题,军机处的设立与强化完成了内外朝由分到合的历史进程。这两种制度性因素对政治稳定的作用机制以往多为学术界所忽视。但这些机制既体现了清朝皇权空前加强的特点,更深刻反映了传统中国政治运行所面临的共同困境。

The central political system of the Qing Dynasty combined the achievements of more than 2000 years of autocratic dynastic rule experience, and at the same time it had distinct characteristics of the Qing Dynasty, which made the central political system of the Qing Dynasty achieve the structural stability that previous dynasties had never achieved. Specifically, the secret inheritance system of the Qing Dynasty successfully ensured the smooth transfer of the supreme power. The establishment and strengthening of the Privy Council completed the historical process of the division and integration of imperial palace and out court. The mechanism of these two institutional factors on political stability was mostly ignored by academic circles in the past. However, these mechanisms not only embodied the unprecedented strengthening of the imperial power in the Qing Dynasty, but also reflected the common dilemma of traditional Chinese political operation.