清代州县司法中的官吏分途与权力分化——兼论传统中国司法的“专业性”问题

The Separation of Officials and Local Staff and the Division of Power in Local Judicature in Qing Dynasty:The Discussion on“Professionalism”of Traditional Chinese Justice

官吏分途是中国古代官僚体制的一个突出特征。在清代州县司法中,官吏分途现象导致地方的司法权在州县官和地方吏役两个群体中产生分化,亦即清代州县司法的司法主体实际上由显形的州县官和隐形的吏役两类群体构成。名义上掌握司法权的州县官尽管在知识结构上未将法律知识作为重中之重,但熟悉律例知识仍是其职业必备技能之一。对于掌握着专业律例知识的吏役而言,其对于清代州县司法事务的参与赋予了州县司法极大的专业性,从而使得州县司法活动呈现出理性化和程序化的特征。对于清代州县司法中官吏分途与权力分化现象的考察有助于我们重新审视中国传统司法“专业性”的问题。

The separation of officials and local staff is a prominent feature of ancient Chinese bureaucracy.In the local judicature of the Qing Dynasty,the phenomenon of the separation of officials and local staff led to the division of the local judicial power between the prefectural and county officials and the local staff,that is,the judicial subject of the local judicature in the Qing Dynasty was actually composed of the visible prefectural and county officials and the invisible local staff.Although the prefectural and county officials with nominal judicial power did not regard the legal knowledge as the most important part in the knowledge structure,it was still one of the necessary professional skills to be familiar with.For the officials who mastered the professional knowledge of statutes and precedents,their participation in the local judicial affairs of the Qing Dynasty endowed the local judicial affairs with great professionalism,which made the local judicial activities show the characteristics of rationalization and proceduralization.The investigation of the division of officials and local staff as well as the division of power in local judicature in Qing Dynasty is helpful to re-examine the specialization of traditional Chinese judicature.