再论宋代的三公官

A Reexamination on the Three Dukes during the Song Dynasty

本文首先分析了宋代三公官的两重性质:既是文阶官的最高本官或寄禄阶,又是高级武阶官的加官。其次,探讨了三公官这种两重性在宋代政治史上的作用,即它为北宋后期至南宋的一批臣僚提供了身份转换的桥梁。本来以节度使加三公官结衔的武阶高官,因落去系衔中的节度使衔,一变成为以三公为最基本品位标签的"顶级文臣"。在两宋的多个场合,如宋徽宗信用宦官、近臣,南宋收夺大将之兵权,韩侂胄走向专权之前台,三公官作为身份转换的桥梁,皆发挥了重要作用。当下的古代官制研究需要突破古人重名、今人重实的双重束缚。

This article clarifies the dual nature of the Three Dukes(三公官) in the Song Dynasty.On the one hand, the title of the Three Dukes referred to the top titular rank(本官) or salary rank(寄禄阶) among civil officials.On the other hand, it also referred to additional offices(加官) that conferring privileges to the officials with highest military rank.Furthermore, this article analyzes how the dual nature of the Three Dukes affected the politics by offering a converter for officials to transform their personnel affiliations from military to civil positions.For officials with high military rank, including military generals, imperial clan members and senior eunuchs, who had the title of Military Commissioner(节度使) and Three Dukes as the additional offices could be transformed to top civil officials by removing the title of Military Commissioner while keeping the Three Dukes as their salary rank.This research argues that the Three Dukes served as a bridge and played an important role in many crucial moments in the Song Dynasty, such as when Emperor Huizong(r.1100-1125) put favored eunuchs and courtiers in key positions, when Emperor Gaozong(r.1127-1162) reclaimed military power from generals, and when Han Tuozhou(1152-1207) managed to be a powerful minister.This research also argues against two limits in current scholarship on institutional history: traditional scholarship emphasized the historical changes of the titles, while modern scholars focus on the actual function of the political system.