宋朝的章奏制度与政治决策

从某种意义上可以说,君主处理臣下章奏的过程即是法律的孕育与分娩过程。章奏呈递渠道畅通是下情上达的基本保证。宋朝设置了多种机构、多种呈递方式,以确保臣庶的章奏能够通畅上达。章奏承转机构有明确的业务分工,严格的责任制度和详细的工作规范,以保障其有效运行。通过责任人员联保制度,以保证信息的安全;通过章奏承转时限制度,以实现信息的快捷传递;通过将各种章奏梳理分类,以淘汰无用的信息和有害的信息;通过章奏处理情况的备案和催办制度,以监控章奏的运行。皇帝对章奏的审阅、处理,多由宰相班子以及不同层次的官员先期论证。从形式上看,仍是皇帝个人独裁独断,但其决策已不全是出自皇帝个人意志,而是融进了官僚士大夫群体的智识和经验。

Memorial System and Political Decisions of Song Dynasty

In a sense,the process for a monarch to deal with memorials just had the same meaning as the process for law's gestation and confinement.The expedition channel for memorials to be submitted was a fundamental guarantee for conditions or feelings of the lower levels to be known by the superior.Many kinds of organs,many kinds of channels were set for submitting in Song dynasty,which ensured that it was expedite for any memorial to be well submitted.There were explicit division of work,severe duty system and detailed working criterion to ensure the transferring organs to run efficiently.Many systems,such as associated-guarantee,time-limited,file-filter,and record & hasten,ensured information to be safe,fast transferred,harmless,and well performed.Most of the memorials to be checked and improved by the monarch would be pre-improved by a class of prime ministers and other officials.The monarch formally made arbitrary decisions,yet,the decisions had already concluded ideas and experiences of many bureaucracies but not of himself.