唐代御史地位演变考

御史是中国古代社会监察制度的主体,也是中央集权兴衰的一个缩影。一个绕有兴趣的现象是,唐代御史在官僚制与社会舆论中表现出两种不同的形象。在官僚制中,御史始终处于“清官”和清望官”序列,而且后期御史大夫与中丞的官阶较之前期还有所提高。但是从社会舆论的角度来看,前期称之为“法官”的御史,后期则被称为“法吏”;前期“御史出都,若不动摇山岳,震慑州县,诚旷职耳”,而后期出使在外的御史却常常受到来自各方的漫骂乃至殴打。文献中关于御史的这两种不同的记载并无抵牾之处。一方面反映出唐代中央力图从官僚制上提高御史的地位,强化中央集权的统治;另一方面又无力改变中晚唐时期出现的“轻法学,贱法吏”现状。在这种政治气候的影响下,唐后期的御史构成、秉公执法观念以及社会地位等各方面都呈现出明显弱化的趋势。

A Study on the Evolution of the Censors'''' Political Position During Tang Dynasty

The censor is the main body of the supervise system and a symbol of the arbitrary central government during ancient China period, however, it had two total different statues in the public opinions and the bureaucracy of Tang dynasty. The censors had always been regarded as very upright and incorruptible in the early period and their ranks elevated gradually, however, their figures in the public opinions had been changed from court judges to law court clerks in the later period. If the district magistrates had not been shocked, the censors would be regarded as guilty of dereliction of their duty when they left the capital to inspect the districts in the early period, however, they had been abused even beaten up by various district officers in the later period, which is not contradict for the historical records. It shows two different significances: on one hand, the censors' political position had been elevated to strengthen the central government control; on the other hand, it was hard to change the reality to despise court clerks during the middle-late period. Under this kind of political background, the censors' political and social position had been decreased.