Abstract
During the transition between the Yongzheng 雍正 (1723-1735) and Qianlong 乾隆 (1736-1796) reigns, as the Grand Council emerged as the new power center, palace memorials (zouzhe 奏摺) gradually replaced routine memorials (tiben 題本) as the primary channel for communication between the emperor and his officials, as well as for reporting political affairs. The abolition of private routine memorials (zouben 奏本) and the relegation of routine memorials to routine administrative matters marked a transformative breakthrough in the political and administrative system of early Qing China. This shift was closely tied to the political landscape between the Kangxi 康熙 (1662-1722) and Yongzheng periods and the decisive governance style of the Yongzheng Emperor, while also following a long-term historical trajectory.
The document-based administrative system, centered on formal petitions and memorial books, had already been challenged by the early Chongzhen 崇禎 (1628-1644) period of the Ming dynasty at the latest. During Chongzhen’s reign, secret memorials (miti 密題, mizou 密奏) became popular, allowing officials to bypass the Office of Communication’s review process and avoiding the need for copies to be distributed. These secret memorials, coupled with the issuance of yuqian faxia hongben 御前 發下紅本, established a relatively direct and confidential communication channel between the emperor and outer court officials. The former bypassed the Censorate’s review, while the latter even circumvented the Six Ministries, a practice that continued after the Ming-Qing transition.
The composition of the inner court in the Ming and Qing dynasties differed significantly. In the early Qing period, the inner court was redefined: on one hand, the Thirteen Yamens (shisan yamen 十三衙門 ) were restructured into eunuch institutions under Manchu supervision, with Manchu seal-holding officials collaborating with Grand Ministers (Nei dachen 內大臣), forming a part of the transmission of political directives during the Shunzhi 順治 reign (1644-1661). On the other hand, from the Shunzhi period onward, Grand Ministers of the Imperial Household and imperial guards assumed the role of mediating between the inner and outer courts, relaying memorials and imperial edicts while also acting as the emperor’s agents in external political affairs. During the Kangxi reign, the effective division of labor between confidential and non-confidential memorials further facilitated this transformation. By then, a substantial portion of state affairs had already shifted to the new document-based administrative system centered on memorials, especially in matters related to the inner court (neige 內閣), the Eight Banners (baqi 八旗), and tributary states (fanshu 藩屬).
These changes were not entirely linear but collectively reflected a broader trend in late Ming and early Qing administrative operations—diminishing the role of intermediary institutions and establishing more direct communication between the emperor and his officials. This transformation was ultimately made possible by the development of a relatively independent document administration system that was closely tied to the inner court.
Keywords
secret memorials, inner court, imperial guards, palace memorials, Ming-Qing transition
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