Imperial Counties
In the Sui dynasty, the city of the Western Capital or Daxingcheng consisted of two counties with Daxing County in the east and Chang'an County in the west. ^ 16 The name of Daxing was changed to Wannian at the beginning of the Tang dynasty and remained so throughout the period except for the years 748-758 when it was temporarily named Xianning.117 In 619, a new county named ZhiyangHS was created out of Wannian County and was retained until 624. In 668, another county named Mingtang was separated from Wannian County, but abolished in 702. Chang'an County retained its original name throughout the Sui-Tang period. Part of it was made into Qianfeng County during the active period of Mingtang County (668- 702). 119
Tang law required that metropolitan counties be divided into two categories:
1. chi xian (red county or imperial county); 2. ji xian !2° (suburban county).
The so-called imperial counties were enclosed by the walls of the capital city, that is Wannian and Chang'an Counties, which were directly responsible to the metropolitan prefecture. 121
The Wannian County Office was located in the southeastern comer of Xuanyang fang. The creation of its main gate was attributed to Yuwen Kai, the chief architect of the city in Sui dynasty. The gate was especially well-known for its novel design. Princess Taiping, a favourite daughter of Empress Wu Zetian and Gaozong, held her wedding ceremony in the Wannian County Office compound. When the main gate was too narrow for her processional carriages, she asked for its destruction. Gaozong rejected her request, on account of the gate's extraordinary craftsmanship. Princess Taiping had to demolish part of the compound wall to make way for her procession.122
Xuanyang fang did not only house the County Office of Wannian but was also home to some of the most powerful figures of the Tang dynasty. 122 As was
116. Sui shu 29/808. 117. Xin Tang shu 37/962.
118. Chang'an zhi l l / l . j £ [ $ |
119. Based on Chang'an zhi 11/1,12/2; Xin Tang shu 37/962. Inconsistent dates are found in Jiu Tang shu.
In the chapter 'Treatise on Geography" (di li zhi) it is recorded as 666-703. In the annals, the
construction date for the two new counties becomes 668. (See 38/1396, 5/91)
“ ■ *
8
1/1. See Tong jian 237/1651 commentary.
122. Chang'an zhi 8/5. Xin Tang shu 83/3650.
123. Among the VIPs who built their mansions there were Duchess o f Guo (Yang Guifei's sister), Yang Guozhong (Xuanzong's most favourite chief minister), Gao Xianzhi (the Korean general who lost Central A sia to the Arabs at the battle o f Talas) and Zhang Yichao (the charismatic figure who recovered the northwest from Tibetan occupation), to name just a few. See Chang’an zhi 8/5-6.
4 A dm in istrative & R itual: L ocal
mentioned earlier it also served as the site for the head office of the Metropolitan Prefecture during the An Lushan Rebellion.124 Obviously the location of Wannian County Office was among the best outside the palace area, which seems to indicate the importance of the county.
Chang'an County Office constituted a different case. While the Office of Wannian County was situated in the strategically important Xuanyang fang in the eastern half of the city, the Chang'an County Office might have been expected to be situated in its western counterpart, that is Guangde/tz/zg. But instead, the Office was placed in the southeastern comer of Changshou/arcg, which was two wards south of the Western Market, further removed from the palace and central government areas and closer to the more or less deserted southern part of the city.125
The head offices of Mingtang and Qianfeng Counties that existed temporarily between 668-702 were situated in Yonglq fang and H u a i z h e n r e s p e c t i v e l y . Here again The county office in the west (Qianfeng) was further down south and away from the Imperial City than its counterpart in the east (Mingtang County). This is probably another indication that more priority was given to the eastern part of the city.12**
County Officers127
The leading officer of an imperial county ling (magistrate) enjoyed much higher status than his counterpart in a local county. In the Sui dynasty, he ranked 5a, on a par with the prefect of a medium prefecture.128 In Tang times, an imperial county was headed by a magistrate with a rank of 5a, which was virtually six degrees higher than a highest local county magistrate (6a).129 Next to the ling were the two cheng (vice-magistrates), two assistants (zhu bo), two officer managers (lu shi) and two vice-officer managers. The six county defenders (wei) were in charge of public security.130
The size of its bureaucracy (181) was larger than that of a medium prefecture (176). It also had the six executive sections found in the Metropolitan Prefecture, but on a much smaller scale (9-15 as against 20-36 of the Metropolitan Prefecture).131
Chang'an zhi 8/5-6. Chang’an zhi 12/1.
Chang'an z A ill/1 ,12/1-2.
For an account of Tang county magistrates in general, see Wang Shounan:"Lun Tang dai di xian ling"
Guo li zheng zhi da xue xue boo 25 (1972)/177-94. Also see Tonami Mamoru/79-105, for a study of wei (executive officers) at the county level.
Sui shu 28/786.
Jiu Tang shu 44/1920-21. See also Table 1 for a comparison between Sui and Tang ranking systems. Tang liu dian 3 0 /1 6 - 1 7 # ,
4 A dm in istrative & R itu al: L ocal
The Imperial County magistrate was often named by an imperial decree. Chief ministers Li Qiao (served Wu Zetian and Zhongzong), Su Ting (served Xuanzong) and Chang Gun (served Daizong) 122 all drafted such decrees. 122
However, little has been written about the government of imperial county magistrates and their relationship to superiors and subordinates, and their personal life. Judging from related information in extant sources, they were often transferred from important positions at the central government. Examples can be found in the appointment announcements of Zhao Sheng, Wei Tan and Xu Yan.124 At the time of their appointment, they served as intermediate level officers in the hu (Board of Revenue), gong (Board of Works) and cang bu (Bureau of Granaries,cang bu was under the hu bu). Sometimes, local officers such as ci shi (prefect) and zhang shi (deputy-prefect) were transferred to the post of imperial county magistrate when they had demonstrated their administrative ability.122
Imperial county magistrateship could also mean better opportunities for essential positions in the central government. Yang Zuan126, an Early Tang magistrate of Chang'an County rose to the position of shang shu zuo cheng and hu bu shang shu (left assistant vice-president of the Department of State Affairs and president of the Board of Revenue).127Li Chaoyin12^ was named the magistrate of Chang'an three times and eventually became yu shi daf u (censor general) and tai chang qing (president of the Court of State Ceremonies).129 Pei Yaoqing140 started out as magistrate of Chang'an County going on to become metropolitan prefect of the city and managed to climb to the highest rung of hierarchy, chief-ministership.141
Like most officers of rank at the city, the magistrate also had to deal with the palace eunuchs who by virtue of their palace connections, rode roughshod over the city dwellers. Chang'an County magistrate Li Chaoyin was once approached by a eunuch officer who tried to bribe him for favours. Li threw him out of his office, and his action won accolade from the emperor (Ruizong).142
132 133* 134 135. 136 137 138 139 140 141 142
See Quan Tang wen (Beijing) 2450a, (Taipei) 242/14; (Beijing)2553b, (Taipei)253/1; (Beijing) 4228,
(Taipei) 413/1. Imperial decrees for magistrate promotion at suburban and local counties are also found but are comparatively rare. Xuanzong was particularly fond o f making personal selections o f county magistrates. He is reputed to have appointed 163 o f them at the beginning o f his reign. Ji gu lu as
quoted in Shaanxi jin shi zhi 12/11.
JL?, ^
See Quan Tang wen (Beijing) 2553b, (Taipei) 253/1; (Beijing) 4228b, 413/1.
For instance Zheng Xianke from Dingzhou, Qin Shouyi from Chuzhou. See Quan Tang wen (Beijing)
2450a, (Taipei) 242/14; (Beijing) 2553b, (Taipei) 2 5 3 / 1 . $ f l l j g ,
gw.
Jiu Tang shu 77/2673. Jiu Tang shu 100/3125-7.
3SMW
Jiu Tang shu 98/3080-1. Jiu Tang shu 100/3125-6.
4 Administrative &. Ritual: Local
But the magistrate could also be made a scapegoat when things went wrong. Yang Cuan in his position as county magistrate of Chang’an was trusted with the interrogation of a witch named Yuan. He let her go for lack of evidence. But later the witch was caught in practice, Taizong was furious and asked to have Yang decapitated. Only vigorous remonstration from chief minister Wen Yanbo143 saved him from death. 144 This stood in sharp contrast with the position of the metropolitan prefect of Chang'an. For example, Liu Gongchuo was able to put to death a eunuch officer and got away with it in defiance of imperial wrath.145
143 144' 145'
mw
Jiu Tang shu 77/2673.