皇帝及其包衣奴才：論清代皇權與內務府官僚體制

The Emperors and Their Bondservants: Interaction between Imperial Wills and Bureaucratic Institution of the Imperial Household Department in the Qing Dynasty

黃麗君(Li-Chun Huang)

指導教授 ： 陳國棟

國立臺灣大學/文學院/歷史學研究所/博士(2014年)

https://doi.org/10.6342/NTU.2014.01641

摘要

清代的內務府是中國歷史上特殊的政治制度，成員主要由皇帝直領的上三旗包衣佐領、管領與莊頭旗人構成，功能在於為天子執家事。由於上三旗包衣的身分是皇帝的家奴，出身低微，並基於必須為家主當差的義務，宦途也大多從內務府起步。但在清代的官僚體系中，內務府的人事銓選不歸兵部、吏部負責，不僅獨立於外朝部院體系，本身還帶有濃厚的封閉性。加上清初內務府的升遷考課制度尚未健全成熟，因此大多數的包衣一輩子事功無著，長久在基層當差。在這個情況下，盛清時期能夠活躍於政壇上的包衣，大多是與皇帝關係親密，才有被特別拔擢的機會。質言之，清初包衣個人與家族的榮顯，皇權君寵是一個重要的關鍵。

然而，隨著內務府官僚制度的逐漸成熟，上三旗包衣的宦途出路對君寵的依賴程度則隨之下降。內務府並行的兩套考課制度：京察與軍政，在乾隆朝之後對包衣旗人升遷的重要性趨增，其中又以京察作用最大。透過堂官的考課，取得京察一等資格的內務府包衣，能夠優先升遷或外放稅差等優缺。換言之，除了長久等待累積年資與透過皇帝的個人垂青外，乾隆朝之後由於內務府考課制度的逐步完善，包衣可以透過京察考核的結果，替自己尋求更好的宦途出路。不過在乾隆、嘉慶朝時，仍是皇權相對集中的時期，當時皇帝對包衣的驅使和控制仍然強烈且直接，皇權對包衣宦途的的影響力仍大於官僚體制的常態性運作。直至道光朝之後，皇帝才開始基於對制度的尊重，逐漸減少對內務府人事事務的干涉。加上晚清君主多幼年即位，更加依賴官僚體制的運作規則來銓補官員。在這個情況下，內務府官員能夠得缺與否，與其擁有的任官「資格」關係較大，皇權因素的關鍵性逐漸降低，這也意味著皇帝與其包衣奴才的親密性已經不復以往了。

不過探討內務府旗人的宦途發展，除了皇權與內務府官僚體制兩個變因外，還得再考慮到包衣仕宦的能動性問題。上三旗包衣雖然大多在內務府底下當差，但在實際上，清代卻可以見到不少外任外朝部院體系的例子。他們或循內務府原有的制度進身，或是受到皇權意志的直接拔擢。除此之外，清代官僚體系中關於科舉、捐納或廕敘制度的設計，也都有助於上三旗包衣擺脫其當差義務，得有機會在外朝任職，建立事功，尋求更好的發展機會，並帶動家族後人的整體的向上流動。只是從制度的沿革來看，清初時期包衣即便有在外朝任職的機會，通常還是必須兼任內務府底下的差事，繼續為皇帝當差，也容易因為犯錯而被褫職或降任，受皇帝意志的影響仍然非常直接。至清代中期以降，隨著旗人可以參加的科舉制度開始常態性舉行，以及國家財政衰敗後大開捐納之門等因素，讓包衣旗人擁有更寬廣的出身管道，甚至不乏完全規避當差義務的例子。從中也得以顯示上三旗包衣雖與皇帝身為家人關係，但到清代後期皇帝和他的包衣奴才之間，親密狀況已經不復以往的趨勢。

關鍵字

內務府 ； 皇權 ； 包衣 ； 上三旗 ； 官僚制度

並列摘要

Within Chinese history, the Imperial Household Department of the Qing dynasty stands as a unique bureaucratic organization. Its members were primarily composed of the Booi nirus, overseers and land stewards of the Upper Three Banners, whose duty was, as the emperor’s bondservants, to work for their family master. For this reason, the Upper Three Banner Booi’s official career usually started in, and was generally confined to, the Imperial Household. Moreover, as the system of promotion and assessment of the Imperial Household was still rather underdeveloped compared to the outer court system during the Kangxi and Yongzheng reigns, most of the Booi bondservants worked at the bottom of the inner court, and only a few of them had the opportunity to engage in political activities due to their close relationship with the emperor. To sum up, imperial authority played a crucial role in the achievement and maintenance of prosperity by the Booi and his family during the early Qing period.

Nevertheless, as the bureaucratic institution of the Imperial Household gradually matured, the dependence of Booi bondservants on their emperor-master weakened. The role played by the junzheng (軍政) and especially of the jingcha (京察) – two assessment systems implemented within the Imperial Household – for the official promotion of the Booi also grew in significance after the Qianlong reign. The promotion of those obtaining the highest grade at the jingcha examination could be prioritized, while others with similarly high grades could become tax officials at the provincial level. In other words, the improvement of the assessment system during the Qianlong reign provided better chances of promotion for the Booi. But it should be noted that during the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns, the imperial power was still highly centralized and strong, so that the emperor’s will continued to have a direct and powerful impact on the official career of Booi. As the respect they held for the system grew increasingly until the Daoguang reign, the emperors intervened less and less in the process of selecting officials for the Imperial Household Department. In addition, the fact that many emperors in the Late Qing ascended the throne at a very young age made it difficult for them to choose their ideal candidate or acquaintance to fill a post, and as such it was inevitable that they had to rely on the bureaucratic system to appoint officials. Therefore, the level of qualification of the candidates played a greater role than their proximity to the emperor in the selection of officials for the Imperial Household Department during this period.

However, we cannot limit our discussion of the official career of Booi to a study of the imperial wills and the bureaucratic system of the Imperial Household Department, but must also take into consideration the fact that Booi were also active agents within their social milieu. Although most Booi had to work in the Imperial Household Deparment, some could also hold a post in the outer court system; a post which they could obtain by passing the civil examination system, by purchasing a degree, by claiming special Yin privileges of hereditary succession, or thanks to some particular regulation of the Imperial Household Department. Once he had become an official in the outer court, a Booi could more easily succeed in the political arena and therefore contribute to the social ascent of his family and of himself. But even Booi who took office in the outer court system usually had to hold a concurrent post in the Imperial Household Department during the High Qing. This meant that if a Booi made any mistake while in the Imperial Household Department, he could easily be dismissed or demoted by the emperor, thus losing his privilege to work in the outer court. However, as the bannermen were allowed to partake in the civil examination which were held regularly from the middle Qing on, and as the donation system began to play a more important role after the deterioration of state finances during the same period, the ways through which Booi engaged in politics diversified and expended, while some Booi even managed to avoid working in the Imperial Household Department altogether. This shows that the relationship between the Emperor and his Booi bondservants during the late Qing was not as close as before.

並列關鍵字

The Imperial Houseold Department ； Imperial Wills ； Booi ； Upper Three Banners ； Bureaucratic Institution

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