Regency

Regency (shezheng 攝政) was a legal means of managing government affairs for a child emperor (nian you 年幼) or for an emperor who was seriously ill. It was carried out by one or more persons.

The paradigm of a regent was the Duke of Zhou 周公, who, during the early Western Zhou period 西周 (11th cent.-770 BCE), reigned (jianzuo er zhi 踐阼而治 "he rose the steps [to the throne] and arranged [political matters]", from Liji 禮記, ch. Wenwang shizi 文王世子) for the young ruler King Cheng 周成王 (trad. r. 1116-1079 BCE).

In his book Xinyu 新語, Lu Jia 陸賈 (240-170) explained that a regent (fuzheng 輔政) was someone of "high standing like a Saint" (yi shengren ju gaochu shang 以聖人居高處上) and that such a regent governed with "kindheartedness and righteousness" (yi ren yi wei chao 以仁義為巢) in order to steer through dangers "with the stave of a Saint and worthy" (yi shengxian wei zhang 以聖賢為杖). A good regent was a person of softness, warmth, and austerity.

In fact, contemporaries of the Duke charged him with attempted usurpation. His regency sparked a debate over the role of ministers in the Zhou kingdom, in which the Duke of Zhou granted privileges to ministers over kings, while the Duke of Shao 召公 supported the king's prerogative to rule as the Son of Heaven (Shaugnessy 1993).

There were indeed several instances in history when a regent replaced the ruling dynasty, for instance, Wang Mang 王莽 (45 BCE-23 CE), who overthrew the Former Han 前漢 (206 BCE-8 CE) and founded the Xin dynasty 新 (8-23 CE), or Cao Pi 曹丕 (187-226), who ended the Later Han 後漢 (25-220 CE) and founded the Wei dynasty 魏 (220-265).

In the early imperial age, the Empress Dowager (huanghou 皇后), the widowed primary consort of a deceased ruler, typically assumed the regency. The most famous examples are Empress Dowager Lü 呂太后 (d. 180 BCE) of the early Former Han, Empress Wu Zetian 武則天 (regent 684-690, ruler 690-704) of the Tang 唐 (618-907), and Empress Dowager Cixi 慈禧太后 (1835-1908) of the late Qing 清 (1644-1911) period.

Yet there are also many examples of brothers or other close relatives of empresses dowager assuming the regency, particularly during the Han period, as for instance, Huo Guang 霍光 (d. 68 BCE) or He Jin 何進 (d. 189 CE).

During the early Qing, a consortium of regents governed the state during the youth of the Shunzhi 順治帝 (r. 1643-1661) and the Kangxi 康熙帝 (r. 1661-1722) emperors. The most famous of these regents were Dorgon (Ch. Duo'ergun 多爾袞, 1612-1650) and Oboi (Ch. Aobai 鰲拜, c. 1610-1669). Zaifeng 載灃 (1883–1951), Prince Chun 醇親王, reigned on behalf of his son, the three-year-old Xuantong Emperor 宣統帝 (r. 1908-1912).

When a young emperor came of age, he "personally took over the government" (qinzheng 親政).

The term shezheng was still used in the Republican era (1912-1949), when the cabinet (neige 內閣) assumed the executive functions of the President (da zongtong 大總統), for instance, Prime Minister (guowu zongli 國務總理) Gao Lingwei 高凌霨 (1870-1940) in 1923 and Prime Minister Gu Weijun 顧維鈞 (Wellington Koo, 1888-1985) in 1927.

The regency of an empress dowager was described as linchao chengzhi 臨朝稱制 "face the court and pronounce edicts" or linchao tingzheng 臨朝聽政 "face the court and listen to governmental affairs", even though these expressions were normally used for an active ruler. The commentator on the official dynastic history Hanshu 漢書, Yan Shigu 顏師古 (581-645), explains that there were two types of documents issued by an emperor, namely edicts or decrees (zhishu 制書) and proclamations or announcements (zhaoshu 詔書). A reigning empress dowager was not allowed to pronounce edicts. This argument is directed (unless Yan's argument is wrong) against Empress Dowager Lü from the early Former Han period, but would also be applicable to Empress Dowager Liu 劉太后 (Empress Zhangxian 章獻后, 968-1033), who reigned "by pronouncing edicts" (linchao chengzhi) for the Song 宋 (960-1279) emperor Renzong 宋仁宗 (r. 1022-1063).

The regency of an empress dowager was a common and legal means of ensuring the regular conduct of day-to-day government. During the late Qing period, Empress Dowagers Ci'an 慈安太后 (1837-1881) and Cixi, primary and secondary consorts of the Xianfeng Emperor 咸豐帝 (r. 1850-1861), were several times formally invited to assume regency for a young emperor, first for Cixi's son, the Tongzhi Emperor 同治帝 (r. 1861-1874), and then twice for her nephew, the Guangxu Emperor 光緒帝 (r. 1874-1908). Yet in practice, the day-to-day business of government was initially carried out by a consortium of Eight Regents (guming ba da chen 顧命八大臣), consisting of Princes and ministers. However, this consortium was soon dissolved, and the Princes Gong 恭親王 (I Hin 奕訢, 1833-1898) and Chun 醇郡王 (I Huwan 奕譞, 1840-1891, both being uncles of the emperor) took over the regency.

During the Guangxu Emperor’s childhood, statutes governed the female regency (Taihou chuilian zhangcheng 太后垂簾章程). As the regency was nominally carried out by the two Empresses Dowager, the circumstance arrangement was called known as "regency by the two palaces" (lianggong tingzheng 兩宮聽政). In 1881, Empress Dowager Ci'an passed away, allowing Cixi to rule alone until 1888. Ten years later, the Emperor's reforms (see the Hundred Days' Reform) were ended by a conservative coup d'état, and Cixi again assumed the regency in the form of "instructive government" (xunzheng 訓政).

The formalities to be observed were similar during the Song period, when Empress Meng 孟氏 (primary consort of Emperor Zhezong 宋哲宗, r. 1085-1100) was asked to reign for two short intervals in 1127 and 1129. She played an important role in securing the accession to the throne of Emperor Gaozong 宋高宗 (r. 1127-1162) of the Southern Song 南宋 (1127-1279).

Since the Tang period, it was common for reigning Empress Dowagers to sit behind a bamboo curtain (lian 簾) during court sessions and audiences. The ususal term for a female regency is therefore chuilian tingzheng 垂簾聽政 or chuilian tingjue 垂簾聽決 "listening to and deciding over political affairs from behind the curtain". Empress Wu Zetian was perhaps the first female regent to sit behind a curtain hanging from behind the throne (yuzuo hou 御座後). Although her husband, Emperor Gaozong 唐高宗 (r. 649-683), was ruling actively, she assisted him so much that she was called the "Second Holy [Ruler]" (ersheng 二聖). She was the first and only female regent to eventually assume the position of the emperor.

The "ceremony of the hanging curtain" (chuilian yi 垂簾儀) was an official form of congratulatory rites (jiali 嘉禮, see five rites). At the time of the enthronement of the Tongzhi Emperor, the curtain was apparently merely a relic from ancient times. Empress Dowagers Ci'an and Cixi received documents and made decisions in full view of the curtain, not behind it. Quite interestingly, the Guangxu Emperor, who was hidden behind a satin screen (shaping 紗屏), remained so with the two regents as long as he had not taken over government affairs. Each document was formally submitted in three copies, so the emperor and the two female regents each had one at hand.

The term jianguo 監國 "supervisor of the state" (see also liushou 留守, resident regents) was mainly used for temporary regents overseeing government business when the emperor was outside the capital, for instance, during a military campaign or on an inspection or hunting tour. The role was usually carried out by the Heir Apparent or a high dignitary. In Emperor Chengzu's 明成祖 (r. 1402-1424) campaign in 1410, it was even carried out by the Imperial Grandson (huang zhangsun 皇長孫) Zhu Danji 朱瞻基, the eventual Emperor Xuanzong 明宣宗 (r. 1426-1435). The term was first used in the history book Guoyu 國語 (ch. Jinyu 晉語 1) and the Classic Zuozhuan 左傳 (Mingong 閔公 2).

The word zhizheng 執政, lit. "hold the government", was an ancient expression for an individual official’s control over government affairs. This was not illegal, but it might carry a connotation of unjust dominance over potential rivals. The word is even used as a neutral term in the sense of "to execute government affairs". One example of a negative use is the abuse of power by court eunuchs the Later Han period. They "dominated" the government without holding government positions. The word zhizheng was used as a verbal phrase as well as for the persons in power.

During the Song period, zhizheng became an official designation for a function and a general reference to Vice Grand Counsellors (fuxiang 副相) serving in the Administration Chamber (zhengshi tang 政治堂), where the most important central government decisions were made; all held primary appointments in the Secretariat-Chancellery (zhongshu menxia sheng 中書門下省) or the Bureau of Military Affairs (shumiyuan 樞密院). The term designated all high officials of the inner circle of the government – apart from the Counsellor-in-chief (zaixiang 宰相), namely Vice Grand Counsellors (can zhizheng shi 參知政事), Military Affairs Commissioners (shumishi 樞密使), Vice Military Affairs Commissioners (shumi fushi 樞密副使), Notaries of the Bureau of Military Affairs (qianshu shumiyuan shi 簽書樞密院事), Administrators of the Bureau of Military Affairs (zhi shumiyuan shi 知樞密院事), Associate Administrators (tongzhi shumiyuan shi 同知樞密院事), Left and Right Aides in the Imperial Secretariat (shangshu zuocheng 尚書左丞, shangshu youcheng 尚書右丞), Vice Directors in the Palace Secretariat (zhongshu shilang 中書侍郎), and Vice Directors in the Chancellery (menxia shilang 門下侍郎).

The Jurchen-Jin dynasty 金 (1115-1234) used the term as an alternative name for the Left and Right Aides in the Imperial Secretariat and the Vice Grand Counsellors, and the Yuan 元 (1279-1368) used it as a synonym for the Left and Right Aides of the Palace Secretariat (zhongshu zuo cheng 中書左丞, zhongshu youcheng 中書右丞). All of these posts were defined as "assistants" to the Counsellor-in-chief.

The term zhizheng was still used in 1924, when the warlord Duan Qirui 段祺瑞 (1865-1936) formed a provisional cabinet (linshi zhengfu 臨時政府), in which he served as "executive head" (zhizheng 執政).

The term zhuanzheng 專政 has two meanings. The stronger sense is that an individual and his clansmen dominate political affairs and the executive, as with the family Luan 欒 in the regional state of Jin 晉, the Three Huan families 三桓 in Lu 魯 during the Spring and Autumn period 春秋 (770-5th cent. BCE), or Wang Mang during the late Former Han period. This meaning carries a slight connotation of illegality, even when the dominant officials held their functions rightfully. In modern Chinese, therefore, the word zhuanzheng means "dictatorship". In a weaker sense, the term zhuanzheng simply means "to act as an executive, to reign" (same as zhizheng 執政). The Chinese term for usurpation or illegal interference into the executive was shanzheng 擅政.