Grand Council

The Grand Council or Junjichu (zh-tsp|s=军机处|t=軍機處|p=Jūnjīchù; in function and importance, which is why it has become known as the "Grand Council" in English.

Despite its important role in the government, the Grand Council remained an informal policy making body in the inner court and its members held other concurrent posts in the Qing civil service. Originally, most of the officials serving in the Grand Council were Manchus, but gradually Han Chinese officials were admitted into the ranks of the council. One of the earliest Han Chinese officials to serve in the Council was Zhang Tingyu. The chancellery was housed in an insignificant building just west of the gate to Palace of Heavenly Purity in the Forbidden City.

Origins of the Grand Council

Council of Princes and High Officials

In the early part of the Qing dynasty, political power was held by the Council of Princes and High Officials (議政王大臣會議), which consisted of eight imperial princes who served as imperial Advisors at the same time. It also included a few of Manchu officials. Established in 1637, the Council was responsible for deciding major policies of the Imperial government. Decisions of the Council had precedence over decisions of the Imperial Cabinet. Under rules set by Nurhaci, the Council even had the power to depose the Emperor. In 1643, the Shunzhi Emperor expanded the Council's composition to Han officials, with its mandate expanded to all important decisions relating to the State. The Council's powers gradually waned after the establishment of the Southern Study and the Grand Council, and it was abolished in 1717.

outhern Study

The Southern Study (, selected on the basis of literary merit, were posted to the Study so that the Emperor had easy access to them when he sought counsel or discussion. When posted to the Study, officials were known as " [having] access to the Southern Study" (南書房行走). Because of their proximity to the Emperor, official posted to the Study became highly influential to the Emperor. After the establishment of the Grand Council, the Southern Study remained an important institution but lost its policy advisory role. Officials regarded secondment to the Southern Study as an honourable recognition of their literary achievements. In Chinese, the term "access to the Southern Study" in modern usage indicates a person who, through channels other than formal government office, has significant influence over leaders of the government.

Establishment of the Grand Council

In 1729, the Yongzheng Emperor launched a military offensive against the Dzungars. Concerns were raised that the meeting location of the Imperial Cabinet (outside the Gate of Supreme Harmony) did not ensure security for military secrets. The Junjichu was then established in the Inner Court of the Forbidden City. Trustworthy members of Cabinet staff were then seconded to work in the new Office. [梁章鉅《枢垣纪略》卷廿七] . After defeating the Dzungars, the Emperor found that the streamlined operations of the Office of Military Secrets avoided problems with bureaucratic inefficiency. As a result, the Junjichu turned from a temporary institution into a "Grand Council", quickly outstripping the powers of the Council of Advisor Princes, and the Southern Study, to become the chief policy-making body of the Empire.

In 1736, the newly enthroned Qianlong Emperor abolished the Grand Council, with all members sent back to their original posts. However, this arrangement proved unsatisfactory, and two years later, in 1738, the Grand Council was reconstituted.

Composition

The number of officials comprising the Council varied from time to time, from as few as three to as many as ten. Usually, the number of officials serving in the Council was five, two Manchus, two Han Chinese and one Prince of the Blood, who acted as president. The most senior among them was called the Chief Councillor ("Lǐngbān jūnjī dàchén," 領班軍機大臣), but this was simply a working designation and was not an official title.

References

Notes

General

*Beatrice S. Bartlett. "Monarchs and Ministers: The Grand Council in Mid-Ch'ing China, 1723-1820. " Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1991.
*Ho, Alfred Kuo-liang. "The Grand Council in the Ch'ing Dynasty." "The Far Eastern Quarterly" 11, no. 2 (1952): 167-82.