從楊廷和到嚴嵩：嘉靖朝內閣首輔的權力交替

From Yang Ting-he to Yan Song: Power Shifts between the Senior Grand Secretaries of Chia-Ching Dynasty

本文針對嘉靖朝最重要的四位內閣首輔，即楊廷和(1459-1529) 、張璁(1475-1539) 、夏言(1482-1548) 及嚴嵩(1480-1565)，從四位首輔的權力交替過程，個別觀察內閣首輔對皇帝、內閣同僚及科道官的態度，探索皇權的限制、首輔的兩難及官僚體系的運作……等問題。從本文的討論，可知嘉靖君臣常處在緊張的關係中，這反映了皇權並非絕對專制，反而需要內閣作為君臣間的緩衝。而且，嘉靖朝內閣首輔也充當著皇權伸入官僚體系的觸角，讓皇帝不需直接面對官員們，便能傳遞帝意，重新鞏固皇權的基礎。可是，首輔權力的擴大，卻破壞明帝國原有的權力分配原則。其他閣臣為了謀求首輔之位，爭奪有限的資源，反而讓內閣失去了協調功用，成為政爭之源，開啟結黨之風，明中葉以降的黨爭也由此而生了。

Yang Ting-He (1459-1529), Zhang Cong (1475-1539), Xia Yan (1482-1548) and Yan Song (1480-1565) were the four most important Senior Grand Secretaries of the Chia-Ching Dynasty. We studied their power shifting process, focusing on their attitudes toward the emperor, colleagues in the Secretariat and the Supervising Secretaries, as well as their dilemma as the Senior Grand Secretaries. We revealed the limitation of the imperial power, and the complexity of the bureaucratic system operation. Because the imperial power was not absolute, the relationship between the monarch and the courtier was often tensed. The emperor needed the Secretariat as the in-between buffer. The emperor avoided dealing directly with the bureaucrats by employing the Senior Grand Secretaries to penetrate the bureaucratic system and to execute the imperial wills. The Senior Grand Secretaries became an extension of the imperial power; and the expanded power of the Senior Grand Secretaries disrupted the power distribution principles of Ming Dynasty. Other Grand Secretaries, who wished to be the next Senior Grand Secretaries, competed for the limited resources and were no longer in harmony. Political conflicts caused the Secretariat to lose its buffering function. Factions were formed within the government. The conflict among factions intensified during the second half of Ming Dynasty.