Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 587: Excerpts from the Imperial Ming Constitution
"Introduction, China is one of the countries with the longest history in the world, and it is also the only country with an uninterrupted civilization. The Ming Dynasty is the sixth unified dynasty in Chinese history (here, Zhu Youdong only recognizes the Qin and Han dynasties, the Western Jin dynasty, the Sui and Tang dynasties. The two Han dynasties are considered as one, the Song dynasty cannot be called a unified dynasty, and the Yuan dynasty is not recognized).
At the end of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, our Taizu was a commoner from Huaiyou, but he swept the world with a three-foot sword. He drove out the Tartars and restored China. No dynasty has ever gained a country more justly than our Taizu!
…This Charter, in the form of law, confirms the legitimate status of the imperial family in ruling the Ming Dynasty for 260 years since the founding of the country by our first emperor. It affirms the hard work of the people of all ethnic groups, officials, and soldiers in the country to maintain the continuity of the Ming Dynasty in the past 260 years. It also confirms the fundamental system of the country, which is the fundamental law of the country… All the hundreds of millions of people in the country, including scholars, farmers, merchants, and workers, must use the Charter as the highest criterion to guide their words and deeds, and have the responsibility to maintain the dignity of the Charter and ensure its implementation. ”
"Chapter 1, General Principles, Article 1. The full name of our country is the Ming Dynasty of the Chinese Empire, or Ming for short. It is an empire ruled by the direct descendants of our ancestors Taizu and Chengzu. All power in the country belongs to the emperor alone. The emperor selects talented people and appoints officials at all levels to exercise their respective powers.
…Article 4: The main ethnic group of the Ming Dynasty is the Han nationality. Other ethnic groups living within the territory of the Ming Dynasty are important components of the hundreds of millions of people of the Ming Dynasty. All ethnic groups are equal.
Article 5: The state practices the rule of law. The Charter is the fundamental law of the state. From the date of the promulgation of the Charter, all subsequent laws, administrative regulations and local regulations shall not conflict with the Charter. The millions of people of the Ming Dynasty, all kinds of institutions and groups shall not violate the Charter. All acts that violate the Charter and the laws enacted based on the Charter must be investigated. Everyone is equal before the Charter and the law. No organization or individual shall have privileges beyond the Charter and the law.
…Article 12: The state’s land is divided into state-owned and privately owned. State-owned land cannot be bought, sold or occupied. Illegal buying, selling and private occupation are not protected by law. The Ming Dynasty recognized the reality of private ownership of some land and allowed this part of land to be conditionally bought and sold under the control of government at all levels. However, private land has the obligation to pay taxes to the state, and different amounts of taxes are assessed according to the nature of land use.
Article 13: State public property is sacred and inviolable; lawful private property is sacred and inviolable…
Article 14: The state shall establish education and medical care, and shall be responsible for maintaining public schools and hospitals so that they can provide corresponding services to the people of the country. Private capital shall also be encouraged to participate in the construction of education and medical care.
Article 15. The current armed forces of the Ming Dynasty are the Ming Royal Army, the Royal Navy and the Marine Corps. The Emperor is the highest and only commander of the Ming Dynasty's armed forces. The Emperor has the right to mobilize the army at will to carry out various tasks. Officers at all levels are appointed by the Emperor himself and are loyal to the Emperor himself.
...Article 31. The current administrative divisions of the Ming Dynasty are as follows: the country is divided into the mainland, overseas territories directly under the jurisdiction of the emperor, princely territories, vassal territories, and tributary areas.
The first-level local administrative regions within the mainland are divided into capital, province, and autonomous region. The province is divided into prefecture, state, military and civilian state and other second-level administrative regions. Prefectures are divided into counties. States can be set up independently or manage a small number of counties. Military and civilian states are semi-controlled areas, and their internal settings are subdivided according to local actual conditions. Autonomous regions are divided into various departments, which are divided according to past historical customs and current conditions. At present, there are two capitals in the mainland, Beijing and Nanjing. The area where the capital is located is directly under the imperial court. There are no provinces, and it is composed of various prefectures.
Overseas territories are directly governed by the governor-general, and below the governor-general is the military prefecture. The administrative status of the prince's territory is equivalent to the capital and the province. The vassal territory is equivalent to the prefecture in the interior. The vassal area is equivalent to the prefecture or the military and civilian prefecture. "
The overseas territories directly under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, the territories of princes, the vassal territories, and the vassal areas, like the Ming Dynasty itself, are all inseparable parts of the Ming Dynasty. Any attempt to break away from the Ming Dynasty in any place will be regarded as a serious crime of splitting the country. "
"Chapter 2: The Powers and Responsibilities of the Emperor. The position of the emperor of this dynasty must be held by the direct descendants of Taizu and Chengzu. Unless the emperor voluntarily abdicates, the term of office is lifelong. The emperor is the head of state and the supreme commander of the army. He has the highest administrative power, judicial power, military power, personnel power, and financial power... The emperor must do his best to serve the country, strive for the interests of the people, and protect all the legitimate rights and interests of the country's citizens."
"Chapter 3, Succession to the Throne. The successor to the throne shall be appointed by the current emperor, and no one else may interfere in any way. However, the successor to the throne must meet the following conditions:
1. Be the direct descendant of the current emperor, that is, the son or grandson of the current emperor.
2. If the current emperor has no children, the order of designating successors is: brothers, nephews, and great-nephews.
3. The successor designated by the emperor must be collectively certified by five , confirming that the successor has no major physical illness and is mentally normal. Otherwise, the successor cannot succeed to the throne. This should be completed during the lifetime of the current emperor.
Fourth, the successor should have sufficient education to possess the basic qualities of a monarch. He must complete the high school graduation examination and serve as a civil servant or military officer for at least one year before he can have full imperial power after he succeeds to the throne. If the successor has not completed the above process when the current emperor dies, the successor can take over the throne, but he cannot control administrative power and financial power. "
"Chapter 4. Rights and Obligations of Ming Citizens. People who have the nationality of the Ming Dynasty of the Chinese Empire are citizens of the Ming Dynasty.
Anyone born on the territory of the Ming Dynasty will automatically obtain the Ming nationality and become a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, unless his or her guardian renounces it.
Those who were born outside the territory of the Ming Dynasty but whose parents, or one of them, are citizens of the Ming Dynasty may become citizens of the Ming Dynasty upon application by their guardian or themselves.
Those who were born outside the territory of the Ming Dynasty and whose parents are not citizens of the Ming Dynasty, but who have lived in the territory of the Ming Dynasty for more than five years and paid taxes in accordance with the law for more than three years, and have passed the Chinese proficiency test, can be granted the Ming Dynasty status and become citizens after their application is reviewed by the relevant departments.
The state advocates the equality of rights and obligations, that is, the more rights one has, the more obligations one has…
The status of a citizen shall not be lost due to ordinary crimes, violations of law or other deprivation of honor...
The state protects its citizens from abroad, and anyone who infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of its own citizens will be regarded as infringing upon all citizens of the Ming Dynasty."
"Chapter 5, Ming Dynasty's national institutions. They are divided into central and local, administrative and military.
The central government has a cabinet, ministries, a Privy Council, and headquarters of various military services.
The highest person in charge of administrative affairs is the emperor, and under him are the prime minister, vice prime minister, and various ministries and bureaus. The emperor also has the Silijian as his personal secretariat. The Silijian is currently staffed by eunuchs, but ordinary people can be introduced to serve year by year in the future.
The highest military commander is the emperor, and under him is the privy councilor, the person in charge of national defense affairs in the government. The commander of the military branch. There is also the Imperial Horse Administration, which is the emperor's private military secretariat and is in charge of military personnel. The current staff of the Imperial Horse Administration is eunuchs as seal holders, supplemented by ordinary civil servants.
The local governments of the north and south of Zhili had governors in charge of the civil affairs of Zhili. The highest civil affairs chief of each province was the governor, and above the governor, no governor was appointed unless there was a special need. Each autonomous region had a general in charge of military and political affairs.
Military districts were set up in the north and south Zhili and in each province, and the commanders of the military districts were responsible for local military affairs and managed the local garrisons. Local governments should do their utmost to cooperate with the local garrison defense and solve the normal needs and difficulties of the garrisons.
Judicial independence, the establishment of the Supreme Court of the Ming Dynasty, and the establishment of courts at all levels in the localities to handle judgments and executions. Judges at all levels shall serve for life unless they are guilty of dereliction of duty or commit a crime, and shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of the local government.
The procuratorial power is independent, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate is the highest procuratorial institution. Censors at all levels are dispatched by the Metropolitan Procuratorate and rotated regularly.
The power of intelligence belongs directly to the emperor. The Jinyiwei and the Dongchang are national intelligence agencies under the command of the emperor and are only responsible to the emperor..."
"Chapter 6, National Flag, National Emblem, National Anthem, and Capital. The national flag is the flag of the country, the national emblem is the symbol of the country, and the national anthem is the song that expresses the will of the country and the people. After the national flag, national emblem, and national anthem are determined, all state institutions in the Ming Dynasty must hang the national flag and national emblem in prominent positions in their resident places. A flag-raising ceremony will be held every ten days and on major assembly days, and participants must sing the national anthem during the flag-raising ceremony.
The national flag, national emblem and national anthem have not yet been determined. After the draft is passed, all citizens in the entire Ming Dynasty will be asked to submit proposals for the three and the best one will be selected. "
"Finally, the charter is formulated and amended. The first charter was collectively determined by the participants of the State Council in the eleventh year of Tianqi. If it is to be amended later, it must be voted on by those who were able to attend the State Council that year, and the approval weight must exceed 50% before it can be amended. The emperor's voting weight is 20%, the prime minister's voting weight is 10%, the privy councilor's voting weight is 8%... The ministers of each ministry have a voting weight of 1%."
