strengthen the central forces and weaken the local ones

strengthen the central forces and weaken the local ones

As a Chinese idiom, the Pinyin is Qi á NGG ā NRU ò zh ī, which means to strengthen the trunk and weaken the branches and leaves; it means to reduce the local power and strengthen the central power. It comes from the preface to the chronology of princes and kings since the Han Dynasty in historical records.

The origin of Idioms

"Preface to the chronology of princes and kings since the rise of the Han Dynasty in historical records:" Han Jun, in its eighties and nineties, is in the wrong shape among the princes, with dogs and teeth facing each other. In accordance with its favorable location, it has the power of strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches and leaves, and it is superior and inferior, and everything is in its proper place. "

Idiom usage

It refers to reducing local power and strengthening the central government.

Examples

The shogunate was only strong and weak, and did not step on the traitor's party. It helped the recovery of Jingjia, swept through the army, sounded the golden drum, and spread the crowd to Jue. (Chapter 24 of romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong in Ming Dynasty)

Idiom story

In the process of ending the split situation of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, song Taizu often thought hard about how to prevent the recurrence of the long-term separatist situation of vassal towns, how to make the Song Dynasty have long-term stability, and not become the sixth short-lived Dynasty after the Five Dynasties, so he vigorously implemented the "strong cadres and weak branches" policy at the beginning of the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty. Its purpose and situation can be roughly described as follows:

（1） To eliminate the separatist regime: in order to reverse the situation that the local army supported itself and could not lose its tail, Taizu vigorously strengthened the power of the central government and weakened the power of the local government. For example, if roads are set up above the state level, each road has four officials, namely "Shuai, Cao, Xian and Cang", who are in charge of the local military and civilian affairs, finance, criminal law and grain, and are directly responsible to the central government.

（2） To prevent the recurrence of Mutiny: during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the military dictatorship usurped and killed, and the military generals mutinied and supported. This was the case with Guo Wei, the Taizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty, and the Taizu of the Song Dynasty himself won the kingdom by "Chen Qiao mutiny, Huang Pao plus body". In order to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, the government carried out the policy of valuing culture over martial arts, advocated the literati to canonize the army, and prohibited the military to interfere in politics. He also took advantage of the opportunity of drinking wine to talk about joy, knowing that all the generals left their old age and resigned, which is known as "drinking wine to release military power".

（3） Increase the central revenue: after the middle of the Tang Dynasty, local governments were good at collecting taxes and making money, which made the central treasury empty. In order to change this abnormal state, Taizu controlled the financial power of the central government and set up a transport envoy in the 15th route of the country, who was directly responsible to the central government.

（4） To maintain the long-term stability of the royal dynasty: Taizu's "strong cadres" not only strengthened the central government, but also strengthened the imperial power. The general purpose of his "strong cadres" was to ensure the long-term stability of the Zhao family and the continuity of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, he greatly weakened the real power of the prime minister (zhongshuling) and set up a deputy prime minister (attending to political affairs) to divide his power. On the other hand, he took the military and political power of zhongshuling and the financial power of zhongshuling.

Although Zhao Kuangyin's policies of "strong cadres and weak branches" and "valuing culture over martial arts" succeeded in weakening local power and prolonging the reign of the Song Dynasty, they resulted in the poverty and weakness of the two Song Dynasties, resulting in financial constraints, local depression and serious foreign invasion. In the end of the Song Dynasty, this situation remained unchanged.