| 摘要: | 明太祖朱元璋對於中國歷史上之朝代因宦官專權而導致亡國，有深刻的體會，因此對於宦官嚴加約束，並嚴格劃分職掌，陸續於洪武年間增設宦官機構，最後劃分為十二監、四司、八局，合稱二十四衙門，各專設掌印太監管理。不僅如此，明太祖還於宮門中樹立禁止宦官干政的鐵牌，讓後代子孫與宮內太監能夠謹記在心，但諷刺的是，宦官干政竟成為明朝滅亡的主要原因之一。 然而並非二十四衙門所有的宦官皆能干政，其中僅有司禮監憑藉著職掌，於明中葉成為二十四衙門之首，到了晚明，權力甚至與內閣不相上下。會造成司禮監權勢迅速竄升最大的原因，就是司禮監掌印太監擁有掌理內外章奏及御前勘合之權、秉筆太監擁有照閣票硃批之權。當皇帝有能力掌控政治大局時，司禮監得以透過此二權，成為皇帝處理政事上的助手；但是當皇帝無法獨自理政、卻又與司禮監太監關係過度親密時，司禮監太監覬覦權力之問題自然浮現。 在此種發展態勢之下，司禮監演變到晚明，對於政局有一定的地位及影響力，甚至出現了許多得以左右政局之司禮監權貴太監；加上晚明皇帝大多怠政，因此晚明的政局發展與司禮監有極大的關係。 明朝滅亡後，有許多遺臣與學者紛紛將國家敗亡的原因歸咎於司禮監，但其實此種說法並非絕對。本論文研究後，發現司禮監雖然對於晚明的政局影響甚大，卻不乏優秀的人才，極力做好外廷與皇帝之間溝通的橋樑，穩定政局；在掌握大權的同時，不因此而迷失自己，一心為主。所以司禮監是為了服侍皇帝、協助皇帝處理政治上的瑣事而產生的內廷機構，不能與擅權、亂政劃上等號。 Chu Yuan-chang, the first emperor of Ming Dynasty, had profound realization of the fact that many emperors lost their reign owing to eunuchs’ despotism in the past. For this reason, the eunuchs during his reign were not only strictly confined but also clearly divided according to their duties. Moreover, he established more organizations, one after another, during the years of Hung Wu. At last, they were separated into twelve Directorates, four Offices, eight Bureaus. Jointly they are called twenty-four major agencies, which were managed by eunuchs specified to keep the seals. Besides, the emperor even set up an iron plate of announcement in his palace forbidding eunuchs to interfere in political affairs. By doing so, he hoped his descendants and eunuchs would mark his words. Ironically, one of the main reasons why Ming Dynasty came to an end is that the eunuchs interfered with politics. However, not all of the eunuchs could interfere in politics. Only Directorate of Ceremonial became the head of twenty-four major agencies during the middle of Ming Dynasty. They did so by taking the advantage of their work. In the later period, their power was even almost equal with the Cabinet’s. The reason why their status rose so rapidly is that Directorate of Ceremonial Chang Yin eunuch had the authority of not only arranging the memorials presented to the emperor but also validating administrative archives in place of the emperor. In addition, Ping Pi eunuch had the authority of writing imperial edicts. When the emperor was able to control the general political situation, Directorate of Ceremonial would become the emperor’s helpers through implementing these two rights. On the contrary, if the emperor couldn’t manage on his own and got too close with Directorate of Ceremonial eunuch, the problems of casting greedy eyes on powers would appear gradually. With the situation of development, Directorate of Ceremonial had its unshakable position and influences on politics in the later period of Ming Dynasty. Even it appeared many eunuchs who were capable of controlling in politics. Moreover, most of the emperors in the late period were indolent in their government affairs, so the direction of the political situation was related to Directorate of Ceremonial. After the decease of Ming Dynasty, many surviving retainer and scholars attributed the reasons why they lost their reign to Directorate of Ceremonial, but it was not definitely true. By the paper research, it was found that although Directorate of Ceremonial had a big influence on the politics in the later period of Ming Dynasty, there were lots of talents building communication with ministers and emperors to stabilize the political situation. At the same time to hold the authorities, they didn’t lose themselves but showed their loyalties to the emperors. Therefore, Directorate of Ceremonial was a eunuchs’ organization for serving and helping emperors to deal with trifles of politics instead of arrogating the authorities and disordering the politics. |
