太僕寺於漢唐時即為九卿之一，其職責乃掌理牧馬之政。而太僕寺並非明朝建立之時即設之單位，數年後，明太祖朱元璋於洪武六年（1373年）建立太僕寺，其目的乃是希望藉由太僕寺興振其國家馬政。而隨著明成祖於定都北京後，太僕寺便始有南、北之分，但其職責仍是管理馬政，明代馬政管理機構雖有三：太僕寺、苑馬寺、御馬監，但太僕寺其重要性遠勝於苑馬寺與御馬監，因此在明代的馬政運作上，太僕寺佔有相當重要的地位。而漢民族與邊患之游牧民族展開軍事戰爭之際，軍馬的數量與品質是戰力的重要指標，故太僕寺對於國家軍事的有其不可忽視的影響力。本論文針對太僕寺研究，其時間範圍由明太祖建立太僕寺（1373年）開始，至崇禎十七年（1644年）明朝滅亡為止。透過太僕寺之研究考查太僕寺之沿革，瞭解明代太僕寺之發展、演變；並藉由太僕寺之研究，分析太僕寺卿之官員於明代仕途升遷之概況，最後剖析太僕寺與明代馬政之運作，深入瞭解太僕寺對明朝國家軍事的影響。 Chief minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud is one of nine chief ministers in the Han dynasty, and the responsibility of Court of the Imperial Stud was in charge politics of the horse management. But the Court of the Imperial Stud in the Ming dynasty was not established in the 1368A.D., after several years, Ming-Tai-Zu established the Court of the Imperial Stud in the 1373A.D.. Inspiring the politics of the horse management was the founding goal of the Court of the Imperial Stud. After Ming-Cheng-Zu established the capital in Beijing, there were two the Court of the Imperial Stud, one in the south, and one in the north, but their responsibilities were stil in charge the politics of the horse management.The administrative organization of the politics of the horse management in the Ming dynasty were Court of the Imperial Stud, Directorate of the Imperial Horses and Office of Imperial Parks, but Court of the Imperial Stud was more important than Directorate of the Imperial Horses and Office of Imperial Parks, so Court of the Imperial Stud held a important status in the politics of the horse management. When the Han nationality battled with nomads near the border, army horse's quantity and the quality were important targets, so the influence of Court of the Imperial Stud on military force was important. The paper is researching Court of the Imperial Stud during 1373 A.D. to 1644 A.D. in the Ming dynasty. There are three goals of research. First, to understand the development of Court of the Imperial Stud in the Ming dynasty. Second, to understand the development of chief minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud in the Ming dynasty official career. Last, to understand the influence of Court of the Imperial Stud on military force in the Ming dynasty.
