Abstract：During the Northern Song Dynasty, Gemen (閤门) had the second-class Gezhi (閤职) of Gemen zhihou (閤门祗候) and Gemen tongshi sheren (閤门通事舍人). During the Huizong Period, Gemen tongshi sheren was renamed Xuanzan sheren (宣赞舍人). In the Southern Song Dynasty Xiaozong Period the post of Gemen sheren (閤门舍人) was added for the selection of military attache talents and a third-class Gezhi was created. The formation and development of the Gezhi system is of great significance to the military attache system of the Song Dynasty. However, for a long time, academic circles have been lacking positive discussions on the Gezhi of the Song Dynasty. Researchers have mostly discussed its “perfect selection” status from the political level, and lack of in-depth research at the institutional level. Therefore, there are still some ambiguities, such as the distinction between the “inside and outside” of Gezhi, and the specific performance of the status of “perfect selection” that need to be further clarified. Generally speaking, since the two Songs, Gezhi positions have been divided into internal Gemen service officers and foreign military attache concurrent with Gezhi. The status of Gemen service officers is similar to that of civil Guanzhi (馆职), and the meaning of foreign military attache concurrent with Gezhi is similar to that of civil Tiezhi (贴职) as a reward for military merit, or as an additional title to show “closeness”. The gradual development of Gezhi from internal service to external military attache’s “post title” also reflects the development of “imperial power” in the Song Dynasty, that is, the strengthening of the policy of “internal control over external”. At the same time, military attaches who were granted Gezhi since the two Songs are regarded as “right-listed perfect selection”, and their status is higher than that of the general military attaches. One of its performances is that it has certain advantages in comparison with ordinary military officials in the system of Mokan (磨勘). However, due to the peculiarities of the official system in the Song Dynasty, there were no single Gezhi, and the ranks of military officers had to be formed. The Mokan of Gezhi military officers was mainly reflected in the military officers’ ranks. Judging from the qualifications for the third-class Gezhi, officers of the Gemen zhihou or Gemen tongshi sheren (Xuanzan sheren) who worked in Gemen and foreign military attache concurrent with Gezhi were distinguished by their ranks either above or below Wuyilang (武翼郎) or Gongbeiku fushi (供备库副使). Gemen sheren has the widest scope of awarding. Since Xiao shichen (小使臣) to the Zhengren (正任), there were grants to Gemen sheren, which can also reflect Xiaozong’s deep intention to establish Gemen sheren. According to the regulations on the Mokan of Gezhi military attaches, the Mokan period and transfer method of military attaches with Gezhi in official ranks were superior to those of general military attaches without Gezhi in official ranks. And in comparison, the status of the Gezhi as the “perfect selection” of the military minister is more reflected in the Gemen service officer. Furthermore, from the perspective of the development of the Gezhi officials’ Mokan system, the status of Gezhi military attaches in the Southern Song Dynasty was slightly higher than that of the Northern Song Dynasty. More accurately, since the Xiaozong Period, the status of Gezhi as a “perfect selection” of military officers has a great degree of prominence. The reason is naturally related to the changes in the political and military environment of the Southern Song Dynasty.
束保成. 宋代閤职的内外演变与磨勘叙迁探析[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2021, 51(4): 50-59.
Shu Baocheng. An Analysis of the Internal and External Evolution of Gezhi and Mokan in the Song Dynasty. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2021, 51(4): 50-59.
2021, Vol. 51 
