On the Quasi-constitutional Characteristics of the North Song Dynasty

It is the core of the constitutionalism that the supreme political power should be limited by the constitution.There were already a lot of quasi-constitutional characteristics in Chinese politics of the Song Dynasty.The family laws by the emperor Song-Tai-Zu and the emperor Song-Tai-Zong were actually the frameworks of the regime of the Song Dynasty,which function as a constitution limiting the power of the emperors.In the North Song Dynasty,the powers of the emperors,the ministers,and their watchdogs were coexistent,which was effective in avoiding the abuse of power.The civilian system of the North Song Dynasty,which included imperial examinations,assessing the achievements and high payments for the officials,possessed rudiment characteristics of modern civilian systems of the western countries.The competitions between the parties in the North Song Dynasty,which focused on the differences of policies,also possessed some rudiment characteristics of party politics.The quasi-constitutional politics of the North Song Dynasty had important effects on the society of the Song Dynasty.