PERSONNEL POLICY 665
against the dynasty, like the An Lu-shan rebellion in Tang China. Yu was con-
vinced, rather naiVely. however, that selecting the right men for provincial posts
would eliminate the possibility that immoral and ambitious power-seekers
might build their own power at the expense of the throne: "The positions of
provincial governor and military commander were held in ancient times by the
Dukes of Chou and Chao. How could they have been anything like the people
we have today who are appointed on a haphazard basis? If you truly select the
right people, you ought to be concerned that they might not stay long enough
in their posts, not that they would be in them too long,"
Not only did frequent transfers lead to confusion rather than stability, but the
ancient, feudal model of appointment to governors of states or fiefs under the
ruler in Chou China was conceived of as a grant to a loyal and devoted servant
entrusted with responsibility to run his jurisdiction for life. Even Chou rulers,
however, still felt it necessary to oversee governors (Fang-po; Pangbaek in
Korean) by appointing three Ta-fu with supervisory control from the capital to
prevent disloyalty and rebellion.
When feudalism was abolished by the Ch'in dynasty, life or long-term tenure
was replaced by limited tours of duty as an expected feature of bureaucratic gov-
ernment. Nevertheless, a compromise with the classical ideal of unlimited tenure
was achieved hy establishing a six-year limit to allow the governors time to
achieve some results in office. Yu accepted the compromise but warned that fixed
terms should not be upheld mechanically but adapted to the qualifications of
officials and the need for people in important posts. A competent man needed
in a different post should be transferred despite the six-year requirement on his
present position, or ifhis skill in the handling of his job was excellent, he should
be kept on despite the legal limits on the term of service. The standard way to
reward a competent offleial was to raise the official's rank and wait for a vacancy
to occur to promote him to a post suitable to his talents, not to transfer him -as
Wang An-shih had remarked.^50
Prohibition Against Family Pedigree (Munji)
While Yu was disturbed about the mechanical and impersonal criteria of per-
sonnel administration in a bureaucratic age, he also sought to prevent the obstruc-
tion of opportunity for appointment and promotion caused by special favor for
children of prominent and illustrious families; he sought to forbid any consid-
eration of family pedigree in personnel matters and require that any discussion
of qualifications be confined to "worth and talent." He also sought to abolish
the censorate's right to review candidates recommended for office (sogyi5Ilg)
because the candidates were required to present a list of their "four relatives"
(father, grandfather, great grandfather, and mother's grandfather), and the four
relatives of their wives as well. Censors used this information to check the office,
scholarship, and status of former generations, rather than the qualifications of
the individual recommendee. "It only promotes the evil offamily pedigree [mllnji]