According to Xuan Sheng's original design, the Jinque Council consisted of only thirty-six Zhenzhi Zhenren, followed by the Grand Master and the Deputy Master. However, in subsequent practice, many changes occurred.
For example, the position of Pingzhang Dazhen was added. Generally, he was promoted from the top-ranked Shenzhi Zhenren. He could also participate in Jinque discussions and had the right to vote, which made the actual number of Jinque exceed 36 people.
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In addition, the fictitious position of the Grand Master's wife has gradually become an actual position, assuming the responsibility of "Vice-Queen". Especially when the Grand Master is unable to take charge of the affairs for some reason, the Grand Master's wife usually steps in for her. This is from the beginning.
It is an unwritten rule passed down from Mrs. Xuansheng. Therefore, when the highest level of the Taoist sect attends, there are usually five people by default, with the Grand Master in the middle, the Grand Master's wife and the three deputy Masters on the left and right.
Of course, there are exceptions. For example, the Grand Master's wife also serves as the Deputy Master, the Great Master, or the Grand Master has no Taoist companions, and there are cases where there are not enough people to make up five people. It cannot be generalized.
Talking back to Jinque, from a legal point of view, all Pingzhang Dazhen and Shenzhizhen have the same political status and together form Jinque, the highest authority in Taoism. Theoretically, all important decisions must be voted by Jinque.
The decision was made, but in actual implementation, Shenzhen Zhenren all had important positions, and it was impossible to leave the Taoist government and the Taoist palace alone and attend discussions in Yujing all day long.
Therefore, Jinque divided into a big meeting and a small meeting. The so-called big meeting is similar to the Taoist meeting. All high-quality Taoist priests from the Taoist government participate in it, and everyone expresses their opinions and votes. The so-called small meeting is similar to the meeting of the master of the palace.
It is limited to the deputy palace master level within a small area.
To put it bluntly, the big meeting means that all Jinque members are present. Except for some special circumstances, there are generally only two things. One is to elect the members of the small meeting, and the other is to elect the chief leader, which is equivalent to the shareholders' meeting. The small meeting is the board of directors.
, elected by the former, is responsible for handling the daily affairs of Jinque, representing all members of Jinque, and exercising the powers of Jinque.
In fact, Xiaoyi has become the highest authority of the entire Taoist sect. According to regulations, the number of Xiaoyi is twelve people, but in actual situations, it will range from nine to twelve people, and they are usually selected from people in Beijing.
.In this regard, Jiutang’s Master Zhang has a huge advantage, so in Jinque’s ranking, Master Zhangtang is higher than Master Zhangfu.
The trick that the Fifth Dynasty Grand Master played back then was to first make the nine real Masters become members of the Small Council, and then use the Grand Master’s power of personnel appointment and dismissal to let the head of the Nine Halls concurrently serve as the assistant minister of Zixiao Palace, and then directly ask Zixiao
Gong Fuli ordered to bypass the golden gate. Unless
Jinque directly promoted the process of deposing the Grand Master, otherwise there would be no way to restrict Zixiao Palace.
In this way, the Grand Master will truly be dictatorial and monopolize power.
It can be said that it is not difficult for a powerful headmaster to bypass Jinque or suppress Jinque. The first is Zixiao Palace, and the second is to ensure that there are enough of his own people in Jinque. After all, power comes from below.
, as long as enough people are willing to obey his orders, even without the title of Grand Master and the mechanism of Golden Que, he still has great power.
However, it is quite difficult to achieve this perfectly. Under normal circumstances, the Taoist sect can be regarded as having three separate poles. The Grand Master is an independent pole, the three deputy Chief Masters are one pole, and Jinque is another pole.
pole.
For example, the Grand Master can appoint and remove the Deputy Master, Dazhenren, through a series of procedures, which has been practiced by the Fifth Generation Grand Master. At the same time, the Deputy Masters, Dazhenren, can also join forces to declare the Grand Master's decree invalid, and the Sixth Generation Grand Master can
I have already experienced it.
For another example, the Grand Master can veto the resolution passed by the Grand Master Jin Que, which was practiced by the Five Dynasties Grand Master. Jin Que can also forcibly pass the resolution that was rejected by the Grand Master through a general meeting with a two-thirds majority, which the Sixth Generation Grand Master has practiced.
The Grand Master has also experienced this.
The deputy head master, Dazhenren, cannot directly interfere with Jin Que's decision like the big head master, and can only use his influence to make a fuss in the voting. Jinque cannot directly interfere with the appointment of deputy head master Dazhenren. The deputy head master, Dazhenren, must be appointed by
The Grand Master nominates and then passes the vote. This is why the three Deputy Masters, Da Zhenren, are usually the leaders of the Three Paths. If they are not the leaders of the Three Paths, even if someone else is nominated, they will not pass the vote.
But having said that, Master Shenzhi is a subordinate of the deputy headmaster Dazhenren. If the deputy headmaster really wants to give orders, it is impossible not to listen. Many powerful deputy headmasters Dazhenren have also intervened in Jinque affairs, such as Xuansheng
Dong Huang, Yao Zu, etc. during the period of seclusion.
Nowadays, the position of Grand Master is vacant, and the three deputy Grand Masters take turns to serve as the rotating Grand Master. This has led to a problem. Zixiao Palace cannot play its role. The rotating Grand Master cannot be strong enough to directly bypass Jinque.
It is also impossible to normally exercise the power of the Grand Master to veto Jinque's resolution. Any matter must be resolved through Jinque.
The Jinque discussion seems to be a bit like one family being the only one in charge.
Today, there are twelve people in Jinque Xiaoyi, except for nine
In addition to the Zhangtang Master, there are three Pingzhang Masters, including Jiang Dazhen.
As for the role of the chief counselor, the second counselor, and the third counselor, they are to determine the ranking order, and secondly, each of the three has a power, which is equivalent to dividing the power of the Western speaker into three.
The power of the chief is highly variable. If there is a tie, the chief will have one more vote to form the final decision. This cannot be regarded as two votes. For example, if the number of votes is five to four, the chief will have one vote.
, you cannot make up one vote to form a tie vote, you must first form a tie vote, and then get one more vote. Sometimes, this power is so powerful that it can influence the decision of Jinque. Sometimes, it seems that there is no such power.
Same.
The power of the second seat is to set topics and arrange the order of the topics, that is, what should be discussed first and what should be discussed later. What should be done when the discussion cannot continue, whether to put it aside temporarily or take other measures, is also decided by the second seat, which is equivalent to the host.
This power is very stable and cannot be underestimated if used properly.
The third power of Zhenzhi Zhenren is to maintain order. For example, if some people speak too verbosely, Zhenzhi Zhenren are all masters and have abundant physical energy and energy. It is not a problem to speak continuously for three days and three nights. However, the discussion cannot be delayed indefinitely. In order to prevent
In this case, the third counselor will be responsible for interrupting the speech, suspending the speech, warning the person who speaks inappropriately or making personal attacks, stopping the fight, and even has the right to expel them, but generally no one is discussing the matter.
Sometimes he would yell at someone or get physical.
Precisely because the power of these three masters is so important, the Taoist sect has an unwritten tradition that the older generation will not get involved in these three positions, leaving only the young people in the Golden Palace, or in other words, those who are expected to compete for the top job.
Naturally, these three positions are regarded as "reserve positions", and these three Shenzhi masters are regarded as "prince princes".
Today's Jinque discussion is still a customary small discussion. During the period of the Five Dynasties Great Masters, it was once called "Zixiao Palace Discussion".
The National Preceptor will also attend. Although the National Preceptor will not vote, his presence itself is a huge pressure.
In addition to the Imperial Preceptor, there were many people present at the meeting. Some were here to observe, and some were Deacons Jinque. Deacons Jinque cannot be lumped together with cardinal deacons. Although the two have similar names, there is a huge difference in status. Deacons Jinque have more
It is held by a Taoist priest of the fourth grade Jijiu or a Taoist priest of the third grade Youyi, who assists the real person who is aware of the situation and mainly does copywriting work.
Qi Xuansu is a special case. He is a bit like a witness in court. He said he was not involved in any other
In fact, he has more presence than a person who simply listens. If he is involved, he is like an object and has no right to "speak".
Early in the morning, Qi Xuansu changed into the formal attire of a second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest, wore a sword of wisdom, put on a golden lotus crown, and went to Zifu.
Speaking of which, he is no stranger to Zi Mansion. After all, Ziweitang is in Zi Mansion, almost next to Jinque. However, this is the first time that he has actually entered Jinque.
After Qi Xuansu passed the identity check of the Lingguan, under the guidance of Deacon Jinque, he walked into this magnificent building, which was the only one comparable to the Zixiao Palace. Then he was hit by various familiar feelings.
Even though I've never been there before, it still feels like we've seen each other before.
Because all Taoist halls, Taoist palaces, and Taoist auditoriums are designed and built according to the Jinque model. They are very similar, so how can you not be familiar with them?
Qi Xuansu was confident that even without Deacon Jinque leading the way, he would not go wrong.
After walking a few steps, Qi Xuansu saw Master Cihang.
She is the third counselor and is responsible for maintaining order. She is usually the last one to enter the meeting place after everyone enters, and then seals the meeting place. No one is allowed to enter until the end of the meeting.
If you are late, you will be treated as absent. If you are absent without excuse, you will be recorded a demerit. If you are absent without excuse for three times in total, you will be recorded a major demerit, and you will be criticized by name. Who will call the name? It is the third counselor who is responsible for maintaining order.
Qi Xuansu could not help but stop to greet his mother-in-law, and he would not forget to address his position on a formal occasion. On this occasion, Master Cihang was not the head master of Tiangang Hall, but the third counselor.
Master Cihang responded to Qi Xuansu's greetings, but he had no intention of talking more. "Come in quickly, don't be in a hurry to see the scenery. There will be plenty of time to see it in the future. I'm afraid it will take decades to see it until you get tired of it."
These words are undoubtedly a great affirmation for Qi Xuansu. Only by frequenting Jinque can you become bored with Jinque. This is not something that ordinary second-grade Taiyi Taoist priests can do.
Qi Xuan said goodbye to Master Cihang and walked into the venue without showing any expression on his face.
At a glance, each seat is marked with the names of people, and there are quite a few familiar people.
Pei Xuanzhi, Li Wugou, Su Yuanyi, Jiang Hedao, Ning Lingge, and Xu Dacheng have all had real dealings with each other, and can even be said to be friends. The rest of them, although not friends, are still friends.
The face is familiar and the ear is familiar, and we have been in contact with him before.