The Role of District Magistrate - Essay Example

Midterm Exam

The Role of District Magistrate

In East Asia, the district magistrate played a leading role in matters touching on the administration. Owing to his position, he was close to the people and was updated with the civilians' day-to-day happenings. He used to extend his concerns to the issues afflicting people in their day to day lives. This position was not lost following the change in regime or the subjects. There was the acknowledgment that the district magistrates were too close to people and therefore had a proper understanding of the issues affecting people. District magistrates were considered as the government representative at the local level. The government of the day would not take any action without involving the district magistrate.

Firstly, the district magistrate established the link between the local government and the various institutions. Being close to people, they were able to collect information that would assist the government in administration. They managed to gather information regarding the daily happenings and table them to the local government and other administrators. Secondly, with the back up of the local informal members, the district magistrate is responsible for the entire county's governance. Most of these members who are employed to assist him/her in matters concerning governance are recruited from among individuals who have demonstrated competence and professionalism in the undertakings of magistracy. However, even though some individuals were assisting the district magistrate, he was responsible for the district's general affairs. As such, he was held responsible for every happening in the county and would be required to govern the county with high standards of professionalism.

Thirdly, the district magistrate was a pillar of morals within his or her county. He or she was expected to come up with guidelines on how the members of his county should behave regarding the moral guidelines that were expected of them. This was quite challenging since district magistrate would come up with some moral prefixes that could face opposition from the public. As such, it was expected that he would engage in regular consultation with the members of the county to get a viable solution on which elements did constitute moral codes. Fourthly, the district magistrate was responsible for controlling food supply in the county. It was upon the district magistrates to ensure that competition in business was fair and no hoarding of commodities. This was geared toward ensuring that the supply in groceries and grain stores was replenished throughout the year.

Fifthly, the district magistrate enjoys jurisdiction of hearing and making the determination of the various cases forwarded to them. By doing so, they assisted in maintaining law and order in society. Moreover, they were tasked with the role of deciding on which infrastructure activities to priorities in the country. They also have the role of maintaining the standards of copper coinage Weights and Measures in the Public Markets.

Moreover, an appointment to the position of district magistrate was significant in showcasing one's brilliance. The appointment process was a rigorous one where the candidates were required to undertake the examination. During the examination, only those who were morally upright were allowed to sit for the examination. Those who tried to cheat were caught and disqualified. This is an indication of how appointment to the position of district magistrate assisted in preserving morals and good behaviors in East Asia. They were to set examples of morality by ensuring that they led a morally upright life devoid of lousy character a negative reputation.

Final exam

The Lasting Legacies Of Confucianism

As a tradition in East Asia, more so, Confucianism is a long-standing tradition. Some years ago, most of the practices in East Asia were primarily based on the doctrine of Confucianism. However, this has been decreasing over the years. Despite all the criticism leveled against Confucianism, it continues to play a central role in East Asian philosophy, politics, religion, morals, and cultural inclination. In the modern-day, arguments regarding Confucianism have been directed towards assessing whether Confucianism can respond to the aspects of industrialization, modernization, globalization, and enhancement of political democracy.

What started as a philosophy has continued to dominate the way of life in China. Over a long time, Chinese practices have been influenced by a number of practices. Some of the notable practices include Buddhism, Taoism, and Marxism. Whereas most of these are slowly fading as time goes by. However, Confucianism is still acceptable as a way of life by the majority of the Chinese. The practice has survived more than two millennia. Many consider it ideal owing to the philosophical ideas it connotes. Moreover, when developing the philosopher, it appears that Confucius managed to influence a group of devoted followers. These followers believed each ideology as proposed by Confucius. Consequently, they did share the ideologies with the subsequent generations, and the same continues to bear relevance in the universe. Despite the initial challenges that characterized the attempt to spread the doctrine, it was to attain climax during the Han Dynasty.

Furthermore, Confucius indicated that order was a necessary ingredient in achieving a harmonious society. War is distasteful and only serves the role of disrupting harmonious existence among humanity(Yao, 2000). Having ordered society was the ideal way of attaining this peace. The theory of Confucianism calls for an ordered society where civilians are called upon to obey their leaders. In the same spirit, children should obey their parents, and wives should obey their husbands. However, those in a superior position should not impose obedience to their juniors through forceful means. Instead, there ought to have a harmonious society where one should focus on self-development. Notably, this call is still applicable in the modern world where subjects are supposed to obey their leaders. In the same spirit, human beings should engage in such activities that lead them towards greatness.

Confucianism indicates that social contract is at the center of everything. As such, the rulers are given the mandate of presiding over the activities of the subjects. In this arrangement, subjects have surrendered their power to their leaders who make decisions on their behalf. Leaders who squander power upon themselves can be overthrown since they do not serve the interests of those who appointed them. Notably, this ideology is still relevant as subjects decide whether to remove leaders or continue voting them in. Additionally, Confucianism is gaining momentum and has been re-introduced in the school curriculum, where learners are taught the good values that they need to adopt from Confucianism.

Moreover, Confucianism set a precedent in matters touching on politics and religion. In the religion field, Confucianism advocated for the need to have tight morals and ethics. These would offer guidelines on how religious adherents were supposed to behave. In contemporary society, it is expected that those who are religious uphold some form of truths that showcase their morality. In the political arena, Confucianism outlines the basics that political leaders ought to uphold during their tenure. They were supposed to be selfless and dedicate all their might in serving the interests of those who bestowed them in power. This is reflected in the contemporary world, where subjects delegate their power to leaders and expect to be served in the best manner possible.

Despite the good legacy left by the doctrine of Confucianism, there are some areas where the same was disregarded. For example, on leadership, most Chinese rulers are self-imposed leaders who apply the rule of the fist. They disregard the opinions given to them by the civilians. Similarly, Confucianism disapproved of aspects such as involvement in profiting activities. However, during the Song Dynasty, the era of commercialization set in. From then onward, China has been engaging in robust economic activities with the drive of making massive profits from those engagements. In essence, Confucianism paved the way for some of the practices that we see today. It may be heralded as a pacesetter owing to the legacy it set. However, some of the ideologies advocated in Confucianism have been phased out.

Reference

Yao, H. C., & Yao, X. (2000). An introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge University Press.