明人定義的輿論，乃指朝野清流對朝廷所提出的批評和建議。其功能在於維持國家正常的運作，避免皇權過度擴張，逾越權責，造成官僚體制的弱勢或腐化。然而，當輿論涉入朝廷的人事升遷或考察評議時，在維護個人利益的前提下，輿論原本應具有的公正與客觀，出現了混淆與變質；且這樣分歧與矛盾的輿論，也為皇權與輿論的互動增添變數。 如晚明時期京察事件的爭議，即因士論多方諫議政府、批評時局，致使朝廷、內閣與言路之間，陷入一次又一次的衝突與緊張之中。在神宗對言路的漠然與反感，以及內閣涉嫌干涉京察等事件影響下，議論者開始串連自保、互結派系來爭取皇權的重視與認同；然而其議論朝政的內容，卻也因為依附派系利益而逐漸失去原有的輿論本質與目的。此時朝野士論以派系恩怨、權力競逐為論點的荒誕表現，不但對改革政局毫無幫助，還加劇了朝野士林的分裂與矛盾，使晚明政局陷入門戶分立、隔空對峙的局面，黨論之爭延續不止。

Public opinion defined in the Ming Period refers to the criticisms and suggestions from the intellectuals to the imperial court of the Ming government. This public opinion functioned to maintain the country's normal operation and prevent the imperial power from expanding, which might cause the weakness and corruption of bureaucracy. However, when the public opinion became involved in personnel matters, on the premise of safeguarding individual interests, the justice and objectivity lied in the public opinion turned to be obscure; in this way, the differences and contradictions of public poinion increased the complexity of the interactions between imperial power and public opinion. For example, the dispute of the Ching-ch'a (京察) in the late Ming Period, owing to the intellectuals' remonstration with the government in many ways, frequently caused conflicts and tensions between the imperial court, the grand secretariat, and public opinion. Influenced by the fact that the emperor detested public opinion and that the grand secretariat was suspected of interfering in this case, the intellectuals began to clique in order to get safeguard or the identification by the imperial power. At the same time, public opinion lost the original essence and purpose because of the factions' personal interests. Finally, the fantastic behavior of the intellectuals based on the infighting for power and the resentments between factions, not only had no help at all to reform the political situation, but also aggravated the division and contradiction of the government and the intellectuals. Therefore, the political situation in the late Ming Times fell into lasting separations and conflicts.