Qing Dynasty

Qing Bureaucracy

The administrative system of the Qing Dynasty evolved out of its predecessor the Ming. In its most evolved form, the Qing government centred around the Emperor as the absolute ruler presiding over six ministries (or boards), each headed by two Supreme Secretaries (??|Shángshù) and assisted by four Assistant Secretaries (??|Shíl?ng). Unlike the Ming system however Qing's racial policy dictated that appointments were split between Chinese mandarins who have passed the highest levels of state examinations and Manchu noblemen. The six ministries and their respective areas of responsibilities were as follows:

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Board of Civil Appointments (??|Lìbú) - The personnel administration of all civil officials - including evaluation, promotion, demotion and dismissal. It was also in charge of the ?honours list?.

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(??|Húbú, or Board of Finance) - The literal translation of the Chinese word ?hú? ??? is ?household?. For much of the Qing's history the government's main source of revenue came from taxation on landownership supplemented by official monopolies on essential household items such as salt and tea. Thus 'household' in a predominantly agrarian China was the basis of taxation. The exchequer was charged with revenue collection and the financial management of the government.

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Board of Rites (??|L?bú) - This was responsible for all matters concerning protocol at court, which included not just the periodic worshipping of ancestors and all manners of gods to ensure the smooth running of the empire, but also looking after the welfare of visiting ambassadors from tributary nations. The Chinese concept of courtesy (li|?) as taught by Confucius was considered an integral part of education. An educated person was said to "know of books and courtesy (rites)" ("????"). Thus the ministry?s other function was to oversee the countrywide civil examination system for entrance to the bureaucracy. Because the concept of democracy was unknown to pre-Republican China, neo-Confucian philosophy saw exams as a way to legitimized a regime by allowing the intelligentsia opportunity to participate in an otherwise autocratic and unelected system.

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Board of War (??|Bìngbú) - During the Ming era, the Board of War was in charge of all military matters. In the Qing, however, the Banner armies were under the control of the Emperor and hereditary princes, leaving the ministry only with authority over the Green Standard armies. Furthermore, the ministry's functions were purely administrative. Campaigns and troop movements were monitored and directed by the Emperor first through the Manchu ruling council and later the General Command Centre (Junjichu|???).

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Board of Punishment (??|X?ngbú) - Handled all legal matters including the supervision of various law courts and prisons. The Qing legal framework was relatively weak compared to modern legal systems since there was no seperation of executive and legistrative branches of government. Fairness of treatment was also an issue under the apartheid system practiced by the Manchu government over the Han Chinese majority. The legal system was also inconsistent and could at times be arbitrary because the emperor ruled by decree and had final say on all judicial outcomes. Emperors could, and did, overturn judgments of lower courts from time to time. To counter these inadequacies and keep the population in line, the Qing maintained a very harsh penal code towards the Han populous, but no more severe than previous Chinese dynasties.

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Board of Works (??|Gongbu) - Handled all governmental building projects including palaces, temples and also the repairs of water ways and flood canals. It was also in charge of minting coinage.

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In addition to the six boards there was a Feudatory Affairs Office (???|L?fànyuán) unique to Qing government. This institution originated to oversee the welfare of Qing?s Mongolian allies. As the empire expanded, it took over administrative responsibility of all the minority tribes living in and around the empire including early contacts with Russia - seen then as a tribute nation. The office had the status of a full ministry and was headed by equal ranking officials. However, appointees were at first restricted only to candidates of Manchurian and Mongolian ethnicity.

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Even though the Board of Rites and the Feudatory Affairs Office shared some duties of a foreign office they fell short of being one. This stemmed from the traditional imperial world view of seeing China at the centre of the world and all foreigners were uncivilized barbarians unworthy of equal diplomatic status. It was only in 1861, a year after losing the Second Opium War to an Anglo-French coalition force, that the Qing government bowed to foreign pressure and created China?s first foreign affairs office known by the cumbersome name of "Tribunal for the Management of Affairs of All Nations" (Z?ngl?gég?oshíwú Y?m?n|????????), or ?Z?ngl?y?m?n? (?????for short. The office was originally intended to be temporary and was staffed by offcials seconded from the General Command Centre (J?nj?chú |???) on part-time basis. However as dealings with foreigners became increasing complicated and frequent, the office grew in size and importance. As China was forced to open up more ports for trade, the office also took on added responsibilities of collecting custom duties. With a stable source of income, the department grew to become one of the most powerful entities within late Qing goverment rivaling even the General Command Centre.

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