The whole theory of government is the embodiment of parental and filial piety. As the people are the children of the emperor, so is he the Teen-tsze or the Son of Heaven; and standing in this intermediary position, it pertains to him, and to him alone, to mediate between his father, Heaven, Imperial and his children, his subjects. His sacrifices and prayers to Heaven are conducted with great parade and ceremony. The chief of these state observances is the sacrifice at the winter solstice, which is performed before sunrise on the morning of the 21st of December at the altar of Heaven. The form of this altar is peculiar. “It consists of a triple circular terrace, 210 feet wide at the base, 150 in the middle, and 90 at the top, . . . . The emperor, with his immediate suite, kneels in front of the tablet of Shang-tis (The Supreme Being, or Heaven), and faces the north. The platform is laid with marble stones, forming nine concentric circles; the inner circle consists of nine stones, cut so as to fit with close edges round the central stone, which is a perfect circle. Here the emperor kneels, and is surrounded first by the circles of the terraces and their enclosing walls, and then by the circle of the horizon. He then seems to himself and to his court to be in the centre of the universe, and turning to the north, assuming the attitude of a subject, he acknowledges in prayer and by his position that he is inferior to Heaven, and to Heaven alone. Round him on the pavement are the nine circles of as many Heavens, consisting of nine stones, then eighteen, then twenty-seven, and so on in successive multiples of nine till the square of nine, the favourite number of Chinese philosophy, is reached in the outermost circle of eighty-one stones.” On this occasion, also, a bullock of two years old, and without blemish, is offered as a whole-burnt offering in a green porcelain furnace which stands close beside the altar.
But though occupying the lofty position described, the power wielded by the emperor of China is circumscribed by ceremonial laws and hampered by precedents. His whole life is one continual round of ceremonial observances. From the day on which he ascends the throne to the time when he is carried to his tomb in the Eastern Hills, his hours and almost minutes have special duties appointed to them by the Board of Rites. He never leaves his palace except on state occasions, and every relaxation from the cares of sovereignty must therefore be found within its walls. It is thus that the temptations of harem life have been the ruin of so many emperors, and it is rarely the case that such sovereigns are to be met with as Kang-he and Keen-lung, who reigned in the last two centuries, and each of whom devoted the sixty years of his reign to the high duties of his position and to the charms of literary pursuits.
In all affairs of state the emperor is assisted in his deliberations by the Nuy ko, or privy council, which, according to the regulations of the present dynasty, consists of nine Manchoos and seven Chinamen; and the administrative departments are presided over by six boards, namely, the Board of War, the Board of Punishments, the Board of Office, the Board of Ceremonies, the Board of Revenue, and the Board of Works. Besides these there are the Board of Music and that of the Censors; and this last, though an inferior office, exercises considerable influence, since its officers, both in the capital and in the provinces, are encouraged to criticise freely the actions of the mandarins and even of the emperor himself. Like many of the other branches of Government, this one has fallen a victim to a great extent to the corruption which prevails throughout all the departments, but it is still at times instrumental in bringing to light official misdeeds; and only lately a general in command of an army, acting against the Mahometan rebels in North-Western China, was degraded and dismissed from his post for crimes with which he was first charged by a censor.
The provincial governments are mainly self-governed. Each province (in a few cases, two conjointly) is presided over by a viceroy, who is supreme within his jurisdiction, and who has, in cases of emergency, the power of life and death in his hands. Next to him comes the governor, whose authority in all matters relating to the province is second only to that of the viceroy. After these two officials the treasurer holds the highest rank. He controls the finances of the whole province, receiving the taxes and paying the salaries of the mandarins. The judge, the salt commissioner, and the grain collector are the only other mandarins whose authority extends over the whole province, the remaining officials being charged with the government of the various divisions into which the provinces are divided. The chief of them is the Taou-tai, or intendant of circuit, who has a direct general superintendence over all the affairs of the circuit intrusted to his charge. Each circuit is divided into a number of prefectures and sub-prefectures which are administered by prefects and sub-prefects, and these, again, are subdivided into districts over each of which is placed a magistrate. Subordinate to this last-named officer are a host of petty officials, among whom the coroner is one of the most important. Each province collects its own taxes, pays its own expenses, and supports its own army and navy. Its officials are held responsible for the preservation of peace within its borders, and are compelled to contribute a fixed sum annually to the expenses of the Peking Government. Mandarins of all classes are divided into nine ranks, each distinguished by the button worn on the top of the cap. These buttons follow thus in order of superiority—first and highest, a plain red button; second, a flowered red button; third, a transparent blue button; fourth, an opaque blue button; fifth, an uncoloured glass button; sixth, a white glass button; seventh, a plain gilt button; eighth, a gilt button, with flowers in relief; ninth, a gilt button, with engraved flowers. These buttons are no indication of the office held by their wearers, but simply of their rank. The peacock's feather, again, which is worn in the hats, has nothing to do with either the office or the rank of the wearer, but is like the European orders, and is specially granted to individuals as a reward for merit.
