provinces contained states, which were models of the central state,
the ruler's 'Middle Kingdom.' The provincial administration was
in the hands of twelve Pastors or Lord-Lieutenants. They were the
chiefs of all the nobles in a province. Civil and military offices
were not differentiated. The feudal lords or princes of states often
resided at the king's court, officers of that court being also sent
forth as princes of states. The king was the source of legislation
and administered justice. The princes in their several states had
the power of rewards and punishments. Revenue was derived from a
tithe on the land, from the income of artisans, merchants, fishermen,
foresters, and from the tribute brought by savage tribes.

The general structure and principles of this system of administration
remained the same, with few variations, down to the end of the
Monarchical Period in 1912. At the end of that period we find the
emperor still considered as of divine descent, still the head of
the civil, legislative, military, ecclesiastical, and ceremonial
administration, with the nation still divided into the same four
classes. The chief ministries at the capital, Peking, could in most
cases trace their descent from their prototypes of feudal times, and
the principal provincial administrative officials--the Governor-General
or Viceroy, governor, provincial treasurer, judge, etc.--had similarly
a pedigree running back to offices then existing--a continuous duration
of adherence to type which is probably unique.

Appointment to office was at first by selection, followed by an
examination to test proficiency; later was introduced the system of
public competitive literary examinations for office, fully organized
in the seventeenth century, and abolished in 1903, when official
positions were thrown open to the graduates of colleges established