Under the Ming dynasty the Nuiko or Grand Secretariat formed the supreme council of the empire. It is now of more honorific than actual importance. Active membership is limited to six persons, namely, four grand secretaries and two Departments of the central administration. assistant grand secretaries, half of whom, according to a general rule formerly applicable to nearly all the high offices in Peking, must be Manchu and half Chinese. It constitutes the imperial chancery or court of archives, and admission to its ranks confers the highest distinction attainable by Chinese officials, though with functions that are almost purely nominal. Members of the grand secretariat are distinguished by the honorary title of Chung-t‘ang. The most distinguished viceroys are usually advanced to the dignity of grand secretary while continuing to occupy their posts in the provinces. The best known of recent grand secretaries was Li Hung-chang.
Under the Manchu dynasty the Grand Council (Chün Chi Ch‘u) became the actual privy council of the sovereign, in whose presence its members daily transacted the business of the state. This council is composed of a small knot of men holding various high offices in the government boards at Peking. The literal meaning of Chün Chi Ch‘u is “place of plans for the army,” and the institution derives its name from the practice established by the early emperors of the Manchu dynasty of treating public affairs on the footing of a military council. The usual time of transacting business is from 4 to 6 a.m. In addition to the grand council and the grand secretariat there were boards to supervise particular departments. By a decree of the 6th of November 1906 the central administration was remodelled, subsequent decrees making other changes. The administration in 1910 was carried on by the following agencies:—
A. Councils.—(1)The grand council. Its title was modified in 1906 and it is now known as the Grand Council of State Affairs or Privy Council. It has no special function, but deals with all matters of general administration and is presided over by the emperor (or regent). (2) The Grand Secretariat. This body gained no increase of power in 1906. (3) The advisory council or senate (Tu Chêng Yuen) created in 1907 and containing representatives of each province. It includes all members of the grand council and the grand secretariat and the heads of all the executive departments.[32] The members of these three bodies form advisory cabinets to the emperor.
B. Boards.—Besides boards concerned with the affairs of the court there were, before the pressure of foreign nations and the movement for reform caused changes to be made, six boards charged with the conduct of public affairs. They were: (1) Li Pu, the Board of Civil Appointments, controlling all appointments in the civil service from the rank of district magistrate upwards. (2) Hu Pu, the Board of Revenue, dealing with all revenues which reached the central government. (3) Li Pu, the Board of Ceremonies. (4) Ping Pu, the Board of War. It controlled the provincial forces. The Manchu forces were an independent organization attached to the palace. (5) Hsing Pu, the Board of Punishments. It dealt with the criminal law only, especially the punishment of officials guilty of malpractices. (6) Kung Pu, the Board of Works. Its work was limited to the control of the construction and repair of official residences.
As rearranged and enlarged there are now the following boards, given in order of precedence:—
1. Wai-wu Pu.—This was established in 1901 in succession to the Tsung-li Yamên,[33] which was created in 1861 after the Anglo-Chinese War in 1860 as a board for foreign affairs. Previous to that war, which established the right of foreign powers to have their representatives in Peking, all business with Western nations was transacted by provincial authorities, chiefly the viceroy at Canton. The only department at Peking which dealt specially with foreign affairs was the Li Fan Yuen, or board of control for the dependencies, which regulated the affairs of Mongolia, Tibet and the tributary states generally. With the advent of formally accredited ambassadors from the European powers something more than this was required, and a special board was appointed to discuss all questions with the foreign envoys. The number was originally four, with Prince Kung, a brother of the emperor Hien Fêng, at their head. It was subsequently raised to ten, another prince of the blood, Prince Ching, becoming president. The members were spoken of collectively as the prince and ministers. For a long time the board had no real power, and was looked on rather as a buffer between the foreign envoys and the real government. The importance of foreign affairs, however, especially since the Japanese War, identified the Yamên more with the grand council, several of the most prominent men being members of both. At the same time that the Tsung-li Yamên was created, two important offices were established in the provinces for dealing with foreign commercial questions, viz. the superintendencies of trade for the northern and southern ports. The negotiations connected with the Boxer outbreak proved so conclusively that the machinery to the Tsung-li Yamên was of too antiquated a nature to serve the new requirements, that it was determined to abolish the Yamên and to substitute for it a board (Pu) to be styled the Wai-wu Pu, or “board of foreign affairs.”
2. Board of Civil Appointments.
3. Board of Home Affairs.
4. Board of Finance and Paymaster General’s Department.
5. Board of Ceremonies.