Government of the Han dynasty

[note 1] Distinguished salary-ranks were granted to officials in the bureaucracy, nobles of the imperial family, concubines of the harem, and military officers of the armed forces.

The conscription system for commoners as non-professional soldiers was reduced in size in favor of a volunteer army and a substitution tax by Eastern Han.

[6] Below is a table outlining salaries measured in coin cash, unhusked grain, and husked grain for the highest to lowest-paid officials in Han officialdom:[7] Qin Shi Huang, the first ruler of the Qin dynasty, established China's imperial system of government in 221 BC after unifying the Seven Warring States through conquest, bringing to an end the Warring States period.

[22] The emperor's role as supreme judge could be temporarily duplicated by any official he designated in times of emergency or in distant borderlands where central government had little influence.

Various issues were debated at these gatherings, such as installment of new emperors, enfeoffment of nobles, the establishment of new ancestral temples, reforms to the state religion, the monetary or tax systems, management of government monopolies on salt and iron (when they existed during Western Han), the introduction of new laws or the repeal of old ones, complex lawsuits, or whether or not to declare war on a foreign country or accept peaceful negotiation.

For most of Western Han, the Excellencies were the Chancellor (Chengxiang 丞相), the Imperial Counselor (Yushi dafu 御史大夫), and the Grand Commandant (Taiwei 太尉).

[38] The exact salary figures for the Excellencies before 8 BC are unknown, although from that year forward they were given a 10,000-dan salary-rank, in addition to periodic gifts which further boosted their incomes.

[41] The Western Han Chancellor oversaw state finances, logistics for military campaigns, registers for land and population, maps of the empire's territories, annual provincial reports, high-profile lawsuits, and drafted the government budget.

[59] Although the Eastern-Han Grand Commandant shared the same salary-rank as the other two Excellencies who were nominally considered his equals, he was nonetheless given de facto privilege as the most senior civil official.

[60] However, his censorial jurisdiction now overlapped with the other two Excellencies (i.e. he was able to investigate the same officials in central and local government), who shared an advisory role to the emperor (policy suggestions could be submitted independently or jointly by all three cabinet members).

[61] His various bureaus handled appointment, promotion, and demotion of officials, population registers and agriculture, the upkeep of transportation facilities, post offices, and couriers, civil law cases, granary storage, and military affairs.

[67] The Excellency of Works was responsible for the construction of city walls, towns, canals, irrigation ditches, dykes and dams, and other structural engineering projects.

The Court Astronomer also upheld a literacy test of 9,000 characters for nominees aspiring to become subordinate officials for either the Minister Steward or Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk.

They were allowed to openly criticize the emperor, participate in provincial inspections, and conduct mourning ceremonies for recently deceased kings and marquesses while installing their successors.

[118] Since the Masters of Writing were not eunuchs, and thus not allowed into the imperial harem, Emperor Wu established an all-eunuch office of secretaries for the inner palace, which was abolished in 29 BC.

[131] However, the founder of Eastern Han abolished the fourteen salary-ranks in favor of three ranks with no definite salary; instead, the concubines were irregularly granted gifts.

[142] For this event, Emperor Wu prefixed "colonel" to the Director of Retainers' title in 89 BC, promoting him to the salary-rank 2,000-dan, and granted him the Staff of Authority, allowing him to arrest and punish those allegedly practicing witchcraft.

[144] However, the Staff of Authority was removed from the Colonel in 45 BC, limiting his powers to inspection, investigation, and impeachment and he was distinguished from a provincial Inspector only by a higher salary-rank.

[147] In Eastern Han, the Colonel Director of Retainers was reappointed without the Staff of Authority, with powers to inspect the capital region, but his salary-rank was reduced from 2000–dan to Equivalent to 2000–dan.

[151] However, Emperor Guangwu of Han (r. 25–57 AD) abolished the Superintendent of Waterways and Parks and revived his post annually during autumn to conduct a ritual sacrifice.

[152] Dependent States (Shuguo 屬國) were first established in 121 BC and composed mostly non-Han-Chinese nomadic tribes and confederations who surrendered after negotiation or armed conflict and accepted Han suzerainty.

[156] The Protectorate of the Western Regions, established in 60 BC, which conducted foreign affairs with the oasis city-states in the Tarim Basin of Central Asia, was not the responsibility of the Director of Dependent States.

[157] The Han Empire was divided by hierarchical political divisions in the following descending order: provinces (zhou), commanderies (jun), and counties (xian).

[167] They evaluated officials on criteria of competence, honesty, obedience to the imperial court, adherence to the law, their treatment of convicts, and any signs of extortion, nepotism, or factionalism.

[182] A county Magistrate was in charge of maintaining law and order, storing grain in case of famine, registering the populace for taxation, mobilizing conscripted commoners for corvée labor projects, supervising public works, renovating schools, and performing rituals.

[188] A county Magistrate heavily relied on the cooperation of local elders and leaders at the district level; these carried out much of the day-to-day affairs of arbitrating disputes in their communities, collecting taxes, and fighting crime.

[189] A Han kingdom was much like a commandery in size and administration, except it was officially, and after 145 BC, nominally, the fief of a relative to the emperor, including brothers, uncles, nephews, and sons—excluding the heir apparent.

[198] Charles Hucker notes that after this transformation of kingdoms and marquessates into virtual commanderies and counties, respectively, a "... fully centralized government was achieved" for the first time since the Qin dynasty.

[216] Professional soldiers could also be found in agricultural garrisons established in the Western Regions, such as those led by the Wu and Ji Colonels (Wuji xiaowei 戊己校尉), who were ranked Equivalent to 600-dan and were based at the Turpan oasis.

[214] The main purpose of these reserve units was to position Han troops at strategic passes to guard the lower Wei River against Xiongnu, Wuhuan, and Tibetan tribes.