The paradoxical effect of autocracy

This chapter examines the basic outlook and evolution of the Ming merit-evaluation system for the civil officials, and looks at how the system operated in times of crisis. It demonstrates that an ostensibly objective bureaucratic system could be heavily politicized and in fact become a vehicle for instability. According to the Ming administrative stipulations, the new Presented Scholar degree holders and National Academy students might be required to "observe" the functioning of various government departments as interns. The Ming merit-evaluation consisted primarily of two parts: tenure reviews and periodical appraisals. The Ming censorial system was comprised of the Censorate where the censors monitored the daily functioning of the administration in general, and the Six Offices of Scrutiny, where the supervising secretaries watched the working of the Six Ministries in particular. The "fairness" that Lu Guangzu endeavored to champion was a new concept in the Ming that entailed broadened political participation and greater transparency in political procedures.