C H 
watches over their conduit, keeps a journal of their tranf- 
ailions, and informs the emperor of them ; who puniffies 
or rewards according to its report. This tribunal is fub- 
divided into four others. The firft: has the care of feleit- 
ing perfons who, by their learning, talents, and morals, 
are proper for filling the different offices under govern¬ 
ment. The fecond lias the examining of the conduit of 
the mandarins. The third affixes afeal to all public aits, 
gives to each of the mandarins the feals belonging to his 
dignity and employment, and examines the feals of the 
different difpatches addreffed to the court. The fourth 
inquires into the merit and conduit of the grandees of 
the empire, as well princes of the imperial blood, as 
others on whom titles merely honorary are conferred. 
The principal objeit of the Chinefe government in this 
eftablifhment is, that the different departments be pro¬ 
perly infpeited, every tranfadlion thoroughly inveftigated, 
l'uitable rewards given to the deferving, and puniftiment 
infliiled on the guilty adequate to their crimes. 
Hou-pou is the name of thefecond court. This tribu¬ 
nal has the fuperintendance of all the finances of the Hate. 
It is the guardian of the treafures and domains of the 
emperor: it keeps an account of his revenues and ex- 
pences, gives orders for the payment of peniions and fe- 
laries annexed to certain offices, and for the delivery of 
■rice, pieces of filk, and money, which are diftributed 
among the great lords, and mandarins of the empire. 
The coining of money, the management of public ma¬ 
gazines and cullom-houfes, and the collection of the du¬ 
ties, are all under its inipeCtion ; it likewife keeps an ex- 
aft regifter of the families that compofe this valt empire. 
This court has toaffiit it fourteen other inferior courts, 
which are difperled throughout the different provinces of 
China. 
The third court, called Li-pon, is the court of ceremo¬ 
nies. Ceremonies form, in part, the bafis of the Chinefe 
government. It is the duty of this tribunal, therefore, 
to fupport and enforce the obfervance of them; the arts 
and fciences are alfo placed under its infpeftion, and it 
takes charge of the repairs of temples, regulates every 
■thing that relates to the annual facrifices offered up by 
the emperor, and even fo the entertainments which the 
emperor gives: he alio c'onfults it when he is about to 
grant favours, or confer honours. This tribunal alfo 
receives, lodges, treats, and difmiffes, amballadors; and 
takes care to preferve tranquillity among the different 
religious fefts tolerated in the empire. It has four fu- 
baltern tribunals to aflilt it. 
The tribunal of arms, called Piug-peU , forms the fourth 
fovereign court. It comprehends in its jurifdiftion the 
whole militia, and all the fortrefies, arfenals, magazines, 
and ftorehoufes of every kind; it infpefts all the manu¬ 
factories of arms, examines and appoints officers of every 
rank, and is compofed of mandarins of letters only, as 
are the four tribunals dependent on it. The fifth lupe- 
rior tribunal, named Hong-pou, is the criminal bench, or 
general court for all the criminal affairs of the empire. 
Fourteen other tribunals are appointed for its affiltance; 
but they are all fubordinate, and under its infpeftion. 
The fixth fovereign court, named Cong-pbu, or the tribu¬ 
nal of public works, has the charge of furveying and 
keeping in repair the palaces of the emperor, princes, and 
viceroys ; the buildings where the tribunals are held, the 
temples, tombs of the lovereigns, and all other public mo¬ 
numents. It has, likewife, the fuperintendance of the 
llreets, public highways, bridges, lakes, rivers, barks, 
and every thing that relates to navigation ; and alfo of 
the towers deemed neceffary for maintaining peace and 
lafety in the interior parts of the empire. It has four in¬ 
ferior tribunals for ailiffants in the difeharge of its duty. 
The firft, forms defigns and draws plans of public works; 
the fecond, has under its direction all the woiklhops in 
the different cities of the empire ; the third, furveys 
caufeways, roads, bridges, canals, rivers, &c. and the 
fourth, takes care of the emperor’s palaces, gardens, and 
Yol. IV. No. 210. 
[ N A. , 449 
orchards, and receives their produce. The members 
which compole all thefe different inferior tribunals are 
half Chinefe and half Tartars; and each has two prefi- 
dents, one of which is always a Tartar born. None of 
thefe tribunals have abfolute power in their own jurif- 
diCtion : the decificns of one can have no effeCt without 
the concurrence of fome other tribunal, and fometirnes 
of feveral. Thus the tribunal of war has under its direc¬ 
tion the whole troops of the empire; the fecond is en- 
trufted with the payment of them ; and to the fixth be¬ 
longs the care of the arms, tents, (tores, &c. neceffary for 
military operations. Nothing, therefore, that relates to 
any of thefe can be put in execution without the concur¬ 
rence of thofe three tribunals. 
Every fuperior tribunal has alfo its cenfor, an officer 
merely paffive, who decides upon nothing, but watches 
overall. He a (lifts at all affemblies, reviles ali their afts, 
and makes no mention to the tribunals of any irregularity 
he has obferved, but immediately acquaints the emperor. 
He informs him alfo of the faults committed by the man¬ 
darins, either in the public adminiftration of affairs, or 
in their private conduft. Thefe cenfors hold their places 
for life; and this fecurity gives them courage to fpeak 
out, when they obferve any impropriety or abufe. Their 
accufation is fufficient to fet on foot an enquiry, which 
generally leads'to a proof; the accufed is then dilcharged 
from his office, were he even one of the firft: men in the 
empire; and the coinmoneft perfon is afterwards held in 
as much eftimation as he. It is, however, fomething re¬ 
markable, that the complaints of thefe cenfors are referred 
to the very tribunals of which the accufed are members. 
Thefe cenfors form a court or tribunal of equity, named 
Tou-che-yven, which has the infpeftion of the v/hole em¬ 
pire : its members have the power of remonftrating with 
the emperor, whenever the intereft of the public, or that 
of the prince, renders it neceffary. Their infpeftion ex¬ 
tends alfo over ali lawyers and military men in publiq 
employments, and over every clafs of citizens. In (hort, 
they are, ftriftly (peaking, placed between the prince and 
the mandarins; between the mandarins and the people ; 
between the people and families ; between families and in¬ 
dividuals ; and they unite, generally fpeaking, to the im¬ 
portance of their office, the mod: uncorruptible probity 
and invincible courage. The fovereign may, if he pro¬ 
ceeds to rigour, take away their lives; but many of them 
have patiently fuffered death, rather than betray the 
caufe of truth, or wink at abufes. It is not therefore 
fufficient to get rid of one, in order to gain a point; they 
muff all be treated in the fame manner, for the laft would 
tread with the feme refolution in the fteps of thofe who 
had gone before him. 
There is another tribunal of equity, which exifts, vve 
believe, no where but in China; it is the tribunal of 
princes, and is coinpofed of princes only. Some of the 
ordinary mandarins, indeed, belong to it as l'ubalterns, 
whofe bufmefs it is to draw out cafes and other writings 
necelfery for determining any fuit. The names of the 
children of the imperial family are inlcribed, as foon as 
they are born, in the regifters of this tribunal; and to it 
are configned the dignities and titles which the emperor 
confers upon them. This tribunal is the only court 
where they can be tried; and, irr cafes of accufation, it 
abfolves or punifties them, according to its pleafure. 
All the privileges of princes of the blood, confift in 
certain rights of reprefentation, and in being tried by 
their peers only. They cannot depend upon that dil- 
tinftion which is conferred by riches, or annexed to place. 
Every thing in this methodical empire is fubmitted to 
an examination. The yellow girdle only is what thefe 
princes inherit by birth; and this right belongs only to 
thofe who are deicended in a right line from the reign¬ 
ing dynalty. The names of their children, whether girls 
or boys, the year, month, and day, of their birth, are in- 
feribed in a large yellow book, particularly appropriated 
for this purpofe. An orange girdle is, the diltinguiffiing 
5 Y mark 
