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Mandarin (bureaucrat) Wikipedia

A Mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China. The term originates from the Portuguese language|Portuguese word mandarim, meaning "minister" or "counselor", used to translate the Chinese word guan(???). The term is also used to refer to the Mandarin (linguistics)|northern spoken variety of Chinese language|Chinese because it was the language used among officials during the Ming dynasty|Ming and Qing dynasty|Qing dynasties.

Mandarins are also known as scholar-officials because they immerse themselves in poetry, literature, and Confucian learning in addition to performing civil service duties. They obtain their positions through rigorous imperial examination.

China has had civil servants since at least the Zhou dynasty however most high ranking positions were filled by relatives of the sovereign and the Chinese nobility|nobility. It was not until the Tang dynasty when the final form of the mandarin was completed with the replacement of the nine-rank system. The mandarins were the founders and core of the gentry (China)|Chinese gentry. The mandarins were replaced with a modern civil service after the fall of the Qing dynasty.

The wardrobe of a mandarin during the Qing Dynasty involved Manchu official headwear and a mandarin square. Mandarins lived in yamen.

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Category:History of China

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Last Modified:   2005-11-04