County magistrate
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The county magistrate or local magistrate, under successive titles over the span of imperial China, was the official in charge of the xian, the lowest level of central government in Imperial and early
A magistrate holds court (late 19th century)
Ming dynasty magistrate.
The Kaifeng Court of Bao Zheng, a tourist attraction modeled after typical magistral office.
Yamen at Shaoxing Fu, Zhejiang Province, 1803.
Landed gentry in China
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The gentry, or landed gentry in China was the elite who also held additional privileged status through passing the Imperial exams, which made them eligible to hold government office. These literati, o
Wang family home, a prominent Shanxi gentry family, in Lingshi County
The art of gentleman scholars tended to idealize retreat into the beauties of nature and contemplation, an idea parallel to the travel literature of Su Shi and Yuan Hongdao; painting by Song dynasty artist Ma Yuan, c. 1200–1230.