Scholar-official
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The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats, were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class.
Painting that depicts the career of a civil servant. The career path starts with passing the civil service examinations (left side) and progresses to a high position in the government (right side).
A 15th-century portrait of the Ming official Jiang Shunfu. The decoration of two egrets on his chest are a "mandarin square", indicating that he was a civil official of the sixth rank.
Government officials in Changfu during the Wanli era, Ming dynasty
A Western Han fresco depicting Confucius (and Laozi), and his students
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.