THE  GOVERNMENT  5%
temple  name  of  the  Emperor  we  know  as  Tungchih  is
Mu-tsung  Yi  Hwang-ti,  “  Our  Reverent  Ancestor  the  Bold
Emperor."  The  Emperor’s  writ  runs  throughout  the  extent ­
  of  his  dominions,  and  his  edicts  and  rescripts  are  the
law  of  the  Empire  ;  this  is  true  also  of  the  writs  and  Orders
in  Council  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and
the  restrictions  on  the  acts  of  the  two  sovereigns  differ  only
in  degree  and  kind.  The  Emperor  is  bound,  in  the  first
place,  by  the  unwritten  constitution  of  the  Empire,  the
customs  which  have  come  down  from  time  immemorial,
through  generations  of  both  rulers  and  ruled,  and  further
by  established  precedent  as  defined  in  the  edicts  of  his
predecessors,  even  those  of  previous  dynasties.  Then  he
is  bound  by  the  opinions  and  decisions  of  his  Ministers,
whose  position  and  weight  differ  from  those  of  Ministers
of  constitutional  monarchies  only  in  the  mode  of  their
selection  and  retention  in  office.  Finally,  shut  up  within
the  walls  of  his  palace,  he  is  more  sensible  of  the  daily
pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  him  by  his  personal  entourage ­
  than  his  brother  sovereigns  in  the  West  ;  but  it  must
be  said  of  the  Manchu  rulers  that  eunuchs  have  had  less
influence  at  Court  than  under  previous  dynasties.  A  strong
Emperor  may  assert  his  own  will,  and,  given  a  suitable
opportunity  and  a  justifying  emergency,  may  override  the
constitution  as  Abraham  Lincoln  did  under  similar  circumstances ­
  ;  but  when  an  ordinary  ruler  tries  it,  the  result  is
what  happened  in  1898,  when  the  present  Emperor  undertook ­
  to  modify  in  a  few  months  the  development  of  many
centuries,  and  impetuously  instituted  reforms  for  which  the
Empire  was  not  then  ready.  The  Emperor  is  also  the  source
of  honors  and  of  office  ;  but  this  is  no  more  literally  true  in
China  than  in  any  other  country  where  patronage  is  exercised ­
  from  above.
The  Empress  Consort  is  chosen  by  the  Emperor  (with
perhaps  some  forcing  of  the  cards)  from  a  bevy  of  candidates ­
  selected  by  his  Ministers  from  the  families  of  Manchu
nobles  ;  and  from  the  same  selection,  then  or  later,  he
chooses  Secondary  Empresses,  not  commonly  exceeding