THE  GOVERNMENT  53
their  sons  to  Bei-tze,  Prince  oí  the  fourth  order  (Prince
Pu-lun  is  of  this  rank)  ;  then  come  four  grades  of  Duke
and  four  of  Commanders,  until,  in  the  thirteenth  generation,
the  descendants  of  Emperors  are  merged  in  the  ranks  of
commoners,  distinguished  only  by  their  privilege  of  the
yellow  girdle.
The  Hereditary  Nobility  do  not  descend  in  rank  with
each  succeeding  generation.  Chief  among  them  are  the
eight  “  Iron-capped  ”  (or  helmeted)  Princes,  direct  descendants ­
  by  rule  of  primogeniture  of  the  eight  princes  who  cooperated ­
  in  the  Conquest  of  China  ;  to  them  is  added  the
descendant  of  the  thirteenth  son  of  Kanghi.  Certain
Chinese  families  also  enjoy  hereditary  titles  of  nobility,
chief  among  them  the  Holy  Duke  of  Yen  (the  descendant
of  Rung  Fu-tze  or  Confucius),  Marquis  Tseng  (from  Tseng
Kwo-fan),  Earl  Li  (from  Li  Hung-chang)  :  none  of  these
titles  carry  with  them  any  special  privileges.

II.  Metropolitan  Administration
Of  the  central  government  of  China,  Mayers  *  says  :
“  The  central  government  of  China,  so  far  as  a  system  of
this  nature  is  recognised  in  the  existing  institutions,  is
arranged  with  the  object  rather  of  registering  and  checking
the  action  of  the  various  provincial  administrations,  than
with  that  of  assuming  a  direct  initiative  in  the  conduct  of
affairs.  .  .  .  Regulations,  indeed,  of  the  most  minute  and
comprehensive  character,  are  on  record  for  the  guidance
of  every  conceivable  act  of  administration  ;  and  the  principal ­
  function  of  the  central  government  consists  in  watching
over  the  execution  of  this  system  of  rules.  The  bestowal  of
the  higher  appointments  of  the  civil  and  military  services,
and  the  distribution  of  the  superior  literary  degrees  as
rewards  for  proficiency  in  the  studies  upon  which  the  entire
polity  of  the  Empire  is  based,  comprise  the  remainder  of
*  “The  Chinese  Government,”  by  W.  F.  Mayers,  1878.