THE  GOVERNMENT  65
Yen-yün  Shih-sze,  Salt  Comptroller,  in  some  provinces,
and  Yen-yün  Tao,  Salt  Intendant,  in  other  provinces,  control ­
  the  manufacture,  movement,  and  sale  of  salt  under  the
provincial  gabelle,  and  the  revenue  derived  from  it.
Liang  Taó,  Grain  Intendant,  in  twelve  of  the  eighteen
provinces,  controls  the  collection  of  the  grain  tribute,  in
kind  or  commuted.
The  last  four  officials,  the  Sze-Tao  (or  as  many  of  them
as  maybe  found  in  the  province)  next  below  the  Governor,
constitute  ex  officio  the  Shan-how  Kü,  “  Committee  of  Reorganisation,” ­
  a  deliberating  and  executive  Board  of  provincial ­
  government  ;  and  the  six  enumerated  above  form
the  general  provincial  administration,  residing  at  the
capital,  except  that  the  Chihli  Viceroy  now  (since  1861)
resides  at  Tientsin,  and  the  Liang-Kiang  Viceroy  has  his
seat  at  Nanking.
Below  the  Fantai  in  rank  and  above  the  Niehtai  is  the
Ti-hioh  Sze,  Commissioner  of  Education,  a  new  post
created  on  the  institution  of  the  Hioh  Pu  in  1903.  This  is
not  an  administrative  post,  and  its  incumbent  is  not  a
member  of  the  Shan-how  Kü.
The  unit  for  administrative  purposes  within  the  province
is  the  Hsien,  or  district,  as  will  be  explained  below  ;  two  or
three  or  more  (up  to  five  or  six)  districts  collectively  form
a  Fu  or  prefecture  ;  and  two  or  more  prefectures  are  placed
under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  Taotai.  There  are  also  two
other  classes,  the  Chow  and  Ting,  each  of  two  kinds  ;  the
Chow  and  Ting  proper  are  a  superior  kind  of  Hsien,  being
component  parts  of  a  Fu  ;  the  Chihli-chow  and  Chihli-ting
are  an  inferior  kind  of  Fu,  both  having  as  direct  a  relation
to  the  provincial  government  as  a  Fu,  but  the  latter  distinguished ­
  from  the  Fu  by  having  no  Hsien  subordinated
to  it.
Fen-sün  Tao,  the  “  Sub-Inspector,”  commonly  translated ­
  Intendant  of  Circuit,  and  usually  called  Taotai  ;  has
administrative  control  over  a  circuit  comprising  two  or
three  Fu,  or  sometimes  one  or  two  Fu  and  a  Chihli-chow
or  a  Chihli-ting,  and  is  in  certain  matters  the  intermediary
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