THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE

70
office,  however,  may  be  from  a  hundred  to  a  thousand  times
his  nominal  salary,  but  from  them  he  has  to  provide  for
the  maintenance  of  his  subordinates  and  his  superiors,  as  is
explained  in  the  next  chapter.  He  is  appointed  to  his  post
generally  from  the  list  of  expectants,  either  because  he  is
the  son  of  his  father,  or  because  of  a  sufficient  contribution
to  what  in  Western  countries  would  be  the  party  campaign
fund,  or  because  of  good  work  done  in  a  Chai-shih  ;  occasionally, ­
  even  now,  a  high  scholar  is  appointed  because  of
his  scholarship,  but  it  is  seldom  to  a  lucrative  post.  To
the  different  districts  of  the  Empire  are  applied,  according
to  the  facts  of  the  case,  none  or  one  or  two  or  three  or
all  of  the  four  qualifying  adjectives,  “  busy,  troublesome,
wearisome,  difficult.”  *  The  Hsien  is  duly  equipped  with
Treasurers,  Collectors,  Secretaries,  Clerks,  Jailers,  Runners,
Constables,  etc.,  many  of  whom  hold  their  position  by
hereditary  right  or  custom  ;  but  an  official  in  China,  though
he  may  delegate  his  functions,  can  never  delegate  or  absolve
himself  from  responsibility,  and  the  Hsien  is  personally
responsible  for  every  act  of  what  we  may  call  the  municipal
government.  He  is  everything  in  the  municipality,  and
some  of  the  most  important  of  his  functions  must  be
described.
The  judicial  function  is  the  most  important.  He  is
Police  Magistrate,  and  decides  ordinary  police  cases.  He  is
Court  of  First  Instance  in  all  civil  cases  ;  the  penalty  foi
taking  a  case  first  to  a  higher  court  is  fifty  blows  with  the
bamboo  on  the  naked  thigh  ;  appeal  from  his  court  lies  to
the  Fu,  and  by  that  time  the  resources  of  the  litigants  a#
usually  exhausted.  Civil  cases  are  usually  settled  by  the
guilds  in  towns,  and  by  village  elders  or  by  arbitration  of
friends  in  the  country  ;  but  they  may  come  before  the
official  tribunal,  when  the  plaintiff  wishes  his  pound  of
flesh  and  the  blood  of  his  victim  as  well.  The  Hsien  is  also
Court  of  First  Instance  in  criminal  cases,  though  a  first
hearing  may  for  convenience  be  held  by  an  Assistant  MagiS'
*  “  The  Office  of  District  Magistrate  in  China,”  by  Byron  Brenafl*
Journal,  China  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  1898.