Changes

Bannermen families lived in separate garrisons within the major cities, and were subject to separate administration and legal & judicial systems from the civilian population. They took separate (and generally easier) [[Chinese imperial examinations|civil service exams]] from those Han Chinese civilians sat for, and enjoyed the advantages of a quota system which placed Manchu and Mongol officials in numerous prominent positions. There were also separate military service exams, which consisted of both written portions, and portions testing one's demonstration of martial skills (horse-riding, archery, etc.).

Bannermen families lived in separate garrisons within the major cities, and were subject to separate administration and legal & judicial systems from the civilian population. They took separate (and generally easier) [[Chinese imperial examinations|civil service exams]] from those Han Chinese civilians sat for, and enjoyed the advantages of a quota system which placed Manchu and Mongol officials in numerous prominent positions. There were also separate military service exams, which consisted of both written portions, and portions testing one's demonstration of martial skills (horse-riding, archery, etc.).

In [[Beijing]], bannermen garrisons were placed just outside the [[Forbidden City|Imperial Palace]], creating a ring of elite space & military defense just outside the palace walls, much as was the case in [[Edo]] and most other Japanese [[jokamachi|castle towns]]. Following the conquest of China, much farmland was taken from the civilian Chinese, and divided up amongst the bannermen, such that each bannerman family owned, or controlled, at least a few acres of their own hereditary landholdings.

In [[Beijing]], bannermen garrisons were placed just outside the [[Forbidden City|Imperial Palace]], creating a ring of elite space & military defense just outside the palace walls, much as was the case in [[Edo]] and most other Japanese [[jokamachi|castle towns]]. Following the conquest of China, much farmland was taken from the civilian Chinese, and divided up amongst the bannermen, such that each bannerman family owned, or controlled, at least a few acres of their own hereditary landholdings. Unlike their samurai counterparts in Japan, Manchu bannermen did not typically wear swords, but rather carried weapons only when specifically on duty, or otherwise actively attending to a situation.<ref>[[Akazaki Kaimon]] 赤崎海門, ''[[Ryukaku danki|Ryûkaku danki]]'' 「琉客談記」 1796, reprinted in ''Shiseki shûran'' 「史籍集覧」, vol 16, Kyoto: Rinsen shoten (1996), 629.</ref>

The Manchu Banners were each originally headed by one of eight Manchu princes (''beile''), sons of [[Nurhachi]], founder of the Jurchen Later Jin tribal confederacy which became the Manchu Qing under their brother [[Hong Taiji]]. In a system Michael Chang calls "patrimonial," and which closely resembles in certain ways the "feudal" structure and logic of [[Tokugawa period|Tokugawa]] [[samurai]] society, the members of each Banner were loyal to the head of their Banner, more so than truly being loyal to the Qing government or the Empire in the abstract or "national(ist)" sense. Each bannerman family was obliged to provide a single warrior to their associated military company within the Banner, along with sufficient grain, horses & sheep, and arms & armor to equip and support that warrior. Reciprocally, the heads of each Banner, and of each company within it, were expected to reward their troops with loot or spoils from successful military efforts.

The Manchu Banners were each originally headed by one of eight Manchu princes (''beile''), sons of [[Nurhachi]], founder of the Jurchen Later Jin tribal confederacy which became the Manchu Qing under their brother [[Hong Taiji]]. In a system Michael Chang calls "patrimonial," and which closely resembles in certain ways the "feudal" structure and logic of [[Tokugawa period|Tokugawa]] [[samurai]] society, the members of each Banner were loyal to the head of their Banner, more so than truly being loyal to the Qing government or the Empire in the abstract or "national(ist)" sense. Each bannerman family was obliged to provide a single warrior to their associated military company within the Banner, along with sufficient grain, horses & sheep, and arms & armor to equip and support that warrior. Reciprocally, the heads of each Banner, and of each company within it, were expected to reward their troops with loot or spoils from successful military efforts.

==References==

==References==

*Chang, Michael G. ''A Court on Horseback: Imperial Touring and the Construction of Qing Rule, 1680-1785'', Harvard University Asia Center (2007), 20-22.

*Chang, Michael G. ''A Court on Horseback: Imperial Touring and the Construction of Qing Rule, 1680-1785'', Harvard University Asia Center (2007), 20-22.

[[Category:Political Institutions]]

[[Category:Political Institutions]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]