The Official Household System and Its Change in the Late Qing Dynasty

The official household in the late Qing dynasty referred to the period between the Opium War and the end of the Qing dynasty. Its representatives were the official households of Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong and Yuan Shikai. The system of official household came from the traditional one of the Ming and Qin dynasties. The members chosen and the work they did had some traditional characteristics, and thus it became a supplement of the government. However, it changed a lot compared with the traditional one.