heir enclosing
walls, and then by the circle of the horizon. He then seems to himself
and to his court to be in the centre of the universe, and turning to
the north, assuming the attitude of a subject, he acknowledges in
prayer and by his position that he is inferior to heaven, and to
heaven alone. Round him on the pavement are the nine circles of as
many heavens, consisting of nine stones, then eighteen, then
twenty-seven, and so on in successive multiples of nine till the
square of nine, the favourite number of Chinese philosophy, is reached
in the outermost circle of eighty-one stones."

On this occasion, also, a bullock of two years old, and without
blemish, is offered as a whole burnt-offering in a green porcelain
furnace which stands close beside the altar. The emperor's life is
largely occupied with ceremonial observances, and custom ordains that
except on state occasions he should not leave the walls of the palace.

For his knowledge of public affairs the emperor is thus largely
dependent upon such information as courtiers and high officers of
state permit to reach him.[29] The palace eunuchs have often exercised
great power, though their influence has been less under the Manchus
than was the case during previous dynasties. Though in theory the
throne commands the services and money of all its subjects yet the
crown as such has no revenues peculiarly its own. It is dependent on
contributions levied through the high officials on the several
provinces, subject always to the will of the people, and without their
concurrence and co-operation nothing can be done.[30] The power of the
purse and the power of the sword are thus exercised mediately, and the
autocratic power is in practice transferred to the general body of
high functionaries, or to that clique which for the time being has
the ear of the emperor, and is united enough and powerful enough to
impose its will on the others.

China governed by its civil service.

The functionaries who thus really wield the supreme power are almost
without exception civil officials. Naturally the court has shown an
inclination to choose Manchu rather than Chinese, but of late years
this preference has become less marked, and in the imperial
appointments to provincial administrations the proportion of Manchus
chosen was at the beginning of the 20th century not more than
one-fifth of the whole numbe