Abstract: The Great Reckoning was a regular evaluation of civil officials provinces in the provinces that was
held every three years in the Qing Dynasty． Officials would be classified into three grades according to the
assessment: officials who were recommended as outstanding and distinctive; those who were listed neither
for recommendation nor impeachment; and those who were charged with eight proscriptions． The
governor-general assessed the officials and then gave his comments． The actual achievements were also
required． After the government of the Qing Dynasty modified the assessment system，the comments
became more concise，usually in eight words． Such fixed format of the comments also influenced the
remarks of other assessment systems in the late Qing Dynasty，such as the year-end assessment and the
evaluation methods of the magistrates． As to the comments and the actual achievements of the officials，
their formats and content varied in different stages of the Qing Dynasty，which can be regarded as an index to the corruption of the bureaucracy．