Abstract: Inherited from the Ming state, the system of administrative communication in the early Qing court after conquering China proper was founded on the circulation of a document, the Routine Memorial (Tiben). In the middle of Kangxi reign, the emperor made two significant changes to adapt the system to the new imperial administrative practice, that is, to rule in the imperial landscapes" or during an imperial tour. The first change reversed the submission of Routine Memorials, making the Great Secretariat, instead of the emperor, the first to receive and process documents. The second change was to establish a new office, the Rescript Office (piben chu) to reduce the emperor's daily paperwork burden. Despite the appearance of slothful rulership, the new system improved the efficiency
of central government by mobilizing the officials like the Great Secretaries and Manchu servants of Imperial Household Department, forming a firm Inner Court that emphasized imperial power in the long eighteenth century China.

Key words:  , high qing, routine memorial, great secretariat, rescript office, inner court