Abstract: One of the special characteristics of the traditional Chinese society was the similarity of the state and family structures. Developing over hundreds of years from the Yuan to the Qing, it culminated in the formation of a dual ruling structure that was dependent on the three basic strata of society and the circulation of personnel between the local gentry and government bureaucrats. This article investigates changes in the mutual dependency among the various levels of the ruling structure, and the strength of this structure in pre-war mid-nineteenth-century Anhui in order to understand the unique characteristics of the dual political structure of traditional China. The article provides a intriguing example of the trends in the development of the traditional political order.