Abstract: From the perspective of the rites and institutions, this article discusses the political significance of the Qing dynasty’s efforts to differentiate multiple ethnic groups and integrate their cultures. The Qing dynasty adopted methods of categorizing various ethnic groups and administering their various cultures. The principle of categorizing was based on the closeness of their relationships with the Qing court, including both political, cultural, and emotional relationships. The primary principle of the Board of Rites’ governance consisted in cultivating the ethnic groups by rites. Mongolia was strategically endowed with priority in rites and institutions, therefore, Mongolia was set up as an example for the cultivation of other ethnic groups. The most distinctive characteristic of Qing dynasty’s ritual system was the rich color of diversity of ethnic groups. In many rites, the borderland ethnic groups already played the leading role rather than the supporting role or the audience. The new pattern of the ritual system can be attributed to two reasons. One was the requirement of Qing dynasty‘s political governance of the ethnic groups, and the other was the ruling ethnic group, the Manchu from northern China, awareness and recognition of the values of the borderland ethnic groups’ cultures. The first shift of the concepts of yidi ( 夷狄) in the early Qing dynasty constituted an important ideological resource for the update and development of the Qing dynasty’s ritual system.