County magistrate (Chinese: 县令; pinyin: xian ling or simplified Chinese: 县长; traditional Chinese: 縣長; pinyin: xiànzhǎng sometimes called local magistrate, in imperial China was the official in charge of the xian, or county, the lowest level of central government. The magistrate was the official who had face-to-face relations with the people and administered all aspects of government on behalf of the emperor. Because he was expected to rule in a disciplined but caring way and because the people were expected to obey, the county magistrate was informally known as the Fumu Guan (Chinese: 父母官; pinyin: fùmǔ guān), the "Father and Mother" or "parental" official. The emperor appointed magistrates from among those who passed the imperial examinations or had purchased equivalent degrees. Education in the Confucian Classics indoctrinated these officials with a shared ideology that helped to unify the empire, but not with practical training. A magistrate acquired specialized skills only after assuming office. Once in office, the magistrate was caught between the demands of his superiors and the needs and resistance of his often unruly constituents. Promotion depended on the magistrate's ability to maintain peace and lawful order as he supervised tax collection, roads, water control, and the census; handled legal functions as both prosecutor and judge; arranged relief for the poor or afflicted; carried out rituals; encouraged education and schools; and performed any further task the emperor chose to assign. Allowed to serve in any one place for only three years, he was also at the mercy of the local elites for knowledge of the local scene. There was a temptation to postpone difficult problems to the succeeding magistrate's term or to push them into a neighboring magistrate's jurisdiction. The Yongzheng emperor praised the magistrate: "The integrity of one man involves the peace or unhappiness of a myriad." But a recent historian said of the magistrate that "if he had possessed the qualifications for carrying out all his duties, he would have been a genius. Instead, he was an all-around blunderer, a harassed Jack-of-all trades...." The Republic of China (1912 - ) made extensive reforms in county government, but the position of magistrate was retained. . Under the People's Republic of China (1949 - ) the office of county magistrate, sometimes translated as "mayor," was no longer the lowest level of the central government, which extended its control directly to the village level.

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