Entry

The Qian-guo Duke Mu Cong, regional commander of Yun-nan, memorialized: "The native officials under Yun-nan do not differentiate between the sons of primary wives and secondary wives, with the result that when they die, it often occurs that someone from the same clan but with a different surname vies with the son who should inherit the post. Even when the investigating and certifying officers of the three offices have conducted investigations, both claimants hold to their own claims. I am afraid that such situations will give rise to more troubles. It is requested that the relevant offices be ordered to send despatches to the grand defender and the regional inspector requiring them to make urgent decisions on such cases. Also, the provincial administration commission should be required to conduct a fair investigation of the native officials, circulating officials and clerks, and the full details of the main clans and branches, primary wives and secondary wives of the persons holding the native-official posts should be recorded. The details should then be recorded in a register (譜圖), and a listing (冊籍) should be produced annually. Thus, when there are troubles with the native officials, decisions can be taken on the basis of these documents. Once there is a fixed basis for resolving matters, the disputes will be eliminated." The memorial was sent to the Ministry of War, which responded: "His memorial is very urgent. It is requested that Cong and so on have the officials of the three offices, the regional inspector and the grand defender urgently make fair decisions on those native-official disputes which have not yet been settled. They must not avoid matters like they have in the past. These officials are to be given rank of the sixth grade, or something less, and given a grain salary in accordance with the regulations. They are to be exempted from coming to the capital.....Gui-zhou, Guang-xi, Hu-guang and Si-chuan should also all respectfully implement these procedures..." This was approved.