Entry

Formerly, in the inheritance and succession of native-official posts, there was much confusion between the sons of primary and secondary wives and even persons of other surnames. Thus, it was necessary to first send an official to verify the facts. However, the yi persons are crafty and guileful and often the officials who were sent sought gain and accepted bribes. For these reasons, there had been wrangling and killing for many years. At this time, the Censor-in-Chief Wang Zhao, grand coordinator of Yun-nan, and other officials, memorialized on the problem: "It is requested that the native-official offices be required to advise of the due heir beforehand. When the due heir is 5 years-plus and when he is 10 years-plus, and while the native official is still alive, a defence official from that area should go to personally examine the veracity of the advise and note it in a register. If anything happens to the native official, and the heir is over 15 years-old, further examination will not be necessary. It will just be necessary for a memorial requesting permission to inherit the post to be submitted. If the heir has not reached that age, a circulating official should be instructed to temporarily assist in handling matters. When the heir comes of age, a request for permission to inherit the post should be submitted. If a native official dies without an heir, an examination should be carried out following the death and the Emperor will then make the decision on succession." The Ministry of War re-submitted the memorial and it was approved.