清王朝以少數民族入主中原，雖強調滿漢共治，但實際上則是「重滿輕漢」。在太平天國起事後，八旗、綠營官兵不堪一擊，清政府被迫重新調整滿漢關係，並推行「重用漢臣」政策。該政策的首倡者於咸豐朝為文慶，繼之者則為肅順。其中，肅順透過舉薦漢臣如曾國藩、左宗棠，及延攬禮遇漢士贊劃軍政大計，因而在政治、社會與軍事三方面對晚清政局產生影響。

The Manchu, as an ethnic minority, ruled China after the collapse of the Ming Dynasty. Ostensibly, the government proclaimed that Manchu and Han had equal status concerning public affairs. However, the former had superiority over the latter in reality. It was not until the outbreak of The Taiping Rebellion, when the Eight Banners and the Green Standards, the government's regular army, proved defenseless, did the Qing Government readjust the Manchu-Han relation in order to tackle with the current situation. This led to the promotion of Han officials and became the policy of Qing Government, which was maintained through the late Qing Dynasty. The initiator of the policy was Wen Qing and succeeded by Su Shun during the reign of Xianfeng. In particular, Su Shun recommended Han elites such as Zeng Guo Fan, Zuo Zong Tang, and invited Han intellectuals to participate in military and political schemes, thus influenced the politics, society and military of the late Qing Dynasty.