滿人以異族入主中原，為維護其政權，對於吏治及整個官僚體係之操作，管理甚為嚴格。對於官員內陞外調的規定，使高層官員，如各部院大臣與各省督撫之間可相互補授，及開闢績優總督陞任內閣大學士之途徑，一則提供總督一條合理的陞遷管道，二則可藉此加強中央對地方之掌握。由於一品大員之員額甚少，部院大臣陞任內閣大學士之機會相當渺茫，為維持行政士氣，在實際操作時，同一品級之各內閣大學士間，以及各部院大臣間，非正式地形成許多小臺階，用以分辨身份地位的高低，同一品級之官員可因而多了不少可「升」的階梯，對於清帝國培養高層行政人才助益良多。

　　　　　In 1644 the Manchus established their overlordship of China by setting up the Ch'ing dynasty, which lasted 267 years. Alien rule of an empire over such a long period has been historically exceptional, and Ch'ing bureaucracy has thus been an interesting subject for many scholars. It is the intention of this paper to make an inquiry into the patterns of position mobility of the chief officials in the Grand Secretariat, in Various Boards, and in the Censorate-general between 1730 and 1906. the period under review dates from the time when Emperor Yung-cheng (1723-35) bureaucratic hierarchy and ends with the massive change it government structure made in 1906 under the Emperor Kuang-hsu (1875-1908).