Inner Palace: Departments

I've finally stopped putting off compiling this because I needed to finalise the info for myself once and for all. XD The Inner Palace Departments in this novel are run by the eunuchs and they fulfill various necessary functions for the smooth running of the imperial palace. Needless to say, I have mixed and matched again from different dynasties so please don't take any of this as actual history! Parts of it are accurate but they are far and few in-between! 

The system in place during the Ming Dynasty, which forms the blueprint for what I'm using in this novel, is incredibly complicated, with 24 Directorates, 4 Offices, and 8 Services. After spending hours on Baidu, I concluded that...the Qing Dynasty had a reason for streamlining everything XD. I borrowed some from here and some from there and meshed some together because this novel doesn't need to get any more complicated than it already is. But please remember that this is very loosely based on history and a lot of changes have gone into it!

Without further ado, I present to you, my dear readers: 

The Thirteen Inner Palace Departments 

1 Department of Ceremonies  — Assists the empress in the planning of banquets, rituals (e.g. ancestral worship rites), auspicious celebrations (e.g. imperial weddings, new birth of imperial children, selection of wet nurses). Arranges processions of eunuchs with suitable regalia (banners and ornamental umbrellas) to follow the entourages of the emperor, empress, crown prince, high-ranking concubines. During the Ming Dynasty, this department amassed a lot of political power and became notorious. As for this novel...you'll have to wait and see! 8)

2 Department of the Privy Purse  — Distributes salaries and allowances, furniture and treasures to the palaces, such as silks, art, porcelain figurines, etc. 

3 Department of Inner Affairs  — Controls resources like wood, coal, other construction materials, wedding ceremony materials, imperial excursion arrangements (including if a royal went to the frontlines). Responsible for the building and renovation of palaces and imperial tombs as well as the maintenance and distribution of the ice stores (for summer)

4 Department of Paraphernalia — Produces all screens, bedframes, objects made of red sandalwood/ivory/ebony/lacquerware/gold/silver/gems (I combined around 3 different departments into 1 here for convenience...regarding lacquerware, I'm referring to the decorative features on it using mother-of-pearl, which borrows the word raden from Japanese. Japan is the country famous for this craft now but the technique was passed on from China to Japan during the Tang Dynasty. I would happily use the word raden except it seems strange in the context of this novel because it doesn't fit into the timeline of real world history XD). 

5 Department of Imperial Horses  — The posh version of Yan Zheyun's Wu Household stables lol, assists the Ministry of War in guarding the palace, through the care and supply of horses and the maintenance of imperial martial training facilities and hunting grounds. In the Ming Dynasty and for the purposes of this novel, they also maintain imperial estates and stores. Lastly, I am fusing the Armory in here too, which is responsible for manufacturing weapons. 

6 Department of Palace Delicacies — Pretty much the only department that does what it says on the tin LOL. Food for normal meals and banquets prepared here (the Imperial Buttery falls under its jurisdiction!), also controls stores of staples, meats, vegetables, condiments (which were often very expensive), and last but not least, wine!!!

7 Department of Credentials — Prepares edicts, imperial pardons, any official documentation really. Also produces scrolls and paper (which in this novel, is pretty, well, novel XD so not many people have access to this yet besides the educated masses). Also stores important sigils and seals.

8 Department of Maintenance — Oh, actually another department that has a job scope that fits its name. Responsible for cleaning the palace (think of the endless sweeping of a giant house that's kilometres in length and breadth), including the baths. Maintains gardens and the imperial temples too (sweeping them and adding oil to prayer lamps to ensure they don't burn out). Once again, a combination of many departments into one. 

9 Department of Garments  — Responsible for imperial livery, from headdress to shoes. In the Ming Dynasty, was only in-charge of the emperor's clothes. But to my horror, as I read up on the descriptions of the other departments, I realised there was a separate one for the other inner palace members, one just for sewing, one just for dyeing, one just for the official uniforms from eunuchs to court officials to princes...so I decided to combine them all under here. 8) No wonder they were too busy to deal with Yan Zheyun's new clothes...

10 Department of Respectful Affairs — The one I've written about the most (ROFL). Description is in the novel itself, 'nuff said :> 

11 Department of Bells-and-Drums  — Responsible for all ritual drums (e.g. announcing morning court, fanfare during an emperor's accession ceremony or an empress' coronation), sounding the gongs that tell which watch it is at night, and also manages the entertainment manors where like dancers, musicians, and other performers are trained.   

12 Department of Washing  — provides a laundry service to not just the members of the inner palace but also imperial relatives. Pretty much one of the worst places to go because of the hard work and the lack of future prospects. 

13 Department of Careful Punishment — I originally used the name 'Office of Careful Punishment' as this is translated directly from the Qing Dynasty department that I'm uprooting and inserting here. I've since gone back to edit this, sorry for the confusion! Responsible for the punishment of disobedient servants as well as interrogation of anyone in the inner palace (except for the emperor, dowager, and empress) who commit any crimes. 

Note: It often happened that the supplies required by the inner palace were so extensive that eunuchs had to manage the supply chain, which at its height could extend across the entire country. Therefore, lower-ranking eunuchs were often sent by their superiors to supervise the purchase and delivery at various stations outside the palace. Eunuchs also had ranks that were equivalent to court officials although depending on the emperor, some of them tried to curb the extent of the political influence that eunuchs could obtain by banning them from literacy and decreeing that no eunuch could rise above 'Upper Four' in rank. As for this novel...8) I won't spoil it yet! 

This is just a basic intro, please let me know if you'd like any further clarification on anything <3  < p>