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later, the Emperor Yung-cheng indicated to the Grand Secretariat that he would like to select several dozen of the elderly officials from the capital who were capable enough to give moral and ideological lectures to people in Shensi province,53 Among those selected, the majority were Hanlins. In 1743, the Emperor Ch'ien-lung followed his predecessor's example by despatching a sub-reader and a compiler of the Academy to be Instructors of Morals in a few prefectures in Anhwei and Kiangsu provinces:54 their cultural standard was considered inferior to other prefectures of the same provinces.
The Hanlins needed to manage administrative affairs within the Academy itself. There were a series of clerical tasks such as accountancy, filing and translation of documents, preparation work before meetings, which could not be done properly by clerks alone. The Hanlins chose among themselves those who were good in penmanship to help perform these functions. Usually four Hanlins were chosen and they were regarded as executive officials (pan-shih kuan). They had the additional responsibility of examining clerks and subordinates of the Academy for promotion consideration before presenting their cases for approval by the Chancellor. After 1777, when a set of the Szu-ku ch’üan-shu (Complete Book of Four Treasuries) was sent to the library of the Academy, they also were called upon to look after its use by the other members of the Academy.55
Thus, we see that some Hanlins had a hand in nearly all aspects of government at the capital. With activities ranging from the administration of the secretarial affairs of the Academy itself to the managing of state affairs, from their influence on a poor scholar to their impact on the emperor, from experience gained in the capital to a widening of outlook in the provinces, from a few lines of an inscription to voluminous compilations we can see how varied were the duties of the Hanlins and how important was the Academy in the administration of the Empire in the early Ch'ing.
The period after 1795 saw the gradual decline of the Ch'ing Dynasty, caused mainly by the lack of arable land and the increase of population on the one hand and the growing of foreign pressures