Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/152

 At the end of the seventeenth century the Chinese, after subduing almost the whole of this country, allowed its separate organisation to remain unchanged; only introducing a more efficient system of administration; and while maintaining the independence of its princes in local affairs, they placed them under the strict supervision of the Government of Peking. All the business connected with Mongoliа is transacted by the Foreign Office (Li-fan-yuen), matters of high importance being referred to the Emperor. It is governed on the basis of a military colony; its chief divisions or principalities are called aimaks, each comprising one or more koshungs, i.e. banners which are subdivided into regiments, squadrons, and tens. The aimaks and koshungs are governed by hereditary princes, who acknowledge