Beijing
Beijing was the capital of the Qing empire and the center of the Qing administration. All of the officials mentioned in the memorial—the Jinjiang County Magistrate, the Quanzhou Prefect, the Xinghua-Quanzhou-Yongchun Circuit Intendant, the Fujian Provincial Judicial Commissioner, the Fujian Provincial Governor, and the Fujian-Zhejiang Governor-General—were appointed by the Board of Personnel in Beijing. One of the other major branches of the Qing government—the Board of Punishments—was the institution that received and reviewed the memorial on the Shi Hou case when it was all wrapped up. The Daoguang Emperor also lived in Beijing, and his eyes were the final pair to review the case in its entirety after it passed through the Board of Punishments.
