A commandery consisted of a group of counties, and was headed by an Administrator. He was the top civil and military leader of the commandery and handled defense, lawsuits, seasonal instructions to farmers and recommendations of nominees for office sent annually to the capital in a quota system first established by Emperor Wu. The head of a large county of about 10,000 households was called a Prefect, while the heads of smaller counties were called Chiefs, and both could be referred to as Magistrates. A Magistrate maintained law and order in his county, registered the populace for taxation, mobilized commoners for annual corvée duties, repaired schools and supervised public works. COUNT 5
QSN1 What individual was typically in charge of a commandery? ANS1 an Administrator QSN2 Around how many households was a Prefect responsible for? ANS2 10,000 QSN3 What individual was responsible for law and maintaining order in the county? ANS3 A Magistrate QSN4 What Emperor initially created the quota system? ANS4 Emperor Wu QSN5 Who was in charge of counties that had fewer than 10,000 people in them? ANS5 Chiefs