634 REFORM OF GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION
dared lift their heads to address him and dutifully turned over all official busi-
ness to the chief officials of the ministries. It was the delay in the conduct of
business that appeared monstrous to him:
It takes weeks and months before action is taken on public business that has
been requested by memorial. and no one ever bothers to submit a second memo-
rial about a decision that has been made [presumably because it would take too
long to obtain a decision). As for suits and petitions from the soldiers and com-
mon people, there is no chance for them to get a decision unless they pay a bribe
to a clerk. What I fear is that if these evils are not eliminated, there will never be
a day when state business is done wel1.^65Yu had also observed himself that officials who worked in the capital bureaus
stayed at home during regular office hours instead of going to the office, and in
the provinces officials spent their time entertaining private guests or conduct-
ing their own private affairs instead of attending to official business. The Tosa,
second in command to the provincial governor, who usually assumed the func-
tion of chief magistrate of the provincial capital, did not sit with the governor
in his yamen to advise him on decisions about provincial affairs; he only inquired
after his health once a day. Provincial governors and military commanders were
supposed to make periodic rounds of inspection (sunhaeng) of all districts in
their provinces to see if the officials were doing their jobs and the people were
free of suffering, a task that should have required a certain amount of time to
accomplish. Governors, however, rushed through the process, spending only a
day to cover the affairs of a single district without bothering even to interview
the district magistrates.
Yu concluded that if the chief officials were forced to live with their families
in the bureau office buildings in the capital and were required to appear in their
offices during working hours, "order could be maintained in all government
offices, affairs would be handled uniformly, and we could thereby stop people
from making requests [for favors from officials simply to get them to do their
normal work]." He proposed a general regulation that required all government
officials to attend their posts on a daily basis unless they had a reasonable excuse.
In the provinces, not only the Tosa, but the assistants to the provincial army
and navy commanders as well, would be required to attend all business meet-
ings at the yamen of their superiors. Governors would be required to select an
adequate staff of runners to accompany them on leisurely tours throughout all
districts, stay a minimum of three days in a small district and six days in a large
one, conduct a thorough investigation, interview all magistrates, and ensure that
they participated in the conduct of all government business. All costs for the trip
would be paid for from district revenues, and no arbitrary demands would be
levied on the peasantry. In addition, the governor and the provincial military
commanders as well would be obliged to visit all schools, participate in the rites
to Confucius, and conduct lectures for moral education. They were to ask ques-