What kind of official was the Daotai in Qing Dynasty? Is it bigger than a sheriff?

As far as I know, the Daotai in the Qing Dynasty was a local governor between provinces and States, one level higher than the magistrate.

The official system of the Qing dynasty inherited the Ming dynasty. However, after learning the lessons from the demise of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty also reformed the official system. For example, in the Ming Dynasty, it used to be the governor's three departments, namely, the governor, the governor and the prefect, but in the Qing Dynasty, it became a provincial secondary institution. But in the Ming dynasty, the governor and the governor who were temporarily dispatched were appointed as governors.

At the same time, the Qing dynasty also abolished the viceroy. They are nominally governors and inspectors and become subordinates of the governor. Most importantly, the Qing dynasty abolished the right to directly watch the emperor's face-to-face performance, and they completely lost it? Go to heaven to listen? Opportunity.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were three levels of administrative organs: provincial, state and county. According to the deputy envoy and the Minister of Supervision, Taoist officials were sent to patrol the roads. In the early Qing Dynasty, the patrol system of Taoism in Ming Dynasty was continued. And, like the Ming dynasty, it is temporary, and there is no fixed level of Taoist priests.

However, this situation changed during the Qing Qianlong period. Under the command of Qianlong, the Taoist priest became a real local official. They are no longer empty titles, but have a fixed level, that is, four levels. At the same time, there are many full-time Taoist priests regardless of region, such as Guan Dao, He Dao, Liang Dao and Yi Dao.

Therefore, the Daotai in the Qing Dynasty was a governor between the provinces and the government. Naturally, it is higher than the government, which can also be seen from the quality. After Qianlong, the platform is generally level 4, and the governor is generally level 4. However, with the passage of time, the prestige and status of Daotai have been continuously improved. However, the platform is not a fixed local administrative organ, but more similar to provincial organs.

In the middle and late Qing dynasty, the influence of Daotai became more and more intense, and even it had the right to close the customs. In the field of management, some platforms can manage one place, and some can even manage multiple places.

Before 1887 was upgraded to Taiwan Province Province, the administrative organ of Taiwan Province Province was always Dao. Taiwan Province Island is under the jurisdiction of Fujian Province. Although its administrative level is lower than that of Fujian Province, it is higher than that of Xinghua and Zhangzhou. Its full name is Fujian patrol detachment.

Officials at the highest administrative level in Taiwan Province Province are generally four-level civil servants. However, at the end of Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, the chief executive of Taiwan Dao was promoted, and the former Taiwan Dao sergeant was promoted to Zhengpin inspector and served as the commander of Taiwan Province Island. Before the establishment of Taiwan Province Province, the whole island of Nota Island in Taiwan Province Province was under the jurisdiction of Taiwan Province Island, which also shows the powerful power of Taoism and Taiwan Province Province.

During the Qing Dynasty, almost all provinces in China established Taoist institutions. For example, there are Rehe Canal, Qinghe Road and Tianjin Road in Zhili Province, Yanping Road, Guisui Road and Hedong Road in Shanxi Province, Hebei Road and Nanruguang Road in Henan Province, and Lanzhou Road and Ningxia Road in Gansu Province, making them the most common administrative organs.