A Mandarin official, Late Qing China. Photograph by John Thomson, 1869.

A man, with a moustache, seated by the same round-arched windows as in Thomson's negative number 652 and 654, looking at camera. In Imperial China, a bureaucrat who entered his office through imperial examinations was called a Mandarin. There were two types of Mandarin: those who held civil office, and those awarded a military one. They were then graded into nine ranks, and were distinguished by the robe and hat they wore. It was said that during the Qing, a Mandarin in public must always present himself in a stiff posture and speak in a very formal language. For many Europeans, this 'outer semblance of virtue and integrity' was thought to be rather awkward