Definition of "mandarinate" []

• The collective body of officials (mandarins) or persons of rank in historical China. (noun)
• A political form of rule by mandarins (noun)
• The status of holding a position as a mandarin. (noun)
• A type of government marked by excessive bureaucracy and Byzantine regulations. (noun)

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• "China, at least, has the political capacity as an authoritarian mandarinate to change course from the top if the Communist Party is confident enough to heed the feedback signals of a burgeoning middle class that is demanding a more open society."
• "Even those sympathetic to the mandarinate in Beijing who have competently lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty must shake their heads in wonder."
• "The mandarinate and its political masters would no doubt reply that this was inevitable: the Queen's government must be carried on, as far as possible in the usual way."