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The emperors of the Western and Eastern Chin and the Southern dynasties implemented many policies to solidify their power. These policies sometimes violated the proper functions of the political system and thus incurred political chaos. First, they introduced the policy of appointing imperial clansmen to the post of governor-general (tu-tu ...), taking charge of troops stationed in strategic places. Although this policy strengthened the emperor's control of the army, it sometimes resulted in bloody power struggles between family members and caused the demise of the dynasty. Second, emperors of the Southern dynasties often deployed document clerks (tien-ch'ien ...) and commissioners (t'ai-shih ...) to inspect and supervise the functions of local governments under the prefects (tz'u-shih ...) and governors-general. This policy, however, did not provide an effective solution to some of the local problems. The key to solving these problems still lay in the hands of local lords and leaders of local troops. Therefore, in the Sung, Ch'i, and Liang dynasties, the imperial control over local government and local military troops remained limited. At court, the emperors of the Southern dynasties often assigned secretariat drafters (chung-shu she-jen ...) and clerks (ling-shih ...) to be in charge of pivotal political affairs. They chose not to delegate power to officials from elite families, but to these low-ranking officials who came from families of lesser birth, in order to restrain the political power of the elite families. Although these were initially temporary measures, they eventually changed the central government system. In the Ch'en dynasty, the Department of Secretariat Drafters (chung-shu she-jen sheng ...) became the supreme center of the government. As for the elite families, who were the emperors' major contenders for political power, their political status indeed went into a decline. However, some political newcomers forfeited their familial credentials and posed as members of elite families. Then, they took advantage of the privileges reserved for elites in the political system. Since these privileges were not abolished, autocracy remained a distant ideal to the emperors of the Southern dynasties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]