CHUNG CH'AO

Pinyin zhong chao (Chinese: "inner court"), in imperial China, the group of advisers and attendants (often extended family members and eunuchs) with direct access to the emperor. The inner court's authority was established during the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), when it was customary for the emperor to bestow honorary titles upon his favourites. At first, these titled individuals had no special duties or privileges. Some were later given minor responsibilities, however, and, because they could approach the emperor directly, their influence increased until they had more power than even the chief ministers of the outer court, as the official civil service came to be known.