Qing Court of Colonial Affairs (Lifanyuan)

Timeline

1. c. 1631–1635Shengjing (Shenyang) · LiaoningThe Later Jin established the Mongol Bureau to handle the affairs of allied Mongol tribes, including leagues, tribute, and border matters; it was the predecessor of the Lifanyuan and reflected the Shenyang regime's institutional integration of the steppe world.
2. 1636Shengjing (Shenyang) · LiaoningHong Taiji reorganized the Mongol Bureau into the Lifanyuan, staffing it with Manchu, Mongol, and Han officials and expanding its authority to investiture, judicial, trade, and military coordination, marking the shift of Qing tributary governance from an ad hoc body to a permanent central agency.
3. 1636–1640Southern Mongolia (Monan Menggu) · Inner MongoliaIn the 1630s the Lifanyuan presided over leagues and investitures with the Khalkha, Khorchin, and other tribes, coordinating alliance relations with the Later Jin and laying the institutional and political foundation for controlling the Mongols south of the Gobi after the conquest of China.