Lifan Yuan
The Lifan Yuan was roughly a Qing version of Xuanzheng Yuan () or Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs, instituted by the Mongol Yuan dynasty for administering affairs beyond the borders of China proper. It is to be distinguished from the Ministry of Rites, which was the traditional Chinese institution for dealing with all outsiders during the Ming dynasty. The Qing used the Board of Rites to deal with the tributary countries to the south and east like Joseon Korea, Nguyen dynasty Vietnam, the Ryukyu Kingdom and western peoples who came by sea like the Dutch and the English. The Lifan Yuan was established at the time of Huang Taiji to deal with the Mongols. After the establishment to the Qing dynasty it continued to be a separate institution for dealing with Mongols and Russians and other Inner Asian peoples to the north and west. It was replaced by the Zongli Yamen for the conducting of foreign relations in 1861.