The original text is yayi 衙役 [yamen runner]. A yamen was the administrative office or residence of a local bureaucrat or Mandarin in imperial China, Korea, and Vietnam. A yamen can also be any governmental office or body headed by a Mandarin, at any level of government: the offices of one of the Six Ministries is a yamen, but so is a prefectural magistracy. The term has been widely used in China for centuries but appeared in English during the Qing dynasty.
Within a local yamen, the bureaucrat administered the government business of the town or region. Typical responsibilities of the bureaucrat include local finance, capital works, judging of civil and criminal cases, and issuing decrees and policies.
Yamen runner is an occupation which served for yamen, the law enforcement department in ancient China. They worked as the lowest class in the government department which made them a bridge between the common people and the government.
