 One of the oft-revisited debates in the Song-Ming period had to do with the difficult matter of regional governance. By the start of the Song, regions outside the capital had been governed for many centuries by a relatively centralized and meritocratic system known as the “commandery system” (junxian 郡縣). According to the rules of this system, regional governors were to be selected from among those who had performed very well on the civil service exams, and they were appointed at the discretion of the emperor or his court. There were also restrictions that were meant to prevent governors from developing stronger loyalties to their local communities than the emperor. For example, governors were required to switch posts on a regular basis and were not appointed to districts that included their home towns.