County magistrate (simplified Chinese: 县令; traditional Chinese: 縣令; pinyin: xiànlìng or simplified Chinese: 县长; traditional Chinese: 縣長; pinyin: xiànzhǎng) sometimes called local magistrate, in imperial China was the official in charge of the xian, or county, the lowest level of central government. The magistrate was the official who had face-to-face relations with the people and administered all aspects of government on behalf of the emperor. Because he was expected to rule in a disciplined but caring way and because the people were expected to obey, the county magistrate was informally known as the Fumu Guan (Chinese: 父母官; pinyin: fùmǔ guān), the "Father and Mother" or "parental" official.