 The governments of the Northern Administration and the Southern Administration operated very differently . The Northern Administration operated under a system which Twitchett and Tietze called " essentially a great tribal leader 's personal retinue " . Many of the governmental appointments dealt with tribal affairs , herds , and retainers serving the imperial house , and most powerful and high @-@ ranking positions dealt with military affairs . The overwhelming majority of officeholders were Khitans , mainly from the imperial Yelü clan and the Xiao consort clan . The Southern Administration was more heavily structured , with Twitchett and Tietze calling it " designed in imitation of a T 'ang model " . Unlike the Northern Administration , many of the low- and medium @-@ ranked officials in the Southern Administration were Chinese . 
