Old Tibet was rigidly stratified, the highest status was buddhist monk, or Lama, the next were nobles and the lowest were serfs and slaves. Government officials were lamas and nobles who made up the ruling class, while serfs and slaves, as the class to be ruled had no political status.

The Dalai Lama is the top leader in both religious and people's world, who grasped the powers of religion and administration. He is the most senior living Buddha in Tibet. His position was passed down through reincarnation, not hereditary system.

The Dalai Lama can be from an aristocratic family, or a common farmer's family. The present 14th Dalai Lama was from a farmer's family in Qinghai Province. According to the old Tibetan system, the holder of the post of Dalai Lama became the highest noble in Tibet overnight, even if he was born to a poor family. The Dalai Lama represents the interest of nobles, not that of poor people.

According to Tibetan practice, the Dalai Lama can not take over the reins himself until he is 18 years old and gain the academic degree of Gexe at the three major temples of the Gandan, the Drepung and the Sera Monasteries. Before the Dalai Lama takes the reins, the power is held by the Prince Regents. Only the Living Buddhas were in a position to serve as Prince Regent. In Tibet, the most famous of these Living Buddhas were "the four lings," namely, Daingyailing, Gundeling, Cemonling and Xedeling, who were referred to as Hutogtus. Hutogtu, which menas "reincarnation" in Mongolian language, was an honorific title the Qing court conferred to the Living Buddhas in Tibet and Mongolia. The said four Hotogtus all received honorific titles from the Qing court. Living Buddhas at the Hutogtu level found their way into the record written by the Qing Commission for the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs, and their reincarnation had to be confirmed by and receive honorific title from the central government. The Living Buddha Dezhug of the Mulu Monastery was qualified for the Prince Regent too. The abbot of the Gandan Monastery of the Gelug (yellow) Sect was entitled to be to Prince Regent too, but only under special conditions.

That the Hutogtu served as the Prince Regent was a system introduced by the Qing court, and no alternation had ever since been made of it. Before the 14th Dalai Lama reached the stipulated age for him to become the religious and administrative leader of Tibet, Tibet was ruled by two Prince Regents: the Hutogtu Razheng and the Living Buddha Dazhag. Dazhag, a Living Buddha below the Hutogtu level, became the Prince Regent in Tibet under special condition.

The administrative organ under the rule of the Dalai Lama or the Prince Regent was called the Kashag. With "Ka" meaning order and "shag" housing, Kashag menas the place where order was issued. While many foreigners translated the Kashag into "cabinet," which is basically correct in nature, the Kashag was in fact an administrative organ formed under the imperial edict of the Qing emperor.

In the 59th reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi or in 1720 A.D., when the Qing troops had driven the invading Zungar Mongols out of Tibet, the Qing court had the 7th Dalai Lama Galsang Gyamco escorted to Tibet from his residence monastery of Taer in Qinghai. Following a grand ceremony held to install the Dalai Lama in the Potala Palace, the Qing court announced end to the official position of Dibas who were then in charge of political affairs, and the introduction of a new system for Galoins to jointly hold the political and administrative power in Tibet.

The Qing court stipulated that the offices of Galoins be set up in the Jokhang Monastery, and the number of Galoins be determined by the Qing court itself (it was three in the 60th reign of Emperor Kangxi, five in the first reign of Emperor Yongzheng, and four in the 16th reign of Emperor Qianlong). In the 16th reign of Emperor Qianlong and thereafter, the Qing court stipulated that all Galoins be in charge of political affairs in Tibet under the leadership of the Dalai Lama and the Qing High Resident Commissioner in Tibet. Prior to 1959, the local government of Tibet was called the Kashag government.

According the Qing court stipulation, the Kashag was composed of three laymen and one Lama Galoins, who were all the third-rank officials (while the Dalai Lama and the Prince Regent were the second-rank officials); all major matters had to go through the Kashag, whose decision, however, had to win approval of the Dalai Lama or the Prince Regent before it was carried out; the Kashag would report matters which were too important to be handled, such as matters concerning war, peace talks and the election of the Prince Regent, to the Dalai Lama or the Prince Regent, and asked for the permission to hold the "notional assembly" or Chomdu in Tibetan language. Participants to the assembly included officials representing various government institutions, abbots of the three major monasteries and representatives of nobles Serfs and slaves had no right at all to attend the assembly. As a matter of fact, such meetings wee manipulated by a small number of master Lamas and nobles. Comparatively more important matters of matters which the Kashag government was unwilling to handle were often brought to the meeting for prefunctory discussion.

Under the Kashag government were two offices: Yigtsang or the secretariat, and Tsekang or the auditing office.

Yigtsang or the secretariat was slightly lower than the Kashag in terms of position, but it operated directly under the Dalai Lama or the Prince Regent. It took care of the Dalai Lama's seals, and all Kashag's documents had to the sent to Yighsang for stamping with these seals before they were issued. Yighsang consisted of four Dzongyer (secretary general), who were all higher-than-fourth-rank Kainqung Lama officials. They supervised management over all monasteries in Tibet. Yigtsang was in charge of the transfer and appointment of Lama officials, and the drafting of documents for the Dalai Lama or the Prince Regent. When the Kashag felt it need to report some important matters to the Dalai, it had to do so through Yigtsang. Yigtsang, which was put under the Kashag, operated directly under the leadership of the Chief Khenpo of the Dalai Lama (or chikyap Khenpo).

Tsekhang or the auditing office was empowered to enact and issue statues. In the meantime, it managed financial work and handled matters involving all laymen ooficials and nobles, such as the number of manors the nobles owned, the amount of taxes they should pay the government and the number men they should sent to serve in the army. Tsekhang was also responsible for training the children of nobles. Whenever the child of a noble received an official promotion, he would register with Tsekhang for training for two to htree years. Tsekhang was composed of four Ziboin, who were all the fourth-rank laymen officials. Whenever there was a vacancy in the Kashag, a layman Galoin was chosen mainly from among the four Ziboins, while a Lama Galoin was selected chiefly from among Dzongyer.

Other government organs, like Yigtsang and Tsekhang, were composed of laymen and Lama officials. This was also the case with ocal government organs, such as those in Chikyap (equivalent to a prefecture) and Dzong (equivalent to a county).

Other organs of the Kashag included Ma Tsekhang (the head quarters of the Tietan army), Zhupo Lekhung (Food Office), Soinam Lekhung (Office in Charge of Farming) and Moin Tsekhung (Office in Charge of Pharmaceuticals and Calendar Making).

Chikyap, the largest administratie unit, was equivalent to a prefecture. Each Chikyap was composed of one or two Chikyaps meaning superintendents. These Chikyaps were all higher-than-fourth-rank laymen or Lama officials, each with a tenure of three or four years. They would go on serving as Chikyaps or be transferred to other posts according to the decision of the Kashag. Of all Chikyaps, the superintendents in Qamdo enjoyed more power than others simply because they were concurrently Galoins. Qamdo superintendents were usually referred to as "Qamdo Kashag."

Dzong, next to Chikyap, was equivalent to a county. Each Dzong was composed of one or two Dzongboins who were equivalent to county magistrates. Manors of nobles and monasteries were called Xika, which was smaller than Dzong (but some Xika was at the same administrative level with Dzong). Each Xika was complete with Xidois, who were in charge of day-to-day affairs of the manors.

Dzongboin was higher than Xidoi in terms of official rank. According to the stipulations of the Kashag, both Dzong and Xika were divided into three classes: the first-class Dzong had one layman and one Lama Dzongboin who were both fifth-rank officials; the second-class Dzong had only one Dzongboin assumed by a sixth-rank layman or Lama official alternatively (this was also ture with Xika, where a sixth-rank layman and Lama official might serve as the Xidoi alternatively); the third-class Dzong had only one Dzongboin assumed by a seventh-rank layman or Lama official (this was also true with Xika, where a seventh-rank layman or Lama ofificial might serve as the Dzongboin).
Old Tibetan society was politically rigidly stratified, following an official system characterisitc of the temporal and religious administration. In old Tibet, broad masses of slaves and serfs were reduced to the powerless position.