Nine Ministers
Encyclopedia
The Nine Ministers was the collective name for nine high officials in the imperial government of the Han Dynasty
(206 BC–220 AD), who each headed a specialized ministry and were subordinates to the Three Councillors of State. Historian Rafe de Crespigny
, in his A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD), translates the titles of the nine ranking ministers into English as the (1) the Minister of Ceremonies (太常), (2) the Minister of the Household (光祿勳), (3) the Minister of the Guards (衛尉), (4) the Minister Coachman (太僕), (5) the Minister of Justice (廷尉), (6) the Minister Herald (大鴻臚), (7) the Minister of the Imperial Clan (宗正), (8) the Minister of Finance (大司農), and (9) the Minister Steward (少府) although other sources offer alternative translations.
The term Nine Ministers could also refer to the nine high ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty
, namely, the respective functional heads of the Six Ministries
, the Censorate
, the Office of Transmission, and the Grand Court of Revision.
, selecting and examining the students. If they were suitable, he was also responsible to report their eligibility for office to the emperor.
civil service officials were classified in twenty grades (reduced to sixteen after 32 BC) expressed by the official's annual salary in terms of so many Dan (石) or Chinese bushels, extending from the ten-thousand-bushel at the top to the one-hundred-bushel at the bottom. Under this scheme, each of the nine ministers held the rank of the full-two-thousand-bushel.
During the Ming Dynasty
the officialdom was classified in nine grades, each grade subdivided into two degrees, extending from grade 1a at the top to grade 9b at the bottom. Under this system, the Ministers of the Six Ministries all held rank 3a, and rose to 2a after the abolishment of the Chancellor in 1380. The Censor-in-Chief, head of the Censorate, had a rank of 1b before 1380 and 2a after. The functional heads of the Grand Court of Revision and the Office of Transmission both held a rank of 3a.
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(206 BC–220 AD), who each headed a specialized ministry and were subordinates to the Three Councillors of State. Historian Rafe de Crespigny
Rafe de Crespigny
Dr Rafe de Crespigny is a retired Adjunct Professor with the China and Korea Centre, Australian National University in Canberra, Australia...
, in his A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD), translates the titles of the nine ranking ministers into English as the (1) the Minister of Ceremonies (太常), (2) the Minister of the Household (光祿勳), (3) the Minister of the Guards (衛尉), (4) the Minister Coachman (太僕), (5) the Minister of Justice (廷尉), (6) the Minister Herald (大鴻臚), (7) the Minister of the Imperial Clan (宗正), (8) the Minister of Finance (大司農), and (9) the Minister Steward (少府) although other sources offer alternative translations.
The term Nine Ministers could also refer to the nine high ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, namely, the respective functional heads of the Six Ministries
Three Departments and Six Ministries
The Three Departments and Six Ministries system was the main central administrative system adopted in ancient China. The system first took shape after the Western Han Dynasty , was officially instituted in Sui Dynasty , and matured during Tang Dynasty...
, the Censorate
Censorate
The Censorate was a top-level supervisory agency in ancient China, first established during the Qin Dynasty ....
, the Office of Transmission, and the Grand Court of Revision.
Minister of Ceremonies
The Minister of Ceremonies, usually described as a chief priest in the government, was responsible for ceremonies in the imperial ancestral temples and in charge of astronomy, astrology, and the daily records of the emperor's activities. He also supervised the operation of the Imperial AcademyGuozijian
The Guozijian , or Kuo Tzu Chien, the School of the Sons of State, sometimes called the Imperial Academy, Imperial College, Imperial Central School, was the national central institute of learning in Chinese dynasties after the Sui. It was the highest institute of learning in China's traditional...
, selecting and examining the students. If they were suitable, he was also responsible to report their eligibility for office to the emperor.
Rank
In the Han DynastyHan Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
civil service officials were classified in twenty grades (reduced to sixteen after 32 BC) expressed by the official's annual salary in terms of so many Dan (石) or Chinese bushels, extending from the ten-thousand-bushel at the top to the one-hundred-bushel at the bottom. Under this scheme, each of the nine ministers held the rank of the full-two-thousand-bushel.
During the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
the officialdom was classified in nine grades, each grade subdivided into two degrees, extending from grade 1a at the top to grade 9b at the bottom. Under this system, the Ministers of the Six Ministries all held rank 3a, and rose to 2a after the abolishment of the Chancellor in 1380. The Censor-in-Chief, head of the Censorate, had a rank of 1b before 1380 and 2a after. The functional heads of the Grand Court of Revision and the Office of Transmission both held a rank of 3a.