Three Departments and Six Ministries

The Three Departments and Six Ministries (Chinese: 三省六部; pinyin: Sān Shěng Liù Bù) served as the main administrative framework of imperial China, in use from the Sui dynasty through the Yuan dynasty. This system was also adopted by the kingdoms of Balhae and Goryeo, as well as by other states in Manchuria, Korea, and Vietnam. At the top were three high-level bodies. The Central Secretariat drafted policy, the Chancellery reviewed it and advised the emperor, and the Department of State Affairs carried out policy.

In the late Tang, Song, and Goryeo periods, the Secretariat and Chancellery were loosely combined into a single Secretariat-Chancellery. Beneath the Department of State Affairs sat the Six Ministries: Personnel, Rites, War, Justice, Works, and Revenue. During the Yuan dynasty, control over these ministries shifted to the Central Secretariat. The Three Departments were eliminated under the Ming, but the Six Ministries continued through the Ming and Qing dynasties, and were also used in Vietnam and Korea.

Before this system, the Qin and Han dynasties relied on the Three Lords and Nine Ministers structure. Even then, however, offices performing functions similar to the later three departments already existed. The Department of State Affairs began in the Qin dynasty as an archival office.

Under Emperor Wu of Han, it became a channel linking the emperor’s advisors to the rest of the government. By the Eastern Han, an office of advisors and reviewers had also been created. Emperor Wen of Wei formally established the Central Secretariat to draft imperial edicts and counterbalance the powerful Department of State Affairs. The Chancellery first appeared during the Jin dynasty and continued through the Northern and Southern dynasties, often becoming the most powerful office in the central government.

Department of State Affairs

Also called the Imperial Secretariat, this was the main executive body of imperial China. It oversaw the Six Ministries, the Nine Courts, and the Three Directorates (sometimes five). It existed in some form from the Han through the Yuan dynasties but was not revived under the Ming. Its origins trace back to one of the Six Chief Stewards of the Qin dynasty, the steward for writing (shangshu).

This role grew in importance under Emperor Wu of Han, who used it to bypass the grand chancellor and imperial secretary. Emperor Guangwu of Han later formed the Department of State Affairs, placing the shangshu in charge of six government sections. The department was led by a director and a vice director, with a left and right aide, 36 attendant gentlemen (six per section), and 18 clerks (three per section). These six sections eventually became the Six Ministries.

The director, vice director, and chief stewards were collectively called the eight executives. Under Cao Wei and the Jin dynasty, the department’s power declined as some duties were handed to the Central Secretariat and Chancellery. The director and vice director posts became ceremonial, often given to high ministers or nobles who did not handle daily work. Clerks took over the actual paperwork, and their growing influence alarmed Emperor Wu of Liang.

He tried to require that only nobles become clerks, but no nobles wanted their sons in such low positions. Department members refused to cooperate and resisted administrative changes. In the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern dynasties, the department operated similarly to its southern counterparts but was dominated by nomadic groups like the Xianbei.

During the Sui dynasty, the director post was usually left empty, with two vice directors managing affairs. In the Tang dynasty, the director post also remained vacant most of the time; when filled, it was by the heir apparent, such as Li Shimin or Li Shi. To reduce the vice director’s power, the role was split into left and right vice directors, with the left being senior. At times these vice directors rivaled or even surpassed the Grand Chancellor in influence.

By the mid-Tang, however, grand chancellors had regained dominance, and vice directors needed special designations to join policy discussions. The department then became purely executive. The six government sections were formally divided into the Six Ministries, each headed by a minister. These six divisions were mirrored at the local prefectural level.