Grand Preceptor, also referred to as Grand Master, Section Cp2:192 C was the senior-most of the top three civil positions of the Chinese

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...

. The other two were Grand Tutor (太傅) and Grand Protector (太保), respectively. These three posts were the first posts to be known as the

Three Excellencies The Three Ducal Ministers (), also translated as the Three Dukes, Three Excellencies, or the Three Lords, was the collective name for the three highest officials in Ancient China and Imperial China. These posts were abolished by Cao Cao in 208 AD a ...

. The position titles and duties of the Three Excellencies changed in later dynasties. The title of Grand Preceptor continued to be used during the later parts of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

, notably by

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minist ...

, then Chancellor of State. It was also used by the

Northern Yuan The Northern Yuan () was a dynastic regime ruled by the Mongols, Mongol Borjigin clan based in the Mongolian Plateau. It existed as a rump state after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and lasted until its conquest by the Jurchen people, ...

as a title for powerful nobles who were not part of the

Chinggisid A Borjigin, ; ; russian: Борджигин, Bordžigin; English plural: Borjigins or Borjigid (from Middle Mongolian);''Histoire des campagnes de Gengis Khan'', p. 119. Manchu plural: is a member of the Mongol sub-clan, which started with B ...

lineage. The rank was imitated in the

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

structure of the Vietnamese court, where the same Chinese title in Vietnamese pronunciation was known as thái sư.

References

Taishi Taishi may refer to: Names *Taishi (surname), Chinese family name *Taishi (given name), Japanese given name Ranks * Grand Preceptor, ancient Chinese top civilian position: ''taishi'' () in Chinese *Taishi, an alternate name of the Japanese Daij� ...

Government of Imperial China Zhou dynasty {{China-stub