The Nine Courts were nine service agencies in

Imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...

that existed from the

Northern Qi dynasty Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...

(550–577) to the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

(1636–1912). Headed by the Nine Chamberlains, the offices were subordinate to the

Three Departments and Six Ministries The Three Departments and Six Ministries () system was the primary administrative structure in imperial China from the Sui dynasty (581–618) to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). It was also used by Balhae (698–926) and Goryeo (918–1392) and ...

. They were mostly ceremonial in nature and held a fair amount of power. During the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

, the heads of the nine court transitioned away from referring to the nine courts, but to the

Six Ministries The Three Departments and Six Ministries () system was the primary administrative structure in imperial China from the Sui dynasty (581–618) to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). It was also used by Balhae (698–926) and Goryeo (918–1392) and ...

, the

Censorate The Censorate was a high-level supervisory agency in Imperial China, first established during the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). The Censorate was a highly effective agency during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). During the M ...

, the Office of Transmission, and the Grand Court of Revision. The number of courts was not always nine throughout history. The nine courts throughout most of history were:

References

* Government of Imperial China Government of the Song dynasty Government of the Tang dynasty Government of the Yuan dynasty Government of the Sui dynasty Government of the Ming dynasty Government of the Qing dynasty Government of the Liao dynasty Government of the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) {{China-history-stub

See also

References