The Three Lords and Nine Ministers system () was a central administrative system adopted in ancient

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

that was officially instituted in the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...

(221 BC – 206 BC) and was replaced by 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) an ...

() system since the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

(AD 589–618).

Divisions

Three Lords

Three Lords referred to three highest rank officials in the imperial government, namely: * the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

(丞相) * the Imperial Secretary (御史大夫) * the Grand Commandant (太尉)

Nine Ministers

Nine Ministers comprised all the ministers of importance in the central government. They were: * the Minister of Ceremonies (太常, formally known as 奉常) * the Supervisor of Attendants (光祿勛, formally known as 郎中令) * the Commandant of Guards (衛尉) * the Minister of Coachmen (太僕) * the Commandant of Justice (廷尉) * the Grand Herald (大鴻臚, formally known as 典客 or 大行令) * the Director of the Imperial Clan (宗正) * the Grand Minister of Agriculture (大司農, formally known as 治粟內史) * the Small Treasurer (少府)

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