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 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 chapte ...

and

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 chapte ...

. These posts were abolished by

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

in 208 AD and replaced with the position of Grand Chancellor.

Overview

Each minister was responsible for different areas of government, but the boundaries were often blurred. Together, the Three Ducal Ministers were the emperor's closest advisors. Toward the end of a dynasty, the positions were often sold to men of wealth to raise state revenue. Starting in the late

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty an ...

and Zhou dynasty, the top three were: *

Grand Preceptor 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 other two were Grand Tutor (太傅) and Grand Protector (太保), respectively. These three p ...

(); * Grand Tutor (); * Grand Protector (). During the Western

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 wa ...

, the three positions were: * Chancellor () *

Grand Secretary The Grand Secretariat (; Manchu: ''dorgi yamun'') was nominally a coordinating agency but ''de facto'' the highest institution in the imperial government of the Chinese Ming dynasty. It first took shape after the Hongwu Emperor abolished the off ...

(); *

Grand Commandant Grand Commandant () is a title referring to the supreme military commander in ancient China, Vietnam and the Korean Peninsula. The earliest recording is on the Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals in 205 BC. During the Western Han, the position w ...

(). In the Eastern Han dynasty, the names of the Three Ducal Ministers were changed to: *

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...

(); * Minister of the Masses (); * Minister of Works (). Because all three titles contain the word "司" (''sī'') at the time of the Eastern Han, the Three Ducal Ministers were also called "Sansī" (三司).

Rank

During the Han dynasty, civil service officials were classified according to twenty grades (reduced to sixteen after 32 BC), expressed by the official's annual salary in terms of number of ''dàn'' (石) or Chinese bushels of grain. This ranged from the ten-thousand-bushel rank at the top to the one-hundred-bushel at the bottom. Under this system, the Three Ducal Ministers all held the highest rank of ten-thousand-bushel.

Overview

Rank

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Sources