Three Ducal Ministers

The Three Ducal Ministers (Chinese: 三公; pinyin: Sāngōng), 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 and replaced with the position of Grand Chancellor. When Cao Cao's son Cao Pi became King of Wei after his father's death, he reinstated the three positions. Hua Xin was made Chancellor, Jia Xu was made Grand Commandant and Wang Lang was made Grand Secretary. When Cao Pi declared himself emperor in late 220, Hua Xin was made Cao Wei's first Minister of the Masses, Jia Xu remained as Grand Commandant, and Wang Lang was made the first Minister of Works.

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.

Starting in the late Shang dynasty and Zhou dynasty, the top three were:

Grand Preceptor (Chinese: 太師; pinyin: Tàishī);
Grand Tutor (Chinese: 太傅; pinyin: Tàifù);
Grand Protector (Chinese: 太保; pinyin: Tàibǎo).

During the Western Han dynasty, the three positions were:^[1]

Chancellor (Chinese: 丞相; pinyin: Chéngxiàng)
Grand Secretary (Chinese: 御史大夫; pinyin: Yùshǐ Dàfū);
Grand Commandant (Chinese: 太尉; pinyin: Tàiwèi).

In the Eastern Han dynasty, the names of the Three Ducal Ministers were changed to:

Minister of War (Chinese: 大司馬; pinyin: Dà Sīmǎ) until 51AD, then Grand Commandant;^[2]
Minister of the Masses (Chinese: 司徒; pinyin: Sītú);
Minister of Works (Chinese: 司空; pinyin: Sīkōng).

Because all three titles contain the word "司" (pinyin: sī; lit. 'management') at the time of the Eastern Han, the Three Ducal Ministers were also called "Sansī" (三司).^[3]

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.^{[note 1]} 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.^[4]

Notes

^ probably of wheat, the core of the Chinese Empire at that time being mainly on the North China Plain, above the Yangzi River. Rice came later to the area.

References

Citations

^ Wang 1949, p. 150.
^ de Crespigny 2007, p. 51.
^ "Official Titles of the Han dynasty: A Tentative List Compiled for The Han Dynasty History Project" (PDF). University of Washington. p. 31. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
^ Wang 1949, p. 137.

Sources

de Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A biographical dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD). Leiden, South Holland: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0.
Wang, Yü-Ch'üan (June 1949). "An Outline of The Central Government of The Former Han Dynasty". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 12 (1/2). Harvard-Yenching Institute: 134–187. doi:10.2307/2718206. JSTOR 2718206.

This article related to the history of China is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This government-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[4] robably of wheat, the core of the Chinese Empire at that time being mainly on the North China Plain, above the Yangzi River. Rice came later to the area.

[FOOTNOTEWang1949150-1] Wang 1949, p. 150.

[FOOTNOTEde_Crespigny200751-2] Crespigny 2007, p. 51.

[uwash-3] "Official Titles of the Han dynasty: A Tentative List Compiled for The Han Dynasty History Project" (PDF). University of Washington. p. 31. Retrieved March 21, 2013.

[FOOTNOTEWang1949137-5] Wang 1949, p. 137.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[note 1]

[4]

v t e Han dynasty topics
History	Chu–Han Contention (Feast at Swan Goose Gate) Lü Clan disturbance Rebellion of the Seven States Han dynasty in Inner Asia Han–Xiongnu War War of the Heavenly Horses Han conquest of Gojoseon Four Commanderies Southward expansion (Han–Minyue War Han conquest of Nanyue Han conquest of Dian First Chinese domination of Vietnam Trung sisters' rebellion Second Chinese domination of Vietnam) Xin dynasty Red Eyebrows and Lulin Chengjia Disasters of the Partisan Prohibitions Way of the Five Pecks of Rice Yellow Turban Rebellion End of the Han dynasty Battle of Red Cliffs
Society and culture	Ban Gu Sima Qian Records of the Grand Historian Book of Han Book of the Later Han Records of the Three Kingdoms Flying Horse of Gansu Huainanzi Eight Immortals of Huainan Mawangdui Silk Texts Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals Yiwu Zhi Old Texts Han poetry Fu Eastern Han Chinese
Government and military	Ban Chao Ma Yuan Emperor list Family tree Three Lords and Nine Ministers Nine Ministers Three Ducal Ministers Kings Provinces and commanderies Protectorate of the Western Regions (Chief Official) Translation of government titles
Economy	Coinage Ancient Chinese coinage Silk Road Sino-Roman relations
Science and technology	Cai Lun Cai Yong Ding Huan Du Shi Hua Tuo Liu An Liu Xiang Liu Xin Luoxia Hong Sima Tan Wang Chong Zhang Heng Zhang Zhongjing
Texts	Balanced Discourse Book of Origins Book on Numbers and Computation Fangyan Essential Prescriptions from the Golden Cabinet The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art Huangdi Neijing Shuowen Jiezi Treatise on Cold Injury and Miscellaneous Disorders Zhoubi Suanjing