Three Departments and Six Ministries

The Three Departments and Six Ministries was a central-government structure in imperial China. Three departments handled policy drafting, review, and execution, while six ministries administered major government functions.

Zhongshu Sheng: The Secretariat, a central institution that drafted imperial edicts and formulated policy. It initiated policy within the three-department division of administrative work.
Sui dynasty: A Chinese dynasty that reunified China in 581 and ruled until 618. The Sui established an influential version of the central administrative structure.
Imperial examination: A system of examinations used in imperial China to recruit officials, especially from the educated elite. Examination-selected officials staffed the bureaucratic administration the ministries coordinated.
Grand Secretariat: An imperial Chinese institution whose grand secretaries advised the emperor and coordinated government business. Its growing influence under the Ming changed how central decisions were coordinated.
Menxia Sheng: The Chancellery, a central institution that reviewed proposals and could remonstrate against or return them. Its review function checked proposals before they proceeded to implementation.
Tang dynasty: A Chinese dynasty that ruled from 618 to 907 and developed a powerful imperial state. The system is most closely associated with its mature Tang-era form.
Chinese bureaucracy: The layered system of officials and offices through which Chinese imperial governments administered the state. The three departments and six ministries formed a central component of this broader bureaucracy.
Six Boards: The six central ministries of later imperial China, commonly called boards in English-language histories. The boards continued the sixfold ministerial division after the older three-department arrangement changed.
Shangshu Sheng: The Department of State Affairs, which coordinated the six ministries and carried out approved policy. It connected the policy departments to the ministries responsible for administration.
Emperor Taizong of Tang: The second emperor of the Tang dynasty, who ruled from 626 to 649. His reign is known for strengthening institutions and coordinating central government.

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