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Three Departments and Six Ministries

By Elena

How The System Came to Be

China had been in chaos for the Northern and Southern Dynasties had been separated and disunified from the years 420 to 589. Then the Northern Zhou Dynasty comes in. The Dynasty conquered over the Northern Qi Dynasty in the year 577, bringing Northern China to unity after almost 270 years. This reign continued for 24 years and was known as the “reign of the Yuwen family of the Xianbei race.” Five emperors ruled over three generations. A man named Yangjian, a relative to the Yuwen family, claimed the throne in 581 and called it the Sui Dynasty. He was from then on historically known as Emperor Wen. One of the first things he did after claiming the throne was moving the capital city of China from Xian City in the Shaanxi Province to Chang’an. He conducted many historical doings, and though the Sui Dynasty lasted only 38 years through just two generations of rulers, the Sui had many accomplishments, one of which was the re-establishment of the system: The Three Departments and Six Ministries.

The Three Departments

The three departments and six ministries was a system originally created by the Han in 206-220. The system took care of all the state affairs, and therefore it helped the central government in its state affairs. The three-tier form of government was reduced to two tiers after the government set up using the three departments and six ministries which greatly simplified and enhanced the administrative structure of the Sui dynasty. The three departments were the Shangshu, the Menxia, and the Neili. The Shangshu department was in charge of the administrative affairs of the dynasty. The Menxia department was in charge of the verifications of laws and policies. And the Neili department dealt with imperial orders. The three boards complimented each other by restricting and overseeing each other. The senior official of the three departments was called the Zaixiang, and was most often the prime minister.

The Six Ministries

The six ministries were the six branches of the Shangshu department. The first and most important one was the Ministry of Civil Affairs. It was responsible for the appointment, training, and firing of officials. The Ministry of Rites was responsible for the emperor’s religious obligations and ceremonies, schooling, examinations, reception of foreign guests, and selection of officials. The Ministry of Military affairs controlled things such as training the army, declaring war, etc. The Ministry of Punishments was in charge of law enforcements and court situations. The Ministry of Finance controlled household registration and financial work. And lastly, The Ministry of Public Works was responsible for building new facilities and cultivating the wasteland. The senior secretary of each ministry was called the Shangshu, and the assistant was called Shilang.

The Three Departments and six ministries system was varied and adjusted over time. It started in the Sui dynasty (581-618) and lasted through many other dynasties, all the way up to and ending at the end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

So How Well do you Know The Three Departments and Six Ministries Now?

Test out your trivia: • Who conquered the Northern Zhou dynasty and renamed it the Sui dynasty? • What was the name of the senior official of each of the three departments? • What department were the Six Ministries branches of?