Grand Secretariat
Encyclopedia
The Grand Secretariat was nominally a coordinating agency but de facto the highest institution in the Ming
imperial government. It first took shape after Emperor Hongwu abolished the office of Chancellor
in 1380 and gradually evolved into an effective coordinating organ superimposed on the Six Ministries
. There were altogether six Grand Secretaries , though the posts were not always filled. The most senior one was popularly called shoufu (首輔). The Grand Secretaries were nominally mid-level officials, ranked much lower than the Ministers, heads of the Ministries. However, since they screened documents submitted to the emperor from all governmental agencies, and had the power of drafting suggested rescripts for the emperor, generally known as piaoni (票擬) or tiaozhi (條旨), some senior Grand Secretaries were able to dominate the whole government, acting as de facto Chancellor.
, the administration adopted the Yuan
model of having only one department, the Secretariat, superimposed on the Six Ministries. The Secretariat was led by two Chancellors, differentiated as being "of the left" (senior) and "of the right" (junior), who were the head of the whole officialdom in the empire. Emperor Hongwu was concerned that such a concentration of power in the office of Chancellors would become a serious threat to the throne. In 1380, Chancellor Hu Weiyong
was executed upon accusations of treason. After that Hongwu eradicated the Secretariat and the posts of Chancellor; Ministers of the Six Ministries directly reported to the emperor himself.
The burden of the administrative details made it imperative for the emperor to seek secretarial assistance. In 1382, Hongwu drew from the Hanlin Academy
, an institution that provided literary and scholarly services to the court, several Grand Secretaries to process his administrative paperwork. These Grand Secretaries were assigned for duty to designated buildings within the imperial palace, and they were collectively known as the Grand Secretariat since the reign of Yongle.
The Grand Secretariat gradually had more effective power since Emperor Xuande
. During his reign, all memorials from the Ministries to the emperor had to go through the Grand Secretariat. Upon receiving a memorial, the Grand Secretaries first scrutinized it and then decided upon a proper response. The rescript was then pasted to the face of the memorial and submitted with it to the emperor. Through this process known as piaoyi, the Grand Secretariat became de facto the highest policy-formulation institution above the Six Ministries, and the senior Grand Secretaries had power comparable to the Chancellor of old.
. Some even obtained the title of Grand Preceptor among the Three Councillors of State. As a result, throughout the Ming Dynasty the Grand Secretaries always took precedence over other civil service officials by virtue of their honorable status among the Three Councillors of State, or their appointments as high ranking officials in the administrative hierarchy.
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
imperial government. It first took shape after Emperor Hongwu abolished the office of Chancellor
Chancellor of China
The Chancellor , variously translated as Prime Minister, Chancellor of State, Premier or Chief Councillor, was a generic name given to the highest-ranking official in the imperial government in ancient China...
in 1380 and gradually evolved into an effective coordinating organ superimposed on the Six Ministries
Three Departments and Six Ministries
The Three Departments and Six Ministries system was the main central administrative system adopted in ancient China. The system first took shape after the Western Han Dynasty , was officially instituted in Sui Dynasty , and matured during Tang Dynasty...
. There were altogether six Grand Secretaries , though the posts were not always filled. The most senior one was popularly called shoufu (首輔). The Grand Secretaries were nominally mid-level officials, ranked much lower than the Ministers, heads of the Ministries. However, since they screened documents submitted to the emperor from all governmental agencies, and had the power of drafting suggested rescripts for the emperor, generally known as piaoni (票擬) or tiaozhi (條旨), some senior Grand Secretaries were able to dominate the whole government, acting as de facto Chancellor.
Evolution
At the beginning of the Ming DynastyMing Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, the administration adopted the Yuan
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
model of having only one department, the Secretariat, superimposed on the Six Ministries. The Secretariat was led by two Chancellors, differentiated as being "of the left" (senior) and "of the right" (junior), who were the head of the whole officialdom in the empire. Emperor Hongwu was concerned that such a concentration of power in the office of Chancellors would become a serious threat to the throne. In 1380, Chancellor Hu Weiyong
Hu Weiyong
Hu Weiyong was the last Chancellor of China Ming Dynasty from 1373 to 1380.-Biography:Hu Weiyong was born in HaoZhou, Anhui Province . In 1363 Hu contributed a large number of warship to Zhu Yuanzhang to use for battle with Chen Youliang...
was executed upon accusations of treason. After that Hongwu eradicated the Secretariat and the posts of Chancellor; Ministers of the Six Ministries directly reported to the emperor himself.
The burden of the administrative details made it imperative for the emperor to seek secretarial assistance. In 1382, Hongwu drew from the Hanlin Academy
Hanlin Academy
The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution founded in the eighth century Tang dynasty China by Emperor Xuanzong.Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court. One of its main duties was to...
, an institution that provided literary and scholarly services to the court, several Grand Secretaries to process his administrative paperwork. These Grand Secretaries were assigned for duty to designated buildings within the imperial palace, and they were collectively known as the Grand Secretariat since the reign of Yongle.
The Grand Secretariat gradually had more effective power since Emperor Xuande
Xuande Emperor
The Xuande Emperor was Emperor of China from 1425 to 1435. His era name means "Proclamation of Virtue".-Biography:...
. During his reign, all memorials from the Ministries to the emperor had to go through the Grand Secretariat. Upon receiving a memorial, the Grand Secretaries first scrutinized it and then decided upon a proper response. The rescript was then pasted to the face of the memorial and submitted with it to the emperor. Through this process known as piaoyi, the Grand Secretariat became de facto the highest policy-formulation institution above the Six Ministries, and the senior Grand Secretaries had power comparable to the Chancellor of old.
Rank of Grand Secretaries
During the Ming Dynasty civil service officials were classified into nine grades, each grade subdivided into two degrees, extending from grade la at the top to grade 9b at the bottom. For example, the top-ranking, non-functional civil service posts of the Three Councillors of State had rank 1a, so did the office of Chancellor. Under this system, the Grand Secretaries, having merely a rank 5a, nominally ranked under various Ministers (whose rank rose from 3a to 2a after the abolishment of the Chancellor). However, the Grand Secretaries were usually given other high ranking posts of regular administrative agencies, such as Ministers or Vice Ministers in one of the Nine MinistriesNine Ministers
The Nine Ministers was the collective name for nine high officials in the imperial government of the Han Dynasty , who each headed a specialized ministry and were subordinates to the Three Councillors of State...
. Some even obtained the title of Grand Preceptor among the Three Councillors of State. As a result, throughout the Ming Dynasty the Grand Secretaries always took precedence over other civil service officials by virtue of their honorable status among the Three Councillors of State, or their appointments as high ranking officials in the administrative hierarchy.