Three Ducal Ministers

The Three Excellencies (Chinese: 三公) or the Three Lords was the collective name for the three highest officials in the Han Dynasty. They were the Chancellor (丞相), the Imperial Secretary (御史大夫), and the Grand Commandant (太尉) in the Western Han Dynasty; in the Eastern Han Dynasty the names of the Three Excellencies were changed to Grand Commandant, Minister over the Masses (司徒), and Minister of Works (司空). Each was responsible for different areas of government, but the boundaries were often blurred. Together, the Three Excellencies were the emperor's closest advisors. Toward the end of the dynasty, the positions were often sold to men of wealth to raise state revenue. The Three Excellencies were abolished by Cao Cao in 208 and replaced with the position of Imperial Chancellor.

Rank

In Han Dynasty civil service officials were classified in twenty grades (reduced to sixteen after 32 BC) expressed by the official's annual salary in terms of so many shi (石) or Chinese bushels, extending from the ten-thousand-bushel at the top to the one-hundred-bushel at the bottom. Under this system, the Three Excellencies all held the highest rank of ten-thousand-bushel.

See also

• Nine Ministers
• Government of the Han Dynasty

References

• de Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A biographical dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0
• Wang, Yü-Ch'üan (1949). "An Outline of The Central Government of The Former Han Dynasty". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 12 (1/2): 134–187. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)