Menxia Sheng

Menxia Sheng
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese門下省
Simplified Chinese门下省
Literal meaningAgency at the Gate
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinMén xià shěng
Wade–GilesMen2 hsia4 sheng3
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetMôn Hạ Sảnh
Hán-Nôm門下省

The Menxia Sheng (門下省), sometimes translated as the Chancellery, was one of the departments of the Three Departments and Six Ministries government structure of imperial China. It advised the emperor and the Zhongshu Sheng (Central Secretariat), and reviewed edicts and commands. As the least important of the three departments, it existed in name only by the Song dynasty while its functions were delegated to the other two departments. In 1129, the Chancellery was merged with the Central Secretariat.