The Nine Ministers or Nine Chamberlains (Chinese: 九卿; pinyin: jiǔ qīng) was the collective name for nine high officials in the imperial government of the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), who each headed one of the Nine Courts and were subordinates to the Three Councillors of State.
The term "Nine Ministers" could also refer to the nine high-ranking officials in the Ming dynasty, namely, the respective functional heads of the Six Ministries, the Censorate, the Office of Transmission, and the Grand Court of Revision.[1]