| Three Departments and Six Ministries | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 三省六部 | ||||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | Tam tỉnh lục bộ | ||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 三省六部 | ||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||
| Hangul | 삼성육부 | ||||||||
| Hanja | 三省六部 | ||||||||
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The Three Departments and Six Ministries (Chinese: 三省六部; pinyin: Sān Shěng Liù Bù) system was the primary administrative structure in imperial China from the Sui dynasty (581–618) to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). It was also used by Balhae (698–926) and Goryeo (918–1392) and various other kingdoms in Manchuria, Korea and Vietnam.
The Three Departments were three top-level administrative structures in imperial China. They were the Central Secretariat, responsible for drafting policy, the Chancellery, responsible for reviewing policy and advising the emperor, and the Department of State Affairs, responsible for implementing policy. The former two were loosely joined as the Secretariat-Chancellery during the late Tang dynasty, Song dynasty and in the Korean kingdom of Goryeo.
The Six Ministries (also translated as Six Boards) were direct administrative organs of the state under the authority of the Department of State Affairs. They were the Ministries of Personnel, Rites, War, Justice, Works, and Revenue. During the Yuan Dynasty, authority over the Six Ministries was transferred to the Central Secretariat.
The Three Departments were abolished by the Ming dynasty, but the Six Ministries continued under the Ming and Qing, as well as in Vietnam and Korea.