Three Departments and Six Ministries

Three Departments and Six Ministries
Chinese name
Chinese三省六部
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSān Shěng Liù Bù
Wade–GilesSan1 Sheng3 Liu4 Pu4
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetTam tỉnh lục bộ
Chữ Hán三省六部
Korean name
Hangul삼성육부
Hanja三省六部
Transcriptions
Revised RomanizationSam Seong Yug Bu
McCune–ReischauerSam Sŏng Yuk Pu

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.