The Three Ducal Ministers (Chinese: 三公), also translated as the Three Dukes, Three Excellencies, or the Three Lords, was the collective name for the three highest officials in ancient China. Starting in the Zhou Dynasty, the top three were:
During the Western Han Dynasty, the three positions were:[1]:
In the Eastern Han Dynasty the names of the Three Ducal Ministers were changed to:
Each minister was responsible for different areas of government, but the boundaries were often blurred. Together, the Three Ducal Ministers 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 Ducal Ministers were abolished by Cao Cao in 208 and replaced with the position of Imperial Chancellor.
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During the Han Dynasty civil service officials were classified according to twenty grades (reduced to sixteen after 32 BC), expressed by the official's annual salary in terms of so many dàn (石) or Chinese bushels of grain.[2] This extended from the ten-thousand-bushel rank at the top to the one-hundred-bushel at the bottom. Under this system, the Three Ducal Ministers all held the highest rank of ten-thousand-bushel.[3]