Volume 161 Treatises 114: Offical Posts 1

三師三公宰執門下省中書省尚書省

The Three Masters; the Three Dukes; the Chief Ministers; the Chancellery; the Secretariat; the Department of State Affairs

昔武王克商，史臣紀其成功，有曰：“列爵惟五，分土惟三，建官惟賢，位事惟能。 ”後世曰爵，曰官，曰職，分而任之，其原蓋始乎此。然周初之制，已不可考。周公作六典，自天官冢宰而下，小大高下，各帥其屬以任其事，未聞建官而不任以事，位事而不命以官者；至於列爵分土，此封建諸侯之制也，亦未聞以爵以土，如後世虛稱以備恩數者也。秦、漢及魏、晉、南北朝，官制沿革不常，不可殫舉。後周復《周禮》六典官稱，而參用秦、漢。隋文帝廢《周禮》之制，惟用近代之法。唐承隋制，至天授中，始有試官之格，又有員外之置，尋為檢校、試、攝、判、知之名。其初立法之意未嘗不善，蓋欲以名器事功甄別能否，又使不肖者絕年勞序遷之覬覦。而世戚勛舊之家，寵之以祿，而不責以猷為。其居位任事者，不限資格，使得自竭其所長，以為治效。且黜陟進退之際，權歸於上，而有司若不得預。殊不知名實混殽，品秩貿亂之弊，亦起於是矣。

When King Wu overthrew the Shang, the court historian recorded the achievement in words that have come down to us: 'Assign ranks in five grades, divide the land in three portions, appoint officials for their merit, and place men in office according to their capacity.' Later ages would speak of rank, office, and duty as distinct categories, assigning each its own responsibilities — and the root of that practice surely lies here. The institutions of early Zhou, however, can no longer be fully recovered. The Duke of Zhou established the Six Canons: from the Minister of Heaven, the Grand Steward, on down through every grade, high and low, each official led his staff to carry out his duties. There is no record of creating an office without assigning it business, or filling a post without conferring the corresponding title. As for distributing ranks and granting fiefs, that was the system of enfeoffing feudal lords — and there is likewise no sign that rank and land were handed out as empty titles, the way later dynasties would bestow honorific names merely to swell the rolls of imperial grace. From Qin and Han through Wei, Jin, and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the official system changed without cease; it cannot be set forth in full. Later Zhou revived the official titles of the Six Canons from the "Rites of Zhou," while also incorporating Qin and Han methods. Emperor Wen of Sui discarded the "Rites of Zhou" framework and relied solely on the institutions of recent dynasties. Tang took over the Sui system. In the Tianhou period, regulations for provisional appointments appeared, followed by supplemental posts; before long these gave rise to the designations inspection and superintendency, provisional, acting, concurrent, and nominal supervision. The original intent behind these laws was not bad at all: titles and offices were meant to be matched to real achievement so that ability could be distinguished, and the unworthy were to be denied any hope of advancing by seniority alone. Imperial in-laws, families of meritorious service, and old associates were showered with stipends but not held to any standard of counsel or action. Those who actually held office and handled affairs were not bound by seniority requirements, so that each could bring his full talents to bear and produce results in governance. When it came to promotion and dismissal, authority rested entirely with the throne, and the regular offices appeared to have no say at all. They did not see that the confusion of names with realities and the disorder of ranks and grades had their origin in this very system.

宋承唐制，抑又甚焉。三師、三公不常置，宰相不專任三省長官，尚書、門下併列於外，又別置中書禁中，是為政事堂，與樞密對掌大政。天下財賦，內庭諸司，中外筦庫，悉隸三司。中書省但掌冊文、覆奏、考帳；門下省主乘輿八寶，朝會板位，流外考較，諸司附奏挾名而已。台、省、寺、監，官無定員，無專職，悉皆出入分涖庶務。故三省、六曹、二十四司，類以他官主判，雖有正官，非別敕不治本司事，事之所寄，十亡二三。故中書令、侍中、尚書令不預朝政，侍郎、給事不領省職，諫議無言責，起居不記註；中書常闕舍人，門下罕除堂侍，司諫、正言非特旨供職亦不任諫諍。至於僕射、尚書、丞、郎、員外，居其官不知其職者，十常八九。其官人受授之別，則有官、有職、有差遣。官以寓祿秩、敘位著，職以待文學之選，而別為差遣以治內外之事。其次又有階、有勛、有爵。故仕人以登臺閣、升禁從為顯宦，而不以官之遲速為榮滯；以差遣要劇為貴途，而不以階、勛、爵邑有無為輕重。時人語曰：“寧登瀛，不為卿；寧抱槧，不為監。 ”虛名不足以砥礪天下若此。外官，則懲五代藩鎮專恣，頗用文臣知州，復設通判以貳之。階官未行之先，州縣守令，多帶中朝職事官外補；階官既行之後，或帶或否，視是為優劣。

Song took over the Tang system and carried its abuses even further. The Three Masters and Three Dukes were not regularly filled; the chancellor did not serve exclusively as head of one of the Three Departments. The Department of State Affairs and the Chancellery stood together outside the palace, while a separate Secretariat was established within the inner quarters — the Hall of Administration — which shared control of major policy with the Bureau of Military Affairs. All revenue under heaven, every inner-palace office, and every storehouse at court and on the frontier came under the Three Fiscal Commissions. The Secretariat handled only document drafts, review submissions, and personnel records. The Chancellery was chiefly in charge of the imperial carriage and the eight regalia, seating charts for court assemblies, examinations of sub-clerical staff, and nothing more than attaching its seal to memorials routed from other offices. At the Censorate, the Departments, the Directorates, and the Commissions, posts had no fixed quotas and no dedicated duties; officials rotated in and out to divide up miscellaneous business among themselves. The Three Departments, six bureaus, and twenty-four offices were for the most part run by officials drawn from other posts. Even when a department had its regular incumbent, he did not handle its own affairs unless specially ordered by edict — of the business nominally assigned to these offices, only two or three tenths actually remained with them. The Secretariat Director, Palace Attendant, and Department Director took no part in court governance; Vice Directors and Drafting Attendants did not perform their departmental duties; Remonstrance officials bore no remonstrance responsibility; and Diaries officials recorded nothing. The Secretariat often had no drafting attendants; the Chancellery rarely appointed hall attendants; and remonstrance and advisory officials, unless specifically ordered to serve, did not perform remonstrance duties. As for Vice Directors, Directors, Assistant Directors, Section Chiefs, and Supplementary Officials, nine times out of ten the men who held these titles did not know what their duties were. Appointments fell into three categories: office, post, and commission. Office conferred emolument rank and recorded one's standing; post awaited selection on literary merit; commission was assigned separately to govern affairs at court and in the provinces. Beyond these there were also grades, honors of achievement, and peerage titles. Officials therefore prized appointment to the registry halls and advancement to inner-court attendance as marks of distinction, and did not measure success or stagnation by how quickly one climbed the official ladder. They regarded important and demanding commissions as the honored path to advancement, and did not measure a man's standing by whether he possessed grades, honors, or fiefs. A saying of the time ran: 'Better to reach the Immortal Isle than to become a minister.' Better to carry writing tablets than to serve as a director. Such was the extent to which empty titles had ceased to sharpen the ambitions of the realm. In the provinces, to guard against the autocratic power of the Five Dynasties military governors, civil officials were widely appointed as prefectural administrators, and deputy commissioners were re-established to serve as their seconds. Before the rank-grade system took effect, prefectural and county magistrates mostly held concurrent metropolitan office titles while serving in the provinces. After the rank-grade system was in place, whether a magistrate held such a concurrent title or not was taken as a measure of his standing.

大凡一品以下，謂之“文武官”；未常參者，謂之“京官”；樞密、宣徽、三司使副、學士、諸司而下，謂之“內職”；殿前都校以下，謂之“軍職”。外官則有親民、釐務二等，而監軍、巡警亦比親民。此其概也。故自真宗、仁宗以來，議者多以正名為請。咸平中，楊億首言：“文昌會府，有名無實，宜復其舊。 ”既而言者相繼，乞復二十四司之制。至和中，吳育亦言：“尚書省，天下之大有司，而廢為閑所，當漸復之。 ”然朝論異同，未遑釐正。神宗即位，慨然欲更其制。熙寧末，始命館閣校《唐六典》。元豐三年，以摹本賜群臣，乃置局中書，命翰林學士張璪等詳定。八月，下詔肇新官制，省、台、寺、監領空名者一切罷去，而易之以階。九月，詳定所上《寄祿格》。會明堂禮成，近臣遷秩即用新制，而省、台、寺、監之官，各還所職矣。五年，省、台、寺、監法成。六年，尚書新省成，帝親臨幸，召六曹長貳以下，詢以職事，因誡敕焉。初，新階尚少，而轉行者易以混雜。及元祐初，於朝議大夫六階以上始分左右。既又以流品無別，乃詔寄祿官悉分左右，詞人為左，餘人為右。紹聖中罷之。崇寧初，以議者有請，自承直至將仕郎，凡換選人七階。大觀初，又增宣奉至奉直大夫四階。政和末，自從政至迪功郎，又改選人三階，於是文階始備。而武階亦詔易以新名：正使為大夫，副使為郎，而橫班十二階使、副亦然。故有郎居大夫之上者。繼以新名未具，增置宣正履正大夫、郎凡十階，通為橫班，而文武官制益加詳矣。

Broadly speaking, officials from first rank downward were called 'civil and military officials.' Those who did not attend regular court audience were called 'capital officials.' From the Bureau of Military Affairs, the Bureau of Palace Attendants, deputy commissioners of the Three Fiscal Offices, academicians, and the offices beneath them were called 'inner posts.' From the Chief Commander of the Hall of Front Guard downward were called 'military posts.' Local posts were divided into those governing the people and those handling fiscal affairs; military supervisors and circuit patrol officers were classed with the people's governors. Such was the general scheme. From the reigns of Zhenzong and Renzong onward, memorialists repeatedly called for rectifying official titles. During the Xianping era, Yang Yi was the first to argue: 'The Department of State Affairs — the great assembly of offices — exists in name only; its former functions ought to be restored.' Memorialists then followed in succession, calling for the restoration of the twenty-four offices. In the Zhihe era, Wu Yu likewise argued: 'The Department of State Affairs is the great governing office of the realm, yet it has been reduced to an idle institution — it should be gradually restored.' Court opinion remained divided, however, and there was no opportunity to put matters right. When Shenzong came to the throne, he resolved with deep feeling to reform the system. Near the end of the Xining era, the academy and institute were ordered to collate the "Tang Six Codes." In the third year of Yuanfeng, rubbings were distributed to the ministers; a review bureau was set up within the Secretariat, and Hanlin Academician Zhang Can and others were charged with working out the details. In the eighth month an edict inaugurated the new official system: every empty title at the Departments, Censorate, Directorates, and Commissions was abolished and replaced with rank grades. In the ninth month the review bureau submitted the "Salary Schedule for Titular Offices." When the Bright Hall rite was completed, close ministers were promoted under the new system, and officials of the Departments, Censorate, Directorates, and Commissions each returned to their proper duties. In the fifth year the regulations governing the Departments, Censorate, Directorates, and Commissions were completed. In the sixth year the new Department of State Affairs building was completed. The emperor visited in person, summoned the chiefs and deputies of the six bureaus and their subordinates, questioned them about their duties, and issued admonitions. At first the new grades were still few in number, and transfers among them were easily confused. At the beginning of the Yuanyou era, left and right distinctions were first introduced for the six grades from Court Gentleman for Discussion of Governance upward. Because there was still no distinction among ranks, an edict then ordered that all titular offices be divided into left and right: literary officials on the left, all others on the right. This arrangement was abolished during the Shaosheng era. At the beginning of the Chongning era, at memorialists' request, seven grades were established for examination candidates, from Gentleman for Fostering Integrity down to Gentleman for Initial Merit. At the beginning of the Daguan era, four more grades were added, from Gentleman for Proclaiming Service to Grandee for Direct Integrity. At the end of the Zhenghe era, three more grades for examination candidates were revised, from Gentleman for Following Governance to Gentleman for Advancing Merit — and with that the civil grades were complete. Military grades were likewise ordered renamed: chief commissioners became grandees, deputy commissioners became gentlemen, and the same applied to the twelve lateral grades of commissioners and deputies. The result was that a gentleman could rank above a grandee. Because the new names were not yet complete, ten more grades were then added — Grandees and Gentlemen for Proclaiming Integrity and Upholding Integrity — forming the lateral series, and the civil and military systems became still more detailed.

大抵自元祐以後，漸更元豐之制：二府不分班奏事，樞密加置簽書，戶部則不令右曹專典常平而總於其長，起居郎、舍人則通記起居而不分言動，館職則增置校勘黃本。凡此，皆與元豐稍異也。其後蔡京當國，率意自用。然動以繼志為言，首更開封守臣為尹、牧，由是府分六曹，縣分六案。又內侍省職，悉仿機廷之號。已而修六尚局，建三衛，即又更兩省之長為左輔、右弼，易端揆之稱為太宰、少宰。是時員既濫冗，名且紊雜。甚者走馬承受升擁使華；黃冠道流，亦濫朝品。元豐之制，至此大壞。及宣和末，王黼用事，方且追咎元祐紛更，乃請設局，以修《官制格目》為正名，亦何補矣。

Broadly speaking, from Yuanyou onward the Yuanfeng system was gradually altered: the Two Departments no longer reported separately in court audience; a drafting secretary was added to the Bureau of Military Affairs; the Ministry of Revenue no longer allowed its right bureau alone to manage the Ever-Normal Granary but consolidated authority in its chief; Diaries Attendants and Drafting Attendants recorded attendance jointly without separating words from actions; and academy posts gained additional collation and yellow-copy review duties. All of these differed slightly from the Yuanfeng arrangements. Later, when Cai Jing dominated the government, he acted entirely on his own judgment. Yet he constantly spoke of carrying on his predecessor's intent: he first changed the title of the Kaifeng administrator to Intendant and Pastoral Lord, and on this basis divided the prefecture into six bureaus and the counties into six sections. The posts of the Inner Service Directorate were likewise modeled on the titles of the Bureau of Military Affairs. He then reorganized the Six Directorates Bureau, established the Three Guards, and further changed the heads of the Two Departments to Left and Right Assistants, replacing the title Chief Counselor with Grand Steward and Junior Steward. By this time posts had proliferated beyond all reason, and titles had become a tangled mess. In extreme cases, mounted dispatch receivers were promoted to hold the splendor of commissioner titles. Daoist priests in yellow caps also received court ranks indiscriminately. The Yuanfeng system was thoroughly ruined by this point. At the end of the Xuanhe era, when Wang Fu held power, he began by blaming the Yuanyou changes; he then requested the establishment of a bureau to compile the "Official System Compendium" for rectifying names — but what good did that do?

建炎中興，參酌潤色，因呂頤浩之請，左、右僕射並同中書門下平章事，兩省侍郎改為參知政事，三省之政合乎一。乾道八年，又改左、右僕射為左、右丞相，刪去三省長官虛稱，道揆之名遂定。然維時多艱，政尚權宜。御營置使，國用置使，修政局置提舉，軍馬置都督，並以宰相兼之。總制司理財，同都督、督視理兵，並以執政兼之。因事創名，殊非經久。惟樞密本兵，與中書對掌機務，號東、西二府，命宰相兼知院事。建炎四年，實用慶歷故典。其後，兵興則兼樞密使，兵罷則免；至開禧初，始以宰臣兼樞密為永制。

At the Jianyan restoration, arrangements were adjusted and refined: at Lü Yihao's request, the Left and Right Vice Directors were both made Grand Counselors of the Secretariat and Chancellery, and Vice Directors of the Two Departments were changed to Vice Grand Counselors, unifying the governance of the Three Departments. In the eighth year of Qiandao, the Left and Right Vice Directors were further changed to Left and Right Chancellors, empty titles for heads of the Three Departments were removed, and the name for the chief minister was settled. Yet the times were difficult, and governance favored expedient measures. Commissioners were established for the Imperial Camp, for State Revenue, for the Bureau of Policy Reform, and for Military Affairs — all held concurrently by the chancellor. The General Control Office managed finances; the Co-Commissioner and Inspector-General managed troops — all held concurrently by grand counselors. Titles were created ad hoc for particular tasks — nothing designed to last. Only the Bureau of Military Affairs, which controlled the military, shared management of state secrets with the Secretariat — they were called the Eastern and Western Departments — and the chancellor was ordered to serve concurrently as Director of the Bureau. In the fourth year of Jianyan, the old Qingli precedent was actually put into use. Thereafter, when war arose the chancellor concurrently held the post of Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs; when war ended he was relieved of it. At the beginning of the Kaixi era, the chancellor's concurrent service as Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs first became a permanent institution.

當多事時，諸部或長貳不並置，或並郎曹使相兼之，惟吏部、戶部不省不並。兵休稍稍增置。其後，詔非曾任監司、守臣，不除郎官，著為令。又增館閣員，廣環衛官。然紹興務行元祐故事，以“左右”二字分別流品，其後，以人言省去，寧清濁相涵，無絕人遷善之路。橫班以郎居大夫之上，既釐而正之矣，而介胄之士與縉紳同稱，寧名號未正，毋示人以好武之機。陳傅良欲定史官遷次之序，眾論韙之，而未及行。洪邁欲改三衙軍官稱謂，當時嘉之，卒未暇講。考古之制，量今之宜，蓋自元祐以逮政和，已未嘗拘乎元豐之舊。中興若稽成憲，二者並行而不悖。故凡大而分政任事之臣，微而筦庫監局之官，沿襲不革者，皆先後所同便也。或始創而終罷，或欲革而猶因，則有各當其可者焉。類而書之，先後互見，作《職官志》。以至廩給、傔從，雖微必錄，並從舊述雲。

In times of crisis, some ministries might not have both chief and deputy in place at once, or section chiefs and commissioners might hold concurrent posts — only the Ministry of Personnel and Ministry of Revenue were neither reduced nor combined. When warfare subsided, posts were gradually restored. Later an edict ordered that no one who had not previously served as a circuit intendant or prefectural administrator could be appointed a section chief — and this was established as a permanent regulation. Academy posts were increased and palace guard offices expanded. Yet in the Shaoxing era the Yuanyou precedent was followed: the characters 'left' and 'right' were used to distinguish ranks. Later, at people's urging, this was removed — better to let the pure and impure mingle than to cut off all paths by which men might improve themselves. In the lateral series, gentlemen had ranked above grandees — this had already been corrected — yet armored warriors shared titles with silk-gowned officials; better to leave the names unsettled than to show the world an inclination toward militarism. Chen Fuliang wished to fix the order of promotion for historiography officials; public opinion approved, but it was never carried out. Hong Mai wished to change the titles of the Three Guards military officers; his contemporaries praised the idea, but in the end there was no leisure to discuss it. Examining ancient institutions and weighing present needs — from Yuanyou through Zhenghe, the Yuanfeng old system had already ceased to be binding. At the restoration, both were followed in accordance with established statutes, proceeding in parallel without conflict. Thus whether great ministers who divided governance and bore responsibility, or minor officials who managed storehouses and commissions — those whose titles were retained unchanged were all arrangements found convenient at different times. Some were first created and later abolished; some were desired to be reformed yet retained — in each case there was what was fitting. Arranging these by category and setting them down in writing, with earlier and later arrangements appearing side by side, the "Treatise on Official Posts" was composed. Even stipends and attendants — however minor — are recorded without omission, all following the earlier account.

三師三公宋承唐制，以太師、太傅、太保為三師，太尉、司徒、司空為三公，為宰相、親王使相加官，其特拜者不預政事，皆赴上於尚書省。凡除授，則自司徒遷太保，自太傅遷太尉，檢校官亦如之。太尉舊在三師下，由唐至宋加重，遂以太尉居太傅之上。若宰臣官至僕射致仕者，以在位久近，或已任司空、司徒，則拜太尉、太傅等官。若太師則為異數，自趙普以開國元勛，文彥博以累朝耆德，方特拜焉。雖太傅王旦、司徒呂夷簡各任宰相二十年，止以太尉致仕。

Following Tang precedent, the Song designated Grand Preceptor, Grand Tutor, and Grand Mentor as the Three Masters, and Grand Commandant, Minister over the Masses, and Minister of Works as the Three Dukes. These ranks were supplementary honors for chancellors, imperial princes, and military commissioners holding concurrent chancellor titles. Officials specially elevated to them took no part in actual governance, though all were still required to attend court at the Department of State Affairs. Whenever these offices were filled or transferred, the usual ladder ran from Minister over the Masses to Grand Mentor, and from Grand Tutor to Grand Commandant; acting appointees advanced along the same sequence. Historically the Grand Commandant had ranked beneath the Three Masters, but from Tang into Song its prestige rose until it was placed above the Grand Tutor. Chancellors who retired after reaching the rank of Vice Director were sometimes awarded Grand Commandant or Grand Tutor, depending on how long they had served—or on whether they already held Minister of Works or Minister over the Masses. The Grand Preceptor was a mark of exceptional favor; only Zhao Pu, honored as a founding hero, and Wen Yanbo, revered for virtue across several reigns, were specially appointed to it. Even Wang Dan, eventually Grand Tutor, and Lü Yijian, Minister over the Masses, each held the chancellorship for twenty years yet retired with no higher honor than Grand Commandant.

熙寧二年，富弼除守司空兼侍中、平章事，辭司空、侍中。三年，曾公亮除守司空、檢校太師兼侍中，以兩朝定策之功辭相位也。六年，文彥博除守司徒兼侍中。九年，彥博除守太保兼侍中，辭太保。元豐三年，以曹佾檢校太師、守司徒兼中書令。九月，詔檢校官除三公、三師外並罷。又以文彥博落兼侍中，除守太尉，富弼守司徒，皆錄定策之功也。六年，彥博守太師致仕。八年，王安石守司空，曹佾守太保。元祐元年，文彥博落致仕，太師、平章軍國重事，呂公著守司空、同平章軍國重事。崇寧三年，蔡京授司空，行尚書左僕射。大觀元年，京為太尉；二年，為太師。政和二年，京落致仕，依前太師，三日一至都堂治事。九月，詔：“以太師、太傅、太保，古三公之官，今為三師，古無此稱，合依三代為三公，為真相之任。司徒、司空，周六卿之官，太尉，秦主兵之任，皆非三公，並宜罷之。仍考周制，立三孤少師、少傅、少保，亦稱三少，為三次相之任。 ”至是，京始以三公任真相。

In Xining 2 (1069), Fu Bi was offered Acting Minister of Works along with Palace Attendant and Grand Councilor; he declined the first two titles. In year 3, Zeng Gongliang was made Acting Minister of Works and Acting Grand Preceptor with concurrent Palace Attendant; he stepped down from the chancellorship, citing his service in settling the succession across two reigns. In year 6, Wen Yanbo received the title of Acting Minister over the Masses with concurrent Palace Attendant. In year 9, Yanbo was made Acting Grand Mentor with concurrent Palace Attendant but declined the Grand Mentor title. In the third year of Yuanfeng (1080), Cao Yi was given Acting Grand Preceptor and Acting Minister over the Masses, with concurrent Director of the Chancellery. That September, an edict eliminated every acting appointment except those to the Three Dukes and Three Masters. Wen Yanbo lost his concurrent Palace Attendant rank and was appointed Acting Grand Commandant; Fu Bi received Acting Minister over the Masses—both honors recognizing their role in securing the imperial succession. In year 6, Yanbo retired from office while holding the title of Acting Grand Preceptor. In year 8, Wang Anshi served as Acting Minister of Works and Cao Yi as Acting Grand Mentor. In Yuanyou 1 (1086), Wen Yanbo was brought back from retirement as Grand Preceptor with charge over state and military affairs; Lü Gongzhuo became Acting Minister of Works with the same concurrent authority. In Chongning 3 (1104), Cai Jing received Minister of Works and served as Acting Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. In Daguan 1, Jing was elevated to Grand Commandant. The following year he was made Grand Preceptor. In Zhenghe 2 (1112), Jing was recalled from retirement as Grand Preceptor and required to appear at the chief secretariat once every three days to handle business. That September an edict declared: "Grand Preceptor, Grand Tutor, and Grand Mentor were the Three Dukes of old; calling them the Three Masters is a later usage with no ancient warrant. They should again be the Three Dukes of the Three Dynasties, charged with the responsibilities of genuine chancellors. "Minister over the Masses and Minister of Works belonged to the Zhou Six Ministers, and Grand Commandant was originally a Qin military command—none properly constituted the Three Dukes, and all were to be abolished. Drawing again on Zhou practice, Junior Preceptor, Junior Tutor, and Junior Mentor—the Three Juniors—were established as secondary chancellor posts. Only then did Jing first occupy a Three Duke title as a genuine chancellor.

三公自國初以來，未嘗備官。獨宣和末，三公至十八人，三少不計也。太師三人：蔡京、童貫、鄭紳；太傅四人：王黼、燕王俁、越王偲、鄆王楷；太保十一人：蔡攸、肅王樞至儀王。渡江後，秦檜為太師，張俊、韓世忠為太傅，劉光世為太保。乾道初，楊沂中、吳璘併為太傅。紹熙初，史浩為太師，嗣秀王為太保。自紹熙後，三公未嘗備官。其後，韓仛胄、史彌遠、賈似道專政，皆至太師焉。

From the dynasty's founding, the Three Duke posts had never once been filled to capacity. Only in the closing years of Xuanhe did the Three Dukes swell to eighteen holders, the Three Juniors not included in that count. The three Grand Preceptors were Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and Zheng Shen. Four men held Grand Tutor: Wang Fu, Prince of Yan You, Prince of Yue Cun, and Prince of Yun Kai. Eleven Grand Mentors ranged from Cai You and Prince Su Shu down through the Prince of Yi. Following the flight south of the Yangzi, Qin Hui was made Grand Preceptor, Zhang Jun and Han Shizhong Grand Tutors, and Liu Guangshi Grand Mentor. Early in the Qiandao era, Yang Yizhong and Wu Lin were both appointed Grand Tutor. At the opening of Shaoxi, Shi Hao received Grand Preceptor and the heir Prince of Xiu received Grand Mentor. From Shaoxi onward, the Three Duke posts were never again filled to full complement. Later, as Han Tuozhou, Shi Miyuan, and Jia Sidao seized power in turn, each ascended to the rank of Grand Preceptor.

宰相之職佐天子，總百官，平庶政，事無不統。宋承唐制，以同平章事為真相之任，無常員；有二人，則分日知印。以丞、郎以上至三師為之。其上相為昭文館大學士、監修國史，其次為集賢殿大學士。或置三相，則昭文、集賢二學士並監修國史，各除。唐以來，三大館皆宰臣兼，故仍其制。國初，範質昭文學士，王溥監修國史，魏仁浦集賢學士，此為三相例也。神宗新官制，於三省置侍中、中書令、尚書令，以官高不除人，而以尚書令之貳左、右僕射為宰相。左僕射兼門下侍郎，以行侍中之職；右僕射兼中書侍郎，以行中書令之職。政和中，改左、右僕射為太宰、少宰，仍兼兩省侍郎。靖康中，復改為左、右僕射。

The chancellor assisted the emperor, commanded the bureaucracy, settled ordinary governance, and left no area of administration outside his purview. Following Tang practice, the Song treated Concurrent Grand Councilor as the real chancellorship—a post with no standing numerical limit. When two chancellors served together, they took turns holding the seal on alternate days. The office could be filled by officials from Vice Commissioner rank up through the Three Masters. The leading chancellor served as Hanlin Academician of the Hall for Adorning Literature and oversaw the national history; his junior counterpart held the Hanlin post at the Hall of Gathered Worthies. When three chancellors were in place, the Hanlin posts at Zhaowen and Jixian halls jointly oversaw historiography, with each title conferred separately. Because Tang chancellors had long held all three hall posts concurrently, Song preserved that arrangement. In the dynasty's earliest days Fan Zhi held Zhaowen Academician, Wang Pu supervised the national history, and Wei Renpu held Jixian Academician—thus setting the three-chancellor precedent. Shenzong's bureaucratic reform installed Palace Attendant, Director of the Chancellery, and Director of the Department of State Affairs within the Three Departments. Those grand titles were left vacant, and the Left and Right Vice Directors of the Department actually performed the chancellor's work. The Left Vice Director doubled as Vice Minister of the Chancellery and discharged the functions of Palace Attendant. The Right Vice Director doubled as Vice Minister of the Secretariat and discharged the functions of Director of the Chancellery. In the Zhenghe period the Left and Right Vice Directors were retitled Grand Minister and Vice Minister while continuing to hold both vice ministerships. Under Jingkang the titles reverted to Left and Right Vice Director.

建炎三年，呂頤浩請參酌三省之制，左、右僕射並加同中書門下平章事，門下、中書二侍郎並改為參知政事，廢尚書左、右丞。從之。乾道八年，詔尚書左、右僕射可依漢制改為左、右丞相。詳定敕令所言：“近承詔旨，改左、右僕射為左、右丞相，令刪去侍中、中書、尚書令，以左、右丞相充。緣舊左、右僕射非三省長官，故為從一品。今左、右丞相系充侍中、中書、尚書令之位，即合為正一品。 ”從之。丞相官以太中大夫以上充。

In Jianyan 3 (1129), Lü Yihao proposed realigning the Three Departments: both Vice Directors would add Concurrent Director of the Chancellery and Secretariat Grand Councilor; the Chancellery and Secretariat Vice Ministers would become Vice Grand Councilors; and the Department's Left and Right Vice Directors would be eliminated. The proposal was approved. In Qiandao 8 (1172), an edict authorized renaming the Left and Right Vice Directors of the Department of State Affairs as Left and Right Chancellor, following Han practice. The commission revising statutes reported: "By recent edict the Left and Right Vice Directors became Left and Right Chancellor; the titles Palace Attendant, Director of the Chancellery, and Director of the Department of State Affairs were removed, and the two chancellors now filled those roles. Formerly the Left and Right Vice Directors had not been chiefs of the Three Departments and therefore held second-grade rank. Since the Left and Right Chancellors now stood in for Palace Attendant, Director of the Chancellery, and Director of the Department of State Affairs, they properly belonged to first grade. This too was approved. Chancellors were drawn from officials holding Grandee of Palace Personnel or higher rank.

使相親王、樞密使、留守、節度使兼侍中、中書令、同平章事者，皆謂之使相。不預政事，不書敕，惟宣敕除授者，敕尾存其銜而已。乾德二年，範質等三相皆罷，以趙普同平章事，李崇矩樞密使。命下，無宰相書敕，使問翰林陶谷。谷謂：“自昔輔相未嘗虛位。惟唐大和中甘露事，數日無宰相，時左僕射令狐楚等奉行制書。今尚書亦南省長官，可以書敕。 ”竇儀曰：“谷之所陳，非承平令典。今皇弟開封尹、同平章事，即宰相之任也，可書敕。 ”從之。

Imperial princes, Bureau of Military Affairs commissioners, prefects-general, and military commissioners who concurrently held Palace Attendant, Director of the Chancellery, or Concurrent Grand Councilor were collectively termed military chancellors. They took no part in policymaking and did not countersign edicts; when appointments were promulgated, their titles appeared only in the edict's closing lines. In Qiande 2 (964), Fan Zhi and the other two chancellors were all removed; Zhao Pu became Concurrent Grand Councilor and Li Chongju Military Affairs commissioner. When the appointment went out, no chancellor remained to countersign edicts, and the emperor consulted Hanlin Academician Tao Gu. Gu replied: "From ancient times the chief minister's chair has never stood empty. The sole exception was the Sweet Dew Affair in Tang Dahe, when for several days no chancellor served and Left Vice Director Linghu Chu and others executed the edicts. Today the Director of the Department of State Affairs is likewise chief of the southern secretariat and may countersign edicts. Dou Yi objected: "Gu's proposal is no precedent for a settled age. The emperor's brother, Prefect of Kaifeng and Concurrent Grand Councilor, already holds the chancellor's office and may countersign edicts. The emperor accepted this view.

元豐新官制，廢參知政事，置門下、中書二侍郎，尚書左、右丞以代其任。建炎三年，復以門下、中書侍郎為參知政事，而省左、右丞。乾道八年，改左、右僕射為左、右丞相，其參知政事如故，以中大夫以上充，常除二員或一員。嘉泰三年，始除三員。故事，丞相謁告，參預不得進擬。惟丞相未除，則輪日當筆，然多不逾年，少僅旬月。淳熙初，葉衡罷相，龔茂良行相事近三年，亦創見也。

Yuanfeng's reform eliminated Vice Grand Councilors, created Chancellery and Secretariat Vice Ministers, and assigned their former duties to the Department's Left and Right Vice Directors. Jianyan 3 restored the Chancellery and Secretariat Vice Ministers as Vice Grand Councilors and abolished the Department's Left and Right Vice Directors. Qiandao 8 renamed the Left and Right Vice Directors as Left and Right Chancellor while Vice Grand Councilors continued unchanged, drawn from Middle Court Grandee upward, typically one or two at a time. Jiatai 3 (1203) saw the first appointment of three Vice Grand Councilors at once. Custom held that while a chancellor was on leave, his participating deputies could not submit personnel recommendations. Only when the chancellorship stood vacant did vice councilors take turns drafting documents day by day—a situation that rarely lasted a full year and sometimes only ten days or a few months. Early Chunxi saw another rarity: after Ye Heng left office, Gong Maoliang acted as chancellor for nearly three years.

門下省受天下之成事，審命令，駁正違失，受發通進奏狀，進請寶印。凡中書省畫黃、錄黃，樞密院錄白、畫旨，則留為底。及尚書省六部所上有法式事，皆奏覆審駁之。給事中讀，侍郎省，侍中審，進入被旨畫聞，則授之尚書省、樞密院。即有舛誤應舉駁者，大則論列，不則改正。凡文書自內降者，著之籍。章奏至，則受而通進，俟頒降，分送所隸官司。凡吏部擬六品以下職事官，則給事中校其仕歷、功狀，侍郎。侍中引驗審察，非其人則論奏。凡遷改爵秩、加敘勛封、四選擬註奏鈔之事，有舛誤，退送尚書省。覆刑部大理寺所斷獄，審其輕重枉直，不當罪，則以法駁正之。

The Chancellery took in finished business from across the empire, scrutinized orders, rectified mistakes, handled incoming memorials, and forwarded petitions requiring the imperial seal. Yellow drafts and recorded yellow from the Secretariat, together with white records and drafted intents from the Bureau of Military Affairs, were all kept on file as master copies. Statutory cases forwarded by the Department's Six Ministries were all sent up for review and returned with scrutiny. The Supervising Censor read each document, the Vice Minister checked it, the Palace Attendant approved it, and once imperial assent was recorded and proclaimed, it passed to the Department of State Affairs and the Bureau of Military Affairs. When mistakes required objection, grave cases were debated in memorial; lesser ones were simply amended. All paperwork issued from the inner court was logged in the registry. Incoming memorials were received and relayed upward; once the court's response was issued, copies went to the responsible offices. For Ministry of Personnel nominations to posts below sixth rank, the Supervising Censor verified service histories and merit records, and the Vice Minister examined the file. The Palace Attendant personally reviewed the candidate; if unfit, he memorialized against the appointment. Errors in promotions, ennoblements, merit grants, or nomination documents from the four selection circuits were sent back to the Department of State Affairs. The Chancellery reexamined sentences from the Ministry of Justice and Court of Judicial Review, weighing proportion and fairness; improper verdicts were overturned by statute.

國初循舊制，以中書門下平章事為宰相之職，復用兩制官一員判門下省事。官制行，始釐正焉。凡官十有一：侍中、侍郎、左散騎常侍各一人，給事中四人，左諫議大夫、起居郎、左司諫、左正言各一人。先是，中書人吏分掌五房：曰孔目房、吏房、戶房、兵禮房、刑房；又有主事、勾銷二房。至是，釐中書為三省，分兵與禮為六房，各因其省之事而增益之。門下凡分房十：曰吏房，曰戶房，曰禮房，曰兵房，曰刑房，曰工房，皆視其房之名，而主行尚書省六曹二十四司所上之事；曰開拆房，曰章奏房，曰制敕庫房，亦皆視其名，而受遣文書、表狀，與供閱敕令格式、擬官爵封勛之類，惟班簿、本省雜務則歸吏房。吏四十有九：錄事、主事各三人，令史六人，書令史十有八人，守當官十有九人。而外省吏十有九人：令史一人，書令史二人，守當官六人，守闕守當官十人。元豐八年，以門下、中書外省為後省，門下外省復置催驅房。元祐三年，詔吏部註通判，赴門下引驗；應省、台、寺、監諸司人吏四分減一。復置點檢房。四年，又別立吏額。紹聖二年，守闕守當官，門下、中書省各以百人，尚書省百五十人為額。四年，三省吏員並依元豐七年額。

Early on the dynasty kept the old arrangement: Concurrent Director of the Chancellery and Secretariat Grand Councilor served as chancellor, while a single drafter from the two academies supervised Chancellery business. The new official system finally regularized that practice. Eleven posts made up the staff: Palace Attendant, Vice Minister, and Left Regular Attendant, one each; four Supervising Censors; and one Left Remonstrating Censor, Left Diary Officer, Left Secretariat Remonstrator, and Left Censor. Earlier, Secretariat clerks had been split among five desks—General Matters, Personnel, Household, Military and Rites, and Penal. Two additional sections handled chief clerical work and final verification. The Chancellery was then sorted into the Three Departments framework; military and rites were separated into six sections, each expanded to match its parent department's workload. The Chancellery itself ran ten sections—Personnel, Household, Rites, Military, Penal, and Works—each processing submissions from the matching bureaus within the Six Ministries' twenty-four departments. Opening, Memorial, and Edict Archive sections handled incoming and outgoing paperwork, memorials, and reference copies of edicts and regulations, plus drafts for titles, enfeoffments, and honors; roster ledgers and internal housekeeping alone fell to the Personnel Section. Forty-nine staff served inside the office—three Recorders, three Chief Clerks, six Clerks, eighteen Writing Clerks, and nineteen Duty Officers. The outer Chancellery staff numbered nineteen: one Clerk, two Writing Clerks, six Duty Officers, and ten Reserve Duty Officers. the eighth year of Yuanfeng redesignated the outer offices of Chancellery and Secretariat as the Rear Department and restored an Expediting Section in the Chancellery's outer office. Yuanyou 3 required transit magistrates nominated by the Ministry of Personnel to appear at the Chancellery for credential review. Staff in the secretariats, censorate, courts, and supervisory commissions were cut by twenty-five percent. An Inspection Section was reinstated. The following year new staffing quotas were set independently. Shaosheng 2 fixed Reserve Duty Officer quotas at one hundred for each of the Chancellery and Secretariat and one hundred fifty for the Department of State Affairs. Four years later, staffing levels across all Three Departments reverted to the quotas of the seventh year of Yuanfeng.

侍中掌佐天子議大政，審中外出納之事。大祭祀則版奏中嚴外辦，導輿輅，詔升降之節；皇帝齋則請就齋室。大朝會則承旨宣制、告成禮，祭祀亦如之。冊後則奉寶以授司徒。國朝以秩高罕除。知建隆至熙寧，真拜侍中才五人，雖有用他官兼領，而實不任其事。官制行，以左僕射兼門下侍郎行侍中職，別置侍郎以佐之。南渡後，置左、右丞相，省侍中不置。

The Palace Attendant assisted the emperor in deliberating major policy and supervised all incoming and outgoing business of the Chancellery. At major sacrifices he signaled the inner and outer ceremonial stages, led the imperial carriage, and directed the prescribed movements of ascent and descent. When the emperor undertook ritual fasting, he invited him to retire to the fasting chamber. At grand court audiences he received the emperor's instruction to proclaim edicts and announce the completion of ceremony—the same at sacrifices. At an empress's investiture he presented the imperial seal and entrusted it to the Minister over the Masses. Because the rank was so exalted, the dynasty seldom filled the post. From Jianlong through Xining, only five men received genuine appointment as Palace Attendant; others held the title concurrently without actually performing the office. Under the reformed offices, the Left Vice Director of the Department concurrently serving as Chancellery Vice Minister performed the duties of Palace Attendant, with a separately appointed Vice Minister to assist. After the court's relocation south, Left and Right Chancellors were installed and the Palace Attendant post was eliminated.

侍郎掌貳侍中之職，省中外出納之事。大祭祀則前導輿略，詔進止。大朝賀則授表以奏祥瑞。冊後則奉節及寶位。與知樞密院、同知樞密院、中書侍郎、尚書左右丞為執政官。南渡後，復置參知政事，省門下侍郎不置。

The Vice Minister served as the Palace Attendant's deputy and oversaw the Chancellery's documentary traffic. At major sacrifices he went ahead to guide the imperial carriage and directed when to proceed or stop. At grand congratulatory audiences he received and submitted the memorial reporting auspicious portents. At an empress's investiture he bore the ceremonial staff and imperial seal. He stood among the serving chief administrators alongside the Commissioner and Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs, the Secretariat Vice Minister, and the Left and Right Vice Directors of the Department. After the relocation south, Vice Grand Councilors were reinstated and the Chancellery Vice Minister post was dropped.

左散騎常侍左諫議大夫左司諫左正言同掌規諫諷諭。凡朝政闕失、大臣至百官任非其人、三省至百司事有違失，皆得諫正。國初雖置諫院，知院官凡六人，以司諫、正言充職；而他官領者，謂之知諫院。正言、司諫亦有領他職而不預諫諍者。官制行，始皆正名。

The Left Regular Attendant, Left Remonstrance Grandee, Left Supervising Remonstrance Official, and Left Corrective Official jointly handled oversight, remonstrance, and admonitory counsel. They could remonstrate against flaws in court policy, unsuitable appointments from ministers down to common officials, and violations anywhere from the Three Departments to every agency. Early in the dynasty a Remonstrance Bureau was set up with six directors drawn from the ranks of Supervising Remonstrance Officials and Corrective Officials. Officials from other posts who headed it were styled Directors of the Remonstrance Bureau. Some Corrective Officials and Supervising Remonstrance Officials held concurrent duties and took no part in remonstrance. With the office reform, each post finally received its formal designation.

元豐八年，諫議大夫孫覺言：“據《官制格目》，諫官之職，凡發令舉事，有不便於時，不合於道，大則廷議，小則上封。若賢良之遺滯於下，忠孝之不聞於上，則以事狀論薦，乞依此以修舉職事。 ”八月，門下省言：“諫議大夫、司諫、正言合通為一。 ”詔並從之。十月，詔仿《六典》置諫官員。元祐元年二月，詔諫官雖不同省，許二人同上殿。後又從司諫虞策之請，如獨員，許與台官同對。九月，左、右正言久闕，侍御史王岩叟言：“國家仿近古之制，諫官六員，方之先王，已自為少，望詔補足，無令久空職。 ”十月，司諫王覿言：“自今中書舍人闕，勿以諫官兼權。 ”從之。十一月，岩叟又言：“近降聖旨，兩省諫官各令出入異戶，勿與給事中、中書舍人通。實欲限隔諫官，不使在政事之地，恐知本末，數論列爾。 ”尋詔諫官直舍仍舊。八年，詔執政親戚不除諫官。建中靖國元年，言者謂諫官論事，惟憑詢訪，而百司之事，六曹所報外，皆不得其詳。遂詔諫官案許關台察。

the eighth year of Yuanfeng: Remonstrance Grandee Sun Jue argued, "Under the "Office Regulations Manual," remonstrance officials should debate major orders or actions that are ill-timed or improper in open court, and submit sealed memorials on lesser ones. When worthy talent languished below or loyal and filial service went unrewarded above, they should recommend such cases in detailed reports—I ask that our duties be restored on this basis. August: the Chancellery reported, "The Remonstrance Grandee, Supervising Remonstrance Official, and Corrective Official ought to be treated as one consolidated function. The court approved both recommendations. Tenth month: an edict restored remonstrance posts along the lines of the Tang Six Codes. Yuanyou 1, second month: remonstrance officials from different departments were permitted to appear before the throne two at a time. Later, upon Supervising Remonstrance Official Yu Ce's petition, a sole remonstrance officer was allowed to appear jointly with censorate officials. Ninth month: with both Corrective Official posts long unfilled, Supervising Censor Wang Yansou urged, "The dynasty follows antiquity with only six remonstrance officers—already fewer than the sage kings allotted; please order the vacancies filled promptly. Tenth month: Supervising Remonstrance Official Wang Di proposed, "Whenever a Secretariat Drafting Officialship falls vacant, remonstrance officials must no longer fill it on an acting basis. The court agreed. November: Wang Yansou added, "A recent decree ordered remonstrance officials in both departments to use separate entrances and avoid contact with Supervising Censors and Secretariat Drafting Officials. The intent was to isolate remonstrance officers from the inner policy circle so they would not learn the full facts and raise repeated objections. Soon afterward an edict restored the remonstrance officers' quarters to their former arrangement. That same year, an edict barred appointment of remonstrance officials from among chief administrators' kin. Jianzhong Jingguo 1: critics noted that remonstrance officials had to rely on inquiry alone and could not obtain full details on agency business beyond the Six Sections' reports. The court then authorized the Remonstrance Section to access censorate investigation files.

給事中四人，分治六房，掌讀中外出納，及判後省之事。若政令有失當，除授非其人，則論奏而駁正之。凡章奏，日錄目以進，考其稽違而糾治之。故事，詔旨皆付銀台司封駁。官制行，給事中始正其職，而封駁司歸門下。

Four Supervising Censors, each assigned to one of six sections, reviewed Chancellery documents and adjudicated Rear Department business. When edicts were improper or appointments unsuitable, they memorialized objections and demanded correction. They logged every memorial daily, tracked delays, and disciplined those responsible. Formerly all edicts went to the Silver Terrace Office for seal-and-return review. Under the office reform, Supervising Censors finally exercised their proper functions and seal-and-return review reverted to the Chancellery.

元豐五年五月，詔給事中許書畫黃，不書草，著為令。六月，給事中陸佃言：“三省、密院文字，已讀者尚令封駁，慮失之重覆。”。詔罷封駁房。六年，詔駁正事赴執政稟議。七年，有旨，舉駁事，依中書舍人封還詞頭例。既而令稟議如初，給事中韓忠彥言：“給、舍職位頗均，一則不稟白而聽封還，一則許舉駁而先稟議，於理未允。且朝廷之事執政所行，職當封駁則已與執政異，自當求決於上，尚何稟議之有？ ”詔從之。紹聖四年，葉祖洽言：“兩省置給、舍，使之互察。今中書舍人兼權封駁，則給事中之職遂廢。 ”詔特旨書讀不迴避，餘互書判。元符三年，翰林學士曾肇言：“門下之職，所以駁正中書違失。近日給事封駁中書錄黃，乃令舍人書讀行下，隳壞官制，有損治體。願正紀綱，為天下後世法。 ”重和元年，給事中張叔夜言：“凡命令之出，中書宣奉，門下審讀，然後付尚書頒行，而密院被旨者，亦錄付門下，此神宗官制也。今急速文字，不經三省，而諸房以空黃先次書讀，則審讀殆成虛設矣，乞立法禁。 ”從之。

the fifth year of Yuanfeng, fifth month: Supervising Censors were authorized to sign finalized yellow copies but not draft them—a rule formally codified. Sixth month: Supervising Censor Lu Dian warned that requiring seal-and-return on documents the Three Departments and Military Bureau had already read risked needless duplication. The court abolished the Seal-and-Return Section. The sixth year: returned corrections had to be submitted to chief administrators for prior consultation. Seventh year: the throne ruled that objections should follow the precedent of Secretariat Drafting Officials returning appointment drafts. The consultation requirement was soon restored, prompting Supervising Censor Han Zhongyan to argue: "Supervising Censor and Drafting Official are peers—yet one may return drafts without reporting while the other must consult before objecting; that is inconsistent. State business belongs to the chief administrators; seal-and-return already puts us at odds with them—we should appeal directly to the throne. Why consult the administrators at all? The throne agreed. Shaosheng 4: Ye Zuzhi observed, "The two departments created parallel Supervising Censor and Drafting Official posts precisely for mutual oversight. When Secretariat Drafting Officials hold concurrent seal-and-return authority, the Supervising Censor's role is effectively abolished. An edict exempted special-edict readings from recusal but required mutual signing on all other documents. Yuanfu 3: Hanlin Academician Zeng Zhao argued, "The Chancellery exists to correct Secretariat errors. Lately, after a Supervising Censor returned a Secretariat yellow copy, a Drafting Official was allowed to sign and promulgate it—undermining the office system and the structure of government. I urge restoration of proper procedure as a model for the realm and posterity. Chonghe 1: Supervising Censor Zhang Shuye noted, "Under Shenzong's system every command went from Secretariat announcement through Chancellery review before the Department promulgated it, and Military Bureau orders were also recorded to the Chancellery. Today urgent documents bypass the Three Departments while sections pre-sign blank yellow copies, rendering review a mere formality—I ask that this be banned by statute. The court agreed.

凡分案五：曰上案，主寶禮及朝會所行事；曰下案，主受發文書；曰封駁案，主封駁及試吏，校其功過；曰諫官案，主關報文書；曰記註案，主錄起居註。其雜務則所分案掌焉。紹興以後，止除二人或一人。

Work was divided into five sections: the Upper Section managed seals, ceremonies, and court audiences; the Lower Section handled incoming and outgoing documents; the Seal-and-Return Section handled seal-and-return review and clerk examinations; the Remonstrance Section handled liaison reports; the Diary Section maintained the Diary of Activity and Repose. Miscellaneous duties fell to whichever section was assigned. After the Shaoxing era, only one or two Supervising Censors were appointed.

起居郎一人，掌記天子言動。御殿則侍立，行幸則從，大朝會則與起居舍人對立於殿下螭首之側。凡朝廷命令赦宥、禮樂法度損益因革、賞罰勸懲、群臣進對、文武臣除授及祭祀宴享、臨幸引見之事，四時氣候、四方符瑞、戶口增減、州縣廢置，皆書以授著作官。

One Diarist recorded the emperor's words and actions. He stood attendance in the hall, accompanied imperial tours, and at grand audiences stood opposite the Diarist-at-Large beside the dragon-head platform steps. He recorded edicts, amnesties, ritual and legal reforms, rewards and punishments, ministerial audiences, appointments, sacrifices, banquets, imperial outings, seasons, portents, population shifts, and changes in prefectures and counties, passing all entries to the Compilation Office.

國朝舊置起居院，命三館校理以上修起居註。熙寧四年，詔諫官兼修註者，因後殿侍立，許奏事。元豐二年，兼修註王存乞復起居郎、舍人之職，使得盡聞明天子德音，退而書之。神宗亦謂：“人臣奏對有頗僻讒慝者，若左右有史官書之，則無所肆其姦矣。 ”然未果行。故事，左、右史雖日侍立，而欲奏事，必稟中書俟旨。存因對及之。八月，乃詔雖不兼諫職，許直前奏事。蓋存發之也。官制行，改修註為郎、舍人。六年，詔左、右史分記言動；元祐元年，仍詔不分。七年，詔邇英閣講讀罷，有留身奏事者，許侍立。紹聖元年，中丞黃履言：“所奏或乾機密，難令旁立，仍依先朝故事。 ”先是，御後殿則左、右史分日侍立；崇寧三年，詔如前殿之儀，更不分日。大觀元年，詔事有足以勸善懲惡者，雖秩卑亦書之。紹興二十八年，用起居郎洪遵言，起居郎、舍人自今後許依講讀官奏事。隆興元年，用起居郎兼侍講胡銓言，前殿依後殿輪左、右史侍立。

The dynasty once maintained an Activity-and-Repose Bureau, assigning Hanlin collators and higher to compile the diary. Xining 4: remonstrance officials who doubled as diary compilers were allowed to address the throne while attending in the rear hall. the second year of Yuanfeng: diary compiler Wang Cun petitioned to restore dedicated Diarist and Diarist-at-Large posts so compilers could hear the emperor's words fully and write them down afterward. Shenzong likewise observed, "When ministers speak perversely or slanderously at audience, historians standing by would deter such conduct. The reform was not enacted. By precedent, though Left and Right Historians attended daily, they had to apply to the Secretariat and await permission before addressing the throne. Wang Cun raised the matter during an imperial audience. That August, an edict authorized direct audience even without concurrent remonstrance duties. Wang Cun had originated the change. Under the office reform, diary compilation was assigned to dedicated Diarist and Diarist-at-Large posts. the sixth year of Yuanfeng ordered Left and Right Historians to record the emperor's words and actions separately; Yuanyou 1 reversed this and restored joint recording. Yuanyou 7: after lectures at the Zhiying Pavilion, historians were permitted to remain standing when the emperor held private audience. Shaosheng 1: Censor-in-Chief Huang Lu argued that private audience might touch state secrets and historians should not stand nearby—restore the former practice. Previously, at the rear hall Left and Right Historians had attended on alternating days; Chongning 3 restored the front-hall rule that both attended daily without alternation. Daguan 1 ordered that noteworthy deeds of moral encouragement or warning be recorded regardless of the subject's rank. Shaoxing 28 adopted Diarist Hong Zun's proposal allowing Diarists and Diarists-at-Large to address the throne like lecture officials. Longxing 1 adopted Court Diarist Hu Quan's proposal to alternate Left and Right Historians at the front hall as at the rear hall.

符寶郎二人，掌外廷符寶之事。禁中別有內符寶郎。官制行，未嘗除。大觀初，八寶成，詔依《唐六典》增置。靖康罷之。

Two attendants were charged with the outer court's seals and credentials. The inner palace maintained its own attendants for seals and credentials. Under the office reform the post was never filled. Early in the Daguan era, when the Eight Imperial Treasures were completed, posts were added per the "Tang Six Codes." The posts were abolished in the Jingkang reign.

通進司隸給事中，掌受三省、樞密院、六曹、寺監百司奏牘，文武近臣表疏及章奏房所領天下章奏案牘，具事目進呈，而頒佈於中外。

The Document Relay Office, under the Supervising Censor, took in memorials from the Three Departments, Military Bureau, Six Ministries, courts, commissions, and all agencies, together with near-court officials' petitions and empire-wide memorial files from the Memorial Section, compiled itemized lists for presentation, and distributed copies inside and outside the court.

進奏院隸給事中，掌受詔敕及三省、樞密院宣扎，六曹、寺監百司符牒，頒於諸路。凡章奏至，則具事目上門下省。若案牘及申稟文書，則分納諸官司。凡奏牘違戾法式者，貼說以進。

The Memorial Submission Office, also under the Supervising Censor, received edicts and orders from the Three Departments and Military Bureau and dispatches from the Six Ministries, courts, and agencies, promulgating them to the circuits. Arriving memorials were logged by item and forwarded to the Chancellery. Case files and application documents were routed to the responsible offices. Nonconforming memorials were submitted with explanatory notes attached.

熙寧四年，詔：“應朝廷擢用材能、賞功罰罪事可懲勸者，中書檢正、樞密院檢詳官月以事狀錄付院，謄報天下。 ”元祐初，罷之。紹聖元年，詔如熙寧舊條。靖康元年二月，詔：“諸道監司、帥守文字，應邊防機密急切事，許進奏院直赴通進司投進。”

Xining 4: an edict required that each month the Secretariat's verification officers and the Military Bureau's review officers record cases of talent promotion, rewards, and punishments suitable for public moral instruction and relay them to the Memorial Submission Office for copying and empire-wide distribution. The practice was abolished at the start of the Yuanyou reign. Shaosheng 1: an edict restored the Xining-era rules. Jingkang 1, second month: an edict allowed circuit supervisors and prefects' urgent frontier documents to be sent directly from the Memorial Submission Office to the Document Relay Office.

舊制，通進、銀台司，知司官二人，兩制以上充。通進司，掌受銀台司所領天下章奏案牘，及閣門在京百司奏牘、文武近臣表疏，以進御，然後頒佈於外。銀台司，掌受天下奏狀案牘，抄錄其目進御，發付勾檢，糾其違失而督其淹綬。發敕司，掌受中書、樞密院宣敕，著籍以頒下之。

Formerly each of the Document Relay and Silver Terrace offices had two supervising officials drawn from the two-edict ranks and above. The Document Relay Office took in empire-wide memorial files from the Silver Terrace Office, capital-agency memorials routed through the Gate Office, and near-court officials' petitions, presented them to the throne, and then distributed copies beyond the palace. The Silver Terrace Office received petitions and files from across the realm, logged itemized summaries for imperial review, sent them for audit, corrected irregularities, and enforced timely handling. The Edict Dispatch Office took proclamations and orders from the Secretariat and Military Bureau, entered them in the register, and distributed them downward.

登聞檢院，隸諫議大夫；登聞鼓院，隸司諫、正言掌受文武官及士民章奏表疏。凡言朝政得失、公私利害、軍期機密、陳乞恩賞、理雪冤濫，及奇方異術、改換文資、改正過名，無例通進者，先經鼓院進狀；或為所抑，則詣檢院。並置局於關門之前。

The Petition Review Office reported to the Remonstrance Grandee; the Petition Drum Office reported to the Remonstrance Bureau director and rectifier and received petitions from officials and commoners alike. Matters without precedent for direct submission—policy critique, public or private grievance, military secrets, petitions for reward, requests to clear injustice, unusual arts, changes of document status, or name corrections—had first to be filed at the Drum Office; if turned away there, one could appeal to the Review Office. Both maintained desks before the palace gate.

中興後，檢、鼓、糧、審計、官告、進奏，謂之六院。例以京官知縣有政績者充；亦有自郡守除者，繼即除郎。恩數略視職事官，而不入雜壓。紹興十一年，胡汝明以料院除監察御史，遂遷侍御史。乾道後，相繼入台者數人，六院彌重，為察官之儲。淳熙初，班寺監、丞之上。紹熙二年，詔六院官復入雜壓，在九寺簿之下，六院各隨所隸。

After the Southern restoration, the Review, Drum, Grain, Audit, Commission, and Memorial Submission offices were collectively termed the Six Offices. By custom they were staffed by capital officials who had distinguished themselves as county magistrates; some were drawn from prefectural posts and promptly promoted to court gentleman rank. Their perquisites roughly matched those of functional officials, yet they were omitted from the mixed seniority roll. Shaoxing 11: Hu Ruming moved from the Grain Office to Remonstrance Censor and soon rose to Attending Censor. After Qiandao, several appointees entered the Censorate in succession; the Six Offices gained standing as a training ground for investigating censors. Early in Chunxi they were placed above directors and vice-directors of the courts and directorates. Shaoxi 2: an edict returned Six Office officials to the mixed roll, below Nine Courts registrars, ranked by each office's affiliation.

中書省掌進擬庶務，宣奉命令，行台諫章疏、群臣奏請興創改革，及中外無法式事應取旨事。凡除省、台、寺、監長貳以下，及侍從、職事官，外任監司、節鎮、知州、軍通判，武臣遙郡橫行以上除授，皆掌之。

The Secretariat drafted routine business, issued commands, forwarded remonstrance memorials and officials' petitions, and handled proposals for new institutions and reforms and other matters lacking statutory precedent that required imperial approval. It controlled appointments from deputy heads of the Three Departments, Censorate, courts, and directorates on down, attendant and functional officials, circuit intendants, commissioners, prefects and vice-prefects, and distant military posts from transverse commandant upward.

凡命令之體有七：曰冊書，立后妃，封親王、皇子、大長公主，拜三師、三公、三省長官，則用之。曰制書，處分軍國大事，頒赦宥德音，命尚書左右僕射、開府儀同三司、節度使，凡告廷除授，則用之。曰誥命，應文武官遷改職秩、內外命婦除授及封敘、贈典，應合命詞，則用之。曰詔書，賜待制、大卿監、中大夫、觀察使以上，則用之。曰敕書，賜少卿監、中散大夫、防禦使以下，則用之。曰御札，佈告登封、郊祀、宗祀及大號令，則用之。曰敕榜，賜酺及戒勵百官、曉諭軍民，則用之。皆承製畫旨以授門下省，令宣之，侍郎奉之，舍人行之。留其所得旨為底：大事奏稟得旨者為“畫黃？，小事擬進得旨者為“錄黃”。凡事乾因革損益，而非法式所載者，論定而上之。諸司傳宣、特旨，承報審覆，然後行下。

Commands took seven forms. A book of investiture installed empresses and consorts, enfeoffed imperial princes and grand princesses, and appointed the Three Preceptors, Three Excellencies, and heads of the Three Departments. An edict of state addressed major military and civil affairs, proclaimed amnesties and grace edicts, and appointed vice directors, grand preceptors with ducal ceremonial honors, and military commissioners—in short, all formal court appointments. A patent of appointment covered civil and military promotions, appointments of titled ladies within and without the court, enfeoffments, posthumous honors, and other grants requiring formal wording. An edict of grace was used for appointments from Hanlin Academician on Special Assignment upward, grand court and directorate directors, and grandees of palace attendance and observation commissioners upward. An edict of commission applied to appointments from vice court and directorate directors, palace attendants, and defense commissioners downward. An imperial note announced mountaintop rites, suburban and ancestral sacrifices, and major proclamations. An edict placard granted public feasts and admonished officials or instructed soldiers and civilians. Each form received a drafted imperial decision, passed to the Chancellery for promulgation, was received by the vice director, and executed by the drafter. Received decisions were filed as master copies: major matters reported upward and approved were recorded as "marked yellow"; minor matters drafted for submission and approved were recorded as "record yellow." Any institutional change not covered by statute was deliberated and submitted for approval. Agency announcements and special imperial orders were received, reviewed, and only then transmitted downward.

設官十有一：令、侍郎、右散騎常侍各一人，舍人四人，右諫議大夫、起居舍人、右司諫、右正言各一人。

Eleven posts were established: director, vice director, Right Regular Attendant of the Imperial Horse, four drafters, and one each of Right Remonstrance Grandee, diarist, Right Remonstrance Bureau director, and Right rectifier.

分房八、曰吏房，曰戶房，曰兵禮房，曰刑房，曰工房，曰主事房，曰班簿房，曰制敕庫房。元祐以後，析兵、禮為二，增催驅、點檢，分房十有一，後又改主事房為開拆。凡吏房，掌行除授、考察、升黜、賞罰、廢置、薦舉、假故、一時差官文書。曰戶房，掌行廢置升降郡縣、調發邊防軍須、給貸錢物。曰禮房，掌行郊祀陵廟典禮、后妃皇子公主大臣封冊、科舉考官、外夷書詔。曰兵房，掌行除授諸蕃國王爵、官封。曰刑房，掌行赦宥及貶降、敘復。曰工房，掌行營造計度及河防修閉。凡尚書省所上奏請、台諫所陳章疏、內外臣僚官司申請無法式應取旨者，六房各視其名而行之。曰主事房，掌行受發文書。曰班簿房，掌百官名籍具員。曰制敕庫房，掌編錄供檢敕、令、格、式及架閣庫。曰催驅房，督趣稽違。曰點檢房，省察差失。吏四十有五：錄事三人，主事四人，令史七人，書令史十有四人，守當官十有七人。而外省吏十有九人：令史一人，書令史二人，守當官六人，守闕守當官十人。

Eight sections handled the work: Personnel, Revenue, Military-Rites, Punishments, Works, Correspondence, Roster, and Edict Archive. After Yuanyou, Military-Rites was divided, Expediting and Inspection were added for eleven sections total; later Correspondence was renamed Opening and Sorting. Personnel processed appointments, evaluations, promotions and demotions, rewards and punishments, abolitions and creations of posts, recommendations, leave, and temporary assignments. Revenue handled changes to counties and prefectures, frontier military supplies, and loans of money and goods. Rites handled suburban and ancestral ceremonies, enfeoffments of the imperial family and great ministers, examination officials, and diplomatic correspondence. Military handled enfeoffments of foreign kings and the granting of titles. Punishments handled amnesties, demotions, restorations, and reinstatements. Works handled construction estimates and river-control projects. Memorials from the Department of State Affairs, remonstrance submissions from the Censorate, and applications from officials and agencies on matters without statutory precedent were routed to the six sections by subject. Correspondence received and dispatched documents. Roster maintained the complete register of officials and authorized posts. Edict Archive compiled edicts, orders, regulations, and forms for reference and maintained the archive. Expediting enforced deadlines and corrected delays. Inspection reviewed errors and omissions. Forty-five clerks served: three recorders, four chief clerks, seven clerks, fourteen writing clerks, and seventeen duty clerks. Outside the capital nineteen clerks were assigned: one clerk, two writing clerks, six duty clerks, and ten reserve duty clerks.

元豐八年，詔待制以上磨勘，本省進擬。元祐三年，詔應除授從中批付中書省者，並三省行。紹聖五年，詔臣僚上殿扎子，中書省進呈取旨；其承受傳宣、內降，非有司所可行者，申中書省或樞密院奏審。

the eighth year of Yuanfeng: merit reviews for Academician on Special Assignment and above were to be drafted by the Secretariat. Yuanyou 3: appointments marked in the inner draft for the Secretariat were routed through all Three Departments. Shaosheng 5: folded audience memorials from officials were to be presented by the Secretariat for imperial decision; special announcements and inner orders that responsible agencies could not execute were to be reported to the Secretariat or Military Bureau for review.

令掌佐天子議大政，授所行命令而宣之。祀大神祇則升壇，享宗廟則升阼階而相其禮。臨軒冊命則讀冊。建儲則升殿宣制，持冊及璽綬以授太子。大朝會則詣御坐前奏方鎮表及祥瑞。國朝未嘗真拜，以他官兼領者不預政事，然止曹佾一人，餘皆贈官。官制行，以右僕射兼中書侍郎行令之職，別置侍郎以佐之。中興後，置左、右丞相，省令不置。

The director assisted the emperor in deliberating major policy, received commands for execution, and promulgated them. At sacrifices to the great spirits he ascended the altar; at ancestral offerings he mounted the eastern steps and directed the rites. At throne-side investiture he read the book of appointment. When installing an heir he ascended the hall to proclaim the edict and presented the book and seal-cord to the crown prince. At great court assemblies he presented frontier memorials and reports of auspicious omens before the throne. The Song never truly filled the post; of those who held it concurrently without joining governance, only Cao You was a living appointee—the rest were posthumous honors. Under the office reform the Right Vice Director doubled as Secretariat vice director performing the director's duties, with a separate vice director to assist. After the restoration Left and Right Chancellors were installed and the Secretariat directorship was left vacant.

侍郎掌貳令之職，參議大政，授所宣詔旨而奉之。凡大朝會則押表及祥瑞案。臨軒冊命則押冊引案，以所奏文及冊書授令。四夷來朝則奏其表疏，以贄幣付有司。南渡後，復置參知政事，省中書侍郎不置。

The vice director shared the director's duties, deliberated major policy, received proclamations and edicts for promulgation, and presented them. At great court assemblies he held memorials and the file of auspicious reports. At throne-side investiture he held the book, led the file forward, and handed the memorial text and book of appointment to the director. When foreign envoys came to court he presented their memorials and delivered tribute goods to the responsible agency. After the move south Vice Grand Councillors were restored and the Secretariat vice directorship was abolished.

舍人四人，舊六人。掌行命令為制詞，分治六房，隨房當制，事有失當及除授非其人，則論奏封還詞頭。國初，為所遷官，實不任職，復置知制誥及直舍人院，主行詞命，與學士對掌內外製。凡有除拜，中書吏赴院納詞頭。其大除拜，亦有宰相召舍人面授詞頭者。若大誥命，中書並敕進入，從中而下，餘則發敕官受而出之。及修官制，遂以實正名，而判後省之事。分案五：曰上案，掌冊禮及朝會所行事；曰下案，掌受付文書；曰制誥案，掌書錄製詞及試吏，校其功過；曰諫官案，掌受諸司關報文書；曰記註案，掌錄記註。其雜務則隨所分案掌之。

Four drafters were authorized; formerly there had been six. They drafted command texts, were assigned to the six sections, and drafted by rotation; when a matter or appointment was improper they memorialized and returned the draft. Early in the dynasty the post was a nominal promotion without real duties; Drafting Academician and the Direct Drafting Office were restored to handle wording, pairing with the Hanlin Academician for inner and outer drafts. For each appointment Secretariat clerks delivered the draft head to the drafting office. For major appointments the chief minister sometimes summoned a drafter and conveyed the draft head in person. Great patents of appointment were submitted together with the order from the inner court; lesser appointments were issued by the edict-dispatch officer. When the offices were reformed the post became a substantive appointment with authority over the rear department. Five desks were established: Upper, for book rites and court-assembly duties; Lower, for receipt and dispatch of documents; Drafting, for recording draft texts, testing clerks, and reviewing their performance; Remonstrance, for receiving notification documents from agencies; Record, for maintaining the court diary. Miscellaneous duties fell to whichever desk was assigned.

元豐六年，詔中書省置點檢房，令舍人通領。元祐元年，詔舍人各簽諸房文字，其命詞則輪日分草。九月，詔時暫闕官，依門下、尚書省例，送本省官兼權。紹聖四年，蹇序辰請自今命詞，以元行遣文書同檢送當制舍人。從之。建炎後同，他官兼攝者則稱權舍人，資淺者為直舍人院。

the sixth year of Yuanfeng: an Inspection Section was established in the Secretariat under joint supervision of the director and drafters. Yuanyou 1: each drafter was to countersign section documents; command wording rotated daily among them. Ninth month: when posts were temporarily vacant, following Chancellery and Department precedent, a Secretariat official was to serve on provisional assignment. Shaosheng 4: Jian Xuchen asked that command drafts hereafter be checked against the original dispatch document by the drafter on duty. The court approved. After Jianyan the practice continued; concurrent appointees were styled Acting Drafter, with junior officials serving in the Direct Drafting Office.

起居舍人一人，掌同門下省起居郎。侍立修註官，元豐前，以起居郎、舍人寄祿，而更命他官領其事，謂之同修起居註。官制行，以郎、舍人為職任。淳熙十五年，羅點自戶部員外郎為起居舍人，避其祖諱，乃以為太常少卿兼侍立修註官。其後兩史或闕而用資淺者，則降旨以某人權侍立修註官。

One diarist shared the duties of the Chancellery diarist. Attendant recorders: before Yuanfeng the diarist and drafter held salary posts while another official performed the duty as Co-recorder of the Court Diary. Under the office reform the gentleman and drafter became substantive appointees. Chunxi 15: Luo Dian was promoted from Vice Director of Revenue to diarist; to avoid his grandfather's tabooed name he was made Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices with concurrent duty as attendant recorder. Thereafter when a diarist post was vacant a junior official might be appointed by edict to serve provisionally as attendant recorder.

右散騎常侍右諫議大夫右司諫右正言與門下省同，但左屬門下，右屬中書，皆附兩省班籍，通謂之兩省官。元豐既新官制，職事官未有不經除授者，惟御史大夫、左右散騎常侍，始終未嘗一除人。蓋兩官為台諫之長，無有啟之者。中興初，詔諫院不隸兩省。紹興二年，詔並依舊赴三省元置局處。淳熙十五年，用林慄言，置左右補闕、拾遺，專任諫正，不任糾劾之事。逾年減罷。法司令史、書令史、守當官各一人，守闕守當官三人，乾道六年減二人。

The Right Regular Attendant, Right Remonstrance Grandee, Right Remonstrance Bureau director, and Right rectifier mirrored their Chancellery counterparts; the left posts belonged to the Chancellery and the right to the Secretariat. Both sets were on the two departments' roster and were collectively termed Two-Department officials. After Yuanfeng's reform every functional post received an appointee except Censor-in-Chief and the Left and Right Regular Attendants—neither was ever filled. Both were heads of the Censorate and Remonstrance Bureau, and no one ever proposed filling them. Early in the restoration an edict detached the Remonstrance Bureau from the Two Departments. Shaoxing 2: an edict restored attendance at the Three Departments' original bureau sites. Chunxi 15: following Lin Li's proposal, Left and Right Omission and Reminder posts were created for remonstrance alone, without impeachment duties. Within a year they were abolished. The law section had one clerk, one document clerk, and one duty officer apiece, plus three reserve duty officers; two posts were eliminated in Qiandao 6.

檢正官五房各一人，掌糾正省務。熙寧三年置，以京朝官充，選人即為習學公事。官制行，罷之，而其職歸左右司。建炎三年，中書門下省言：“軍興以來，天下多事，中書別無屬官。元豐以前，有檢正官，後因置左右司，遂不差，致朝廷及應報四方行移稽留，無檢舉催促。今欲差官兩員充中書門下省檢正諸房公事。內一員檢正吏、禮、兵房，一員檢正戶、刑、工房。從之。至次年，詔並罷。紹興二年，詔中書門下省復置檢正官一員。

One rectification official was assigned to each of the five sections to oversee correction of departmental affairs. The office was created in Xining 3, staffed by capital officials; examination graduates entered as probationary clerks. Under the office reform the posts were abolished and their duties transferred to the Left and Right Secretariats. In Jianyan 3 the Chancellery-Secretariat reported: "Since the outbreak of war, business throughout the empire has multiplied, yet the Secretariat has no dedicated subordinate staff. Before Yuanfeng rectification officials had existed; once the Left and Right Secretariats were established, however, none were appointed, and court business and outgoing documents to the provinces piled up without review or follow-up. The proposal was to appoint two officials as rectification clerks for all sections of the Chancellery-Secretariat. One would oversee the Personnel, Rites, and Military sections; the other the Revenue, Justice, and Works sections. The proposal was approved. The next year an edict abolished the posts entirely. In Shaoxing 2 an edict restored a single rectification official for the Chancellery-Secretariat.

建炎三年指揮，中書門下省併為一。中書省錄事、主事、令史、書令史、守當官共四十三人；門下省錄事、主事、令史、書令史、守當官共四十六人，依祖額以八十九人為額。守闕守當官兩省各一百人，共存留一百五十人，中書省六分，門下省四分。

Per the Jianyan 3 directive, the Chancellery and Secretariat were combined into a single department. The Secretariat had forty-three record clerks, chief clerks, clerks, document clerks, and duty officers combined; the Chancellery had forty-six in the same categories; under the original quota the authorized total was eighty-nine. Each department had one hundred reserve duty officers on the rolls; one hundred fifty were retained in all, allocated sixty percent to the Secretariat and forty percent to the Chancellery.

尚書省掌施行制命，舉省內綱紀程式，受付六曹文書，聽內外辭訴，奏御史失職，考百官庶府之治否，以詔廢置、賞罰。曰吏部，曰戶部，曰禮部，曰兵部，曰刑部，曰工部，皆隸焉。凡天下之務，六曹所不能與奪者，總決之；應取裁者，隨所隸送中書省、樞密院。事有成法，則六曹準式具鈔，令、僕射、丞檢察簽書，送門下省畫聞。審察吏部註擬文武官及封爵承襲、賜勛定賞之事。朝廷有疑事，則集百官議其可否。凡更改申明敕令格式、一司條法，則議定以奏覆，太常、考功謚議亦如之。季終，具賞罰勸懲事付進奏院，頒行於天下。大祭祀則誓戒執事官。

The Department of State Affairs executed issued orders, maintained internal regulations and procedures, received and routed Six Ministries documents, heard internal and external petitions, reported censorial failures, and evaluated the performance of officials and agencies, recommending appointments, dismissals, rewards, and punishments to the throne. The Ministry of Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Works all fell under its jurisdiction. Matters empire-wide that the Six Ministries could neither approve nor deny were decided at this level; cases requiring imperial decision were forwarded to the Secretariat or Bureau of Military Affairs according to jurisdiction. Where precedent applied, the Six Ministries prepared regulated copies; the Minister, Vice Directors, and Vice Commissioners reviewed, signed, and forwarded them to the Chancellery for notation. It reviewed Ministry of Personnel nominations for civil and military posts and matters of enfeoffment, title succession, honors, and fixed rewards. When the court faced doubtful matters, it convened officials to debate their propriety. Revisions and clarifications of edicts, formats, and single-agency regulations were deliberated and submitted for approval; posthumous titles and merit evaluations followed the same process. At quarter's end it compiled records of rewards, punishments, encouragement, and admonition and sent them to the Memorial Submission Office for empire-wide promulgation. At major sacrifices it administered the abstinence oath to officiating officials.

令掌佐天子議大政，奉所出命令而行之。其屬有六曹，凡庶務皆會而決之。凡官府之紀綱程式，無不總焉。大事三省通議，則同執政官合班；小事尚書省獨議，則同僕射、丞分班論奏。若事由中書、門下而有失當應奏者，亦如之。與三師、三公、侍中中書令俱以冊拜。自建降以來不除，惟親王元佐元儼以使相兼領，不與政事。政和二年，詔：“尚書令，太宗皇帝曾任，今宰相之官已多，不須置。 ”然是時說者以謂為令者唐太宗也，熙陵未嘗任此，蓋時相蔡京不學之過。宣和七年，詔復置令，亦虛設其名，無有除者。南渡後，並省不置。

The Minister assisted the emperor in deliberating major state affairs and carried out orders issued from court. The Six Ministries reported to him; routine business was convened and decided collectively. Every agency regulation and procedure fell under his general oversight. On major matters jointly deliberated by the Three Departments, he joined the chief ministers in a single court formation; on minor matters decided within the Department of State Affairs alone, he joined the Vice Directors and Vice Commissioners in separate formations to debate and memorialize. Matters originating in the Secretariat or Chancellery that were improper and required memorialization followed the same procedure. Like the Three Masters, Three Dukes, Chief Minister, and Secretariat Director, he was appointed by written patent. Since the dynasty's founding the post had gone unfilled; only Princes Yuanzuo and Yuanyan held it concurrently as commissioners of ceremonial rank, without entering governance. In Zhenghe 2 an edict declared: "Emperor Taizong once held the Ministry of State Affairs; ministerial posts are now plentiful enough that the office need not be established. " Commentators of the day noted that the former Minister had been Emperor Taizong, not Emperor Shenzong — an error born of Chief Minister Cai Jing's deficient scholarship. In Xuanhe 7 an edict restored the office, yet it remained a nominal title and no one was appointed. After the court moved south the consolidated departments did not maintain the post.

左僕射右僕射掌佐天子議大政，貳令之職，與三省長官皆為宰相之任。大祭祀則掌百官之誓戒，視滌濯告潔，贊玉幣爵玷之事。自官制行，不置侍中、中書令，以左僕射兼門下侍郎，右僕射兼中書侍郎，行侍中、中書令職事。政和中，詔曰：“昔我神考，訓迪厥官，有司不能奉承，仰惟前代以僕臣之賤，充宰相之任，可改左僕射為太宰，右僕射為少宰。 ”靖康元年，詔依元豐舊制，復為左、右僕射。南渡後，置左、右丞相，省僕射不置。

The Left and Right Vice Directors assisted the emperor in deliberating major state affairs as deputies to the Minister; together with the heads of the Three Departments they shared chief-ministerial duties. At major sacrifices they administered officials' oaths, inspected washing and purity announcements, and assisted with jade, silks, goblets, and libation mats. Under the office reform the Chief Minister and Secretariat Director were not established; the Left Vice Director concurrently served as Vice Chief of the Chancellery and the Right Vice Director as Vice Chief of the Secretariat, performing those functions. During the Zhenghe era an edict declared: "My divine father once instructed the officials, yet the agencies failed to follow his intent; in earlier ages men of servile rank had been made chief ministers — let the Left Vice Director be renamed Grand Steward and the Right Vice Director Junior Steward. " In Jingkang 1 an edict restored the Yuanfeng system and revived the titles Left and Right Vice Director. After the court moved south Left and Right Chief Councillors were appointed and the Vice Director posts were abolished.

左丞右丞掌參議大政，通治省事，以貳令、僕射之職。僕射輪日當筆，遇假故，則以丞權當筆知印。大祭祀酌獻，薦饌進熟，則受爵酒以授僕射。舊班六曹尚書下，官制行，升其秩為執政。元豐五年五月，詔左右僕射、丞合治省事。是月，御史言：“左、右丞蒲宗孟、王安禮於都堂下馬，違法犯分。 ”安禮爭論帝前，神宗是之。今左、右丞於都堂上下馬，自此始。南渡後，復置參知政事，省左、右丞不置。

The Left and Right Vice Commissioners participated in major state deliberations, jointly managed departmental business, and served as deputies to the Minister and Vice Directors. The Vice Directors rotated daily responsibility for the brush; during leave or absence the Vice Commissioners acted in their stead and held the seal. At major sacrifices, during libation, offering of prepared foods, and presentation of the cooked offering, they received the wine goblet and passed it to the Vice Director. Formerly they ranked below the Six Ministries' directors; under the office reform their rank was raised to chief-ministerial status. In the fifth month of the fifth year of Yuanfeng an edict ordered the Left and Right Vice Directors and Vice Commissioners jointly to manage departmental business. That month a censor reported: "Left and Right Vice Commissioners Pu Zongmeng and Wang Anli dismounted below the main hall, violating statute and overstepping protocol. " Wang Anli argued the point before the emperor, and Emperor Shenzong upheld him. From that point the Left and Right Vice Commissioners mounted and dismounted at the main hall itself. After the court moved south Vice Grand Councillors were restored and the Left and Right Vice Commissioner posts were abolished.

左司郎中右司郎中左司員外郎右司員外郎各一人，掌受付六曹之事，而舉正文書之稽失，分治省事：左司治吏、戶、禮、奏鈔、班簿房，右司治兵、刑、工、案鈔房，而開拆、制敕、御史、元豐六年，都司置御史房，主行彈糾御史案察失職。催驅、封椿印房，則通治之，有稽滯，則以期限舉催。初，於都司置吏設案，而議者謂台郎宰掾不當自為官司。遂隨省房分治所領之事，惟置手分、書奏各四人，主行校定省吏都事以下功過及遷補之事。

One director and one vice director served each of the Left and Right Secretariats, handling Six Ministries receipt and dispatch, reporting documentary delays and errors, and dividing departmental work: the Left Secretariat oversaw Personnel, Revenue, Rites, Memorial Copy, and Roster; the Right Secretariat oversaw Military, Justice, Works, and Case Copy; Opening, Edict, and Censor sections were jointly managed. In the sixth year of Yuanfeng the General Secretariat added a Censor Section to impeach and investigate censorial failures. The Urgency, Sealed Reserve, and Seal sections were jointly overseen; delays were reported with deadlines for follow-up. Clerks and desks were first established in the General Secretariat, but critics argued that secretariat directors and vice commissioners should not constitute a separate agency of their own. Affairs were then divided among departmental sections; only four hand-copyists and four memorial clerks remained to track merit, fault, promotion, and replacement of departmental clerks from chief clerks downward.

元豐七年，都司御史房置簿，以書御史、六曹官糾察之多寡當否為殿最，歲終取旨升黜。紹聖元年，詔都司以歲終點檢六曹稽違最多者，具郎官姓名上省取旨。二年，詔御史台察六曹稽緩違失者，送左司籍記。宣和二年，左司員外郎王蕃奏：“都司以彌綸省闥為職，事無不預。今宰、丞入省，諸房文字填委，次第呈覆，自朝至於日中，或昏暮僅絕，其勢不ＲＣ一一檢閱細故，而省吏徑稟宰、丞請筆，以草檢令承從官齋赴郎官廳落日押字。 ”謂“宜遵守元豐及崇寧舊法，諸房各具簽帖，先都事自點檢，次郎官押訖，赴宰、丞請筆行下。 ”於是詔曰：“先帝肇正三省，詔給舍、都司以贊省務。今都司浸以曠官，緣省吏強悍，敢肆侵侮。自今違法事，其左右司官、尚書具事舉劾。”

In the seventh year of Yuanfeng the General Secretariat's Censor Section kept a register of censorial investigations by censors and Six Ministries officials, graded by quantity and propriety; at year's end the throne decided promotions and demotions. In Shaosheng 1 an edict required the General Secretariat, at year's end, to identify the Six Ministries with the most delays and violations, list the responsible directors, and submit them for imperial decision. In the second year an edict ordered the Censorate to investigate Six Ministries delays and violations and forward records to the Left Secretariat for registration. In Xuanhe 2 Left Secretariat Vice Director Wang Fan memorialized: "The General Secretariat exists to assist in managing the inner court; no affair lies outside its purview. When chief ministers and vice commissioners enter the department, documents from every section pile up for sequential review from morning to midday, or barely clear by evening; they cannot inspect every minor item, while clerks go straight to the chief ministers and vice commissioners for the brush, drafting inspection orders for attendants to assemble at the directors' hall at sunset for signature. " He urged adherence to Yuanfeng and Chongning precedent: "Each section should prepare its own endorsement slip; the chief clerk inspects first, the director endorses next, and only then should they seek the brush from the chief minister or vice commissioner for issuance. " An edict followed: "The former emperor first reformed the Three Departments and charged drafting officials and the General Secretariat with assisting departmental business. The General Secretariat has gradually neglected its duties because overbearing clerks dare openly to encroach and insult. Henceforth violations shall be jointly impeached by the Left and Right Secretariat officials and the responsible ministry director.

建炎三年，詔減左、右司郎官兩員，置中書門下省檢正諸房公事二員。至次年，檢正省罷，其左、右司郎官依舊四員。紹興三十二年，詔尚書省吏房、兵房，三省、樞密院機速房，尚書省刑房、戶房、工房，三省、樞密院看詳賞功房，尚書省禮房，令左、右司郎官四員從上分房書擬。隆興元年，詔左、右司郎官各差一員。乾道六年，詔榷貨務都茶場依建炎三年指揮，委都司官提領措置。乾道七年，復添置右司郎官二人。

In Jianyan 3 an edict cut two Left and Right Secretariat director posts and established two rectification clerks for all Chancellery-Secretariat sections. The next year departmental rectification was abolished and the Left and Right Secretariat directors reverted to four posts as before. In Shaoxing 32 an edict assigned drafting among the four Left and Right Secretariat directors by section: Department of State Affairs Personnel and Military; Three Departments and Military Bureau Expedited; Department of State Affairs Justice, Revenue, and Works; Three Departments and Military Bureau Merit Review; and Department of State Affairs Rites. In Longxing 1 an edict assigned one post from each of the Left and Right Secretariat directorates. In Qiandao 6 an edict placed the Monopoly Office and Imperial Tea Market under General Secretariat oversight per the Jianyan 3 directive. In Qiandao 7 two Right Secretariat director posts were restored.

榷貨務都茶場，都司提領。提轄官一員，京朝官充。監場官二員，京選通差。掌鹺、茗、香、礬鈔引之政令，以通商賈、佐國用。舊制，置務以通榷易。建炎中興，又置都茶場，給賣茶引，隨行在所榷貨務置場雖分兩司，而提轄官、監官並通銜管乾。外置建康、鎮江務場，並冠以行在為名，以都司提領，不系戶部經費。建康、鎮江續分隸總領所。開禧初，以總領所侵用儲積錢，令徑隸提領所。乾道七年，提領所置乾辦官一員。

The Monopoly Office and Imperial Tea Market fell under General Secretariat oversight. One supervisory official, filled by a capital official. Two market supervisors, filled in rotation by capital and local examination appointees. They administered regulations on salt, tea, incense, and alum certificates to facilitate trade and supplement state revenue. Under the old system offices were established to administer monopoly exchange. At the Jianyan restoration an Imperial Tea Market was added to issue tea certificates; though separate from the mobile-court Monopoly Office, supervisory and market officials held concurrent jurisdiction over both. Offices and markets were also established at Jiankang and Zhenjiang, prefixed with the mobile court's name, placed under General Secretariat oversight, and kept outside Ministry of Revenue appropriations. Jiankang and Zhenjiang were later placed under separate General Superintendency jurisdiction. Early in Kaixi, after the General Superintendency misappropriated stored funds, the offices were placed directly under the Oversight Office. In Qiandao 7 the Oversight Office added one handling official.

右提轄官與雜買務雜賣場、文思院、左藏東西庫提轄，並稱四轄。外補則為州，內遷則為寺監丞、簿，亦有徑為雜臨司，或入三館。乾道間，榷務王禋除市舶，左藏王揖除坑冶鑄錢司，淳熙間，熊克自文思除校書郎。紹熙以後，往往更遷六院官，或出為添倅，有先後輕重之異焉。

That supervisory post, together with supervisors of the Miscellaneous Purchase Office, Miscellaneous Sale Market, Imperial Craft Workshop, and Left Treasury East and West Storehouses, formed the Four Superintendencies. Externally they were appointed prefects; internally they transferred to court or directorate vice commissions or registrars; some moved directly to miscellaneous supervisory posts or entered the Three Institutes. In the Qiandao era Monopoly Office Wang Yin became maritime trade commissioner; Left Treasury Wang Yi became mining and coinage commissioner; in the Chunxi era Imperial Craft Workshop Xiong Ke became collator. After Shaoxi many transferred to Six Institutes posts or went out as supplemental vice prefects, with varying precedence and standing.

左藏封樁庫，都司提領。監官一員，監門官一員。淳熙九年，以都司提領。初創，非奉親與軍須不支。後或撥入內庫，或以供宮廷諸費，亦以備振恤之用。提舉修敕令自熙寧初，編修《三司令式》，命宰臣王安石提舉，是後，皆以宰執為之。詳定官，以侍從之通法令者充，舊制二員。宣和中，增至七員。靖康初，減為三員。刪定官，無常員。先是，嘗別修一司敕命。大觀三年，詔六曹刪定官併入詳定一司敕令所，為一局。

The Left Treasury Sealed Reserve Storehouse fell under General Secretariat oversight. The staff comprised one storehouse supervisor and one gate supervisor. In Chunxi 9 it was placed under General Secretariat oversight. At its founding disbursements were restricted to imperial kin support and military needs. Later funds were sometimes transferred to the inner treasury or allocated to palace expenses, and also held in reserve for relief. Directors for compiling and revising edicts and regulations: from Xining, when compilation of the Three Departments Regulations began, Chief Minister Wang Anshi served as director; thereafter chief ministers always held the post. Determination officials were drawn from attendant officials versed in law; the original quota was two posts. In the Xuanhe era the quota rose to seven. Early in Jingkang the quota was cut to three. Revision officials carried no fixed establishment. A separate compilation of single-agency edicts and orders had previously been undertaken. In Daguan 3 an edict merged the Six Ministries' revision officials into the Determination Office for Single-Agency Edicts and Regulations as a single bureau.

制置三司條例司掌經畫邦計，議變舊法以通天下之利。熙寧二年置，以知樞密院陳升之參知政事王安石為之，而蘇轍、程顥等亦皆為屬官。未幾，升之相，乃言：“條例者有司事爾，非宰相之職，宜罷之。 ”帝欲並歸中書，安石請以樞密副使韓絳代升之焉。三年，判大名府韓琦言：“條例司雖大臣所領，然止是定奪之所。今不關中書而徑自行下，則是中書之外又有一中書也。 ”五月，罷歸中書。

The Bureau for Managing the Three Departments Regulations oversaw state fiscal planning and deliberated reforms to old laws to extend benefit throughout the empire. Created in Xining 2, it was headed by Military Affairs Commissioner Chen Shengzhi and Vice Grand Councillor Wang Anshi, with Su Zhe, Cheng Hao, and others as subordinate officials. Soon after Shengzhi rose to the chancellorship, he argued that drafting regulations was work for the regular offices, not suited for the chief minister, and ought to be abolished. The emperor wanted the bureau folded back into the Secretariat; Wang Anshi proposed that Military Affairs Vice Commissioner Han Jiang take Shengzhi's place. In year 3, Han Qi, administrator of Daming Prefecture, observed that although a senior minister headed the Regulations Bureau, it was merely a decision-drafting office. If it issued orders on its own without routing through the Secretariat, there would effectively be a second Secretariat beside the first. That fifth month the bureau was abolished and its functions restored to the Secretariat.

三司會計司熙寧七年，置於中書，以宰相韓絳提舉。先是，絳言總天下財賦，而無考較盈虛之法，乃置是司。既而事多濡滯，八年，絳坐此罷相，局亦尋廢。

Three Fiscal Commissions Accounting Office: established within the Secretariat in Xining 7 under Chancellor Han Jiang's supervision. Han Jiang had earlier argued that although the empire's revenue was consolidated, there was no way to audit surplus and deficit—hence the office was created. Business soon bogged down in delays; in year 8 Jiang lost the chancellorship over the issue, and the bureau was abolished shortly afterward.

編修條例司熙寧初置，八年罷。

Regulations Compilation and Revision Office: created early in the Xining era and abolished in year 8.

經撫房專治邊事。宣和四年，宰臣王黼主伐燕之議，置於三省，不復以關樞密院。六年，罷。

Frontier Pacification Section: devoted exclusively to frontier affairs. Xuanhe 4: with Chancellor Wang Fu pushing the Yan campaign, the section was placed under the Three Departments and no longer coordinated with the Military Bureau. It was abolished in year 6.

議禮局大觀元年，詔於尚書省置，以執政兼領。詳議官二員，以兩制充。應凡禮制本末，皆議定取旨。政和三年，《五禮儀註》成，罷局。

Rites Deliberation Bureau: established in the Department of State Affairs by edict in Daguan 1, with a chief administrator serving concurrently as head. Two detailed deliberation officers, drawn from the two scriptura grades. Every aspect of ritual practice, from first principles to final form, was deliberated and submitted for imperial approval. Zhenghe 3: once the "Annotated Five Rites" was completed, the bureau was dissolved.

禮制局討論古今宮室、車服、器用、、冠昏、喪祭沿革制度。政和二年，置於編類御筆所，有詳議、同詳議官，宣和二年，詔與大晟府製造所協聲律官並罷。

Rites System Bureau: examined historical and contemporary institutions governing palaces, carriages and dress, implements, capping and marriage rites, and mourning and sacrifice. Zhenghe 2: housed within the Imperial Brush Compilation Office with detailed and co-deliberation officers; Xuanhe 2: an edict abolished it along with the Great Splendor Directorate's manufacture office and the officials who coordinated pitch and law.

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