Editing Ming dynasty (section)

==== Grand Secretariat and Six Ministries ====
[[File:Portrait of Jiang Shunfu.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|A portrait of [[Jiang Shunfu]], an official under the [[Hongzhi Emperor]], now in the [[Nanjing Museum]]. The decoration of two [[Crane (bird)|cranes]] on his chest is a "[[rank badge]]" that indicates he was a civil official of the first rank.]]

Governmental institutions in China conformed to a similar pattern for some two thousand years, but each dynasty installed special offices and bureaus, reflecting its own particular interests. The Ming administration utilized [[Grand Secretaries]] to assist the emperor, handling paperwork under the reign of the [[Yongle Emperor]] and later appointed as top officials of agencies and Grand Preceptor, a top-ranking, non-functional civil service post, under the [[Hongxi Emperor]] ({{reign|1424|1425}}). The Grand Secretariat drew its members from the [[Hanlin Academy]] and were considered part of the imperial authority, not the ministerial one (hence being at odds with both the emperor and ministers at times).{{sfnp|Hucker|1958|pp=29–32}} The Secretariat operated as a coordinating agency, whereas the Six Ministries—[[Ministry of Personnel|Personnel]], [[Ministry of Revenue (imperial China)|Revenue]], [[Ministry of Rites|Rites]], [[Ministry of War (imperial China)|War]], [[Ministry of Justice (imperial China)|Justice]], and [[Ministry of Public Works (imperial China)|Public Works]]—were direct administrative organs of the state:{{sfnp|Hucker|1958|pp=31–32}}

# The [[Ministry of Personnel]] was in charge of appointments, merit ratings, promotions, and demotions of officials, as well as granting of honorific titles.{{sfnp|Hucker|1958|p=32}}
# The [[Ministry of Revenue (imperial China)|Ministry of Revenue]] was in charge of gathering census data, collecting taxes, and handling state revenues, while there were two offices of currency that were subordinate to it.{{sfnp|Hucker|1958|p=33}}
# The [[Ministry of Rites]] was in charge of state ceremonies, rituals, and sacrifices; it also oversaw registers for Buddhist and Daoist priesthoods and even the reception of envoys from tributary states.{{sfnp|Hucker|1958|pp=33–35}}
# The [[Ministry of War (imperial China)|Ministry of War]] was in charge of the appointments, promotions, and demotions of military officers, the maintenance of military installations, equipment, and weapons, as well as the courier system.{{sfnp|Hucker|1958|p=35}}
# The [[Ministry of Justice (imperial China)|Ministry of Justice]] was in charge of judicial and penal processes, but had no supervisory role over the Censorate or the Grand Court of Revision.{{sfnp|Hucker|1958|p=36}}
# The [[Ministry of Public Works (imperial China)|Ministry of Public Works]] had charge of government construction projects, hiring of artisans and laborers for temporary service, manufacturing government equipment, the maintenance of roads and canals, standardization of weights and measures, and the gathering of resources from the countryside.{{sfnp|Hucker|1958|p=36}}