Civil Administrative Ranks

In this article you'll find a list of ranks of civil administration of the Later Han Empire, ranked from highest to lowest, complete with the various names used for one and the same rank (such as Minister Steward also being translated as Privy Treasurer).

Ranks

 * The Emperor (huangdi); formal head of state and head of government. Basically all power was in hands of the Emperor.


 * Three Excellencies (also: Three Dukes); headed the regular bureaucracy and civil service of the empire. The supervised the Empire as a whole and their rank was expressed in terms of the nominal salary of Ten Thousand shi of grain. The Three Excellencies were:
 * The Grand Commandant (taiwei)
 * The Excellency over the Masses (also: Minister over the Masses, Duke over the Masses)
 * The Excellency of Works (also: Minister of Works, Duke of Works)


 * The Nine Ministers (jiu qing); were directly below the Three Excellencies and their rank was expressed in terms of of the nominal salary of Fully Two Thousand shi (zhong erqian shi). The nine were:
 * The Minister of Ceremonies (also: Grand Master of Ceremonies) responsibility: rituals and ceremonials.
 * The Minister of the Household (also: Superintendent of the Imperial Household) responsibility: immediate security of the Emperor and for his attendants at the court
 * The Minister of the Guard (also: Commandant of the Guard) responsibility: imperial palace's security.
 * The Minister Coachman (also: Grand Coachman) responsibility: horses, carriages and mounts for the Emperor and the army.
 * The Minister of Justice (also: Commandant of Justice) responsibility: high-level court cases and appeals from lower local jurisdictions.
 * The Minister Herald (also: Grand Herald) responsibility: foreign affairs.
 * The Minister of the Imperial Clan (also: Director of the Imperial Clan) responsibility: registration and conduct of members of the Liu house.
 * The Minister of Agriculture (also: Grand Minister of Agriculture) responsibility: general finances of the empire and the public grain supply.
 * The Minister Steward (also: Privy Treasurer) responsibility: the Emeperor his household (which includes the imperial harem, the offices of the Imperial Secretariat and the Emperial Censorate).