The Ministry of Works or was one of the

Six Ministries The Three Departments and Six Ministries () system was the primary administrative structure in History of China#Imperial China, imperial China from the Sui dynasty (581–618) to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). It was also used by Balhae (698– ...

under the Department of State Affairs in

imperial China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

. The Ministry of Works is also commonly translated into English as the or

History

The ministry was established during the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

as one of the six functional divisions of the Department of State Affairs. It was also part of the same department during the Five Dynasties period and the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

. After the merger of the " three departments" (''

Zhongshu Sheng The Zhongshu Sheng (), also known as the Palace Secretariat or Central Secretariat, was one of the departments of the Three Departments and Six Ministries government structure in imperial China from the Cao Wei (220–266) until the early Ming d ...

'', '' Menxia Sheng'' and '' Shangshu Sheng''), it was reassigned to the ''Zhongshu Sheng'' (Secretariat) in the Yuan Empire and later the

Ming Empire The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, ...

. In 1380, the office of Secretariat was abolished and the ministries, including the Ministry of Works, became independent and continued to report directly to the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. Under the Ming and Qing, it lost some influence in favor of agencies run by palace eunuchs, provincial coordinators, and governors. It was usually considered the weakest of the six ministries. During some periods (under the Southern Song and Yuan) it was merged with the Ministry of Justice. The ministry was headed by the Minister of ''Shangshu'' (pinyin: ''shàng shū'', Chinese: 尚書; Manchu: ''aliha amban''), who had the Standard class, Rank 3 under the Changs (in the

Nine-rank system The nine-rank system, also known as the nine-grade controller system, was used to categorize and classify government officials by rank in Imperial China. Their accorded rank signified their status in the government hierarchy and the amount of wage ...

); Secondary class, Rank 2 under the Song; Standard class, Rank 1 under the Jin, Yuan and Ming up to 1380; Standard class, Rank 2 under the Ming after 1380 and Qing; and Secondary class, Rank 1 under the Qing after 1730. During the Qing dynasty, there was one minister for the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

and another for the Chinese. He was assisted by two deputy ministers, called ''Shilang'' (pinyin: ''shì lang'', Chinese: 侍郎; Manchu: ''ashan-i amban'').

Functions

Under the Ming, the Ministry of Works had charge of

weights and measures A unit of measurement, or unit of measure, is a definite magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other qua ...

, the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure (especially

roads A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The ...

and canals), other government construction works (especially

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

projects), the manufacturing and provision of government equipment, the public exploitation of

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

, and the hiring of artisans or laborers for temporary service. Permanent hires fell under the purview of the

Ministry of Personnel The Ministry of Personnel was one of the Three Departments and Six Ministries, Six Ministries under the Department of State Affairs in history of China, imperial China, Korea, and Vietnam. Functions Under the Ming government, Ming, the Ministry ...

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{Chinese Imperial Government Government of Imperial China Six Ministries Government of the Ming dynasty Government of the Tang dynasty Government of the Song dynasty Government of the Yuan dynasty Government of the Qing dynasty Government of the Sui dynasty

History

Functions

See also

References

Citations

Sources