The Three Bureaus (''sansi'', 三司) traditionally refer to the Bureau of Salt and Iron Monopoly, Tax Bureau, and Census bureau that originated during 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 ...

. However the Three Bureaus have been used to refer to different institutions at different points in Chinese history. In the

Eastern Han The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

(25-220), it included posts such as Defender-in-Chief ('' taiwei''), Minister of Education ('' situ''), and Minister of Works (''sikong''). In the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

(618-907), it referred to the Censorate (''

yushitai The Censorate was a high-level supervisory agency in Imperial China, first established during the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). It was a highly effective agency during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). During the Ming dynasty ...

''), the Chancellery (''

menxia sheng The Menxia Sheng (), sometimes translated as the Chancellery, was one of the departments of the Three Departments and Six Ministries government structure of imperial China. It advised the emperor and the ''Zhongshu Sheng'' (Central Secretariat), ...

''), and the Palace Secretariat (''

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 ...

''). During the

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

, it referred to three provincial level institutions: the regional military commission, the Provincial Administration Commission, and the Provincial Surveillance Commission. The bureaus of Salt and Iron, Tax, and Census were created during the

Northern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an 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 Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

(960-1126). They were known as the State Finance Commission.

Emperor Taizu of Song Emperor Taizu of Song (21 March 927 – 14 November 976), personal name Zhao Kuangyin, courtesy name Yuanlang, was the founding emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 960 until his death in 976. Formerly a distinguished milita ...

removed the household revenue section from the Imperial Secretariat (''shangshu sheng'') and split it into the three bureaus, collectively led by a state finance commissioner (''sansishi'') and a vice state finance commissioner (''sansi fushi''). Each bureau was also headed by their own respective commissioners. During the reform era of

New Policies (Song dynasty) The New Policies ( zh, c=新法, p=xīnfǎ), also known as Xining Reforms (熙寧變法; ''Xining'' being the first era name used by Emperor Shenzong), Xifeng Reforms (熙豐變法; ''Xifeng'' being the portmanteau of the two era names used by Emp ...

(1069-1076) led by

Wang Anshi Wang Anshi (; ; December 8, 1021 – May 21, 1086), courtesy name Jiefu (), was a Chinese economist, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. He served as chancellor and attempted major and controversial socioeconomic reforms ...

, the Three Bureaus were controlled by a Finance Planning Commission (''zhizhi sansi tiaoli si'') under the Imperial Secretariat (''

shangshu sheng The Shangshu Sheng (), sometimes translated as the Department of State Affairs or the Imperial Secretariat, was one of the departments of the Three Departments and Six Ministries government structure. It was the primary executive institution of i ...

''). This organization was abolished during the

and replaced with the Ministry of Revenue. Three Bureaus and their sections (Song dynasty): *Bureau of Salt and Iron Monopoly (鹽鐵司) - responsible for industries related to public work, notably the production and distribution or merchandise of salt, but also other areas such as the production of weaponry **Military (''bing'an'') **Armaments (''zhou'an'') **Market tax (''shangshui'an'') **Capital supply (''duyan'an'') **Tea (''cha'an'') **Iron (''tie'an'') **Special preparations (''she'an'') *Tax Bureau (度支司) - responsible for state revenue and expenditure, and the transport and distribution of tribute grain (a type of tax in the form of grain used to feed the officialdom and court in the capital) **Gifts and presentations (''shangji'an'') **Coins and silk (''qianbo'an'') **Grain supplies (''liangliao'an'') **Price stabilization (''changping'an'') **Transport (''fayu'an'') **Horses (''ji'an'') **State grain (''hudou'an'') **Officials (''baiguan'an'') *Census Bureau (戶部司) - responsible for the registration of households, tax registers, organized taxation, and corvée (or replacement in money), as well as special monopolies such as the production of alcoholic beverages and yeast **Summer tax (''hushu'an'') **Prefectural remittances (''shanggong'an'') **Palace construction (''xiuzao'an'') **Yeast (''qu'an'') **Clothing and rations (''yiliang'an'')

References

* Government of Imperial China Government of the Song dynasty {{China-hist-stub