How were official levels divided in ancient times? What are the current equivalent official ranks?

The situation of official positions in ancient times involves official signatures, official names, official duties, etc. The situation in each dynasty is also different. They can be roughly divided into two categories: central official positions and local official positions.

1. Central official positions

The Qin Dynasty established prime ministers, prefects and imperial censors to form the central organization. The prime minister is in charge of administration, the Taiwei is in charge of military affairs, and the imperial censor is in charge of supervision and secretarial work. The Han Dynasty generally followed the Qin system and was called San Gong. There were Jiuliao under him, who were in charge of all aspects of government affairs. In later generations, it evolved into a system of three provinces and six ministries. The three provinces are Zhongshu Sheng (decision-making), Menxia Sheng (deliberation), and Shangshu Sheng (execution). The chiefs of the three provinces are all prime ministers. In the Song Dynasty, the powers of Zhongshu Sheng were expanded, and civil and military powers were divided with the Privy Council. Under the sect, Shangshu Sheng was abolished. The cabinet of the Ming Dynasty was the highest government agency. Cabinet ministers were called assistant ministers, and the chief minister was called chief assistant (i.e., prime minister). In the Qing Dynasty, there was a military aircraft department, and the king, the public, the minister, etc. were the military ministers and held the power of the government.

The six ministries refer to "the Ministry of Personnel, which is in charge of the appointment, removal, assessment, promotion and promotion of officials; the Ministry of Husbandry, which is in charge of matters such as land and household registration, taxation and finance; the Ministry of Rites, which is in charge of ceremonies, science, schools, etc.; and the Ministry of War, which is in charge of matters such as land and household registration, taxation and finance. The Ministry of Justice is in charge of the military; the Ministry of Punishment is in charge of justice and prisons; the Ministry of Industry is in charge of engineering construction, farmland and water conservancy, etc." The ministers are ministers, and their deputies are ministers. There are doctor, deputy doctor and wailang, and subordinate officials include principal and so on.

In addition, the central government also has specialized agencies and officials responsible for managing books, compiling history, formulating calendars, etc. For example, Sima Qian and Zhang Heng once served as Taishi Ling. Gao Qi compiled and edited Hanlin National History.

2. Local official positions

The main administrative areas of Qin and Han Dynasties were counties. The chief of a county is called a county governor in the Qin Dynasty and a prefect in the Han Dynasty. The main administrative areas in the Sui and Tang Dynasties were prefectures. Prefecture officials were called governors, and subordinate officials included Chang Shi, Sima, etc. In the Tang Dynasty, there were some important military towns. There is a Jiedushi envoy, and the subordinate officers include marching commander, staff officer, secretary-general, etc. In the Song Dynasty, state officials were called magistrates, and county officials were called magistrates. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the prefecture was renamed as a prefecture and was called a magistrate.

In addition, the Han Dynasty also established states. The world was divided into more than a dozen states, which were basically supervisory areas. The central government sent officials to spy on the situation, called governors. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the country was divided into more than a dozen tracts, also known as supervisory areas. The central government sent officials to inspect these areas, called deposed envoys. In the Song Dynasty, the country was divided into about twenty roads, with a number of departments in each road, responsible for various aspects of affairs. In the Yuan Dynasty, the highest local administrative agency was called Xingzhongshu Sheng. In the Ming Dynasty, it was renamed Chengxuanzhengshisi, and it was still customarily called "Province".

Jue means a title or a title, which is a conferment granted by ancient emperors to nobles and heroes. It is said that in the Zhou Dynasty, there were five kinds of titles: Duke, Marquis, Bo, Zi and Male. The title and title system of later generations often changed with time. For example, in the early Han Dynasty, Liu Bang not only made the prince king, but also made seven meritorious officials kings. Peng Yue was the king of Liang, Yingbu was the king of Huainan, etc.; Cao Zhi of Wei was named the king of Chen; Guo Ziyi of the Tang Dynasty was named the king of Fenyang; Zunurhachi named his son Azig as Prince of Ying, Duduo as Prince of Yu, and Hauge as Prince of Su. Another example is that in the Song Dynasty, Kou Zhun was granted the title of Duke of Lai, Wang Anshi was granted the title of Duke of Jing, and Sima Guang was granted the title of Duke of Wen; in the Ming Dynasty, Li Shanchang was granted the title of Duke of Korea, Li Wenzhong was granted the title of Duke of Cao, Liu Ji was granted the title of Chengyi Bo, and Wang Yangming was granted the title of Xinjing Bo; in the Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan was granted the title of first-class Yiyong Marquis. Zuo Zongtang was granted the title of second-class Ke Jinghou, and Li Hongzhang was granted the title of first-class Su Yibo.

The prime minister is the highest official position in the feudal bureaucracy. He is the person who upholds the monarch's will and manages the national government affairs. Sometimes it is called the prime minister, often referred to as the prime minister, or "prime minister" for short. For example, "Chen She's Family": "Princes and generals have a lot of talent." "Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru": "A mediocre person is still ashamed, how much more so than a general!" "Xiang of Shu": "Where can I find the ancestral hall of the Prime Minister? Jin Xiangru There are many people outside Guancheng. ""Guide Record" Afterword: "In addition to the right prime minister and privy envoy, I will supervise all the troops and horses. "

Taishi refers to two official positions. One is that in ancient times, Taishi, Taifu, and Taibao were called the "Three Dukes." Later, they were mostly given titles to senior officials to express favor but no actual duties. For example, Zhao Pu in the Song Dynasty , Wen Yanbo, etc. were once awarded the title of Taishi. Secondly, in ancient times, they were also called the "Three Masters of the East Palace": the Prince's Grand Master, the Prince's Taifu, and the Prince's Taibao. They were all the Prince's teachers. Taishi was the abbreviation of the Prince's Grand Master. Gradually it became a false title. For example, in "The Story of Meihua Ridge", "Yan Taishi was defeated by troops", Yan Zhenqing was once given the title of Prince and Grand Master, so he was called. Another example is that Zhang Juzheng in the Ming Dynasty had eight false titles, and was finally given the title of Prince and Grand Master; In the Qing Dynasty, Hong Chengchou was also awarded the title of Prince Taishi, but he did not actually teach the prince.

Taifu refers to one of the "Three Masters" in ancient times. For example, Jia Yi served as the teacher of the princes Changsha King and Liang Huai King, so he was granted the title of Taifu. Later, it gradually became a virtual title. For example, Zeng Guofan, Zeng Guoquan, Zuo Zongtang, and Li Hongzhang were all forced to give the title to Taifu after their death.

Shaobao refers to two official positions. One is that in ancient times, Shaoshi, Shaofu and Shaobao were called the "three orphans". Later, they gradually became empty titles. For example, "Wen Shaobao" in "Meihua Ridge" "Escape from the Cicada by Enlightenment of the Great Light", Wen Tianxiang once served as a Shaobao official, so he called it. Secondly, in ancient times, the prince's young master, the prince's young master, and the prince's young master were called the "three young masters of the East Palace", and later they gradually became empty titles.

The minister was originally the official in charge of documents and memorials. There were no six ministries in the Sui Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the six ministries were identified as officials, households, rituals, soldiers, punishments, and workers. Each ministry had Shangshu and Shilang as chief and deputy officials. For example, "The Biography of Zhang Heng": "Send a letter to beg for the bones and seek worship from the minister." Another example is that the great calligrapher Yan Zhenqing once served as the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, the poet Bai Juyi once served as the minister of the Ministry of punishment, and Shi Kefa once served as the minister of the Ministry of war.

In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, bachelors were in charge of ceremonies and compiled various affairs. After the Tang Dynasty, it referred to Hanlin bachelors, who became the emperor's secretary and adviser, and participated in secrets, so they were called "internal ministers". In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, although those who served as imperial edicts, served as readers, served as lecturers, edited, and served as concubines were also Hanlin bachelors, their status and responsibilities were different from those of the Hanlin bachelors in the Tang and Song Dynasties. For example, in the Preface to "Guidelu", "he was appointed as a bachelor of Zizheng Palace", which was the official position awarded by Wen Tianxiang after he resigned as prime minister; in "Tan Sitong", "he was recommended by Xu Gong as a bachelor," and Xu Zhijing was a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy at that time. This is an official position dedicated to giving lectures to emperors. Bai Juyi, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Sima Guang, Shen Kuo, Song Lian, etc. were all Hanlin bachelors.

In the official system of Shangqing in the Zhou Dynasty, the emperor and the princes all had ministers, who were divided into three levels: upper, middle and lower. The most noble one was called "Shangqing". For example, "The Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru": "Lian Po was a general of Zhao... and was worshiped as a minister."

General) was the highest title for a general in the pre-Qin and Western Han Dynasties. For example, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty made Han Xin his general, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made Wei Qing his general. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the titles gradually became empty and had no actual duties. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the post of general officer was established only during wars and was abolished after the war. "The Biography of Zhang Heng" "General Deng Zhao is amazingly talented". Deng Zhao was the general of Emperor He of the Han Dynasty at that time.

Participating in political affairs is also referred to as "participating in politics". He was one of the highest administrative officials in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Together with Tongping Zhangshi, Privy Envoy, and Deputy Envoy Jiami, he was collectively known as "Zai Zhi". Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, and Wang Anshi all held this position in the Song Dynasty. "Xunjianshikang" "Luke Gong participated in politics as an admonishment officer", and "Luke Gong" refers to Lu Zongdao during the reign of Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty. "Tan Sitong" "Those who participated in the New Deal were just like those in the Tang and Song Dynasties who participated in political affairs and fulfilled the duties of prime minister."

The Military Aircraft Department, the Minister of Military Aircraft, was a government agency that assisted the emperor in the Qing Dynasty. There is no fixed number of vacancies, and they are usually held concurrently by princes, bachelors, ministers, ministers, or ministers of the capital, who are called military ministers. There are as few as three or four military ministers and as many as six or seven, and they are called "pivot ministers". At the end of the Qing Dynasty, only Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong, Yuan Shikai and others served as military ministers for a short period of time among the Han people. "Tan Sitong" "The military minister at that time was resolute in overseeing the execution."

For military aircraft Zhang Jing, please refer to the article "Military Aircraft Minister". He is a staff member of the Military Aircraft Department and an official subordinate to the Minister of Military Aircraft. He is called a "little military aircraft". "Tan Sitong": "The emperor promoted Si Jingqing to the military title Zhang Jing, and participated in the New Deal together with Yang Rui, Lin Xu, and Liu Guangdi."

The censor was originally a historian, such as "The Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru" "The Prehistoric Book of Qin Yu said", "Xiangru Gu Zhaozhao Yu Shi said". After the Qin Dynasty, the imperial censor was appointed. His position was second only to the prime minister, and he was responsible for impeachment and inspecting officials' faults. Han Yu once served as the censor of supervision, and Hai Rui served as the censor of Youqiandu in Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty. Another example is "Record of Wang Zhongsu Gong Ao's Affairs": "The Duke was the censor of the capital and guarded Liaoning with a certain eunuch." Wang Ao was the chief procurator of the capital at that time.

The Privy Councilor is the head of the Privy Council. In the Tang Dynasty, the position was held by eunuchs, but after the Song Dynasty, it was changed to ministers. The Privy Council is one of the highest state institutions that manages important military affairs. The power of the Privy Council is equivalent to that of the prime minister. In the Qing Dynasty, military ministers were often respectfully called "Privy Councilors". Ouyang Xiu in Song Dynasty served as deputy envoy to the Privy Council. "Post-Preface to "Guide Record": "In addition to the right prime minister and secret envoy, I will supervise all the troops and horses." Wen Tianxiang was in charge of important military affairs at that time.

Zuo Tu’s official name in the Chu State during the Warring States Period is equivalent to that of the left and right in later generations. The main responsibility is to admonish the emperor and recommend talents. "The Biography of Qu Yuan": "Qu Yuan's name was Ping, the same surname as Chu. He was the left disciple of King Huai of Chu."

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