In the
Spring and Autumn period,
Guan Zhong was the first chancellor in China, who became chancellor under the
state of Qi in 685 BC. In
Qin, during the
Warring States period, the chancellor was officially established as "the head of all civil service officials." There were sometimes two chancellors, differentiated as being "of the left" (senior) and "of the right" (junior). After emperor
Qin Shi Huang ended the Warring States period by establishing the
Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), the chancellor, together with the imperial secretary, and the grand commandant, were the most important officials in the imperial government, generally referred as the
Three Lords. In 1 BC, during the reign of
Emperor Ai, the title was changed to (). In the
Eastern Han dynasty, the chancellor post was replaced by the
Three Excellencies: Grand Commandant (),
Minister over the Masses () and Minister of Works (). In AD190,
Dong Zhuo claimed the title "Chancellor of State" () under the powerless
Emperor Xian of Han, placing himself above the Three Excellencies. After Dong Zhuo's death in 192, the post was vacant until
Cao Cao restored the position as "imperial chancellor" () and abolished the Three Excellencies in 208. From then until March 15, 220, the power of chancellor was greater than that of the emperor. Later this often happened when a dynasty became weak, usually some decades before the fall of a dynasty. During the
Sui dynasty, the executive officials of the three highest departments of the empire were called "chancellors" () together. In the
Tang dynasty, the government was divided into
three departments: the
Department of State Affairs (), the
Secretariat (), and the Chancellery (). The head of each department was generally referred to as the
chancellor. In the
Song dynasty, the post of chancellor was also known as the (), in accordance with late-Tang terminology, while the vice-chancellor was known as the . Some years later, the post of chancellor was changed to "prime minister" (, ) and the post of vice-chancellor was changed to "second minister" ( ). In the late
Southern Song dynasty, the system changed back to the Tang naming conventions. During the Mongol-founded
Yuan dynasty, the chancellor was not the head of the Secretariat, but the
Crown Prince () was. After the establishment of the
Ming dynasty, the post became the head of the Zhongshu Sheng again. The post was abolished after the execution of
Hu Weiyong, who was accused of treason (though his conviction is still strongly disputed in present times because of a lack of evidence to prove his guilt). Still, appointments of the people who held the highest post in the government were called "appointment of prime minister" () until 1644.
Influence During and after the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, the Mongols continued the use of a title , from () for various high leaders, such as Pulad, the Yuan ambassador to the Ilkhan and for the deputy of the Western Mongol leader, the . The title was also used in the Ilkhanate, for the vizier
Buqa. ==List of chancellors of China==