kimerajamm
Joined: 28 Nov 2010
Posts: 785
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 Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 7:38 am Post subject: One of the Minister |
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The Excellency of Works, also known as the Minister of Works, was less powerful than his previous counterpart, the Imperial Counselor. This official's advisory and censorial responsibilities coincided with those of two other Excellencies, forming a tripartite cabinet arrangement.[65] Unlike the abolished Imperial Counselor, he was given the specialized role of overseeing public works projects throughout the empire.[65] The Excellency of Works was responsible for the construction of city walls, towns, canals, irrigation ditches, dykes and dams, and other structural engineering projects. The Court Architect supervised only imperial building projects.[65] The Excellency of Works made annual reports to the throne about the progress of local administrations' conduct of construction projects.[65] He was given formal powers to supervise three of the Nine Ministers: the Minister of the Imperial Clan, Minister of Finance, and Minister Steward.[64]
[edit] Nine Ministers
Main article: Nine Ministers
The Nine Ministers, who were supervised by the Three Excellencies but not direct subordinates of the cabinet, each headed a specialized government ministry and held a salary-rank of Fully 2,000-dan.[66] Along with the tripartite cabinet members, these ministers usually attended court conferences.[67]
[edit] Minister of Ceremonies
Further information: Science and technology of the Han Dynasty and Society and culture of the Han Dynasty
The Minister of Ceremonies (Taichang 太常) also known as Grand Master of Ceremonies, was the chief official in charge of religious rites, rituals, prayers, and the maintenance of ancestral temples and altars. The role's title was changed to Upholder of Ceremonies (Fengchang 奉常) from 195 to 144 BCE before reverting back to the original title.[68] Although his main concern was to link the emperor with the supernatural world and Heaven, he was also given the task of setting educational standards for the Imperial University (est. 124 BCE)[69] and the academic chairs (boshi 博士) who specialized in the Five Classics, the canon of Confucianism.[70]
One of the Minister of Ceremonies' many subordinates was the Court Astronomer (Taishi ling 太史令; also known as the Prefect Grand Astrologer), who made astronomical observations and drafted the annual lunisolar calendar. The Court Astronomer also upheld a literacy test of 9,000 characters for nominees aspiring to become subordinate officials for either the Minister Steward or Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk.[71] These nominees were often recommended subordinates of commandery-level Administrators.[72] Other subordinates of the Minister of Ceremonies reported illegal acts at ancestral temples, prepared sacrificial offerings of food and wine at shrines and temples, and arranged for the music and dancing that accompanied ceremoniesbusiness cards online
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