Quick Answer: What Was the Grand Secretariat?
The Grand Secretariat (內閣, nèigé) advised the emperor and handled important paperwork. Under the Ming, its senior officials, known as grand secretaries (大學士, dàxuéshì), drafted suggested replies to memorials. Because a draft could become the basis of a formal order, this work gave the secretaries influence over imperial decisions.[1][2]
- Origins: Hongwu abolished the old chief councillor’s office. Yongle subsequently drew a small group of scholars into confidential consultations.[1][6]
- Work: Drafting a reply (票擬, piàonǐ) meant submitting a proposed answer in the emperor’s name.[2]
- Authority: Red endorsement (批紅, pīhóng) conveyed imperial approval. The emperor could endorse a draft or have it rewritten.[2]
The influence of particular grand secretaries changed with the reign and the people who controlled access to the emperor.[1][2][3]
Picture a report reaching the Ming palace with a small slip attached. One document brought an official’s question to the throne. The other carried language that could return to that official as the emperor’s answer.[2]
Why the Ming Emperors Needed Grand Secretaries
The Hongwu emperor abolished the old Central Secretariat and the office of chief councillor in 1380. The abolition left the emperor more directly involved in the government’s paperwork. Literary officials from the Hanlin Academy (翰林院, Hànlín Yuàn) helped with tasks such as reading submissions and drafting documents. The emperor could draw on their command of written forms while reserving important decisions to himself.[1][6]
The Yongle emperor selected scholars whom he consulted on major government matters. The secretaries now had a way to take part in deliberations as well as drafting. Their influence grew out of the ruler’s willingness to consult them. The Six Ministries handled work in distinct administrative areas, while the secretariat brought documents and questions to the emperor’s attention.[1][6]
How a Memorial Became an Imperial Reply
A memorial was a written report or proposal to the throne. In the procedure described by the Palace Museum, the Office of Transmission forwarded submissions from outside the palace to the inner court. A memorial the emperor sent on for consultation could reach the grand secretaries. They wrote a suggested reply in black ink on a small slip attached to the document.[2]
The draft supplied the wording for a possible decision. If the emperor accepted it, a reply could be endorsed in red and sent back out through government channels. He could do this personally or direct staff of the Directorate of Ceremonial (司禮監, Sīlǐjiàn) to do so. He could also return a draft for revision or retain the original memorial without sending it to the secretariat.[2]
A report from a ministry stated the question. The attached slip showed how the secretaries thought it should be answered. The endorsement gave the response the authority to go back out as an imperial decision.[2]
How Zhang Juzheng Used the Office
Zhang Juzheng (張居正, Zhāng Jūzhèng) served as chief grand secretary from 1572 until his death in 1582. Under the young Wanli emperor, Zhang’s drafts and his position at court gave him substantial practical influence. The Palace Museum identifies his tenure as a period when the secretariat’s proposed wording frequently provided the basis for approved replies.[2][3]
Access to the emperor could shift the balance. Eunuchs in the Directorate of Ceremonial could gain influence because they conveyed the ruler’s wishes and could endorse a reply on his behalf. A grand secretary whose drafts were routinely revised faced different conditions from Zhang. Written consultation operated alongside other means of gaining the ruler’s attention, including imperial court audiences.[1][2][3]
The Qing Grand Secretariat and Grand Council
The Qing inherited a Grand Secretariat that continued handling regular communications between officials and the throne. Its surviving archives include routine memorials and files in both Chinese and Manchu. The importance of this work helps explain why the office remained in operation even as major decisions increasingly moved through other channels.[5]
The Qing Grand Council (軍機處, Jūnjīchù) grew from a separate inner advisory group formed under the Yongzheng emperor during the military campaigns that began in 1729. Confidential consultation on fast-moving affairs gave it a different origin and role. A Qing record naming the Grand Secretariat may therefore concern the route taken by routine paperwork rather than the inner council’s consultations.[4][5]
FAQs About the Grand Secretariat
Was the chief grand secretary a prime minister?
The chief grand secretary could gain substantial influence, as Zhang Juzheng did. The position worked through advice, drafting and access to the emperor. It developed after the old chief councillor’s office was abolished.[1][2][3][6]
Why was the reply written in red?
In the Ming procedure, red writing conveyed imperial authorization. The secretariat’s proposed wording was submitted on a separate slip written in black.[2]
Did the Qing Grand Council end the Grand Secretariat?
The offices coexisted. The Grand Secretariat continued to process regular official communications, while the Grand Council developed from an inner advisory group.[4][5]
Источники
[1] The Palace Museum. The Ming Grand Secretariat
[2] The Palace Museum. Draft replies and red endorsement in the Ming
[3] John W. Dardess. Ideas, Determination, Power: How Zhang Juzheng Dominated
[4] The Palace Museum. Qing Political Documents and Materials from the Grand Council of State
[5] Mark C. Elliott. The Manchu-Language Archives of the Qing Dynasty and the Origins of the Palace Memorial System
[6] Library and Archives Canada. A Fragile Revival, on Ming court institutions