''Six Shangshu'' is a term often mentioned in costume films and TV series. The so-called "six ministries" refers to the six major departments established since the Sui and Tang dynasties, such as "officials, households, ceremonies, soldiers, punishment, and works". The ''Shang Shu'' is an official name that has been set up since the Qin Dynasty, and after the emergence of the three-province and six-part system, the heads of the six major departments were called Shangshu.
Therefore, as the name suggests, the six Shangshu are the six supervisors of six different functional departments.
In the early years of the Sui Dynasty, in order to manage the affairs of the huge empire more efficiently, the six major departments of "Officials, Ceremonial Departments, Soldier Departments, Du Zhi, Capital Officials, and Ministries of Works" came into being, which were in charge of different aspects and effectively improved the efficiency of government agencies. Later, when the Tang Dynasty was established, the two extremely exotic terms of Duzhi and Duguan became hubu and punishment. Because of the significant advantages of the six-part system, successive dynasties continued to use it until the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Then, during the Qing Dynasty at the end of the Shangshu system, which of the "Six Shangshu" was the most powerful? Which department are they equivalent to now?
Originally, the Qing Dynasty, or the post-Jin regime, did not have six ministries, because they were nomadic and did not know much about the Han system. Later, with the development and growth of the regime, how to effectively handle all aspects of affairs became the top priority of the Later Jin leader Huang Taiji. Therefore, he borrowed from the ming dynasty system to set up six ministries, but instead of taking charge of affairs with Shangshu like the Central Plains Dynasty, he entrusted the affairs to Beyler, who had blood ties and was more trustworthy.
In the first year of Shunzhi, the Qing government, which was further Sinicized, changed the original baylor main control to be under the administration of its deputy, and changed the administration to Shangshu, nominally restoring the title of Six Shangshu. In general, the functions of the six departments in the Qing Dynasty were roughly the same as those of the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties, and as parallel departments, the grades of each Shangshu were from one product, and there was no distinction between high and low. However, if you want to say which of them is more powerful, there is still some chat.
The reason for this is that although they are evenly ranked, some of them are responsible for more practice, some do not have so much real power, and their voice in the DPRK is also different. Here, the author would like to cite a famous historical figure, that is, Li Wei, a famous minister of the Qing Dynasty who was widely praised for the TV series "Li Wei Resigns". Although Li Wei did not take the imperial examination, he was loved by Yongzheng because of his strong practical ability, and in the seventh year of Yongzheng (1729), he was made the governor of Zhejiang and the shangshu of the military department.
On the surface, the governor of Zhejiang was a local official who should serve in the Zhejiang area, while the Bingbu Shangshu was a central official and should handle affairs in the capital. So, where should Li Wei do things? The answer was that he did not have to deal with the affairs of the military department in the capital, but concentrated on governing Zhejiang. The reason why the Yongzheng Emperor named Li Wei the Bingbu Shangshu was actually because of a special significance of the Bingbu Shangshu in the Qing Dynasty - the Viceroy of Zhengerpin added the Bingbu Shangshu and was promoted to Congyipin.
In addition to the apparent promotion of rank, being crowned as a soldier also represented the emperor's transfer of local military and political power to the governor, which was a sign of trust. Therefore, the author believes that among the six parts, the military department is the most powerful. As for which departments they correspond to now, we must first understand what kind of functions each department has.
Let's first talk about the Military Department, which is responsible for the selection, appointment and removal of military attaches, as well as ordnance, military status, etc., which is roughly equivalent to today's Ministry of Defense. However, it should be noted that during the Qing Dynasty, the emperor completely took over the military power into his own hands, so the actual power of the military department was actually reduced. The bureaucracy was the department in charge of officials, and because of this, during the Sui and Tang dynasties it was revered as the head of the six ministries, and it mainly managed the appointment and removal, assessment, and transfer of officials, which was roughly equivalent to today's consortium of the Central Organization Department and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
The Ministry of Rites is in charge of ceremonial, cultural, educational, ethnic, foreign affairs and other affairs, and today it is naturally a collection of institutions such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Education. The main work of the household department is to manage household registration and financial affairs, so it is not only the ministry of finance, but also its functions cover today's tax bureau, industry and commerce bureau, central bank and other organs, and most of the organs related to economic development are under its control.
The Punishment Department was in charge of judicial and penal affairs, and in the Qing Dynasty, its functions were recorded in the Guangxu Huidian : ''The government decree of punishment under the heavens is in favor of the people. Where the severity of the law is appropriate, the right to listen to the entry and exit, the ease of decision, and the number of stolen penalties, the divisions are up to the ministry. Shang Shu Shilang led his subordinates to make decisions, and major matters were done, and small things were done, so as to suppress the state. The Shangshu of the Punishment Department is called "the unity of the four heads of the public, procuratorial, legal, and departmental departments", so it is naturally equivalent to the four major organs of the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme Procuratorate, the Supreme Court, and the Ministry of Justice.
As for the final Ministry of Works, it is in charge of engineering and construction affairs, and in the Qing Dynasty, its functions expanded on the basis of civil engineering, water conservancy, imperial tombs, royal palaces and other projects such as machine manufacturing, mineral smelting, and even textiles.