Chinese characters are broad and profound, as an ideographic script that distinguishes it from European and American pinyin characters, there is a story behind each word. The so-called "丞" is also, from a metaphysical point of view, as if two hands lift a person in the middle out of the trap below, thus having the meaning of "salvation" and "assistance".
Since ancient times, the chancellor has been an official position used to assist the emperor. At the same time, there are similar terms that often enter our ears, that is, "prime minister". Whether it is the prime minister or the prime minister, in the impression of most people, it may be a general person who assists the emperor, but in fact, they have a relatively large difference.
First of all, let's say Xiang Xiang, in nature, Xiang Xiang is an exact official title. According to the existing historical data, the official position of Xiang xiang first appeared in the pre-Qin period in 309 BC, when king Wu of Qin first established the xiang, and two were established at the same time, called the left and right xiang.
It can be seen that at that time, the chancellor was not one person under ten thousand people, and the emperor could set up several ministers at the same time. Moreover, according to the "Records of History", during the Warring States period, there was also the position of Xiangguo, also known as "Xiangbang". In the Golden Text of the cultural relics excavated in the Qin Kingdom, it is recorded that xiangguo and xiangxiang exist at the same time, and the status of Xiangguo is higher than that of Xiangxiang.
In 220 AD, after Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty, China began to enter the period of the Establishment of the Three Kingdoms. During this period, because Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi and other civil servants were extremely talented, and it was also said that "the Wolong Phoenix was born and the world was at peace", the status of the counselors was improved in one fell swoop, and Zhuge Liang, as the chancellor of the Shu state, during the reign of Liu Chan, his authority and prestige were completely above Liu Chan.
Therefore, during the Three Kingdoms period, the king began to deliberately weaken the power of the phase. In this historical period, the position of "Xiangguo" was abolished, and the power of the chancellor began to be limited. In 626, after Li Shimin ascended the throne, the Tang Dynasty also had a more systematic "three-province system".
After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne in the Ming Dynasty, he even killed Hu Weiyong, the chancellor, and in 1380, he directly abolished the position of chancellor and began to strengthen the centralization of power. In 1729, Yongzheng set up a military aircraft department, which brought the feudal monarchy centralized system to its peak. At this time, the position of prime minister has long ceased to exist.
The prime minister is not a specific official position, but a collection and collective name of officials who have met a certain condition, and this condition is to become the supreme administrator of a country, and truly achieve ten thousand people under one person. So the prime minister is not necessarily the prime minister.
One of the most notable aspects of the prime minister is whether he can grasp the highest decision-making power other than imperial power. If the chancellor can grasp this decision-making power, then the chancellor can also be called the prime minister, such as the Shu Han Zhuge Liang. If it is a group of people who hold the decision-making power, then this group of people can be called prime ministers, such as the three governors of the Tang Dynasty, and so on.
After Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the post of chancellor in 1380, the title of chancellor still existed. After the abolition of the chancellor, Zhu Yuanzhang began to personally handle large and small affairs, and this situation continued until the time of Ming Chengzu Zhu Di. At the beginning, Zhu Di was also diligent in political affairs, and he did everything himself, but he found that he was too tired.
Thus, at the end of 1402, Zhu Di established a cabinet system. Cabinet members do not hold any real power, but only serve the emperor's advisory body, but with the emperor's dependence on the cabinet, although the cabinet does not have the name of power, but it already has the power, so the cabinet chief is called "prime minister", and at this time, the minister no longer exists.
So, overall. The chancellor is a specific official position, which itself has certain decision-making power, military power and other powers, but the power of the chancellor is not necessarily the second in the world. The prime minister is a common name, a general term for the highest administrator under the emperor, and it is almost necessary to be above ten thousand people under one person to be called the prime minister.
What is interesting is that although the prime ministers after the Ming Dynasty did not have any decision-making power in legal theory, and it seemed that they were a special ordinary people compared to the prime ministers, in fact, the power of successive prime ministers in history was greater than that of ordinary prime ministers before, which was quite a bit of a meaning of creating and fooling people.