TheThree Bureaus (sansi, 三司) traditionally refer to the Bureau of Salt and Iron Monopoly, Tax Bureau, and Census bureau that originated during theSong dynasty. However the Three Bureaus have been used to refer to different institutions at different points in Chinese history. In theEastern Han (25-220), it included posts such as Defender-in-Chief (taiwei), Minister of Education (situ), and Minister of Works (sikong). In theTang dynasty (618-907), it referred to the Censorate (yushitai), the Chancellery (menxia sheng), and the Palace Secretariat (zhongshu sheng). During theMing dynasty, it referred to three provincial level institutions: the regional military commission, the Provincial Administration Commission, and the Provincial Surveillance Commission.[1]
The bureaus of Salt and Iron, Tax, and Census were created during theNorthern Song dynasty (960-1126). They were known as the State Finance Commission.Emperor Taizu of Song removed the household revenue section from theImperial Secretariat (shangshu sheng) and split it into the three bureaus, collectively led by a state finance commissioner (sansishi) and a vice state finance commissioner (sansi fushi). Each bureau was also headed by their own respective commissioners. During the reform era ofNew Policies (Song dynasty) (1069-1076) led byWang Anshi, the Three Bureaus were controlled by a Finance Planning Commission (zhizhi sansi tiaoli si) under the Imperial Secretariat (shangshu sheng). This organization was abolished during theMing dynasty and replaced with the Ministry of Revenue.[2]
Three Bureaus and their sections (Song dynasty):
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