Ming Yamen Bureaucracy

Timeline

1. 1368–1398Nanjing · East ChinaThe Hongwu Emperor abolished the chancellor, set the Six Ministries directly under the emperor, and divided provincial administration into the three commissions—provincial administration, surveillance, and regional military—establishing the basic framework of the Ming yamen system.
2. 1403–1424Beijing · North ChinaThe Yongli Emperor moved the capital to Beijing, concentrating the Six Ministries, Censorate, Office of Transmission, and the embryo of the Grand Secretariat in the capital; the system of draft endorsements and vermilion rescripts gradually took shape, civil officials entered service through the examinations, and the operating model of the central yamen was finalized.
3. 1461–1470Prefectures and counties of Jiangnan · East ChinaDuring the Chenghua era prefectural and county yamen handled taxes, justice, education, and public order; provincial administrations oversaw provincial affairs, surveillance commissions handled judicial cases, and prefects and magistrates recruited through the examinations formed the mainstay of local governance, with the lijia and yellow-register systems supporting household registration and corvée.
4. 1500–1644Beijing · North ChinaAfter the Zhengde era the Directorate of Ceremonial grew in power, the Eastern and Western Depots intervened in government affairs, and the Donglin and eunuch factions alternated in influence, reducing the decision-making efficiency of civil yamen, though the daily administrative functions of the Six Ministries and local yamen persisted until the end of the Ming.