Evolution

At the beginning of the Ming dynasty, the administration adopted the Yuan dynasty's model of having only one department, the Secretariat, superimposed on the Six Ministries. The Secretariat was led by two Chancellors, differentiated as being "of the left" (senior) and "of the right" (junior), who were the head of the whole officialdom in the empire. the Hongwu Emperor was concerned that such a concentration of power in the office of Chancellors would become a serious threat to the throne. In 1380, Chancellor Hu Weiyong was executed upon accusations of treason. After that, the Hongwu Emperor eradicated the Secretariat and the posts of Chancellor; Ministers of the Six Ministries directly reported to the emperor himself.

The burden of the administrative details made it imperative for the emperor to seek secretarial assistance. In 1382, the Hongwu Emperor drew from the Hanlin Academy, an institution that provided literary and scholarly services to the court, several Grand Secretaries to process his administrative paperwork. These Grand Secretaries were assigned for duty to designated buildings within the imperial palace, and they were collectively known as the Grand Secretariat since the reign of the Yongle Emperor.

The Grand Secretariat gradually had more effective power since the Xuande Emperor's time. During his reign, all memorials from the Ministries to the emperor had to go through the Grand Secretariat. Upon receiving a memorial, the Grand Secretaries first scrutinized it and then decided upon proper response. The rescript was then pasted to the face of the memorial and submitted with it to the emperor. Through this process known as piaoni, the Grand Secretariat became de facto the highest policy-formulation institution above the Six Ministries, and the senior Grand Secretaries had power comparable to the Chancellor of old.

Rank of Grand Secretaries

During the Ming dynasty, civil service officials were classified into nine grades, each grade subdivided into two degrees, extending from grade 1a at the top to grade 9b at the bottom. For example, the top-ranking, non-functional civil service posts of the Three Councillors of State had rank 1a, so did the office of Chancellor. Under this system, the Grand Secretaries, having merely a rank 5a, nominally ranked under various Ministers (whose rank rose from 3a to 2a after the abolishment of the Chancellor). However, the Grand Secretaries were usually given other high-ranking posts of regular administrative agencies, such as Ministers or Vice Ministers in one of the Nine Ministries. Some even obtained the title of Grand Preceptor among the Three Councillors of State. As a result, throughout the Ming dynasty, the Grand Secretaries always took precedence over other civil service officials by virtue of their honorable status among the Three Councillors of State, or their appointments as high-ranking officials in the administrative hierarchy.

Titles of Grand Secretary

In China

During Ming dynasty, there were 6 different titles of Grand Secretary:

• Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Hall (中極殿大學士): named after the Zhongji Hall (present-day the Zhonghe Hall). Changed name from Grand Secretary of the Huagai Hall (華蓋殿大學士) during Jiajing era.

• Grand Secretary of the Jianji Hall (建極殿大學士): named after the Jianji Hall (present-day the Baohe Hall). Changed name from Grand Secretary of the Jinshen Hall (謹身殿大學士) during Jiajing era.

• Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall (文華殿大學士): named after the Wenhua Hall.

• Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall (武英殿大學士): named after the Wuying Hall.

• Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Library (文淵閣大學士): named after the Wenyuan Library.

• Grand Secretary of the Eastern Library (東閣大學士): named after the Eastern Library (東閣).

During Qing dynasty, there were 7 different titles of Grand Secretary:

• Grand Secretary of the Zhonghe Hall (中和殿大學士, Manchu: dulimba i hūwaliyambure deyen i aliha bithei da): named after the Zhonghe Hall.

• Grand Secretary of the Baohe Hall (保和殿大學士, Manchu: enteheme hūuwaliyambure diyan i aliha bithei da): named after the Baohe Hall. Abolished by Qianlong Emperor in 1748.

• Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall (文華殿大學士, Manchu: šu eldengge diyan i aliha bithei da): named after the Wenhua Hall.

• Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall (武英殿大學士, Manchu: horonggo yangsangga deyen i aliha bithei da): named after the Wuying Hall.

• Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Library (文淵閣大學士, Manchu: šu tunggu asari i aliha bithei da): named after the Wenyuan Library.

• Grand Secretary of the Eastern Library (東閣大學士, Manchu: dergi asari i aliha bithei da): named after the Eastern Library (東閣).

• Grand Secretary of the Tiren Library (體仁閣大學士, Manchu: gosin be dursulere asari i aliha bithei da): named after the Tiren Library. Created by Qianlong Emperor in 1748.

• Assistant Grand Secretary (協辦大學士, Manchu: aisilame icihiyara aliha bithei da)

In Vietnam

In Vietnam, during Nguyễn dynasty, there were 5 different titles of Grand Secretary:

• Grand Secretary of the Cần Chánh Hall: named after the Cần Chánh Hall.

• Grand Secretary of the Văn Minh Hall: named after the Văn Minh Hall.

• Grand Secretary of the Võ Hiển Hall: named after the Võ Hiển Hall.

• Grand Secretary of the Đông Các Hall: named after the Đông Các Hall (lit. "Eastern Library").

• Assistant Grand Secretary

起源

大學士一職乃唐中宗時首創，原職為協助皇帝批閱奏章，起草詔書等。《春明退朝錄》卷上載：「唐制，宰相四人，首相為太清宮使，次三相皆帶館職，洪（弘）文館大學士、監修國史、集賢殿大學士，以此為次序。本朝置二相，昭文、修史，首相領焉；集賢，次相領焉。 三館職，惟修史有職事，而頗以昭文為重，自次相遷首相乃得之。」宋代就常以大學士作為貼職。

明朝的大學士

廢相

洪武十三年（1380年），胡惟庸案爆發，丞相胡惟庸被斬殺，朱元璋罷中書省廢丞相，一千餘年來的丞相制度被終止，直接由皇帝親統六部。洪武二十八年（1395年）六月，太祖御奉天殿，敕諭文武群臣說：「自古三公論道，六卿分職。自秦始置丞相，不旋踵而亡。漢、唐、宋因之，雖有賢相，然其間所用者多有小人專權亂政。我朝罷相，設五府、六部、都察院、通政司、大理寺等衙門，分理天下事務，彼此頡頏，不敢相壓，事皆朝廷總之，所以穩當。以後嗣君並不許立丞相，臣下敢有奏請設立者，文武群臣即時劾奏，處以重刑。」但由於工作份量實在過於龐大，洪武十五年（1382年）不得不設殿閣大學士，為皇帝顧問，一開始大學士並無實權，類似今日的一般秘書之職，屬翰林院。《明史·職官一》載：「十五年，仿宋制，置華蓋殿、武英殿、文淵閣、東閣諸大學士，又置文華殿大學士，以輔導太子，秩皆正五品……大學士特侍左右，備顧問而已。洪武二十五年，明廷重定官品，大學士排名在翰林院學士之後，建文中，改大學士為學士。」明成祖即位，復原名並選派低級官員入值文淵閣參預機務，因文淵閣處在大內禁中，「內閣」之名由始。洪熙年間增加謹身殿大學士，終明朝之世，大學士以「四殿二閣」為名號的格局未再更改。嘉靖年間改華蓋殿為中極殿，謹身殿為建極殿，原大學士名號也隨之變更。

明中葉後，大學士主持閣務者稱首輔，餘稱次輔、群輔，朝班位次始列六部尚書之上。體制上，殿閣大學士名位的遷轉順序是：東閣、文淵閣、武英殿、文華殿、建極殿、中極殿。但實際上，「首輔」是依據閣臣資歷或皇帝寵幸程度排定，並沒有固定的官職稱呼。

內閣之名

內閣之預機務，自建文四年始也。翰林院之入內閣，自解縉開始。明成祖（1360年—1424年）始開內閣於文淵閣，延攬大學士入內閣，正式有「內閣」之名，以文淵閣印鈐封進御之件。此外文移，皆借用翰林院印。故於翰林院堂上設公座，視大學士幾位，則設幾座，故稱曰中堂。是堂乃翰林院之大堂，非內閣之堂也。

仁宗、宣宗、英宗時有三楊（楊士奇、楊榮、楊溥）入閣，多所扶正，海內清平。

首輔之名

大學士中居首者，號稱首輔，其權最大，有票擬之權，得到皇帝寵信的首輔大學士的職權可比以往的宰相。「宣德中詔少師吏部尚書蹇義、少保太子太傅戶部尚書夏原吉輟部事，朝夕侍左右，賜珊瑚筆，格玉硯條旨，然不與閣職。」「內閣臣職在司內外制而已，未有所謂調旨也。自宣德中大學士二楊公與尚書蹇、夏始有調旨之說。」但蹇義、夏原吉並未入閣，而處理奏章主要還是召大臣面議為主。故宣德朝實有調旨票擬之事，並無調旨票擬之制。英宗正統初年，「英宗九歲登極，凡事啟太后，太后避專，令內閣議行，此內閣票旨之所由始也。」內閣初無首輔次輔之分，票擬之事則由閣臣同寅協恭，共同商議。「弘、正以後居首者始秉筆，地望與次相懸絕矣。」嘉靖朝，嚴嵩專斷，與次輔不相關白，後夏言為首輔「凡所擬旨,行意而已,不復顧問嵩。」萬歷初，張居正為首輔，「三日不出閣，吏以函捧章奏就第票擬，次相在閣坐候，票進乃出。」可知明中葉，嘉靖、隆慶、萬歷初三朝(1543-1582年，40年間)，調旨票擬之權盡落首輔之手，所謂首輔大學士無相之名，有相之實也僅這四十年間之事，不能擴大至整個明朝。張居正死後調旨票擬之權又回到群輔「協恭」，天啟再由內閣同官「協恭」轉換成「分票」，崇禎年間因閣臣傾軋角爭，內閣作用僅剩「分票」署名票擬，以便追查責任，內閣票擬徒具虛名，遑論首輔。

清朝的大學士

清朝沿用明代內閣制，但內閣受制于議政王大臣會議，只是轉達表章的機構，大學士並不入閣辦事。

南書房的興起

康熙時，議政王大臣會議的權力被大部剝奪，決策多由南書房作出。康熙于大臣中簡任若干入值南書房，參與機務。但南書房不是正式機構，也不能行文或指揮其他衙門。

軍機處的興起

雍正時設「軍機處」，有軍機大臣三人至六人、軍機章京若干人，成為權力中樞，皇帝的詔令多由軍機處發出。但有清一代正式詔書等均以內閣名義擬出，臣下正式奏章也遞交內閣，所以內閣仍是清代名義上正式的行政機構。

三殿三閣大學士

大學士的名稱前要改加殿、閣銜，數目為六人。最初明朝大學士共「四殿」、「兩閣」。四殿者，中極殿大學士（原為華蓋殿），建極殿大學士（原為謹身殿），文華殿大學士，武英殿大學士。兩閣者，文淵閣大學士，東閣大學士。清朝稱「中和殿大學士」、「保和殿大學士」、「文華殿大學士」、「武英殿大學士」、「文淵閣大學士」、「東閣大學士」。

乾隆年間改「中和殿大學士」為「體仁閣大學士」，成為「三殿三閣」。

從品級上講，大學士都一樣，均為正一品，實際地位會有些許差別。在裁撤中和殿大學士之後，諸殿閣大學士中，以保和殿為最尊貴，一般很少人能得到此頭銜。在乾隆十三年裁撤中和殿之後，得到保和殿大學士的有傅恆，自乾隆卅五年（1770年）傅恆卒至宣統退位（1912年），就再沒有人得到保和殿大學士的頭銜。

在六個名號的大學士中，在乾隆十三年裁撤中和殿之前，其地位順序從高到低為：中和殿、保和殿、文華殿、武英殿、文淵閣、東閣。後來變成：保和殿、文華殿、武英殿、文淵閣、東閣、體仁閣。大學士的遷轉也大多按從體仁閣至文華殿這樣的順序遷轉。當然並不一定要從體仁閣開始作為起步。

清代的殿閣大學士剛開始還有中和殿，其地位還在保和殿之上。有清一代授予中和殿大學士的也只有覺羅巴哈納、金之俊、圖海、巴泰、馮銓五人。自康熙二十年圖海死後，至乾隆十三年裁撤中和殿，未有人增補為中和殿大學士。撤中和殿後，增加體仁閣，形成三殿三閣對稱的局面。

大學士是可以空缺的，不一定要六個全授滿，而且從實際情況上看，四個大學士的情況最常見。

越南的大學士

1428年，越南人黎利發動反對中國明朝的起義，建立後黎朝。黎利模仿明朝的官制，在其朝廷中設立大學士之職，其作用與明朝的大學士相似。此後，阮朝也沿襲了後黎朝的官制，設立大學士職務。

阮朝的大學士名號有五種：

• 勤政殿大學士（），為正一品。

• 文明殿大學士（），為正一品。

• 武顯殿大學士（），為正一品。

• 東閣大學士（），為正一品。

• 協辦大學士（），為從一品。

其中，勤政殿、文明殿、武顯殿、東閣四位大學士，被稱為阮朝的「朝廷四柱」（）。

越南阮朝的政治制度仿效中國清朝，設立了類似軍機處和樞密院的「機密院」作為最高權力機關，正一品的四柱大學士僅為榮譽職務。