起源

大学士一职乃唐中宗时首创，原职为协助皇帝批阅奏章，起草诏书等。《春明退朝录》卷上载：「唐制，宰相四人，首相为太清宫使，次三相皆带馆职，洪（弘）文馆大学士、监修国史、集贤殿大学士，以此为次序。本朝置二相，昭文、修史，首相领焉；集贤，次相领焉。 三馆职，惟修史有职事，而颇以昭文为重，自次相迁首相乃得之。」宋代就常以大学士作为贴职。

明朝的大学士

废相

洪武十三年（1380年），胡惟庸案爆发，丞相胡惟庸被斩杀，朱元璋罢中书省废丞相，一千馀年来的丞相制度被终止，直接由皇帝亲统六部。洪武二十八年（1395年）六月，太祖御奉天殿，敕谕文武群臣说：「自古三公论道，六卿分职。自秦始置丞相，不旋踵而亡。汉、唐、宋因之，虽有贤相，然其间所用者多有小人专权乱政。我朝罢相，设五府、六部、都察院、通政司、大理寺等衙门，分理天下事务，彼此颉颃，不敢相压，事皆朝廷总之，所以稳当。以后嗣君并不许立丞相，臣下敢有奏请设立者，文武群臣即时劾奏，处以重刑。」但由于工作份量实在过于庞大，洪武十五年（1382年）不得不设殿阁大学士，为皇帝顾问，一开始大学士并无实权，类似今日的一般秘书之职，属翰林院。《明史·职官一》载：「十五年，仿宋制，置华盖殿、武英殿、文渊阁、东阁诸大学士，又置文华殿大学士，以辅导太子，秩皆正五品……大学士特侍左右，备顾问而已。洪武二十五年，明廷重定官品，大学士排名在翰林院学士之后，建文中，改大学士为学士。」明成祖即位，复原名并选派低级官员入值文渊阁参预机务，因文渊阁处在大内禁中，「内阁」之名由始。洪熙年间增加谨身殿大学士，终明朝之世，大学士以「四殿二阁」为名号的格局未再更改。嘉靖年间改华盖殿为中极殿，谨身殿为建极殿，原大学士名号也随之变更。

明中叶后，大学士主持阁务者称首辅，馀称次辅、群辅，朝班位次始列六部尚书之上。体制上，殿阁大学士名位的迁转顺序是：东阁、文渊阁、武英殿、文华殿、建极殿、中极殿。但实际上，「首辅」是依据阁臣资历或皇帝宠幸程度排定，并没有固定的官职称呼。

内阁之名

内阁之预机务，自建文四年始也。翰林院之入内阁，自解缙开始。明成祖（1360年—1424年）始开内阁于文渊阁，延揽大学士入内阁，正式有「内阁」之名，以文渊阁印钤封进御之件。此外文移，皆借用翰林院印。故于翰林院堂上设公座，视大学士几位，则设几座，故称曰中堂。是堂乃翰林院之大堂，非内阁之堂也。

仁宗、宣宗、英宗时有三杨（杨士奇、杨荣、杨溥）入阁，多所扶正，海内清平。

首辅之名

大学士中居首者，号称首辅，其权最大，有票拟之权，得到皇帝宠信的首辅大学士的职权可比以往的宰相。「宣德中诏少师吏部尚书蹇义、少保太子太傅户部尚书夏原吉辍部事，朝夕侍左右，赐珊瑚笔，格玉砚条旨，然不与阁职。」「内阁臣职在司内外制而已，未有所谓调旨也。自宣德中大学士二杨公与尚书蹇、夏始有调旨之说。」但蹇义、夏原吉并未入阁，而处理奏章主要还是召大臣面议为主。故宣德朝实有调旨票拟之事，并无调旨票拟之制。英宗正统初年，「英宗九岁登极，凡事启太后，太后避专，令内阁议行，此内阁票旨之所由始也。」内阁初无首辅次辅之分，票拟之事则由阁臣同寅协恭，共同商议。「弘、正以后居首者始秉笔，地望与次相悬绝矣。」嘉靖朝，严嵩专断，与次辅不相关白，后夏言为首辅「凡所拟旨,行意而已,不复顾问嵩。」万历初，张居正为首辅，「三日不出阁，吏以函捧章奏就第票拟，次相在阁坐候，票进乃出。」可知明中叶，嘉靖、隆庆、万历初三朝(1543-1582年，40年间)，调旨票拟之权尽落首辅之手，所谓首辅大学士无相之名，有相之实也仅这四十年间之事，不能扩大至整个明朝。张居正死后调旨票拟之权又回到群辅「协恭」，天启再由内阁同官「协恭」转换成「分票」，崇祯年间因阁臣倾轧角争，内阁作用仅剩「分票」署名票拟，以便追查责任，内阁票拟徒具虚名，遑论首辅。

清朝的大学士

清朝沿用明代内阁制，但内阁受制于议政王大臣会议，只是转达表章的机构，大学士并不入阁办事。

南书房的兴起

康熙时，议政王大臣会议的权力被大部剥夺，决策多由南书房作出。康熙于大臣中简任若干入值南书房，参与机务。但南书房不是正式机构，也不能行文或指挥其他衙门。

军机处的兴起

雍正时设「军机处」，有军机大臣三人至六人、军机章京若干人，成为权力中枢，皇帝的诏令多由军机处发出。但有清一代正式诏书等均以内阁名义拟出，臣下正式奏章也递交内阁，所以内阁仍是清代名义上正式的行政机构。

三殿三阁大学士

大学士的名称前要改加殿、阁衔，数目为六人。最初明朝大学士共「四殿」、「两阁」。四殿者，中极殿大学士（原为华盖殿），建极殿大学士（原为谨身殿），文华殿大学士，武英殿大学士。两阁者，文渊阁大学士，东阁大学士。清朝称「中和殿大学士」、「保和殿大学士」、「文华殿大学士」、「武英殿大学士」、「文渊阁大学士」、「东阁大学士」。

乾隆年间改「中和殿大学士」为「体仁阁大学士」，成为「三殿三阁」。

从品级上讲，大学士都一样，均为正一品，实际地位会有些许差别。在裁撤中和殿大学士之后，诸殿阁大学士中，以保和殿为最尊贵，一般很少人能得到此头衔。在乾隆十三年裁撤中和殿之后，得到保和殿大学士的有傅恒，自乾隆卅五年（1770年）傅恒卒至宣统退位（1912年），就再没有人得到保和殿大学士的头衔。

在六个名号的大学士中，在乾隆十三年裁撤中和殿之前，其地位顺序从高到低为：中和殿、保和殿、文华殿、武英殿、文渊阁、东阁。后来变成：保和殿、文华殿、武英殿、文渊阁、东阁、体仁阁。大学士的迁转也大多按从体仁阁至文华殿这样的顺序迁转。当然并不一定要从体仁阁开始作为起步。

清代的殿阁大学士刚开始还有中和殿，其地位还在保和殿之上。有清一代授予中和殿大学士的也只有觉罗巴哈纳、金之俊、图海、巴泰、冯铨五人。自康熙二十年图海死后，至乾隆十三年裁撤中和殿，未有人增补为中和殿大学士。撤中和殿后，增加体仁阁，形成三殿三阁对称的局面。

大学士是可以空缺的，不一定要六个全授满，而且从实际情况上看，四个大学士的情况最常见。

越南的大学士

1428年，越南人黎利发动反对中国明朝的起义，建立后黎朝。黎利模仿明朝的官制，在其朝廷中设立大学士之职，其作用与明朝的大学士相似。此后，阮朝也沿袭了后黎朝的官制，设立大学士职务。

阮朝的大学士名号有五种：

• 勤政殿大学士（），为正一品。

• 文明殿大学士（），为正一品。

• 武显殿大学士（），为正一品。

• 东阁大学士（），为正一品。

• 协办大学士（），为从一品。

其中，勤政殿、文明殿、武显殿、东阁四位大学士，被称为阮朝的「朝廷四柱」（）。

越南阮朝的政治制度仿效中国清朝，设立了类似军机处和枢密院的「机密院」作为最高权力机关，正一品的四柱大学士仅为荣誉职务。

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 (中极殿大学士): named after the Zhongji Hall (present-day the Zhonghe Hall). Changed name from Grand Secretary of the Huagai Hall (华盖殿大学士) during Jiajing era.

• Grand Secretary of the Jianji Hall (建极殿大学士): named after the Jianji Hall (present-day the Baohe Hall). Changed name from Grand Secretary of the Jinshen Hall (谨身殿大学士) during Jiajing era.

• Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall (文华殿大学士): named after the Wenhua Hall.

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

• Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Library (文渊阁大学士): named after the Wenyuan Library.

• Grand Secretary of the Eastern Library (东阁大学士): named after the Eastern Library (东阁).

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

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

• Grand Secretary of the Baohe Hall (保和殿大学士, 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 (文华殿大学士, Manchu: šu eldengge diyan i aliha bithei da): named after the Wenhua Hall.

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

• Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Library (文渊阁大学士, Manchu: šu tunggu asari i aliha bithei da): named after the Wenyuan Library.

• Grand Secretary of the Eastern Library (东阁大学士, Manchu: dergi asari i aliha bithei da): named after the Eastern Library (东阁).

• Grand Secretary of the Tiren Library (体仁阁大学士, Manchu: gosin be dursulere asari i aliha bithei da): named after the Tiren Library. Created by Qianlong Emperor in 1748.

• Assistant Grand Secretary (协办大学士, 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