Nine Ministers
Ranked below the Three Councillors of State were the Nine Ministers ("Jiu qing" 九卿), who each headed a specialized ministry. The Minister of Ceremonies ("Taichang" 太常) was the chief official in charge of religious rites, rituals, prayers and the maintenance of ancestral temples and altars. The Minister of the Household ("Guang lu xun" 光祿勳) was in charge of the emperor's security within the palace grounds, external imperial parks and wherever the emperor made an outing by chariot.