page_title: Government of the Han dynasty
section_title: Excellency of Works
hierarchical_section_title: Government of the Han dynasty / Central government / Excellencies / Excellency of Works
caption_attribution_description: A que, or "pillar gate" monumental tower standing in front of the Wu Family Shrines built in Shandong province, China, during the 2nd century AD. This photo was taken at the turn of the 20th century by Édouard Chavannes (died 1918).
context_page_description: The Han dynasty of ancient China was the second imperial dynasty of China, following the Qin dynasty. It was divided into the periods of Former Han and Later Han, briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty of Wang Mang. The capital of Western Han was Chang'an, and the capital of Eastern Han was Luoyang. The emperor headed the government, promulgating all written laws, serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and presiding as the chief executive official. He appointed all government officials who earned a salary of 600 bushels of grain or more with the help of advisors who reviewed each nominee. The empress dowager could either be the emperor's actual or symbolic mother, and was in practice more powerful than the emperor, as she could override his decisions. The emperor's executive powers could also be practiced by any official upon whom he bestowed the Staff of Authority. These powers included the right to execute criminals without the imperial court's permission.
  Near the beginning of the dynasty, semi-autonomous regional kings rivaled the emperor's authority.
context_section_description: The Excellency of Works, also known as the Minister of Works, was less powerful than his previous counterpart, the Imperial Counselor. This official's advisory and censorial responsibilities coincided with those of two other Excellencies, forming a tripartite cabinet arrangement. Unlike the abolished Imperial Counselor, he was given the specialized role of overseeing public works projects throughout the empire. The Excellency of Works was responsible for the construction of city walls, towns, canals, irrigation ditches, dykes and dams, and other structural engineering projects. The Court Architect supervised only imperial building projects. The Excellency of Works made annual reports to the throne about the progress of local administrations' conduct of construction projects. He was given formal powers to supervise three of the Nine Ministers: the Minister of the Imperial Clan, Minister of Finance, and Minister Steward.
caption: Early 20th-century photo of a 2nd-century-AD stone "pillar-gate" (que 闕) from the site of the 'Wu family shrine' in Shandong, Eastern Han period; the Minister of Works oversaw construction projects in the empire, yet the Court Architect continued to oversee imperial construction projects.
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