page_title: Government of the Han dynasty
section_title: Grand Commandant
hierarchical_section_title: Government of the Han dynasty / Central government / Excellencies / Grand Commandant
caption_attribution_description: English: A painted pottery Han Dynasty cavalryman with armor
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 Grand Commandant (also known as the Commander-in-Chief) was the head commander of the military in Western Han, yet his office was irregularly filled (from 205–202 BC, from 196–195 BC, from 189–177 BC, from 154–150 BC, and in 140 BC). After 119 BC, the generals Huo Qubing (d. 117 BC) and Wei Qing (d. 106 BC) simultaneously held the title until their deaths, but when the post was revived in 87 BC it became politicized when conferred as a regent's title for Huo Guang (d. 68 BC). The regent was thus considered one of the Three Excellencies, although he was not technically part of the cabinet.
  The Grand Commandant's office witnessed significant changes during the Eastern Han. Wang Mang separated the regent's role from the Grand Commandant's post during the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD), since he did not want an active regent for his regime. This was retained by Eastern Han, while the third Grand Commandant of Eastern Han appointed in 51 AD transformed his ministry into a primarily civilian one. Although the Eastern-Han Grand Commandant shared the same salary-rank as the other two Excellencies who were nominally considered his equals, he was nonetheless given de facto privilege as the most senior civil official. However, his censorial jurisdiction now overlapped with the other two Excellencies (i.e. he was able to investigate the same officials in central and local government), who shared an advisory role to the emperor (policy suggestions could be submitted independently or jointly by all three cabinet members). His various bureaus handled appointment, promotion, and demotion of officials, population registers and agriculture, the upkeep of transportation facilities, post offices, and couriers, civil law cases, granary storage, and military affairs. He was also given formal powers to supervise three of the Nine Ministers: the Minister of Ceremonies, Minister of the Household, and Minister of the Guards.
caption: A Han painted pottery mounted cavalryman in armor and uniform
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