| Palace Attendant | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 侍中 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Vietnamese name | |||||||||
| Vietnamese | thịtrung | ||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||
| Hangul | 시중;중시 | ||||||||
| Hanja | 侍中;中侍 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Japanese name | |||||||||
| Kanji | 侍中 | ||||||||
| Hiragana | じちゅう | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Palace Attendant,also known by its Chinese name as Shizhong,was a title in Imperial China comparable to that of the Grand Chancellor,the chief policy maker of the central government.
The status and functions of the Palace Attendants underwent great changes. It designated a minister serving closely with the Emperor, [1] comparable to the Grand Chancellor. [2]
The Grand Chancellor was the head of the central government during the Qin and Han dynasties and during the Three Kingdoms period,the "highest official advisor to the Emperor." [2] Under the Western Han,the Grand Chancellor's lieutenants—also reckoned as chancellors—were the censor general (dasikong),the liushi dafu,[ clarification needed ] the commander-in-chief (dasima),and the defender-in-chief (taiwei). Under the Eastern Han,they included chancellors[ clarification needed ] (situ),the censor general (sikong),and the defender-in-chief (taiwei). [3]
By the Six Dynasties period,the status of chancellor was shared by several top administrators. Among them were the Inspector General of the Secretariat (zhongshunjian),the President of the Secretariat (zhongshuling),the President (shangshuling) and Vice-President of the Department of State Affairs (shangshu puye),and the Palace Attendant. The Palace Attendants' status as chancellors by default continued through the Sui and Tang. [3]