The Three Lords and Nine Ministers system (Chinese: 三公九卿) was a central administrative system adopted in ancient China that was officially instituted in the Qin dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC) and was replaced by the Three Departments and Six Ministries (Chinese: 三省六部) system since the Sui dynasty (AD 589–618).
Three Lords referred to three highest rank officials in the imperial government, namely:
Nine Ministers comprised all the ministers of importance in the central government. They were: