Situ (office)

Situ was one of the highest ranking government offices in ancient China. Established in the Western Zhou dynasty, it was originally written as 司土 (pinyin: sītǔ), meaning Administrator of Land.^[1][2]

During the Han dynasty, the title became written with the different characters 司徒 (pinyin: sītú), which is translated variously as Minister over the Masses^[3] or Excellency over the Masses.^[4] It was one of the three most important official posts during the Han dynasty, called the Three Excellencies. The nominal salary for the post was 20,000 shi (石) of grain.^[5]

The title is the origin of the surname Situ.

See also

• Government of the Han dynasty
• Translation of Han dynasty titles
• Tai Situpa

References

Citations

1. 中国古代官制常识 (in Chinese). Guoxue.com. 2010-10-25. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
2. 周代司徒职分考辨 (in Chinese). CNKI. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
3. Bielenstein, 207–230
4. de Crespigny, 1221
5. Michael Loewe The Men Who Governed Han China Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods (2004)

Sources

• Bielenstein, Hans (1980). The Bureaucracy of Han Times. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-22510-6.
• de Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23 – 220 AD). Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0.