User:Hemlock Martinis/The Construct

Human rights
Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled.

Upper levels
Taizu at first continued the practice of chief councilors but in 1380 abolished both it and the Secretariat to assume direct control of the six ministries. Secretaries were now only retained for clerical work.

Advice
Ming emperors often sought advice from others. Taizu solicited both the advice of his ministers and public opinion, although the final decisions were his alone.

Structure
The executive branch consisted of six ministries pertaining to the realms of justice, personnel, public works, revenue, rites, and war.

A source of revenue was the Court of the Imperial Stud, which acquired horses for the army. In the early Ming dynasty the court assigned households across the empire to maintain army horses and deliver a quota of new ones. In 1466, the court allowed commutations of deliveries in exchange for payments of twelve taels, which amounted to a revenue flow of around 240,000 taels a year. Purchases of new horses happened so rarely that by 1580 the court had a reserve of around four million taels. Around the turn of the century other executive departments, mainly the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Works and Court of Imperial Entertainments, began "borrowing" funds. The court as a result increased the commutation ratio so that by the 1620s the income was around 430,000 taels. After this point, the reserve became slowly depleted by both increased withdrawals and payment delinquencies.

Ministries

 * Ministry of Justice
 * Office of Scrutiny for Justice
 * Ministry of Personnel
 * Bureaus of Appointments; of Evaluations; of Honors
 * Office of Scrutiny for Personnel
 * Ministry of Works
 * Bureaus of Construction; of Forestry and Crafts; of Irrigation and Transport; of State Lands;
 * Mint
 * Office of Scrutiny for Works
 * Ministry of Revenue
 * Granary Sections (of bureaus)
 * Special Accounts Sections (of bureaus)
 * Statistics Sections (of bureaus)
 * Office of Scrutiny for Revenue
 * Ministry of Rites
 * Bureaus of Ceremonies; of Provisions; of Receptions; of Sacrifices;
 * Office of Scrutiny for Rites
 * Ministry of War
 * Armory
 * Bureaus of Equipment; of Operations; of Personnel; of Provisions
 * Office of Scrutiny for War

Other

 * Bureaus of Apparel; of the Bedchamber; of Ceremonies; of Foodstuffs; of Handicrafts; of Palace Attendance; of Remonstrance;
 * Census Intendant Circuit
 * Central Buddhist Registry
 * Central Taoist Registry
 * Chief Military Commission
 * College of Interpreters
 * College of Translators
 * Court of the Imperial Stud
 * Court of Imperial Entertainments
 * Court of Imperial Sacrifices
 * Court of State Ceremonial
 * Directorate of Astronomy
 * Directorate of Ceremonial
 * Directorate of Imperial Parks
 * Directorate of Palace Intendents
 * Directory of Instruction
 * Education Intendant Circuit
 * Fishing Tax Office
 * Imperial Academy of Medicine
 * General Services Office
 * Grand Court of Revision
 * Court of Review
 * Imperial Clan Court
 * Iron Smelting Office
 * Maritime Trade Superintendency
 * Merchant Tax Office
 * Music and Dance Office
 * Office of Adornments
 * Office of Clothing
 * Office of Plate Engraving
 * Office of Regalia
 * Office of Seal Engraving
 * Office of Seals
 * Office of Staff Surveillance
 * Office of Transmissions
 * Pacification Office
 * Pasturage Office
 * Prison Office
 * Record Checking Circuit
 * Salt Distribution Superintendancy/Commission
 * Superintendecy of Paper Currency
 * Tax Intendant Circuit
 * Transport Office
 * "The three judicial offices" - the Censorate, Ministry of Justice and Grand Court of Revision
 * "The three provincial offices" - Provincial Administration Office, Provincial Surveillance Office, Regional Military Commission