It first took shape after the Hongwu Emperor abolished the office of Chancellor (of the Zhongshu Sheng) in 1380 and gradually evolved into an effective coordinating organ superimposed on the Six Ministries.
However, since they screened documents submitted to the emperor from all governmental agencies, and had the power of drafting suggested rescripts for the emperor, generally known as piàonǐ (票擬) or tiáozhǐ (條旨), some senior Grand Secretaries were able to dominate the whole government, acting as de facto Chancellor.
The Secretariat was led by two Chancellors, differentiated as being "of the left" (senior) and "of the right" (junior), who were the head of the whole officialdom in the empire.
In 1382, the Hongwu Emperor drew from the Hanlin Academy, an institution that provided literary and scholarly services to the court, several Grand Secretaries to process his administrative paperwork.
[10] For example, the top-ranking, non-functional civil service posts of the Three Councillors of State had rank 1a,[11] so did the office of Chancellor.