However the Three Bureaus have been used to refer to different institutions at different points in Chinese history.
[1] The bureaus of Salt and Iron, Tax, and Census were created during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1126).
Emperor Taizu of Song removed the household revenue section from the Imperial Secretariat (shangshu sheng) and split it into the three bureaus, collectively led by a state finance commissioner (sansishi) and a vice state finance commissioner (sansi fushi).
During the reform era of New Policies (Song dynasty) (1069-1076) led by Wang Anshi, the Three Bureaus were controlled by a Finance Planning Commission (zhizhi sansi tiaoli si) under the Imperial Secretariat (shangshu sheng).
This organization was abolished during the Ming dynasty and replaced with the Ministry of Revenue.