As one of the Three Departments, the Zhongshu Sheng was primarily a policy-formulating agency responsible for proposing and drafting all imperial decrees, but its actual function varied at different times.

The chief steward for writing (shangshu 尚書), aided by eunuch secretary-receptionists (zhongshu yezhe 中書謁者)), forwarded documents to the inner palace.

Although lower in rank than the Shangshu Sheng (Department of State Affairs), the personnel of the Central Secretariat worked closer to the emperor and were responsible for drafting edicts, and therefore their content.

In the Northern and Southern dynasties, the personnel ranged from princes and high ranking family members to professional writers.

The position and responsibilities of the Central Secretariat varied greatly in this period, sometimes even being put in charge of judicial and entertainment matters.

During the Sui-Tang period, the duty of the Central Secretariat was to read incoming material to the throne, answer questions from the emperor, and to draft imperial edicts.

The Left Vice Director (zuo puye 左仆射, or zuocheng 左丞) held the titles of Court Gentleman of the Chancellery (menxia shilang 門下侍郎) and Grand Chancellor concurrently.

[4] The Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (1115–1234) had a Central Secretariat that functioned similarly to the Song institution, but the paperwork was done by academicians rather than professional drafters.

[8] In the early Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang became suspicious of the chancellor Hu Weiyong and executed him in 1380.