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天官

tiānguān
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 Heaven Office, the first of the six ministries in the Rites of Zhou, over all officials, and the section of the book describing it
  2. 2 Ministry of Personnel, or its minister
  3. 3 Heavenly Official, the Daoist god who grants blessings

Examples

HSK 5
武则天曾经把吏部改名为天官。
Wǔ Zétiān céngjīng bǎ Lìbù gǎimíng wéi tiānguān.
Wu Zetian once renamed the Ministry of Personnel the "Heaven Office".
HSK 7-9
民间相信天官会给人带来福气。
Mínjiān xiāngxìn tiānguān huì gěi rén dàilái fúqi.
Folk belief holds that the Heavenly Official brings people good fortune.
HSK 7-9
《周礼》把官职分为六类，天官排在第一，统领百官。
《 Zhōulǐ 》 bǎ guānzhí fēnwéi liù lèi, tiānguān pái zài dìyī, tǒnglǐng bǎiguān.
The Rites of Zhou sorts official posts into six groups; the Heaven Office comes first and heads all the officials.

Tips

history
The six offices of 周礼 were named Heaven, Earth, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, headed by the 冢宰, 司徒, 宗伯, 司马, 司寇 and 司空. Later dynasties matched them to the six ministries, so the Ministry of Personnel, 吏部, inherited the name. The section of the book on this office is cited as 《周礼·天官》.
culture
In Daoism the 天官 is one of the Three Officials, with the 地官 (Earth) and the 水官 (Water). He grants blessings, which is why New Year prints show him above the words 天官赐福 ("the Heavenly Official bestows blessings"). His festival is the Lantern Festival.

Stroke Order

天 tiān
官 guān