Chancellor (China) in the context of "Peking University"

Li Si ([lì sɹ̩́]; c. 280 – 208 BC) was a Chinese calligrapher, philosopher, and official of the Qin dynasty. He served as Qin state Chancellor from 246 to 208 BC, first under King Zheng — who later became Qin Shi Huang, the "First Emperor" of the Qin dynasty. He then served under Qin Er Shi, Qin Shi Huang's eighteenth son and second emperor. In the Shiji, Li Si is said to have admired and utilized the administrative ideas of Shen Buhai, repeatedly referring to the technique of Shen Buhai and Han Fei, but regarding law, followed Shang Yang.

John Knoblock, a translator of classical Chinese texts, considered Li Si to be "one of the two or three most important figures in Chinese history" for his efforts in standardizing the Qin state and its conquered territories. Li Si assisted the Emperor in unifying laws, governmental ordinances, and weights and measures, standardizing chariots, carts, and characters used in writing, facilitating the cultural unification of China. He "created a government based solely on merit, so that in the empire sons and younger brothers in the imperial clan were not ennobled, but meritorious ministers were", and "pacified the frontier regions by subduing the barbarians to the north and south". He had the metal weapons of the feudal states melted and cast into bells and statues. He also lowered taxes and eased draconian punishments for criminals that had originated from statesman Shang Yang.

Lü Buwei (291–235 BCE) was a Chinese merchant and politician of the Qin state during the Warring States period. Originally an influential merchant from the Wey (衛) state, Lü Buwei met and befriended King Zhuangxiang of Qin, who was then a minor prince serving as a hostage in the Zhao state. Through bribes and machinations, Lü Buwei succeeded in helping King Zhuangxiang become the heir apparent to the Qin throne. In 249 BCE, after King Zhuangxiang ascended the throne following the death of his father, King Xiaowen, he appointed Lü Buwei as his chancellor (相國) and ennobled him as "Marquis Wenxin" (文信侯). After King Zhuangxiang's death in 247 BCE, Lü Buwei became the chancellor and regent to King Zhuangxiang's young son, Ying Zheng, who later became Qin Shi Huang (First Emperor of the Qin dynasty).

In 235 BCE, after being implicated in a scandal involving the Queen Dowager Zhao (Ying Zheng's mother) and her illicit lover Lao Ai, Lü Buwei was stripped of his posts and titles and was banished to the remote Shu region in the south of Qin. While in exile, Lü Buwei committed suicide by consuming poison.

Cao Cao (pronunciation; [tsʰǎʊ tsʰáʊ]; Chinese: 曹操; c. 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (c. 184–220), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation for the state of Cao Wei (220–265), established by his son and successor Cao Pi, who ended the Eastern Han dynasty and inaugurated the Three Kingdoms period (220–280). Beginning in his own lifetime, a corpus of legends developed around Cao Cao which built upon his talent, his cruelty, and his perceived eccentricities.

Cao Cao began his career as an official under the Han government and held various appointments including that of a district security chief in the capital and the chancellor of a principality. He rose to prominence in the 190s during which he recruited his own followers, formed his own army, and set up a base in Yan Province (covering parts of present-day Henan and Shandong). In 196, he received Emperor Xian, the figurehead Han sovereign who was previously held hostage by other warlords such as Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, and Guo Si. After he established the new imperial capital in Xuchang, Emperor Xian and the central government came under his direct control, but he still paid nominal allegiance to the emperor. Throughout the 190s, Cao Cao actively waged wars in central China against rival warlords such as Lü Bu, Yuan Shu, and Zhang Xiu, eliminating all of them. Following his triumph over the warlord Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu in 200, Cao Cao launched a series of campaigns against Yuan Shao's sons and allies over the following seven years, defeated them, and unified much of northern China under his control. In 208, shortly after Emperor Xian appointed him as Imperial Chancellor, he embarked on an expedition to gain a foothold in southern China, but was defeated by the allied forces of the warlords Sun Quan, Liu Bei, and Liu Qi at the decisive Battle of Red Cliffs.

Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a regional state of the Zhou dynasty in ancient China, whose rulers held titles of Hou (侯), then Gong (公), before declaring themselves independent Kings (王). Its capital was Linzi, located in present-day Shandong. Qi was founded shortly after the Zhou conquest of Shang, c. 1046 BCE. Its first monarch was Jiang Ziya (Lord Tai; r. 1046–1015 BCE), minister of King Wen and a legendary figure in Chinese culture. His family ruled Qi for several centuries before it was replaced by the Tian family in 386 BCE. Qi was the final surviving state to be annexed by Qin during its unification of China.

Zhuge Liang (pronunciation) (181 AD – September or October 234 AD), also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman, strategist and inventor who lived through the end of the Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220) and the early Three Kingdoms period (220–280). During the Three Kingdoms period he served as Imperial Chancellor (or Prime Minister) of the state of Shu Han (221–263) from its founding in 221 and later as regent from 223 until his death.

Zhuge is recognised as the most accomplished strategist of his era. His reputation as an intelligent and cultured scholar grew even while he was living in relative seclusion, earning him the nickname "Wolong" or "Fulong" (both meaning "Sleeping Dragon").

Xiao He (257 BC – 16 August 193 BC) was a Chinese calligrapher and politician of the early Western Han dynasty. He served Liu Bang (Emperor Gao), the founder of the Han dynasty, during the insurrection against the Qin dynasty, and fought on Liu's side in the Chu–Han Contention against Liu's rival, Xiang Yu. After the founding of the Han dynasty, Xiao He became the chancellor and held office until his death. For his contributions, he is also known as one of the "Three Heroes of the early Han dynasty" (漢初三傑), along with Han Xin and Zhang Liang.

The Book of Jin is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang Xuanling as the lead editor, drawing mostly from official documents left from earlier archives. A few essays in volumes 1, 3, 54 and 80 were composed by the Tang dynasty's Emperor Taizong himself. However, the contents of the Book of Jin included not only the history of the Jin dynasty, but also that of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, which was contemporaneous with the Eastern Jin dynasty.