Chinese nobility


The nobility of China represented the upper strata of aristocracy in premodern China, acting as the ruling class until the late seventh to ninth centuries during the Tang dynasty, and remaining a significant feature of the traditional social structure until the end of the imperial period.
The concepts of hereditary sovereignty, peerage titles, and noble families existed as early as the semi-mythical and early historical periods, but the systems of enfeoffment and establishment only developed in the Zhou dynasty, by the end of which a clear delineation of ranks had emerged. This process was a function of the interface between the ancient patriarchal clan system, an increasingly sophisticated apparatus of state, and an evolving geopolitical situation. While the imperial peerage system described here refers to noble titles formally conferred and inherited under state authority, the so-called “aristocracy” discussed in relation to the medieval period was not defined by such titles. Instead, it denoted a broader social stratum of powerful lineages whose elite status derived primarily from pedigree and bureaucratic officeholding rather than from imperially sanctioned noble ranks.
By the Tang dynasty, these semi-hereditary aristocratic families, distinct from formal noble titles, were already in decline. Their political advantages steadily eroded as bureaucratic recruitment expanded beyond pedigree lines. Quantitative analyses of Tang elites indicate that this erosion began as early as the late seventh century, marking a sustained weakening of hereditary privilege long before the final century of the dynasty. Social mobility rose markedly during this period, while the influence of family pedigree on official attainment declined. The Imperial examination system, which had existed in earlier forms, gained increasing institutional importance under the Tang and played an expanding role in official recruitment and social mobility. This transformation effectively ended the power of the old aristocratic clans, replacing them with a more bureaucratic and merit-based elite.
The last, well-developed system of noble titles was established under the final imperial dynasty, the Qing. The Republican Revolution of 1911 ended the official imperial system. Though some noble families maintained their titles and prestige for a time, new political and economic circumstances forced their decline. Today, this class has virtually disappeared.

Sovereign and ruling family ranks

The apex of the nobility is the sovereign. The title of the sovereign has changed over time, together with the connotations of the respective titles. Three levels of sovereignty could be distinguished: supreme rule over the realm, relatively autonomous local sovereignty, and tributary vassalage. The supreme sovereign is the only office translated into English as the term "emperor". An emperor might appoint, confirm, or tolerate sub-sovereigns or tributary rulers styled kings.
As a title of nobility, Ba Wang, hegemon, denoted overlordship of several subordinate kings while refraining from claiming the title of emperor. Sovereigns holding the title of king of an individual state within and without the shifting borders of the Chinese political realm might be fully independent heads of foreign states, such as the King of Korea. In some cases, they could be subordinate to foreign emperors just as territorial or tribal sovereign Mongol khans might be subject to one of several Khagans or Great khans.
Some Chinese emperors styled many or all close male relatives of certain kinds such as wang, a term for king or prince, although the sovereignty of such relatives was limited. Local tribal chiefs could also be termed "king" of a particular territory ranging from vast to tiny, using convenient terms of the form "" + "king" such as Changshawang, "King of Changsha". Changsha was briefly recognized as a kingdom, but was usually a political subunit. "Barbarian" leaders could also be referred to by names such as Yiwang, "king of the Eastern Yi", while in other cases terms such as tusi might be used for the same office.
Family members of individual sovereigns were also born to titles – or granted them – largely according to family tree proximity. This included blood relatives and affinal relatives. Frequently, the parents of a founding dynast would be posthumously elevated to honorary sovereignty.
Titles translated in English as "prince" and "princess" were generally immediate or recent descendants of sovereigns, with increasing distance at birth from an ancestral sovereign in succeeding generations resulting in degradations of the particular grade of prince or princess, eventually to nullity. Rulers of smaller states were typically styled with lesser titles of aristocracy, which could be upgraded or downgraded with or without royal assent. Sometimes such an alteration in grade reflected real power dynamics; in other cases it was merely an act of public relations.

Imperial house

Emperor

Also known as Tianzi, "The Son of Heaven" the Chinese emperor wielded varying degrees of power between different emperors and different dynasties, with some emperors being absolute rulers and others being figureheads with actual power in the hands of court factions, eunuchs, the bureaucracy or noble families.
  • In the mythical age, the sovereign was titled either huang or di. These mythical rulers were called the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. For the lists of the earliest, mythological rulers, both titles are conventionally translated in English as "Sovereigns", though translation as "Emperor" is also seen, which continues backwards in time the concept of an enduring political unity.
  • The sovereigns during the Xia dynasty and Shang dynasty called themselves Di ; titles of these rulers are generally translated as "king" and rarely as "emperor".
  • The sovereigns during the Zhou dynasty called themselves Wang. before the Qin dynasty innovated the new term huangdi which would become the new standard term for "emperor." The title "Wang" should not be confused with the common surname, which, at least by middle and later Chinese historical usage, has no definite royal implications. Rulers of these dynasties are conventionally translated with the title "king" and sometimes "emperor" in English.
  • Emperor or Huangdi was the title of the Chinese head of state of China from its invention by the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. The first emperor of Qin combined the two words huang and di to form the new, grander title. Since the Han dynasty, Huangdi began to be abbreviated to huang or di. Many other unrelated appellations saw broad use.
The title of emperor was usually transmitted from father to son. Most often, the first-born son of the primary wife inherited the office, failing which the post was taken up by the first-born son of a concubine or consort of lower rank, but this rule was not universal and disputed succession was the cause of a number of civil wars. The emperor's regime in the political theory of Heaven's mandate allowed for a change in dynasty, and an emperor could be replaced by a rebel leader. The overthrow of an imperial house was sufficient evidence of the loss of the Mandate.

Imperial spouses and consorts

It was generally not accepted for a female to succeed to the throne as a sovereign regnant in her own right, rather than playing the role of a sovereign's consort or regent for a sovereign during his age of minority. Official Chinese histories list only one reigning empress, Empress Wu of Tang. However, there have been numerous cases in Chinese history where a woman was the actual power behind the imperial throne.
Image:Empress-Dowager-Cixi2.jpg|thumb|200px|Empress Dowager Cixi, Regent of China considered de facto sovereign of China for 47 years during 1861–1908
Hou was a title granted to an official primary spouse of the polygynous male Chinese Emperor. It was also used for the mother of the Emperor, typically elevated to the rank of Empress Dowager regardless of which spousal ranking she bore prior to the emperor's accession. In practice, many Chinese Empresses Dowager wielded great power— either as official regent for a young sovereign or with the influence of position within family social ranks. From Empress Lü of Han to Empress Dowager Cixi of Qing, some women unquestionably reigned supreme.
Imperial Consorts, ranking below Empress, aren't often distinguished in English from imperial Concubines, the next lower rank, but these were also titles of significance within the imperial household.
The Rites of Zhou states that Emperors are entitled to the following simultaneous spouses:
  • 1 Empress
  • 3 Madames or Consorts
  • 9 Imperial Concubines
  • 27 Shifus
  • 81 Imperial Wives

    Hegemons

Sovereigns styled Ba or Bawang, asserted official overlordship of several subordinate rulers while refraining from claiming the royal title. This practice began in the Spring and Autumn period, spurred by a royal house too militarily weak to defend its own lands, in combination with an aristocracy flexing its power in novel ways. A later example of this title is Xiang Yu, who styled himself Xīchǔ Bàwáng, Hegemon of Chu.

Two crownings and three respects

It was a custom in China for the new dynasty to ennoble and enfeoff a member of the dynasty which they overthrew, so that they could maintain sacrifices to their ancestors. This practice was referred to as "the two crownings and three respects."

Ancient China

It is said that when the purported Xia dynasty was overthrown by the Shang dynasty, Xia descendants were given a title and fiefs by the Shang King in Qi and Zeng.
When the Shang dynasty was overthrown by the Zhou dynasty, the Zhou King granted a Shang royal scion the title Gong and fief of Song.