Noble ranks of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom


The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom developed a complicated peerage system for noble ranks.

King/Prince

Wang was the highest title of nobility, often hereditary, ranked just below the Heavenly King. There were five ranks of wang:
RanksGranted toNotable peopleNotes
King of the First Rank powerful ministersYang Xiuqing, the East King
Xiao Chaogui, the West King
Feng Yunshan, the South King
Wei Changhui, the North King
Shi Dakai, the Flank King
Hong Rengan, the Shield King
Prince of the Second Rank provincial commandersChen Yucheng, the Heroic Prince
Li Xiucheng, the Loyal Prince
Li Shixian, the Servant Prince
Prince of the Third Rank important generals

Prince of the Fourth Rank
Ranged Prince Also known as Tiny Prince
the lowest rank prince
prince without title

Non-hereditary nobility ranks

Below the king or prince, there were six ranks of nobility in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: E, An, Fu, Yen, Yü and Hou. The nobility titles were not hereditary.
E and An were most highest ranks of the nobility, once they were very noble titles of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. If the Heavenly King wanted to promote someone, he gave the person either E or An. However, this rule was challenged after 1860 because the nobility titles had been given too freely.
RanksMale titlesFemale titlesDerived fromCreation timeNotes
1E Nü zhen jiang Prince Yi, the title of Shi Dakai1856
2An Nü zhen an Prince An, the title of 1856
3Fu Nü zhen fu Prince Fu, the title of 1856
4Yen Nü zhen yen Prince of Yan, the title of Qin Rigang1856
5Yü Nü zhen yü Prince of Yu, the title of 1854
6Hou Nü zhen hou Equal to marquess

Notable people