Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty

TheQing dynasty(1644–1912) ofChinadeveloped a complicated peerage system forroyal and noble ranks.
In principle, titles were downgraded one grade for each  generation of inheritance.
Occasionally, a peer could be granted the privilege ofshixi wangti(世襲罔替;shìxí wǎngtì; "perpetual heritability"), which allowed the title to be passed down without downgrading. Throughout the Qing dynasty, there were 12 imperial princely families that had this privilege. They were known as the "iron-cap princes".
The noble titles were inherited through a system of looseprimogeniture: The eldest son from the peer's first wife was usually the heir apparent, but inheritance by a younger son, a son of a concubine, or brother of the peer was not uncommon. According to their birth (by the chief consort, secondary consort or concubines) and their father's rank, non-heir sons of imperial princes were also entitled to petition for a lower title than the one they would have received had they been the heir. Non-heir sons of other peers were also occasionally granted a lower title.
Whether imperial or not, the inheritance or bestowal was never automatic, and had to be approved by the Emperor, theMinistry of Personnel, or theImperial Clan Court. Imperial princes, upon reaching adulthood at the age of 20, had to pass tests in horse-riding, archery and theManchu languagebefore they were eligible for titles. Imperial princesses, other than the Emperor's daughters, were usually granted titles upon marriage, regardless of age. Princesses' titles were also usually fixed after they were granted, and were not affected by changes in their fathers' nobility ranks.
Yunjiwei("sub-commander of the cloud cavalry") was originally a military rank created in theSui dynasty, but it was later turned into a military honour in theTang dynastyas part of thexun guan(勳官;xūn guān) system. The Qing dynasty abolished the separate military honour system and merged it into the nobility rank system, usingyunjiweias the lowest grantable rank of nobility, and the basic unit of rank progression.
For example, ayunjiweiwho received another grant ofyunjiweibecame ajiduwei. Afirst-class duke plus yunjiweiwas the equivalent of 23 grants ofyunjiwei.
The Qing dynasty, much like previous dynasties, used an "official rank" system (品;pǐn). This system had nine numbered ranks, each subdivided into upper and lower levels, in addition to the lowest "unranked" rank: from upper firstpin(正一品), to lower ninthpin(從九品), to the unranked (未入流), for a total of 19 ranks. All government personnel, from the highest chancellors to the lowest clerk, held an official rankex officio, which determined their salary, uniform, privileges and order of precedence.
Thispinsystem existed in parallel to the noble ranks detailed in this article. Many higher noble titles ranked above this system (超品;chāopǐn). And while some titles corresponded to apin, they were considered equivalents of convenience rather than actual official ranks.
Historically, Chinese noble titles were usually created with ashiyi(食邑;shíyì;fief) each, although the fief could be only nominal. TheHongwu Emperorof theMing dynastyenfeoffed cadet branch princes and other nobles in different regions of China. The Qing dynasty ended this tradition; with only a few exceptions, no fief was ever named. No Qing prince was enfeoffed with territory. Instead, noble titles were created without a name, or were bestowed ameihao(美號;meǐhào; titular name). These names were usually descriptive of the peer's merit, virtue, or the circumstances leading to his ennoblement. The Dukes Yansheng kept their traditional fief in Shandong under Qing rule.
Titular names were unique for imperial princes, while non-imperial peers' titular names may overlap. FollowingMing dynastytradition, single-character names were reserved forqinwangs, whilejunwangs used two-character names. All other peers normally had two-character names, but could receive up to four characters.
Since noble titles were primarily awarded for military service, the titular names predominantly described martial virtues, e.g.,zhongyong gong(忠勇公;zhōngyǒng gōng; "loyal and brave duke"). However, a particularly common titular name wascheng'en gong(承恩公;chéng'ēn gōng; "duke who receives grace"), which was frequently granted to the Empress's family members.
At the top of the imperial hierarchy, the highest six ranks enjoyed the "Eight Privileges" (八分;bafen;jakūn ubu). These privileges were:
Peacock feathers, however, were prohibited for princes above the rank ofbeiziand direct imperial clansmen. The "Eight Privileges" entitled the prince to participate in state councils and share the spoils of war. However, the prince was also bound to reside in the capital and render service to the imperial court. 
In 1816, the princes were forbidden from reporting matters via eunuchs. Thus, most of the princes employed officials as managers of domestic affairs. The range of tasks of those officials included conveyance of memorials on behalf of the prince. The supervisor of princely manor held lower 4 rank in 9-pin system.
The four ranks above were granted solely to direct male-line descendants of the Emperor. These titles below were granted to cadet lines of the imperial clan.
The above six ranks are titles that enjoy the "Eight Privileges". The titles below do not enjoy the "Eight Privileges" and have no imperial duties.
All of the above titles arechaopin(超品;chāopǐn), outranking official ranks. The ranks below are ranked first to fourthpinrespectively. The first threejiangjunranks are each further subdivided into four classes:first class plus yunjiwei,first class,second class, andthird class.
Regardless of title and rank, an imperial prince was addressed as "A-ge" (ᠠᡤᡝ;age;阿哥;À-gē), which means "lord" or "commander" in Manchu.
The following titles were granted to female members of the imperial clan:
Comparison of titles for imperial princesses
Efu(ᡝᡶᡠ额驸;額駙;éfù), also knownFuma(驸马;駙馬;fùmǎ), translated as "Prince Consort". Its original meaning was "emperor's charioteer". It was usually granted to the spouse of a princess above the rank ofzongnü. Theefus were separated into seven ranks corresponding to the rank of the princesses theefumarried.Efus who marriedgulun gongzhus andheshuo gongzhus held ranks equivalent to thebeizis and dukes respectively. The remainingefus had equivalent official rank from the first to fifthpin.
Anefuretained his title and privileges as long as the princess remained his primary spouse – even after her death. However, if anefuremarried or promoted a consort to be his primary spouse, he lost all rights obtained from his marriage to the princess.
The following titles were granted to consorts of imperial princes:
If the princess consort divorced a prince or died, the second princess consort held the title of "step consort" (继福晋, pinyin: jì fújìn). Divorced princess consorts were stripped of their privileges and returned to their maiden manors. Dead primary consorts of the emperor could be posthumously honoured as empress, ex. Lady Niohuru, primary consort ofMinning, Prince Zhi of the First Rankwas honoured asEmpress Xiaomucheng, Lady Sakda, primary consort ofYizhuwas honoured asEmpress Xiaodexian. The same rule was for primary consort of the imperial prince who died before the marriage, e.g. Lady Nara, primary consort of Yongkui, Prince Li of the First Rank.
Palace maids from prince's residence could be promoted in case of princess consort's death or in case when they had children with a prince, ex.Wang Yuying,Yongxuan's servant was promoted to secondary consort. Remaining spouses could be promoted to higher positions in special circumstances, ex. ladyWanyan,Yongcheng's unranked spouse was given a title of secondary consort.
If imperial prince ascended the throne, his primary consort was named as empress, secondary consorts were named as noble consorts, consorts  or concubines and mistresses were granted titles from first class female attendant to concubine or consort and given honorific names.
Princess consorts held titles according to their husbands. If the prince was demoted, princess consort could be treated appropriately. After the demotion of prince, princess consort returned her regalias to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If the prince was born in a non-iron cap cadet line, his future title depended on the position of his consort.   Nevertheless, they addressed themselves as "qie". On the other hand, princess consort was mainly addressed as "fujin" or "furen" according to the title of her husband. All princess consorts regardless of rank were listed in imperial genealogy (Jade Tables).
Princess consorts could wear chaofu befitting imperial consorts on solemn ceremonies, but were prohibited from wearing yellow-grounded robes. The crown of princess consort had peacocks instead of phoenixes and no tiers on the finial. Princess consort wore jifu with roundels of dragons matching patterns on the surcoat of her husband and tiara with phoenixes. Imperial duchesses wore jifu with medallions of flowers like imperial consorts below the rank of noble lady.
At the beginning of the Qing dynasty, before the rank system was formalised, non-standard titles were also used, such as:
The following are the nine ranks of the peerage awarded for valour, achievement, distinction, other imperial favour, and to imperial consort clans.
The above three ranks arechaopin(超品;chāopǐn), outranking official ranks. The four following ranks were all evolved from leadership ranks in the Manchu banner army, originally calledᡝᠵᡝᠨejen(額真; "lord" or "master" in Manchu) and laterᠵᠠᠩᡤᡳᠨjanggin(章京; "general" in Manchu).
All of the above ranks are sub-divided into four classes; in order:first class plus yunqiwei,first class,second class, andthird class.
At the beginning of the Qing dynasty, duringNurhaci's andHuangtaiji's reigns, the noble ranks were not yet standardised. Several titles were created that did not fit into the above system, mostly for defectors from theMing dynasty. These titles were similar to the titles used in the Ming dynasty, and lack the Manchu nomenclature and the noble rank system introduced later.
Additionally, there were banner offices that later evolved into hereditary noble titles. Despite being used as noble titles, these offices continued to exist and function in the banner hierarchy. To distinguish the noble titles from the offices, they were sometimes called "hereditary office" (世职;世職;shì zhí) or "hereditary rank" (世爵;shì jué).
Mingfu (命妇;mìngfù; "noblewoman") was granted to wives of officials, non-imperial aristocrats and collateral clanswomen. Also, mothers of imperial consorts were granted a title of "mingfu" according to the rank held by her daughter as well as sisters of imperial consorts andfujins.  Noblewomen were divided into 7 ranks according to the rank of her husband and her daughter, if her daughter was an imperial consort. If the title held by mingfus' husbands was divided into subclasses, they could be treated equally. Mingfus holding rank equivalent to wives of imperial generals conducted court ceremonies, ex. promotions of imperial consort, weddings of princes and princesses (if they married into Manchu or Han family) and rites, while lower rank ladies attended to them.
Mingfu, whose husband was granted a title above the rank system (Duke, Marquis or Count), was treated similarly to imperial duchess, but enjoyed less privileges than imperial clanswoman.  Collateral Gioro ladies were treated as mingfu from 1st to 3rd rank. Noblewomen were addressed as "furen" ("Madam") regardless of rank.
However，
Differently to imperial clanswomen, mingfus wore crowns with three bejeweled plaques and finial consisting of one coral, silk bandeaus with embroidered golden dragons chasing after a flaming pearl and blue-groundedchaofuon solemn ceremonies. Lower-ranking ladies could not wear surcoats with roundels of flowers and auspicious symbols unlike imperial duchesses and clanswomen. Collateral clanswomen could wear surcoats with rampant four-clawed dragons above the magnificent sea-waves pattern (lishui) and white caishui (pointed kerchief fastened to the robe like a pendant). Wives of officials wore sleeveless vest matchingMandarin squareof her husband andMing Dynasty style tiaras, as depicted on ancestral portraits.
With a few exceptions, the above titles were, in principle, created for only military merits. There were also titles for civil officials.
While there were a few Manchu civil titles, the most important civil titles followed the Han Chinese Confucian tradition, derived from high bureaucratic offices or imperial household offices that evolved into honorary sinecures. These were sometimes granted as special privileges, but also often as a practical means of conferring official rank promotion without giving specific responsibilities. Examples of such titles weretaibao(太保; "Grand Protector"),shaoshi(少師; "Junior Preceptor"),taizi taifu(太子太傅; "Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince"),  furen (夫人, "Madam"/“Lady") anddafu(大夫; "Gentleman"). These titles were non-heritable.
In addition, there were also honorary and hereditary titles granted to religious and cultural leaders, such as:
The Qing imperial court also granted titles to princes of its protectorates and tributary states, mainly inMongolia,XinjiangandTibet. The vassal titles were generally inherited in perpetuity without downgrading.
The ranks roughly mirrored those of the imperial clan, with a few differences:
Thetaijiandtabunangare equal in rank, and both subdivided into five classes:jasagh,first class,second class,third class, andfourth class.Jasaghischaopin, above official ranks, while the rest were equivalent to the first to fourthpin.
Under thetusisystem, the Qing Empire also recognised various local tribal chieftainships of ethnic minority tribes. This was mainly applied in the mountain regions ofYunnan, but also in western and northern borderlands. They were theChiefdom of Bathang,Chiefdom of Chuchen,Chiefdom of Lijiang,Chiefdom of Lithang,Chiefdom of Mangshi,Chiefdom of Tsanlha,Chiefdom of Yao'an,Chiefdom of Yongning,Mu'egeChiefdom of MuliandChiefdom of Langqu.
The Qing Empire had two vassals in Xinjiang, theKumul Khanateand theTurfan Khanate.
The modernised awards system, promulgated in 1882, was as follows in the following order (from highest to lowest):
In addition to systematized rank titles listed above, there were also other honorific titles and privileges, mostly non-heritable:
Robes from the Qing emperors are also preserved there.The Jurchens in the Jin dynasty and Mongols in the Yuan dynasty continued to patronize and support the Confucian Duke Yansheng.
With only a few exceptions, most Manchu titles ultimately derived from Han Chinese roots.