CHAPTER XIV.

TITLES OF HONOUR AND VISITS OF CEREMONY.

IN China there are orders of nobility which differ in a few minor respects from our own; and although it is impossible for me to enter into nice distinctions regarding the dignities of the "Middle Kingdom," I may be able to furnish a succinct account of the titles of honour which correspond with those of Great Britain. The Chinese have what may be termed dukes, marquises, earls, barons, and baronets. These ranks are respectively named:-Koong (duke), How (marquis), Paak (earl), Tze (baron), and Nan (baronet). Five in number, they represent, according to Morrison's Dictionary, the five elements in nature, namely, water, fire, wood, metal, and earth. Nobles of these various grades rank, I apprehend, above all other subjects of His Imperial Majesty.

Each of these orders of nobility is divided into classes according to the number of generations for which the title is allowed to be inherited. Dukes are divided into three classes, the titles of the first class not descending beyond the heirs male of the twenty-sixth generation. The titles of the second class cannot descend beyond the heirs male of the twenty-fifth generation; nor those of the third class beyond the heirs male of the twenty-fourth generation. Certain dukedoms, however, continue so long as there are heirs male to inherit them. Marquises are also, like dukes, divided into classes according to the number of generations. These classes, four in number, hold their marquisates for twenty-three, twenty-two, twenty

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one, and twenty generations respectively. Some marquisates, also, continue to exist so long as there are male heirs to inherit them. According to the same principle, earls are divided into four classes, the number of generations during which the several classes are permitted to retain this rank being respectively nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, and sixteen. The first class of barons only hold them for fifteen generations, the other three classes for fourteen, thirteen, and twelve generations respectively. The title of baronets is only held in the first class for eleven generations, the three remaining classes holding their titles, for ten, nine, and eight generations. Precedence among the members of each order is, of course, determined by the class to which they belong.

Besides these five orders of nobility there is a further degree of rank which is termed Kee-Too-Wye; and a still lower grade termed Wan-Kee-Wye. The former rank descends in families belonging to its first class, no further than the heirs male of the third generation; and in its second class to the heirs male of the second generation. The latter rank, Wan-KeeWye, descends only to the immediate male heir. It is apparently not dissimilar to knighthood in Great Britain, and carries with it a right to a title of honour. There is a degree of rank which is termed Yan-Kee-Wye, and which is inherited by the descendants of dukes, marquises, earls, barons, and baronets, when these titles by effluxion of tenure have become extinct. In China, as in Great Britain, earls are, in some instances, raised to the dignity of marquises, and marquises to the dignity of dukes. It is customary for an earl, created a marquis, to transfer his dignity of earl, by royal permission, to his younger brother. These various dignities are of very ancient origin and, in the form in which we now find them, may be traced back to the darkest periods of Chinese history. The power and authority which once attached to them, however, have greatly diminished. At one time their possessors were princes, or powerful feudal chieftains, each wielding a sceptre over his own territory. The dukes had almost absolute power over a dominion or principality which was one hundred li, or thirty miles English in extent. The principality of a

marquis was nearly equal in area, while earls and barons were allowed to possess estates which did not exceed seventy li, or twenty-three English miles in area; and baronets, estates which did not exceed a limit of fifty li, or sixteen English miles.

In addition to these honours there are other degrees of rank which bring with them the right to certain titles. These degrees are nine in number, and each degree is divided into the classes: Ching, correct; and Tsung, deputy.

Among those who belong to the civil state-using the phrase loosely as opposed only to the military-the four cabinet ministers and members of the great council of the nation, are of the first degree and of the class Ching; and the heads of the six boards are of the class Tsung in the same degree. Governors-General of provinces are of the second degree and of the class Ching; and provincial governors and treasurers are of the class Tsung in the same degree. Of the third degree, criminal judges are of the class Ching, and salt commissioners of the class Tsung. Of the fourth degree, toutais are of the class Ching, and prefects of the class Tsung. Of the fifth degree, sub-prefects are of the class Ching; and the president of the astronomical board, physicians to His Imperial Majesty, and deputy salt commissioners of the class Tsung. Of the sixth degree, the vice-president of the astronomical board, district rulers whose offices are at Pekin, and the superintendents of ecclesiastical affairs-four in number-are of the class Ching, and the chief of the literati, deputy treasurers and deputy judges of the class Tsung. Of the seventh degree, doctors of law, district rulers, masters of ceremonies, and literati in charge of bachelors of arts, are of the class Ching; and clerks of the palace, and clerks of sub-prefects, of the class Tsung. Of the eighth degree, officials who have charge of temples in honour of Confucius at the place where the sage was born, physicians of the royal household, chiefs or rulers of salt markets, and officials in charge of all provincial, prefectoral, and district Confucian temples, and priests whose especial duty it is to chant prayers not only in honour of Heaven but in that of the Sun and Moon, are of the class Ching; and officials whose duty it is to reside in the offices of provincial treasurers for the purpose

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of comparing the impression of seals, are of the class Tsung. Of the ninth degree of civil rank, interpreters of the Siamese, Japanese, and Corean languages are of the class Ching; and superintendents of police, and the heads of various classes of artificers employed in the palace are of the class Tsung. There is also another class which is termed Mee-Yap-Lou or "not yet of rank." Men of this class are either keepers of the doors of provincial treasuries, or of the gates of the metropolis, Pekin, or heads of branch custom-houses, or chiefs of the postmen or couriers. Among those who hold military rank, there are also nine degrees each of which, as in the former cases, is divided into the classes of Ching and Tsung. Of the first degree of military rank, generals of the household troops are of the class Ching, and generals of Tartar or Chinese troops, and admirals are of the class Tsung. Of the second degree, the director of the imperial procession which accompanies the Emperor when he goes from the palace, generals, and vice-admirals are of the class Ching, and colonels of the class Tsung. Of the third degree, members of the body-guard (all of whom are men of birth and fortune), the general of the royal brigade of matchlock men, and the keepers (all of whom are military men) of the imperial tombs, are of the class Ching; generals and colonels in command of body-guards, who are always in attendance upon the uncle and brothers of the Emperor, are of the class Tsung. Of the fourth degree, the members of the second regiment of body-guards are of the class Ching; and the officers in command of the troops by which the gates of the City of Pekin are garrisoned, of the class Tsung. Of the fifth degree, the captains of the third regiment of body-guards are of the class Ching; and the captains of the troops who have charge of the canals, of the class Tsung. Of the sixth degree, officers in charge of three hundred soldiers are of the class Ching; and officers of three hundred policemen, whose duty it is to superintend the canals, are of the class Tsung. Of the seventh degree, soldiers who guard the gates of Pekin, the head grooms of the royal stables, and centurions are of class Ching; and the head of the herdsmen1 who have charge of all animals intended

1 This official resides in Tartary.

for sacrificial purposes, is of the class Tsung. Of the eighth degree, officers in charge of twenty or thirty soldiers are of the class Ching; and bearers of the Imperial sedan-chairs are of the class Tsung. And lastly, of the ninth degree of military rank, officers in charge of small military stations are of the class Ching, whilst officers of less note are of the class Tsung.

Officers of the second degree of rank, whether civil or military, can purchase the title of a first degree of rank. The power, however, which as officers they are called upon to exercise, is that only of the second rank. The various degrees confer titles upon those who hold them; and as the title borne by those in the first class of a degree is different from that borne by those in the second class, there are in all thirty-six titles, eighteen for civilians, and eighteen for those whose appointments rank as military. I refrain, however, from inflicting the thirty-six titles upon the reader. If the bearer of a title has received the honour in question from the hands of the Emperor direct, he places the term Shou before his title. The father of a son who receives a title, is, also, allowed to assume a title precisely similar in point of importance to that which has been conferred upon his son. He, however, places before his title the term Foong, which implies that he has received his title in consequence of the renown of his son. If a father die before his son be ennobled, he, though dead, is nevertheless ennobled. It is necessary, however, for the son in speaking or writing of his father, or in erecting a tombstone to perpetuate his memory, to place the term Tsang before the title-a term which implies that the honour is a posthumous one. Great-grandfathers and grandfathers are also, whether they be dead, or alive, ennobled by imperial decree, if their greatgrandsons and grandsons be so fortunate as to attain to any of the titles and distinctions of the Chinese empire.

Should a man of title marry, his wife is allowed to bear a title precisely similar in point of rank. Should, however, this lady die, a second wife would bear no title, unless he were to be raised still higher in the scale of nobility during her wifehood. A third wife is not allowed to assume a title even though her husband has one. Should her sons, however, become