The differences and differences between titles

In the Yin (Shang) Dynasty, the titles were divided into three levels: Duke, Marquis and Bo. In the Zhou Dynasty, the titles were divided into five levels: Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi and Nan, with the status decreasing in order. These titles have fiefdoms and can be hereditary. Those who are called princes refer to these people. For example, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Song, Jin, Qi, Lu, and Yan were all principalities, and their kings were called so-and-so Dukes; the king of Zheng was an earl; some small countries in Shandong, such as Ju and Tan, were all princes. Confucius in the Spring and Autumn Period The kings are called Juzi and Tanzi. The supreme rulers of the three dynasties of Xia, Shang and Zhou were known as kings, so there are verses in the Book of Songs such as "In the whole world, is it the land of the king, and on the shore of the land, is it the ministers of the king". Zhou Li has detailed regulations on the size of the fiefdoms, ceremonial specifications, army numbers, treatment, sacrificial specifications, etc. owned by the king and the feudal states with various titles. But by the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, people began to overstep their bounds, so that later the princes began to call themselves kings, and the title of king was no longer valuable.

In view of this, Qin Shihuang chose another title of "Emperor" after unifying the world, which continued until the Qing Dynasty. The practice of enfeoffing princes was an authentic feudal system, but the Qin Dynasty abolished the feudal system and replaced it with a system of prefectures and counties. Officials were appointed and dismissed by the emperor and were no longer hereditary. In the Han Dynasty, the feudal system and the county system existed in parallel. At this time, the titles were divided into six categories: king, duke, marquis, uncle, son, and male. I'm not sure about this yet, maybe there are only three such as Wang, Gong and Hou (the reason is that the number six does not have a reliable origin). In addition, there were some "Guan Neihou" in the Han Dynasty. They had the name of a marquis but not the actual status of a marquis. They were raised by the court in the capital without fiefdom.

Since the Zhou Dynasty, China has been deeply influenced by the ritual system of the Zhou Dynasty (Confucius just wanted to "deny himself and restore the rituals" and tried to maintain the Zhou rituals), and the title constituted a strict hierarchy. Lower-level vassal states are often vassals of the nearby higher-level vassal states, especially a bunch of sub-states and male states that are not recorded in historical records, all of which are vassals. At the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, King Cheng summoned Duke Kang to issue an order to Qi Taigong (Jiang Shang, also known as Jiang Ziya): "To the sea in the east, to the river (Yellow River) in the west, to Muling (a pass) in the south, to Wudi in the north, the five princes and nine uncles , It is necessary to conquer it." ("Historical Records: Qi Taigong Family") It can be seen that the authority of princes at different levels is very different.

Notes:

The original meaning of the word "guo" is the fiefdom of the princes, and the political power established by the princes on their fiefdom, and the emperor's political power is called "the world". The word "under the whole world" in the Book of Songs refers to this, which is equivalent to what we now call the country or the whole world. Therefore, some foreigners say that the emperors of ancient China were extremely arrogant and believed that the whole world belonged to them. This is indeed what they meant. Confucianism talks about "cultivating one's moral character, regulating one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world." One of the aspects of governing the country is to govern the vassal states. In "Historical Records", we often see words such as "the princes returned to the country" and "the country was eliminated" (the princes were abolished), and the countries in them were the princes.

References:

Ban Gu, "Bai Hu Tong" Volume 1.

Sima Qian, "Historical Records" is about the current era and the various volumes of the family.