User:Imsulimo/Ranged Marquis

Ranged Marquis (列侯 Liè Hóu, or 彻侯 Chè Hóu), is a kind of Chinese nobility from Warring States period to Chen Dynasty.

Warring States Period and Qin Dynasty
Durring the Warring States period, most countries abolished the feudal system(封建制) inherited from Spring and Autumn period, and established prefecture system(郡县制) in commanderies(郡) and districts(县). As the survivor of feudal system, sovereigns created new titles such as Ranged Marquises(彻侯) and Lords(君) who taxed on their feeding fief(食邑). Qin State established the Twenty Ranks of Peerage Hierarchy(二十等爵制) since Shang Yang's Reform, and the Ranged Marquis is the highest rank in all twenty ranks. A ranged marquis is granted a feeding fief(食邑) which he can only tax on, not a feudal fief. Different awards - large fiefs of districts(縣), small fiefs of townships(鄉) or neighborhoods(亭) were given to marquises according to their military exploits.

Secondary Marquis(關內侯 Guān Nèi Hóu), or called Inner Marquis(內侯 Nèi Hóu) or Analogous Marquis(倫侯 Lún Hóu), is the rank only second under Ranged Marquis in the twenty ranks of peerage.

Han Dynasty inherited the ranged marquis and all twenty ranks of peerage from Qin.

Han Dynasty
Ranged Marquis is the highest nobility title for subjects not from the royal family in Han Dynasty. Its first name is 彻侯(Chè Hóu), and changed into 通侯(Tōng Hóu) or 列侯(Liè Hóu) because of taboo of Emperor Wu of Han's name, Liú Chè(刘彻). All three names have the similar meaning.

Western Han
The marquises's fief are called marquisates who are seen as districts. The number of households varies greatly among marquisates. The little marquisates may have only hundreds of households, but the large marquisates may have more than ten-thousand households such as Marquis of Guanjun(冠軍侯) and Marquis of Changping(長平侯). A marquisate is administered by a counselor-delegate(國相 Guó Xiàng) as a magistrate(令, 長) in his district. A marquis can appoint their courtier-officers: Houseold Aide(家丞 Jiā Chéng), Drafter(舍人 Shè Rén), Cadet(庶子 Shù Zǐ), Grand Master of Gates(门大夫 Mén Dà Fū), Frontrider(洗马 Xiǎn Mǎ), Messenger(行人 Xíng Rén). The marquises who are not in office or marriage with a imperial princess must leave Chang'an and move to their marquisates(就國). The Commandant of the Nobles supervises marquises in Chang'an the imperial capital, and Governors of commanderies supervise marquises in their own fiefs.

At first, Emperor Gaozu of Han covenanted his meritorious statesmen in White Horse League(白馬之盟), that said: "If one get a marquisate without military exploits, all people must attack him." But no one obeyed the league. While on the contrary, the Councilor(丞相), the princess' husband and the empress' father are sure to become get marquisates.

Eastern Han
There are five ranks of Ranged Marquis during Eastern Han period. They are District Marquis(縣侯), Chief Township Marquis(都鄉侯), Township Marquis(鄉侯), Chief Neighborhood Marquis(都亭侯) and Neighborhood Marquis(亭侯). Marquises of Township or Neighborhood have courtiers but have no marquisate, only District Marquises have own marquisates as in Western Han. In normal conditions, marquisates whose owner have died without sons will be revoked by the emperor, but collateral relatives can inherit the title in certain conditions. Because Emperors of Eastern Han had given too many lower ranged marquises recklessly, there was a huge gap between marquises. The ranks among ranged marquises depend on thier honorary titles or the number of households in feeding fief.

The hierarchy of Ranged Marquis in Shu Han and Sun Wu is the same with Eastern Han.

Wei Dynasty(Cao Wei)
The early Wei Dynasty has accepted the nobility titles of Eastern Han. But Sima Zhao, the Prince of Jin, created Five ranks of Peerage Hierarchy(五等爵制) replace the ranged marquis grade as the top noble titles in 264.A.D. Ranged Marquises had been preserved as lower titles for no-royal-family people, and the district marquises existed in both ranged marquises and five ranks of peerage hierarchy until Liu Song Dynasty.

Jin Dynasty
Jin Dynasty inherited the noble titles of terminal Wei Dynasty included the twenty ranks of peerage hierarchy and the five ranks of peerage hierarchy. During this period, ranged marquises were divided into three grades: District Marquises, Township Marquises and Neighbohood Marquises. Marquises lost marquisates but keepd feeding fiefs and courtiers such as household aide(家丞 Jiā Chéng) and cadet(庶子 Shù Zǐ). The five peers rank in the first rank and the second rank respectively, while district marquises is the third rank, township marquises is fourth and neighborhood marquises is fifth.

Southern Dynasties
The nobility system of Liu Song is the same as that of Jin Dynasty. Southern Qi abolished the District Marquis grade of ranged marquises. The remaining two mrquis grade is the eighth rank of nobility hierarchy in Chen Dynasty.Sui Dynasty destroyed Chen dynasty and the last ranged marquis system in 589.