The apex of the nobility is the sovereign.The title of the sovereign has changed over time, together with the connotations of the respective titles. In Chinese history are generally 3 levels of supreme and fully independent sovereignty or high, significantly autonomous sovereignty above the next lower category of ranks, the aristocracy who usually recognized the overlordship of a …

The Embroidered Uniform Guard (traditional Chinese: 錦衣衞; simplified Chinese: 锦衣卫; pinyin: Jǐnyīwèi; lit. 'brocade-clad guard') was the imperial secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty in China. The guard was founded by the Hongwu Emperor in 1368 to serve as his personal bodyguards. In 1369 it became an imperial military body.

The history of the administrative divisions of China before 1912 is quite complex. Across history, what is called 'China' has taken many shapes, and many political organizations. For various reasons, both the borders and names of political divisions have changed—sometimes to follow topography, sometimes to weaken former states by dividing them, and sometimes to …

The imperial examination, or keju (Chinese: 科舉; lit. "subject recommendation") was a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy.The concept of choosing bureaucrats by merit rather than by birth started early in Chinese history, but using written examinations as a tool of selection …

Creation. In 221 BC, the Seal was created when Qin Shi Huang destroyed the remaining Warring States and united China under the Qin Dynasty. Heshibi was a famous piece of jade stone which previously belonged to the Zhao state.Passing into the hands of the new Emperor of China, he ordered it made into his Imperial seal.The words, "Having received the Mandate from Heaven, …

The grand chancellor (zaixiang, tsai-hsiang), also translated as counselor-in-chief, chancellor, chief councillor, chief minister, imperial chancellor, lieutenant chancellor and prime minister, was the highest-ranking executive official in the imperial Chinese government.The term was known by many different names throughout Chinese history, and the exact extent of the powers …

A mandarin (Chinese: 官; pinyin: guān) was a bureaucrat scholar in the history of China, Korea and Vietnam.. The term is generally applied to the officials appointed through the imperial examination system; it sometimes includes the eunuchs also involved in …

Huangdi (Chinese: 皇帝; pinyin: Huángdì), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heaven and the autocrat of all under Heaven.Under the Han dynasty, Confucianism replaced Legalism as the …

The ranks of imperial consorts have varied over the course of Chinese history but remained important throughout owing to its importance in management of the inner court and in imperial succession, which ranked heirs according to the prominence of their mothers in addition to their strict birth order. Regardless of the age, however, it is common in English translation to simplify …

Dynasties in Chinese history, or Chinese dynasties, were hereditary monarchical regimes that ruled over China during much of its history.From the legendary inauguration of dynastic rule by Yu the Great circa 2070 BC to the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor on 12 February 1912 in the wake of the Xinhai Revolution, China was ruled by a series of successive dynasties.