Imperial Family and Nobles
The Imperial Family was the group made up of the Emperor, the Empress, their children and other relations. The Emperor was sometimes considered semi-divine or appointed by the gods, although he had to earn that respect and it was not automatically assumed about him. Because of this divinity, he was often called “The Son of Heaven”. However, not all emperors were absolute in their power. Many times, various states were at war with each other, and each had their own king. As a state would absorb the other, less powerful, regions, the ruler would want to be known as more than just a king, thus the term emperor.
In general, the customs of primogeniture meant that the son followed the father, although occasionally a less-closely related male relative was crowned. Because there was a lot of court intrigue and plotting concerning the succession that went on, the heir was sometimes crowned during the present emperor’s lifetime. There was only one woman who ruled in her own right, Empress Wu of the Tang dynasty, who achieved this by simply creating her own dynasty, the Wu-Zhou.
The nobles were separated into five different ranks, roughly analogous to duke, marquis, count, viscount, and baron. Before 221 B.C.E, the title was given based on the designee’s relationship to the emperor. Later, only the dukes and marquis were connected to the royal family, and the others were merit-based positions. Most nobility could hold the title for their lifetime, and pass any lands or money connected with the title to their sons. Other officials, such as people in government positions and generals, were much lower on the social chain, and often did not have as much money or land holdings.
In general, the customs of primogeniture meant that the son followed the father, although occasionally a less-closely related male relative was crowned. Because there was a lot of court intrigue and plotting concerning the succession that went on, the heir was sometimes crowned during the present emperor’s lifetime. There was only one woman who ruled in her own right, Empress Wu of the Tang dynasty, who achieved this by simply creating her own dynasty, the Wu-Zhou.
The nobles were separated into five different ranks, roughly analogous to duke, marquis, count, viscount, and baron. Before 221 B.C.E, the title was given based on the designee’s relationship to the emperor. Later, only the dukes and marquis were connected to the royal family, and the others were merit-based positions. Most nobility could hold the title for their lifetime, and pass any lands or money connected with the title to their sons. Other officials, such as people in government positions and generals, were much lower on the social chain, and often did not have as much money or land holdings.