The nine-rank system, also known as the nine-grade controller system, was used to categorize and classify government officials in

Imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

. Created in the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

, it was used until the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, and similar ranking systems were also present in the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

and

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. Prior to the nine-rank system, official positions were denoted by their salary paid in number of bushels of grain. For example, during the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

, the highest-ranking officials were classed as ''wandan'' (萬石), meaning ten thousand bushels, and were paid 350 bushels of grain per month. The lowest ranking petty subofficials were paid in pecks, worth less than 100 bushels per year. A similar system was also used in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. In

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, the

Twelve Level Cap and Rank System , established in 603, was the first of what would be several similar cap and rank systems established during the Asuka period of Japanese history. It was adapted from similar systems that were already in place in Sui dynasty China, Paekche and Ko ...

was adopted in 603 during the reign of

Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 推古天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Suiko reigned from 593 until her death in 628. In the history of Japa ...

History

Background

The Nine-rank system was a reorganization of the Han dynasty practice of recommending noteworthy locals for political office. Since 134 BCE, during the reign of

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign la ...

, the Han court relied mainly on nomination by local magnates and officials as a way of identifying talent, by nominating them under titles such as ''

Xiaolian Xiaolian (; literally "filial and incorrupt"), was the standard of nominating civil officers started by Emperor Wu of Han in 134 BC. It lasted until its replacement by the imperial examination system during the Sui Dynasty. In Confucian philosophy ...

'' (, Filial and Incorrupt) or ''Maocai'' (, of Outstanding Talent). The nine-rank system was created after the end of the Han in 220 AD when Chen Qun, a court official from the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

, proposed it as a way of organizing the state bureaucracy. It was called the "nine-rank method for recruiting men for office" (''Jiǔ pǐn guān rén fǎ''; ). During the

it became the "system of Nine ranks and impartial judges." Chen Qun's reform was a way of systematizing the selection of candidates for political appointments in two ways: by creating a common scale of nine ranks to evaluate a person and by appointing ontrollers () in the court to grade officials on the scale. In practice, not only potential entrants but also existing officials were graded, creating two parallel systems: a "candidacy grade" and a "service grade" . The system was ostensibly based on a few criteria: moral probity, administrative ability, and the contributions of the person or his family to the newly-created Cao Wei regime. In practice, descent also played an important role; the service grade of a candidate's father had a bearing on their candidacy grade. The nine-rank system was originally intended to centralize the power of nominating and selecting appointees to office into the imperial court at

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

, but conflict remained between the right of evaluation between centrally-appointed Controllers and the governors of the regions. Nonetheless, the continued instability and turmoil of the Three Kingdoms period meant that the nine-rank system was not fully or solely implemented; mentions of the old nomination system as the basis for identifying talent remain prevalent in early Cao Wei writings. The nine-rank system would become more dominant in the later years of the Cao Wei regime under the regency of the Sima clan and into the early years of the Jin regime during which it had changed in nature. Under

Sima Yan Emperor Wu of Jin (; 236 – 16 May 290), personal name Sima Yan (), courtesy name Anshi (安世), was the grandson of Sima Yi, nephew of Sima Shi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty after forcing Cao Huan, ...

, the power of Controllers was expanded to include not only evaluation but also the nomination of talent, and with the

conquest of Wu by Jin The conquest of Wu by Jin was a military campaign launched by the Western Jin dynasty against the Eastern Wu dynasty in 280 at the end of the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. The campaign concluded with the fall of Eastern Wu and ...

and the subsequent peace, the system also became more systematized and formalized. Through the changes, the ine-rank system also became more closely aligned with the interests of the powerful official clans who had come to dominate imperial politics since the Cao Wei period. The expanded powers of the appointed Controllers in turn meant that the officials who held the post, many of whom came from these clans, could use their powers to promote the interests of their own scions. While the nine-rank system helped powerful clans to dominate official posts in the court, it also helped stimulate private schooling within families as a means of transmitting knowledge that could increase one's standing as someone eligible for evaluation. An example of this intrafamilial transmission of skills is the calligrapher

Wang Xizhi Wang Xizhi (; ; 303 AD361 AD) was a Chinese calligrapher, politician, general and writer during the Jin dynasty. He was best known for his mastery of Chinese calligraphy. Wang is sometimes regarded as the greatest Chinese calligrapher in Chines ...

, of the

Wang clan of Langya The Wang clan of Langya (or Langye) () was a Chinese clan which gained political prominence during the Han Dynasty and became one of the most powerful non-imperial clans during the Eastern Jin period. History Jin dynasty During the Western Jin p ...

that was prominent during the

Eastern Jin Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

, whose sons,

Wang Ningzhi Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thailand ...

Wang Huizhi Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thailand ...

and Wang Xianzhi, were all famed calligraphers in their own right. The emphasis placed by the nine-rank system on moral attributes such as filial piety also led to the growth of "familial instructions" (), which aimed to transmit moral teachings to children, as a genre of writing in the Jin and subsequent dynasties. During the Northern Wei, ranks four to nine added additional upper and lower ranks to the standard and secondary ranks, giving the nine-rank system a total of 30 ranks (6 in the top 3 ranks; 24 from ranks 4 to 9). After the

Northern Song Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

the nine ranks reverted to the original standard of 18 ranks, with each rank containing only two classes.

Organization

The nine ranks were separated into Upper, Middle, and Lower classes, each composed of three ranks, making nine in total. Each rank was also further classified into standard and secondary ranks and so the entire system contained 18 ranks. Ranks were expressed thus: 正一品 (''Zheng yi pin''; Standard class, Rank 1), 從一品 (''Cong yi pin''; Secondary class, Rank 1), 正四品上 (''Zheng si pin shang''; Standard class, Rank 4, Upper grade), 從四品下 (''Cong si pin xia''; Secondary class, Rank 4, Lower grade). The primary avenues to entering the nine ranks were through sponsorship, recommendation (''zheng pi''; 征辟) and examination (''cha ju''; 察舉). Recommendations were made by local recruiters (''Zhongzheng''; 中正) based on social status, morals, and ability, of which social status soon became the most important criterion. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, recommendations were marginalized and phased out of the recruiting process although sponsorship continued to play an important part in reaching the examinations until the Song era. Them, candidates were able to present themselves for exams independently, and bureaucratic staff who were recruited directly through the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to 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 ...

system became the norm. Aside from official ranked titles, officials also received prestige titles (散官), which were normally based on seniority.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nine-Rank System Cao Wei Northern and Southern dynasties Sui dynasty Goguryeo Baekje

History

Background

Organization

See also

References

Bibliography