The princes of 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 ...

were titled and salaried members of the imperial bureaucracy with nominal lordship over various

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

s of Ming China. All were members of the imperial Zhu clan descended from the twenty-six sons of

Zhu Yuanzhang The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...

(Hongwu Emperor). None of the princes controlled the administration of their nominal fief, unlike some tribal leaders or

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

' descendants, the

Dukes of Overflowing Sagacity The Duke Yansheng, literally "Honorable Overflowing with Wisdom", sometimes translated as Holy Duke of Yen, was a Chinese title of nobility. It was originally created as a marquis title in the Western Han dynasty for a direct descendant o ...

, who continued to rule their territories outside of the normal provincial system. Like all members of the imperial family, the princes were not bound by the standard imperial administration or courts. Instead, their status, promotions, and punishments were regulated by the

Imperial Clan Court The Imperial Clan Court or Court of the Imperial Clan was an institution responsible for all matters pertaining to the imperial family under the Ming and Qing dynasties of imperial China. This institution also existed under the Nguyễn dynasty o ...

in the capital, which was staffed and directed by other members of the clan.

Generation names

The

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...

considered that the names of descendants would be duplicated.

Zhu Shouqian Zhu Shouqian (; 1361–1392), the Prince of Jingjiang, was the grandnephew of Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor). His grandfather, Zhu Xinglong, Prince of Nanchang, was the eldest brother of the Hongwu Emperor, and his father was Zhu Wenzhen ...

had given generation name poems to all of his sons and grandnephews. They each have poems with twenty characters for twenty generations of male-line descendants, starting from his great-grandnephew, Zhu Shouqian. The emperor decried that his descendant's given names must use characters with

Wu Xing Wuxing may refer to: Places in China Counties and districts *Huzhou, formerly Wuxing County, Zhejiang, China *Wuxing District (吴兴区), central district of Huzhou Subdistricts (五星街道) *Wuxing Subdistrict, Mudanjiang, in Dong'an District ...

(Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal & Water). Only descendants of Zhu Shouqian's line do not need to follow this rule.

Title

The Chinese title of these lords was ''Wáng'' (), which was held by the "emperors" of the

Shang The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and f ...

and Zhou dynasties and by the "kings" of the

Warring States The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...

. The English translation of "prince" is generally preferred for these Ming rulers, however, owing to their extremely limited authority.

Royal and noble ranks of the Ming dynasty万历《大明会典》

Male members

Crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

, Great Imperial Son (, Huang

Taizi Taizi () was the title of the crown prince of imperial China. Succession Traditional Confucian political theory favored strict agnatic primogeniture, with younger sons displaying filial obedience to the eldest upon the passing of the father. Th ...

), for eldest son and heir of an Emperor. **Crown prince, Great Imperial Grandson (), for the eldest son of a crown prince. *First-rank

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

(), for imperial son except the crown prince. **Hereditary Prince, Princely Son (), for the eldest son and heir apparent of a 1st rank prince. ***Hereditary Prince, Princely Grandson (), for the eldest son of a hereditary prince. Some princes had passed their principalities to their great-grandson too, their heir-apparent namely called "shizengsun" (, Princely Great-Grandson). *Second-rank

commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

prince (or "Prince of XXX Commanders"), for all other sons of a crown prince and first-rank prince except their heir apparent. **Commandery chief son (), for the eldest son and heir apparent of a commandery prince. ***Commandery chief grandson (), for the eldest son of a chief son. *Defender general (), for all other sons of a second-rank commandery prince except his heir apparent. The privilege of this title was the same as first junior-rank officers. *Bulwark general (), for the son of a defender general. The privilege was the same as second junior-rank officers. Some younger sons of commandery princes were mothered by their concubinage, or if they have offended, they would be made the title bulwark general. *Supporter General (), for the son of a bulwark general. The privilege was the same as third junior-rank officers. *Defender lieutenant (), for the son of a supporter general. The privilege was the same as fourth junior-rank officers. **Defender lieutenant's primary consort would title reverent lady (). *Bulwark lieutenant (), for the son of a defender lieutenant. The privilege was the same as fifth junior-rank officers. **Bulwark lieutenant's primary consort would title proper lady (). *Supporter lieutenant (), for the son of a bulwark lieutenant. The privilege was the same as sixth junior-rank officers. **Supporter lieutenant's primary consort would title peace lady (). Son of a supporter lieutenant would be made the title of supporter lieutenant.

Female members

Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

(), for daughters, sisters, and paternal aunts of emperors. **Prince Consort Commander (), for the imperial son-in-law, and consorts to an emperor's sister or paternal aunt *

Commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

princess (), for the daughter of a crown prince or first-rank prince. *County princess (), for the daughter of a commandery prince. *Commandery lady (), for the daughter of a defender general. *County lady (), for the daughter of a bulwark general. *Village lady (), for the daughter of a supporter general. *Clanswoman (), for the daughter of a lieutenant. Except for imperial daughter and clanswoman, all of the consorts of these female members would be titled "yibin" (), their ranks apart were the same 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th junior-rank officials Offenders imperial member called as Commoner (). If a 1st-rank prince was demoted, the imperial court would appoint one of their peerage members to presided the other members of the peerage, and namely called them as "clan councilor" (). As the serious population growth of the imperial members during

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was the ...

's reign, the emperor altered the salaries and restricted the succession orders for imperial members. The new succession order for a first-rank prince was: if a first-rank prince has no son to succeed his principality, a second-rank commandery prince (start from his brother and his brother's descendants, then paternal uncle, and his uncle's descendants, so on and so forth) still could succeed the principal. However, except for the successor's eldest son who would be the new heir for principality, all other younger sons of the successor could not promoted to the rank of second-rank princes even though they are sons of a first-rank prince. They could only held the title of defender general based on their father's original second-princely title designation.

History

During the

Hongwu era The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts i ...

at the founding of the dynasty, the emperor enfeoffed his many sons and gave them control over large garrisons of as many as 20,000 men. In the succeeding Jianwen era, an attempt by the emperor to demote or disarm his many powerful uncles (known in Chinese as , lit. "The Weakening of the Marcher Lords") prompted the Jingnan Campaign of the Prince of Yan which ended with the apparent death of the young emperor in a palace fire and Yan's ascension as the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

. Despite justifying his campaign as an effort to uphold the traditions of the Hongwu Emperor and to free his nephew from the ill counsel of the court advisors, the Yongle Emperor completed the work of removing the imperial clan from the militarized borders with

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

, and Annam. For example, he granted the territory of the Prince of Ning whose capture and support had been essential for Yan's victory and with whom he had promised to divide the empire to allied Mongols and placed the prince himself in an ungarrisoned sinecure in

Nanchang Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...

.Zhu Quan
. ''

History of Ming The ''History of Ming'' or the ''Ming History'' (''Míng Shǐ'') is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories''. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644. It ...

'', Folio 117, p.14a. Taiwan ed, p. 3591. Accessed 14 Oct 2012. Over the course of the dynasty, some titles were absorbed by the crown, others abolished following unsuccessful revolution, and still others created for cadet branches of the dynasty.

Crown Prince

The

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

of the empire was known as the ''

'' (lit. "Supreme Son"). Under the terms of the Hongwu Emperor's dynastic instructions, he was to be selected in accordance with strict

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

agnatic primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

: the eldest son of the primary consort succeeded, . Although legitimizing the ascension of the

involved forged claims that he had been selected by the Hongwu Emperor over his brother Crown Prince Yiwen in direct violation of the emperor's own policy, the practice was subsequently observed except in the aftermath of the

Tumu Incident The Crisis of the Tumu Fortress (), also known as the Tumu Crisis (; mn, Тумугийн тулалдаан), or the Jisi Incident (), was a frontier conflict between the Northern Yuan and Ming dynasties. The Oirat ruler of the Northern Yuan, ...

. This repeatedly led to teenaged and even infant princes ascending to the throne and contributed to the domination of the government by powerful

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

dictators. Crown princes who failed to ascend to the imperial throne were given

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

s including their title of ''taizi''. They include: * Crown Prince Yiwen, the

's eldest son

Zhu Biao Zhu Biao (; 10 October 1355 17 May 1392) was the Hongwu Emperor's eldest son and crown prince of the Ming dynasty. His early death created a crisis in the dynasty's first succession that was resolved by the successful usurpation of his brother ...

* Crown Prince Hejian, the

Jianwen Emperor The Jianwen Emperor (5 December 1377 – ?), personal name Zhu Yunwen (), was the second Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1398 to 1402. The era name of his reign, Jianwen, means "establishing civility" and represented a sharp chan ...

's eldest son

Zhu Wenkui Zhu Wenkui (born November 30, 1396) was the elder son and Crown Prince of the Jianwen Emperor of the Ming dynasty, born by Empress Ma. In 1402, Zhu Di, Prince of Yan sacked Nanjing, both Jianwen and Wenkui disappeared. It was said that Wenkui die ...

* Crown Prince Huaixian, the

Jingtai Emperor The Jingtai Emperor (21 September 1428 – 14 March 1457), born Zhu Qiyu, was the seventh Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1449 to 1457. The second son of the Xuande Emperor, he was selected in 1449 to succeed his elder brother Emper ...

's eldest son * Crown Prince Daogong, the

Chenghua Emperor The Chenghua Emperor (; 9 December 1447 – 9 September 1487), personal name Zhu Jianshen, was the ninth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, who reigned from 1464 to 1487. His era name " Chenghua" means "accomplished change". Childhood Zhu Jianshen wa ...

's eldest son * Crown Prince Aichong, the

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu You ...

's eldest son * Crown Prince Zhuangjin, the Jiajing Emperor's 2nd son * Crown Prince Huaichong, the

Tianqi Emperor The Tianqi Emperor (23 December 1605 – 30 September 1627), personal name Zhu Youjiao (), was the 16th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1620 to 1627. He was the eldest son of the Taichang Emperor and a elder brother of the Chongzhen ...

's eldest son * Crown Prince Daohuai, the Tianqi Emperor's 2nd son * Crown Prince Xianchong, the Tianqi Emperor's 3rd son * Crown Prince Xianmin, the

Chongzhen Emperor The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源)，''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德� ...

's eldest son

Lesser princes

Salaries for princes and other imperial family members

In 1370, the

created ten princely peerages:

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

, Jing, Yan, Zhou, Chu, Qi, Tan, Lu (鲁) and

Jingjiang Jingjiang () is a county-level city under the administration of Taizhou, Jiangsu province, China. It is located on the northern (left) bank of the Yangtze River, and is the southernmost part of Taizhou City, bordering Nantong to the northeast, Suz ...

. Salaries for princes and princesses were set in 1376: *For a first-rank prince: **50 thousands

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

of rice for a year **25 thousands of banknotes for a year **40 pairs of brocades for a year **300 pairs of reels for a year **each 100 pairs of "sha" and "luo" for a year **500 pairs of silk for a year **each 1000 of grass cloth and winter cloth for a year **2000

tael Tael (),"Tael" entry
at the

catties of tea for a year **50 pairs of horses forage for a month **Satin for a year for self-made by own carpenters *For

Prince of Jingjiang Prince of Jingjiang () was a princely peerage created and used during the Ming dynasty. It was the tenth princely peerage created by the Hongwu Emperor; his grandnephew Zhu Shouqian was the first to be enfeoffed as Prince of Jingjiang. The Pri ...

: **20 thousands koku of rice for a year **10 thousands of banknotes for a year **20 pairs of horses forage for a month The other supplies for Prince of Jingjiang were half amount of a first-rank prince. *For unmarried imperial daughter and without title of a princess: **each 10 pairs of reels, "sha" and "luo" for a year **each 30 pairs silk, grass cloth and winter cloth **200 taels of cotton for a year *For married imperial daughter with the title of a princess: **granted a farmland **1500 koku of rice for a year **2000 of banknotes for a year Supplies for son of a first-rank prince without any titles and peerages were same as non-title imperial daughter, while for non-title first-rank princely daughter were half amount of non-title 1st-rank princely son.

References

{{reflist, 2 Ming dynasty princely peerages Chinese royal titles

Generation names

Title

Royal and noble ranks of the Ming dynasty万历《大明会典》

Male members

Female members

History

Crown Prince

Lesser princes

Salaries for princes and other imperial family members

See also

References