Patents for Hereditary Ranks and Honorary Titles During the Ch'ing Dynasty

The institution of patents for conferring a function, a nobility-rank or an honorary title upon an official can be traced back in China to the T'ang dynasty. At that time they were called kao-shen fe Jjf and had certain similarities with the patents of the Ch'ing dynasty, even if the form and designation of the different types, according to the kind of the office, rank or title conferred, were not the same1. It is certain, however that at least the forms of those kinds of patent which are treated in this article and which were used by the Manchus were about the same since the beginning of the Ming dynasty. To what degree these forms were taken over from former dynasties is a question which must be still further investigated.