Taste and Position – A Study of Official Rank Systems in the Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Author: Yan Buke
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: This book is one of the achievements of the National Social Science "Nineteen Eighty-Nine to Nineteen Ninety-Nine" Plan Project and the "Comprehensive Research on Ancient Chinese Official System and Political Culture" of the Humanities and Social Sciences Base Project of the Ministry of Education. The book focuses on the official rank system of the Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. The author adopts the concepts of "rank classification by status" and "rank classification by position" to construct a fresh analytical framework. Through this new perspective, the author conducts a meticulous examination of the feudal ranks and appointments of the Zhou Dynasty, the twenty-rank military merit ranks and salary ranks of the Qin and Han Dynasties, the official ranks, intermediate ranks, meritorious ranks, general titles, literary and military ranks of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and even the literary and military ranks of the Tang Dynasty. The author weaves them together into a continuous thread of evolution and transformation, providing a series of original interpretations of their nature and significance. Furthermore, the author proposes a five-stage periodization model for the development of the bureaucratic hierarchy during the imperial era.