Gong (title)
| Gong | ||
|---|---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin gōng | | |
| Wade–Giles | kung | |
Gong was a
.
Name
Within
billy goat"). Paul R. Goldin has argued for its etymological relationship with 翁 (wēng), with their shared original term having meant "respected elder".[1]
The typical
History
By the time of the
friends of the family
.
Subsequently, the
ancestral veneration, any ancestor of great antiquity could be accorded the title gong regardless of their proper title in life;[4][3][5] this was sometimes a formal upgrade, as when Jiang Ziya's fief of Qi became a duchy and he was posthumously promoted to the title of gong himself. The name was also used by courtiers and others to address ruling nobles of any formal rank within their own states.[4]
Under the
vassal rulers
who controlled the more important primary divisions of the empire. At this time, gong came into use for nominal or actual lords of its more important secondary divisions.
With the rise of notional titles, some of the dukedoms acquired literary rather than territorial designations. The primary example is how, under the
cabinet-level political office of the Republic of China in 1935 and an uncompensated honorary title on Taiwan
in 2008.
References
Citations
- ^ Goldin (2021), p. 476.
- ^ Creel (1970), p. 325.
- ^ a b Li (2008), p. 113.
- ^ a b c Pines (2020), p. 716.
- ^ Khayutina (2014), p. 48.
Sources
- Creel, Herrlee G.(1970), The Origins of Statecraft in China, vol. I: The Western Chou Empire, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Goldin, Paul R. (2021), "Etymological Notes on Early Chinese Aristocratic Titles", T'oung Pao, vol. 107, Leiden: Brill, pp. 475–480, .
- Khayutina, Maria (2014), "Marital Alliances and Affinal Relatives (Sheng 甥 and 婚購) in the Society and Politics of Zhou China in the Light of Bronze Inscriptions", Early China, vol. 37, JSTOR 24392462.
- Li Feng (2008), "Transmitting Antiquity: The Origin and Paradigmization of the 'Five Ranks'", Perceptions of Antiquity in Chinese Civilization, Würzberg: Würzburger Sinologische Schriften, pp. 103–134.
- Pines, Yuri (2020), "Names and Titles in Eastern Zhou Texts", T'oung Pao, vol. 106, Leiden: Brill, pp. 714–720.