Imperial consorts of Tang China are organized in eight or nine ranks, in addition to the empress. They are also called the "inner officials" (內官), as opposed to "palace officials" (宮官), the bureaucracy.
In 662, the titles were temporarily changed to be devoid of feminine and superficial quality. This seemingly feminist change was reverted in the twelfth month of 670. The rationales were not explained in official records in both instances. However, some scholars have speculated it to be the suggestion of Empress Wu to her husband.
| Old titles | Rank | -> | New titles | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consort (夫人 furen) | 1a | Assistant in Virtue (賛德 zande) | 1a | |
| Nine Concubines (九嬪 jiupin) | 2a | Propagator of Deportment (宣儀 xuanyi) | 2a | |
| Handsome Fairness (婕妤 jieyu) | 3a | Recipient from the Inner Chamber (承閨 chenggui) | 4a | |
| Beauty (美人 meiren) | 4a | Recipient of Edicts (承旨 chengzhi) | 5a | |
| Talented (才人 cairen) | 5a | Guardian Immortal (衛仙 weixian) | 6a | |
| Lady of Treasure (寶林 baolin) | 6a | Service Provider (供奉 gongfeng) | 7a | |
| Lady of His Majesty (御女 yunü) | 7a | Coiffure Attendant (恃櫛 shijie) | 8a | |
| Selected Lady (采女 cainü) | 8a | Towel Attendant (恃巾 shijin) | 9a |
For later history see Ranks of Imperial Consorts in China.
Famous quotes containing the words imperial, tang and/or china:
“Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.”
—Apocrypha. Ecclesiasticus, 44:14.
The line “their name liveth for evermore” was chosen by Rudyard Kipling on behalf of the Imperial War Graves Commission as an epitaph to be used in Commonwealth War Cemeteries. Kipling had himself lost a son in the fighting.
“The art of cursing people seems to have lost its tang since the old days when a good malediction took four deep breaths to deliver and sent the outfielders scurrying toward the fence to field.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“In a country where misery and want were the foundation of the social structure, famine was periodic, death from starvation common, disease pervasive, thievery normal, and graft and corruption taken for granted, the elimination of these conditions in Communist China is so striking that negative aspects of the new rule fade in relative importance.”
—Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989)