This page was originally created for the novel ‘Tyranncial Wang’s Beloved Wife’, but I’ve decided to use it as a reference for historical cnovels in general. However I don’t plan on editing certain sections of this page that are specific to TWBW, so if you come across lines such as ‘in this novel’, it is specifically referring to TWBW.
Imperial Family Titles
[ 王 ] Wang – It translates to king, and although not exclusive to members of the imperial family, it is generally reserved for the imperial princes. Of course, there are many exceptions in which someone outside of the imperial family gets conferred as a wang, in these cases these people are often called ‘different surname wang’ [异姓王]. There are two different categories of wangs, qinwang and junwang.
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[ 亲王 ] Qinwang – Wang of the first rank
[ 郡王 ] Junwang – Wang of the second rank
[ 王爷 ] Wangye – A respectful way to address a wang. The ye(爷) suffix roughly means lord/master.
[ 王妃 ] Wangfei – The main wife/consort of a wang.
[ 郡主 ] Junzhu – Title for daughter of a qinwang; translates to ‘Commandery/Region/Canton owner’; a commandery(郡) is an administrative division, consisting of several counties. In later dynasties, the division was later succeeded by 州(zhou), which were roughtly subprefectures/provinces. This title can also be bestowed as well.
[ 县主 ] Xianzhu – Title for daughter of a junwang; translates to ‘county owner’
[ 翁主 ] Wenzhu – Title for daughter of an imperial princess; the title translates really weirdly because of the history behind this title, ‘wen’ in wenzhu means father. This title originally originated as the title for the daughters of various wangs during the Western Han dynasty. Historically, during that period, the Emperor wasn’t in charge of marriages for his daughters, but the various wangs were all personally in charge of their daughter’s marriage. Thus the title ‘wenzhu’ roughly meaning ‘father in charge/makes the decision’.
[ 世子 ] Shizi – Address and title of a hier to a noble title.
Imperial Harem Ranking
The hierarchy of the Emperor’s imperial harem actually differs from dynasty to dynasty, thus I will only explain what I think is the closest to what this novel has, which seems to be loosely based off of a mixture of dynasties, namely Tang, Ming, and Qing dynasty.
Empress – Legal wife of the Emperor
Imperial Noble Consort – 皇贵妃, Huang Gui Fei; highest ranking consort second only to the Empress, this rank was actually created by Chenghua Emperor in the Ming dynasty for his favorite consort, and has only been used in the last two Chinese dynasty, Ming and Qing.
Consort – 妃, only four allowed, each occupying their own respective title; however, this is only the case in early dynasties, by Ming dynasty it was just simplified to ‘consort’ (fei) with no number limit and titles are given by the Emperor
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Noble Consort – 贵妃, Guifei; in this novel noble consort is equal in rank with the other 3 titled consorts as same in early history, however historically in later dynasties this title was elevated in rank, specifically in the Ming dynasty, to be higher than the other consorts, falling behind the Empress and Imperial Noble Consort in rank
Shu Consort – 淑妃, Shufei; translates to Virtuous Consort
De Consort – 德妃, Defei; translates to Virtuous Consort
Xian Consort – 賢妃, Xianfei; translates to Virtuous Consort, Chinese has a lot of words for virtuous
Imperial Concubine – 嬪, Pin; in early dynasties there were number restrictions, specifically laid out by the ‘Rites of Zhou’, an Emperor can only have 9, however, it’s not important how many there are in this novel anyways, historically Emperors break these rules all the time and did whatever they wanted regardless.
Noble Lady – 貴人, Guiren; in my opinion any harem ranking title under imperial concubine is arbitrary in Cnovels, and essentially all function the same purpose, to show how low so and so status is, this one is kinda a middle ground.
Gengyi – translates to ‘change clothes’; bottom of the barrel, though from my research this particular title only appears in Qing dynasty; there’s actually about five other ranks before this one but they don’t appear in the novel so I find it pointless to list them.
Residence Structure
Almost all residences/manors in Cnovel are based off the siheyuan style. Rather than explaining you can just see for yourself, what it’s roughly like. First two images are layout of what a courtyard would look like, and the last image is a combination of courtyards into what a whole residence/manor would look like.
There are actually four different types of courtyard layout based on how many ‘yards’ each courtyard has.
Below is an interior view of what the main building may look like, and a top-down view of the courtyard.
Government System
Nearly every Cnovel I come across uses the Three Departments and Six Ministries system, developed in the Sui dynasty and expanded in the Tang dynasty. However, a lot of times the government is also a combination of other dynasties government system. While most of what I’m going to write is mostly ripped from wikipedia and baidu, I will add my own commentary of what this novel has changed or added to this system. While this is the main central government structure. There are other administrations(?) that exist in this novel that’s not listed as part of the Three Departments and Six Ministries system. However, I am just going to be explaining whatever appears in the novel in brief, enough to have an overall understanding of specific titles and functions, as well as hierarchy. Also my translations of certain government titles may not match other translations, but there’s like a bunch of ways to translate these, and I just picked whichever is easiest for me. This novel follows the systems set in the Ming dynasty rather closely, which had made great changes to the Three Departments and Six Ministries system by basically cutting the Three Departments and just having the Six Ministries.
(Ming Dynasty Government Structure From Wikipedia)
Three Departments and Six Ministries
Central Secretariat – [中书省] Responsible for drafting and proposing imperial decrees; it’s not mentioned in the novel so not important, probably doesn’t even exist in this setting.
Chancellery – [门下省] Advisor to the Emperor, in charge of reviewing edicts; in the novel this department doesn’t appear but its role is taken up by the Cabinet Ministers, in history this department was the least important of the three departments and eventually discontinued by Ming dynasty.
Department of State Affairs – [尚书省] Controlled the six ministries; the most important department of imperial government; in the novel this department isn’t a separate entity, but just the six ministries collectively and is run by the six Head Ministers of the ministries, with Head Minister of Appointments as their leader, similar to how it was in the Ming dynasty where this department didn’t exist and was just collectively the six ministries [六部].
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Ministry of Appointments– In charge of government appointments as well as promotion and demotion, essentially the HR of Imperial China; in the novel the Head Minister of Appointments is also treated as the leader of the six ministries as well. This ministry along with the Ministry of War is treated as the more influential ministries in the novel.
Ministry of Rites – In charge of all rituals, state ceremonies, and sacrifices; as well as foreign relations and reception of foreign envoys. Also oversaw the registration of Buddhist and Daoist priesthoods. It’s also mentioned this ministry oversaw the imperial examination, but not much is mentioned about this in the novel.
Ministry of Revenue – In charge of collecting taxes and handling the treasury, as well as distributing salaries to the government officials.
Ministry of War – In charge of appointments, promotions, and demotions of all military personnels. And the maintenance of military installations, equipment and weapons, as well as the courier system. Unless in times of war, the Minister of War isn’t really in control of an army.
Ministry of Justice – Highest level of the Judicial process. Oversaw all the other lower courts. Generally when a case is too ‘difficult’ to handled by the lower courts, it’s passed onto the Ministry of Justice.
Ministry of Works – In charge of government construction projects, hiring of artisans and laborers for temporary service, manufacturing government equipment, the maintenance of roads and canals, standardization of weights and measures, and the gathering of resources from the countryside.
Other Administrations
Cabinet Ministers – [内阁] lit. ‘Inner Cabinet’, this isn’t a part of the Six Ministry system, and was actually only implemented in the Qing and Ming dynasty of China; in the novel their function is essentially the same as both the Central Secretariat and Chancellery. Also known as the Grand Secretiat, made up of Grand Secretaries, lead by the Senior Grand Secretary/Head Cabinet Minister (首辅). Although their official rank is nominally lower than the Head Ministers of the ministries, because of their role in court, screening documents submitted to the emperor from all governmental agencies, and having the power to draft rescripts for the emperor, some Senior Grand Secretary/Head Cabinet Minister were able to be considered the de facto Chancellor.
Jing Zhao Fu – [京兆府] Local Magistrate’s office; similar to how local provinces have their own local government, Jing Zhao Fu is the local government of the capital; ‘Jing Zhao’ just means capital of a country. They are in charge of handling any commoner’s cases and any local problems. Compared to other higher officials in the capital the Magistrate in charge of Jing Zhao Fu is only a fourth ranked official.
Judicial Court – [大理寺] Also known as Court of Judicature and Revision or Court of Judicial Review. It was generally in charge of reviewing judicial proceedings at all administrative levels and singling out the cases for a retrial by court officials or the emperor himself. They’re a level higher than the Jing Zhao Fu, but lower than Ministry of Justice.
Black Clad Guards – [黑衣卫] They are this novel’s equivalent of the historical Brocade Clad Guards, another translations would be ‘Embroidered Uniform Guards’, I like the brocade one better. They were the imperial secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty directly. They have the authority to overrule judicial proceedings in prosecutions with full autonomy in arresting, interrogating, and punishing anyone, including nobles and the emperor’s relatives, without trial and due process, to some degree they pretty much hollowed out the imperial power. This group originated as Emperor Hongwu’s personal bodyguards who protected him during battles before he became the Emperor. After he became Emperor this group worked as his spies, helping him spy on his subjects because he was paranoid of assassinations and rebellions. When the government later in the Ming dynasty sank into corruption and this group was placed under the control of the Eastern Bureau, a spy and secret police agency ran by eunuchs, they were constantly used as a means to eliminate political opponents through assassination and legal prosecutions. This group was disbanded after the Ming dynasty fell.
Class System
This is for explaining the hierarchy of household registries (户籍) in ancient china. At the top naturally, it’s the noble register (贵籍), which consists of the large families that have been influential for generations, not to be confused with families with actual nobility titles, although actual nobles are part of this registry as well.
Next is the commoner register (良籍), or more literal translation ‘respectable/good register’, this is referring to ordinary commoners. People registered in this class are qualified to take the imperial exam and enter officialdom.
The third is the merchant register (商籍), and as the name suggests, people in the trade profession are registered as this. After that it’s the slave register (奴籍), and once sold into slavery, you might be stuck as a slave for the rest of your life, unless the family that owns you is willing to pay a large sum of money to the authorities to change your status. Children born from parents of the slave class, naturally will also be stuck in this class. Also note that not all servants are slaves. People in the slave register are not allowed to legally marry ordinary commoners. Generally speaking, when servants that are slaves marry, if they are not marrying another slave, but a commoner, the family that owns them will generally change their status so that they can marry.
The fifth and last register is the ‘lowly register’ (贱籍), it refers to prostitutes, entertainers, dancers, those people in acting troupes, etc. People in this class are considered lower than slaves, and under normal circumstances cannot legally marry ordinary commoners either, unless their status is changed.
Miscellaneous
Three Principles and Four Virtues – The ‘three principles and four virtues’ of Confucianism. The three principles, specifically, ‘the ruler guides the subject, father guides the son, and the husband guides the wife’. The four virtues are morality, physical charm, propriety in speech, and efficiency in needlework.
Seven Emotions and Six Desires – Seven emotional states in chinese traditional belief are joy, anger, anxiety, thought, grief, fear, and fright; the six desires are sight: greed for seeing pretty things, hearing: greed for hearing pleasant sounds, smell: greed for fragrance, taste: greed for delicious food, body: greed for pleasure and comfort, thought: greed for fame and love.
Three Documents and Six Rites – Refers to the process in traditional chinese marriage custom. The three documents include letter of betrothal (basically contract of the engagement between two parties), letter of etiquette, and letter of welcome (given to the bride side by the groom when he goes to escort the bride); the six rites are receiving the selected gifts, request of the eight birthday characters, receiving the auspicious notice, sending the betrothal gift, setting the wedding date, and welcoming the bride.
Tang – [堂] Refers to relatives that share the same surname
Biao – [表] Refers to relatives that share different surname
Zhouli – [妯娌] Sister-in-laws, but specifically what wives of brothers in a family are referred to. For instance, your husband’s brother’s wife and yourself would be zhoulis.
Lianjin [连襟] Brother-in-laws, this term is sort of the sister term of zhouli, used to describe the relationship between the husbands of sisters. So your wife’s sister’s husband and yourself would be this.
Idioms
破罐子破摔 – A direct translation of the idiom would be ‘smashing an already broken jar’, meaning that since the jar is already broken, even if it’s smashed again, it’s still a broken jar, so there’s no need to cherish it. It’s used to described a situation where after suffering setbacks, instead of amending the situation, just let it be.
塞文失马，焉知非福 – ‘The old man losing his horse, how does one know it’s not a blessing?’ Similar in meaning to ‘a blessing in disguise’. This idiom has an anecdote behind it that comes from the ‘Miscellany Writings from the Western Han’. The story is roughly about an old man whose horse keeps running away, but good things keep happening afterwards because of it every time.
只许州官放火不许百姓点灯 – ‘Just allowing the prefecture official to set the fire, but not allowing the commoners to light the lanterns.’ The general meaning of this line is pretty much criticizing officials for being oppressive hypocrites. This line originates from the Southern Song dynasty, from a story about the Chang prefectural governor called Tian Deng. He’s your typical tyrannical corrupt official, but the story the line comes from is pretty much a funny pun story. I won’t go into detail on it, but basically, he has this law where words that sound similar to his name ‘deng’ are banned in his prefecture, punishment for violating this taboo was going to prison or getting a beating. So a young official who was drafting an announcement for the Lantern Festival, needed to write an announcement telling the commoners that they will light the colored lanterns for three days as celebration. But the problem was that the word for lantern in chinese is pronounced ‘deng’. So this genius young official used the word ‘fire’ in place of ‘lantern’ to avoid offending the governor, which ended up causing mass panic and confusion, because the commoners all thought the officials were going to set fire to the prefecture for three days.
赔了夫人又折兵 – Idiom meaning to suffer a double loss in trying to trick the enemy; this idiom comes from the ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ novel by Luo Guan Zhong. In the novel, Zhou Yu, the general of one of the warlords, Sun Quan, advised Sun Quan to fake a marriage interview to catch Liu Bei as a hostage, but this plan was saw through by Zhuge Liang. In the end, Liu Bei actually did get to marry Sun Shang Xiang, sister of Sun Quan, and Sun Quan also lost a decisive battle against him. Thus, they were mocked for having given away a bride, yet also lost their army on top of it.