Mingfu (; "noblewoman", "court lady") was granted to wives of officials, non-imperial aristocrats and collateral clanswomen. Also, mothers of imperial consorts were granted a title of according to the rank held by her daughter as well as sisters of imperial consorts. A title was granted to nursemaids of emperors and attendants of imperial consorts. Noblewomen were divided into 7 ranks according to the rank of her husband and her daughter, if her daughter was an imperial consort. If the title held by husbands was divided into subclasses, they could be treated equally.

Rules of promotion

Married lady held title according to the position of her husband and could be promoted if her family members or children became officials or were awarded aristocratic title. Wives of 8th and 9th rank officials could be granted a title of mingfu. Mingfu retained her title even after divorce if her sister or daughter was imperial consort. However, wives and mothers of dukes and aristocrats who received pre-standard titles could be addressed as "fujin" - a title typical for imperial princess consort . For example, mother of

Fuk'anggan Fuk'anggan (Manchu:, Möllendorff: fuk'anggan; ; 1748–1796), courtesy name Yaolin (), was a Manchu noble and general of the Qing Dynasty. He was from the Fuca clan () and the Bordered Yellow Banner of the Eight Banners. Fuk'anggan's father, ...

, lady Nara was mentioned and addressed as "fujin", as a mother of Prince Jiayong of the Second Rank (嘉勇郡王). Fukang'an's wife, lady Irgen Gioro was also addressed as "fujin". Their names were not listed in Jade Tables (imperial genealogy). Wives of non-imperial aristocrates were treated as imperial duchesses, but de facto they enjoyed lesser privileges.

Notable titles and classification

were divided into "inner court ladies" and "outer court ladies". Inner court ladies were close friends and servants of imperial consorts, ex.

Sumalagu Sumalagu (; originally Sumal, in Manchu ; 1615 – 24 October 1705) was a palace attendant of the Qing dynasty. She was a close confidante of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang during the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor. Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang called her ...

, a confidant of

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang Bumbutai ( mn, Бумбутай; mnc, m= ; zh, 布木布泰; 28 March 1613 – 27 January 1688), of the Khorchin Mongol Borjigit clan, was the consort of Hong Taiji. She was 21 years his junior. She was honoured as Empress Dowager Zhaosheng ...

. Female servants of imperial consorts received a title of mingfu according to the rank of imperial consort whom their served . Sometimes they could be addressed as "gege" (a title exclusively reserved for imperial princesses). Inner holding rank equivalent to wives of imperial generals conducted promotions of imperial ceremonies, weddings of imperial princes and princesses and several rites, while lower ranked ladies attended to them. Court ladies were subdivided into "Qianqing palace ladies" and "Cining palace ladies" according to the position of their masters. Qianqing palace ladies were attendants to the emperor and his consorts. The following titles were granted to Qianqing palace ladies: * Madam Shuyi (；''Virtuous'') equivalent to 2nd rank mingfu, granted to one court lady * Madam Wanshi (婉侍夫人; ''Tactible and Patient''), equivalent to 3 rank mingfu, granted to six court ladies * Madam Rouwan (; ''Conciliatory and Tactible''), equivalent to 4 rank mingfu, granted to 30 court ladies * Madam Fangwan (方婉夫人; ''Direct and Tactible''), equivalent to 4 rank mingfu, granted to 30 court ladies Cining palace ladies were attendants to the grand empress dowager, empress dowager and consort dowagers. The following titles were granted to Cining palace ladies: * Madam Zhenrong (; ''Chaste and Tolerant''), equivalent to 2 rank mingfu, granted to one court lady * Madam Shenrong (; ''Prudent and Tolerant''), equivalent to 3 rd rank mingfu, granted to two court ladies Outer court ladies were mothers and unmarried into ruling clan sisters of imperial consorts, nursemaids of emperors and collateral clanswomen. Sisters of imperial consorts, who weren't members of imperial family (primary consorts or imperial consorts) were given a title of mingfu and receive a title according to the position of their husbands.

Notable titles

The following titles were granted to court ladies: * Madam of Gaoming (), granted to attendants of imperial princesses (), mothers of imperial consorts and their female clan members if anyone of them was holding a title of princess consort or imperial consort. The rank of Madam of Gaoming was determined by the rank of her spouse. Madams of Gaoming could be further promoted along the promotions of her family member being an imperial consort. However, only 1st and 2nd rank Madams of Gaoming were styled as furen (夫人), while 3 rank ladies were styled as shuren (淑人), 4 rank ladies were entitled gongren (恭人), 5 rank ladies were entitled yiren (宜人), 6 rank ladies were entitled anren and 7 rank ladies were styled as ruren (孺人) * Madam Gioro (觉罗夫人) was granted to collateral clanswomen who didn't marry into

Aisin Gioro The House of Aisin-Gioro was a Manchu clan that ruled the Later Jin dynasty (1616–1636), the Qing dynasty (1636–1912), and Manchukuo (1932–1945) in the history of China. Under the Ming dynasty, members of the Aisin Gioro clan served as chi ...

clan. Collateral Gioro clanswomen were treated like commoner ladies. However, collateral ladies whose husbands held ranks were treated as court ladies of 1-3rd rank. * Madam Fu Zhongyong (傅忠勇夫人), granted to lady Nara Tang'er, Fuheng's wife and Mingju's descendant. Duchess Nara was promoted to "fujin" by

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 ...

personally as the mother of

, Prince Jiayong of the Second Rank (pre-standard title created for Fukang'an for his merits during

Sino-Nepalese War The Sino-Nepalese War ( ne, नेपाल-चीन युद्ध), also known as the Sino-Gorkha war and in Chinese the campaign of Gorkha (), was an invasion of Tibet by Nepal from 1788 to 1792. The war was initially fought between Nepa ...

). *Madam Zuosheng (佐圣夫人), granted to Lady Yeheili *Madam Yousheng (佑圣夫人), granted to Lady Ligiya, wife of Manduli, a nursemaid of

Shunzhi Emperor The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661) was the second emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A committee of Manchu princes chose him to succee ...

. * Madam Baosheng (宝圣夫人), granted to Lady

Gūwalgiya Gūwalgiya (Manchu Chinese: ; ) was one of the most powerful Manchu clans. It is often listed by historians as the first of the eight prominent Manchu clans of the Qing dynasty. After the demise of the dynasty, some of its descendants sinicize ...

, wife of Tukeshan and nursemaid of

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...

, personally by

. * Madam Fengsheng (奉圣夫人), granted to Lady Buri, wife of

Plain Yellow Banner The Plain Yellow Banner () was one of the Eight Banners of Manchu military and society during the Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. The Plain Yellow Banner was one of three "upper" banner armies under the direct command of the emperor himself, ...

Master Commandant of Light Chariot Sakda Basali and nursemaid of

and

his son His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, ...

. The title was equivalent to duchess. * Madam Shunshan (顺善夫人), granted to Lady Wang,

Yongzheng Emperor , regnal name = , posthumous name = Emperor Jingtian Changyun Jianzhong Biaozhen Wenwu Yingming Kuanren Xinyi Ruisheng Daxiao Zhicheng Xian()Manchu: Temgetulehe hūwangdi () , temple name = Shizong()Manchu: Šidzung () , house = Aisin Gioro ...

's nursemaid. * Madam Gongqin (恭勤夫人), granted to Lady Xie, another

's nursemaid * Madam Anqin (安勤夫人), granted to Lady Liu, third nursemaid of

* Madam Wenshu (温淑夫人), granted to Lady Dong,

's nursemaid.

Comparison of titles for noblewomen

Court attire

wore crowns with three bejewled plaques and finial consisting of one coral, silk bandeaus with embroidered golden dragons chasing after a flaming pearl and blue-grounded chaofu on solemn ceremonies. could not wear surcoats with roundels of flowers and auspicious symbols and also golden diadems, unlike imperial duchesses and clanswomen. Collateral clanswomen could wear surcoats with rampant four-clawed dragons above the magnificent sea-waves pattern (lishui) and white caishui (pointed kerchief fastened to the robe like a pendant). Wives of officials wore sleeveless vest matching

Mandarin square A mandarin square ( zh, t=補子, s=补子, hp=bŭzi, w=putzŭ; mnc, m=, v=sabirgi; vi, Bổ tử; Chữ Nho: 補子; ko, 흉배/胸背, hyungbae), also known as a rank badge, was a large embroidered badge sewn onto the surcoat of officia ...

of her husband and Ming Dynasty style tiaras, as depicted on ancestral portraits.

References