Academic Journal
The Noble Rank (Lie hou) and the Changing Definitions of Merit (Gong) during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE).
| Title: | The Noble Rank (Lie hou) and the Changing Definitions of Merit (Gong) during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE). |
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| Authors: | Li, Yunxin1 (AUTHOR) yunxin.li@simmons.edu |
| Source: | Journal of Chinese History. Jan2026, Vol. 10 Issue 1, p23-48. 26p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Meritocracy, *Achievement, *Manuscripts, *Nobility (Social class), *Historical source material, Han dynasty, China, 202 B.C.-220 A.D. |
| Abstract: | The founding emperor of the Han envisioned the noble rank (lie hou) as a system rewarding "merit" (gong) that mainly referred to military achievements. However, the criteria for granting the noble rank changed considerably throughout the Han. This is reflected by the various categories of nobles in the Han shu tables: meritorious ministers (gongchen hou), the kings' sons (wangzi hou), and the imperial affines and favorites (waiqi enze hou), as well as the new category of eunuch nobles (huanzhe hou) in the Eastern Han. This article argues that the Han shu tables should be read as one of the multiple narratives about the noble rank and merit during the Han rather than an objective statistical summary. Whereas the Han shu tables emphasize Gaozu's original definition of merit, the imperial edicts granting the noble rank kept reinterpreting merit to serve the court's contemporary needs. Recently excavated Han manuscripts provide a third way of viewing merit based on the length of service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Database: | Academic Search Index |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 CustomLinks: – Url: https://resolver.ebsco.com/c/fiv2js/result?sid=EBSCO:asx&genre=article&issn=20591632&ISBN=&volume=10&issue=1&date=20260101&spage=23&pages=23-48&title=Journal of Chinese History&atitle=The%20Noble%20Rank%20%28Lie%20hou%29%20and%20the%20Changing%20Definitions%20of%20Merit%20%28Gong%29%20during%20the%20Han%20Dynasty%20%28202%20BCE%E2%80%93220%20CE%29.&aulast=Li%2C%20Yunxin&id=DOI:10.1017/jch.2024.34 Name: Full Text Finder (for New FTF UI) (ns324271) Category: fullText Text: Full Text Finder MouseOverText: Full Text Finder |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The Noble Rank (Lie hou) and the Changing Definitions of Merit (Gong) during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE). – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Yunxin%22">Li, Yunxin</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> yunxin.li@simmons.edu</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Chinese+History%22">Journal of Chinese History</searchLink>. Jan2026, Vol. 10 Issue 1, p23-48. 26p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Meritocracy%22">Meritocracy</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Achievement%22">Achievement</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Manuscripts%22">Manuscripts</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nobility+%28Social+class%29%22">Nobility (Social class)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Historical+source+material%22">Historical source material</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Han+dynasty%2C+China%2C+202+B%2EC%2E-220+A%2ED%2E%22">Han dynasty, China, 202 B.C.-220 A.D.</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The founding emperor of the Han envisioned the noble rank (lie hou) as a system rewarding "merit" (gong) that mainly referred to military achievements. However, the criteria for granting the noble rank changed considerably throughout the Han. This is reflected by the various categories of nobles in the Han shu tables: meritorious ministers (gongchen hou), the kings' sons (wangzi hou), and the imperial affines and favorites (waiqi enze hou), as well as the new category of eunuch nobles (huanzhe hou) in the Eastern Han. This article argues that the Han shu tables should be read as one of the multiple narratives about the noble rank and merit during the Han rather than an objective statistical summary. Whereas the Han shu tables emphasize Gaozu's original definition of merit, the imperial edicts granting the noble rank kept reinterpreting merit to serve the court's contemporary needs. Recently excavated Han manuscripts provide a third way of viewing merit based on the length of service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1017/jch.2024.34 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 26 StartPage: 23 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Meritocracy Type: general – SubjectFull: Achievement Type: general – SubjectFull: Manuscripts Type: general – SubjectFull: Nobility (Social class) Type: general – SubjectFull: Historical source material Type: general – SubjectFull: Han dynasty, China, 202 B.C.-220 A.D. Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The Noble Rank (Lie hou) and the Changing Definitions of Merit (Gong) during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE). Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Li, Yunxin IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Text: Jan2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 20591632 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 10 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Chinese History Type: main |
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