Английская Википедия:Gong (title)
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Chinese
Gong was a title of ancient and imperial Chinese nobility roughly equivalent to and usually translated as duke. It was also historically used within Chinese fiefs as a respectful term of address to any living liege (similar to the English "lord") and is still used in modern Chinese as a respectful term of address for any man of high status (similar to "sir"), particularly for the honored deceased as with formal reference to Chiang Kai-shek as Jiǎng Gōng (Шаблон:Lang) on Taiwan.
Name
Within Chinese, the same character Шаблон:Lang (gōng) is used as a noun in the terms for respected male relatives (e.g. Шаблон:Nowrap lǎogōng, "husband", and Шаблон:Nowrap wàigōng, "maternal grandfather") and as an adjective in the terms for various male animals (e.g. Шаблон:Nowrap gōngniú, "bull", and Шаблон:Nowrap gōngyáng, "ram" or "billy goat"). Paul R. Goldin has argued for its etymological relationship with Шаблон:Lang (wēng), with their shared original term having meant "respected elder".Шаблон:Sfnp
The typical English translation within aristocratic ancient and imperial Chinese contexts is "duke", although Creel has proposed translating it under the Western Zhou as "lord"Шаблон:Why? and as "duke" only beginning with the Eastern Zhou.Шаблон:Sfnp
History
By the time of the Zhou dynasty, the title gong was used alongside other familial titles for important members of the royal Ji family outside the immediate line of succession. The regents of the Cheng KingШаблон:Mdashhis uncles Dan and Shi and the important vassal Lü ShangШаблон:Mdashwere known to history as Zhou Gong, Shao Gong, and Jiang Ziya. His uncles Xian, Du, and Chu who acted as the "Three Guards" of the eastern territories before their rebellion against the regency were likewise known by the somewhat lower rank of shū (Шаблон:Lang), now used for younger paternal uncles or male friends of the family.
Subsequently, the Three Excellencies, the highest Zhou government ministers, bore the title gong,Шаблон:Sfnp as did the highest ranking rulers of the kingdom's fiefs even whenШаблон:Mdashlike the Shang rulers of SongШаблон:Mdashthey came from outside the royal family.Шаблон:Sfnp The Xiang Duke of Song (r. 650–637 BC) even became one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, before such lords began to use the title of king. During the rites of ancestral veneration, any ancestor of great antiquity could be accorded the title gong regardless of their proper title in life;Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp 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.Шаблон:Sfnp
Under the Han and subsequent dynasties, wangШаблон:Mdashpreviously the royal title of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou sovereignsШаблон:Mdashcame to be used for senior princes and 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 Northern Song, the emperor Renzong made the title Duke YanshengШаблон:Mdash"Overflowing with Wisdom"Шаблон:Mdashhereditary within the line of direct descent from Confucius. This was converted to a cabinet-level political office of the Republic of China in 1935 and an uncompensated honorary title on Taiwan in 2008.
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