Place within the honors system
The baron (nan) was a grade in the Qing hereditary honors system for meritorious officials and imperial affines. It ranked below viscount (zi) and above the dignity of light chariot commandant (qingche duwei), and was subdivided into three classes. The Draft History of Qing assigns baronial rank to the second regular bureaucratic grade for purposes of precedence. Such equivalence did not mean that each baron automatically exercised a second-rank official's duties; a peerage and an appointed office were separate institutions.
Evolution of the title
Early Manchu and Qing honors employed names such as meile janggin and asihani hafan, which underwent changes as the Chinese terminology of the peerage became more standardized. In 1736, the first year of Qianlong, the Chinese designation for asihani hafan was regularized as nan, while the established Manchu wording remained in use. Later genealogies could accordingly describe an earlier military award using a subsequently standardized Chinese title. The date on which an individual earned distinction is not necessarily the date on which its eventual Chinese name was introduced.
Succession and office
Whether a barony passed indefinitely to heirs, could be transmitted for a specified number of generations, or declined by grades depended on the original terms of the award. An heir succeeding to a barony did not thereby inherit his predecessor's appointment as colonel, banner commander, or provincial official. A responsible biography records noble rank, official appointment, and banner or clan affiliation independently. Particular stipend and dress provisions require consultation of the governing regulations rather than inference from the title alone.
Sources and Bibliography
Links reproduce references supplied with the Chinese editorial manuscript; they do not establish that every individual statement has undergone independent archival verification.
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