Hereditary Military and Noble Ranks (*Shizhi*)

Definition

Shizhi denoted offices, noble ranks, or honorific military grades conferred on the basis of military achievement or distinguished service and made inheritable under specified rules. The term did not mean that all salaried official appointments in the Qing state could pass from parent to child. Eight Banners hereditary ranks operated under arrangements distinct from appointments to administrative vacancies, imperial-clan princely titles, or positions within princely establishments.

Grades and transmission

The section on officials in the Draft History of Qing, juan 117, describes a hierarchy that included dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, barons, and hereditary ranks such as qingche duwei, qi duwei, yunqi wei, and enqi wei. Some older Manchu designations were regularized under Chinese names during the Qianlong reign. These changes in nomenclature should not be confused with changes personally experienced by holders who died in earlier reigns.

The permitted number of successions, rules for reduction in grade, and special imperial dispensations could differ. Receipt of a hereditary rank therefore did not ensure that every descendant would hold precisely the same title. Succession claims could require verification of genealogy, eligibility, and prior grants. A biographical entry should identify the specific rank conferred, its grade, the terms of inheritance, and each documented succession instead of treating shizhi as a generic hereditary government office.