The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom developed a complicated peerage system for noble ranks.
Wang (王, lit. "king" or "prince") was the highest title of nobility, often hereditary, ranked just below the Heavenly King. There were five ranks of wang:
| Ranks | Granted to | Notable people | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| King of the First Rank (一等王) | powerful ministers | Yang Xiuqing, the East King (東王 楊秀清) Xiao Chaogui, the West King (西王 蕭朝貴) Feng Yunshan, the South King (南王 馮雲山) Wei Changhui, the North King (北王 韋昌輝) Shi Dakai, the Flank King (翼王 石達開) Hong Rengan, the Shield King (干王 洪仁玕) |
|
| Prince of the Second Rank (二等王) | provincial commanders | Chen Yucheng, the Heroic Prince (英王 陳玉成) Li Xiucheng, the Loyal Prince (忠王 李秀成) Li Shixian, the Servant Prince (侍王 李世賢) |
|
| Prince of the Third Rank (三等王) | important generals | Wang Haiyang, the Peaceful Prince (康王 汪海洋) Huang Wenjin, the Wall Prince (堵王 黃文金) Chen Bingwen, the Obedient Prince (聽王 陳炳文) |
|
| Prince of the Fourth Rank (四等王) | Hong Renzheng, the Sympathetic Prince (恤王 洪仁政) | ||
| Ranged Prince (列王) | Also known as Tiny Prince (小王) the lowest rank prince prince without title |
Below the king or prince, there were six ranks of nobility (Chinese: 六等爵) in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: E (義 Yì), An (安 Ān), Fu (福 Fú), Yen (燕 Yān), Yü (豫 Yù) and Hou (侯 Hóu).[1] The nobility titles were not hereditary.
E and An were most highest ranks of the nobility, once they were very noble titles of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. If the Heavenly King wanted to promote someone, he gave the person either E or An. However, this rule was challenged after 1860 because the nobility titles had been given too freely.
| Ranks | Male titles | Female titles | Derived from | Creation time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E (義[2]) | Nü zhen jiang (女貞姜)[1] | Prince Yi (義王, lit. "the Righteousness Prince"), the title of Shi Dakai[2] | 1856 | |
| 2 | An (安[3]) | Nü zhen an (女貞安)[1] | Prince An (安王, lit. "the Peaceful Prince"), the title of Hong Renfa[3] | 1856 | |
| 3 | Fu (福[4]) | Nü zhen fu (女貞福)[1] | Prince Fu (福王, lit. "the Prosperous Prince"), the title of Hong Renda[4] | 1856 | |
| 4 | Yen (燕)[5] | Nü zhen yen (女貞燕)[1] | Prince of Yan (燕王), the title of Qin Rigang[5] | 1856 | |
| 5 | Yü (豫)[6] | Nü zhen yü (女貞豫)[1] | Prince of Yu (豫王), the title of Hu Yihuang[6] | 1854 | |
| 6 | Hou (侯)[7] | Nü zhen hou (女貞侯)[1] | Equal to marquess |
