title: Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic

text: Kirghizia, a landlocked republic in Soviet Central Asia shared its borders with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as China on the outside lying between latitudes 39° and 44° N, and longitudes 69° and 81° E. It is farther from the sea than any other individual country, and all its rivers flow into closed drainage systems which do not reach the sea. The mountainous region of the Tian Shan covers over 80% of the country, with the remainder made up of valleys and basins.


title: Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic

text: Issyk-Kul Lake, or Ysyk-Köl in Kyrgyz, in the north-eastern Tian Shan is the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan and the second largest mountain lake in the world after Titicaca. The highest peaks are in the Kakshaal-Too range, forming the Chinese border. Peak Jengish Chokusu, at , is the highest point and is considered by geologists to be the northernmost peak over in the world. Heavy snowfall in winter leads to spring floods which often cause serious damage downstream. The runoff from the mountains is also used for hydro-electricity.


title: Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic

text: As the Soviet Union respected other cultures even after delimitation, there are a wide variety of cultural items in Kirghizia listed here:


title: Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic

text: Apart from celebrating the New Year each 1 January, Kirghizia, like all Soviet Republics, observed the Great October Socialist Revolution on 7 November. Its festivals and traditions such as Nowruz and Ulak Tartish were suppressed by the Soviet authorities.


title: Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic

text: The tradition of bride kidnapping, which remains illegal to this day, was suppressed by the Soviet regime. It is debatable whether bride kidnapping is actually traditional. Some of the confusion may stem from the fact that arranged marriages were traditional, and one of the ways to escape an arranged marriage was to arrange a consensual "kidnapping."


title: Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic

text: According to 2013 Gallup poll, 62% of Kyrgyz people say that the collapse of the Soviet Union harmed their country, while only 16% said that the collapse benefitted it. The poll also showed that well-educated Kyrgyz people were more likely to say that the breakup harmed their country.


title: Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria

text: Duchess Sophie Charlotte Augustine in Bavaria (23 February 1847 – 4 May 1897) was a granddaughter-in-law of King Louis Philippe of France, the favourite sister of Empress Elisabeth of Austria and fiancée of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.


title: Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria

text: Sophie Charlotte was born at the Possenhofen Castle, the residence of her paternal family, the Dukes in Bavaria. She was a daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. The ninth of ten children born to her parents, she was known as "Sopherl" within the family.


title: Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria

text: Upon the 1861 marriage of her elder sister Duchess Mathilde Ludovika to the Neapolitan prince Louis of the Two Sicilies, her parents looked for a suitable husband for Sophie Charlotte. Sophie then was engaged to her cousin King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and their engagement was publicised on 22 January 1867, but after having repeatedly postponed the wedding date, Ludwig finally cancelled it in October as it seemed Sophie had fallen in love with the court photographer Edgar Hanfstaengl.


title: Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria

text: Other proposed husbands included the renowned homosexual Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria, brother of both Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico, as well as the future Luís I of Portugal. Another candidate was Duke Philipp of Württemberg, the first cousin of her eventual husband.


title: Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria

text: She refused all the candidates, and was sent to stay with her aunt Amalie Auguste, then the Queen of Saxony as wife of King John. It was in Saxony Sophie Charlotte met Prince Ferdinand of Orléans, "Duke of Alençon", the son of Prince Louis, Duke of Nemours and grandson of the late King Louis Philippe. Soon after, on 28 September 1868, she married him at Possenhofen Castle, near Starnberg.


title: Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria

text: She had a good relationship with her husband as well as with her sister-in-law Princess Marguerite Adélaïde of Orléans, wife of Prince Władysław Czartoryski. Her mother-in-law, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, cousin of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, had died in 1857. Sophie Charlotte did not have an overly good relationship with her father-in-law, the widowed Duke of Nemours.


title: Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria

text: The year after their marriage, the ducal couple moved into Bushy House in the Teddington area of Southwest London, where Sophie Charlotte gave birth to her first child, Princess Louise of Orléans.


title: Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria

text: Sophie Charlotte wrote her last will and testament on 4 October 1896, seven months before her death: she died in a fire at the Bazar de la Charité in Paris on 4 May 1897, where she had been helping to raise funds for charity. She refused to be rescued, insisting that the girls, visitors and nuns working alongside her at the bazaar be saved first. A Dominican nun who had managed to escape from the fire explained that she saw the Duchess get down on her knees and start praying.


title: Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria

text: Identifying Sophie Charlotte's remains was not easy; her personal maid was unable to recognise the body, as it had been severely disfigured by the fire. The Duchess's dentist, M. Lavanport, was called in. After two hours examining various bodies, he identified Sophie Charlotte on the basis of her gold fillings. Thus she became one of the first people whose remains were identified by forensic dentistry.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The nobility of China was an important feature of the traditional social structure of Ancient China and Imperial China.


title: Chinese nobility

text: While the concepts of hereditary sovereign and peerage titles and noble families were featured as early as the semi-mythical, early historical period, a settled system of nobility was established from the Zhou dynasty. In the subsequent millennia, this system was largely maintained in form, with some changes and additions, although the content constantly evolved. After the Song dynasty, most bureaucratic offices were filled through the imperial examination system, undermining the power of the hereditary aristocracy. Historians have noted the disappearance by 1000 AD of the powerful clans that had dominated China. The last, well-developed system of noble titles was established under the Qing dynasty.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Republican Revolution of 1911 ended the official imperial system. Though some noble families maintained their titles and dignity for a time, new political and economic circumstances forced their decline. Today, the nobility as a class has virtually disappeared.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The apex of the nobility is the sovereign. The title of the sovereign has changed over time, together with the connotations of the respective titles. In Chinese history are generally 3 levels of supreme and fully independent sovereignty or high, significantly autonomous sovereignty above the next lower category of ranks, the aristocracy who usually recognized the overlordship of a higher sovereign or ruled a semi-independent, tributary, or independent realm of self-recognized insufficient importance in size, power, or influence to claim a sovereign title, such as a Duchy which in Western terms would be called a Duchy, Principality, or some level of Chiefdom.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The broadest sovereign is what gets translated as the single term emperor in English. An emperor might appoint or confirm or tolerate subsovereigns or tributary rulers styled kings.


title: Chinese nobility

text: As a title of nobility, Ba Wang, hegemon, recognized overlordship of several subordinate kings while refraining from claiming the title of emperor within the imperium of the Chinese subcontinent, such as its borders were considered from era to era. Sovereigns holding the title of king of an individual state within and without the shifting borders of the Chinese imperium might be fully independent heads of foreign nations, such as the King of Korea who might, in some cases, be subordinate to foreign emperors just as territorial or tribal sovereign Mongol khans might be subject to one of several Khagans or Great khans. Confusingly, some Chinese emperors styled many or all close male relatives of certain kinds such as brothers, uncles, or nephews as wang, a term for king, using it as a courtesy title. However, Chinese histories since ancient works such as Shiji were also fairly liberal in terming local tribal chiefs as "king" of a particular territory ranging from vast to tiny, using convenient terms of the form "(locality)" + "(king)" such as Changshawang, "King of Changsha" which was briefly recognized as a kingdom but was usually a smaller part of Chu state or just a county of the Sui dynasty state, or phrases such as Yiwang, "Yi (Eastern) Foreign ('barbarian') king(s)," while in other cases or by other authors other terms such as [tusi], "native chief" might be used for the same office. The downward extensibility of terms for "king" in more casual usage also influences other allusive uses of these terms. In modern colloquial Chinese the term "king" is sometimes also used, roughly as loosely as in English, for such non-literal terms as mien da wang, "great king of noodles" for a pasta-lover, where an English-speaker might use such terms as [King of the Road].


title: Chinese nobility

text: Family members of individual sovereigns were also born to titles or granted specific titles by the sovereign, largely according to family tree proximity, including blood relatives and in-laws and adoptees of predecessors and older generations of the sovereign. Frequently, the parents of a new dynasty-founding sovereign would become elevated with sovereign or ruling family ranks, even if this was already a posthumous act at the time of the dynasty-founding sovereign's accession.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Titles translated in English as "prince" and "princess" were generally immediate or recent descendants of sovereigns, with increasing distance at birth from an ancestral sovereign in succeeding generations resulting in degradations of the particular grade of prince or princess and finally degradation of posterity's ranks as a whole below that of prince and princess. Sovereigns of smaller states are typically styled with lesser titles of aristocracy such as Duke of a Duchy or Marquis rather than as hereditary sovereign Princes who do not ascend to kingship as in the European case of the Principality of Monaco, and dynasties which gained or lost significant territory might change the titles of successive rulers from sovereign to aristocratic titles or vice versa, either by self-designation of the ruler or through imposed entitlement from a conquering state. For example, when Shu (state)'s kings were conquered by Qin (state), its Kaiming rulers became Marquises such as Marquis Hui of Shu who attempted a rebellion against Qin overlords in 301 BC.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Although formally Tianzi, "The Son of Heaven," the power of the Chinese emperor varied between different emperors and different dynasties, with some emperors being absolute rulers and others being figureheads with actual power in the hands of court factions, eunuchs, the bureaucracy or noble families.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The title of emperor was usually transmitted from father to son. Most often, the first-born son of the empress inherited the office, failing which the post was taken up by the first-born son of a concubine or consort of lower rank, but this rule was not universal and disputed succession was the cause of a number of civil wars. Unlike the case of Japan, the emperor's regime in traditional Chinese political theory allowed for a change in dynasty, and an emperor could be replaced by a rebel leader. This was because a successful rebel leader was believed to enjoy the Mandate of Heaven, while the deposed or defeated emperor had lost favour with the gods, and his mandate was over, a fact made apparent to all by his defeat.


title: Chinese nobility

text: It was generally not accepted for a female to succeed to the throne as a sovereign regnant in her own right, rather than playing the role of a sovereign's consort or regent for a sovereign who was still a minor in age, so that in history of China there has only been one reigning empress, the Empress Wu, whose reign occurred during (and actually caused) an interregnum of the Tang dynasty. However, there have been numerous cases in Chinese history where a woman was the actual power behind the imperial throne (see éminence grise).


title: Chinese nobility

text: Hou, Empress, actually Empress Consort in English terms, was a title granted to an official primary spouse of the polygamous male Chinese Emperor, and for the mother of the Emperor, typically elevated to this rank of Empress Dowager, bearing a senior title such as Tai Hou, Grand Empress, regardless of which spousal ranking she bore prior to the emperor's accession. In practice, many Chinese Empress Dowagers, either as official regent for a sovereign who was still a minor in age or from the influence of position within family social ranks, wielded great power or is historically considered to have been the effective wielder of supreme power in China, as in the case of Empress Dowager Cixi, Regent of China considered de facto sovereign of China for 47 years during AD 1861–1908.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Imperial Madams, ranking below Empress, aren't often distinguished in English from imperial Concubines, the next lower rank, but these were also titles of significance within the imperial household, and Imperial Madams might be translated as Consorts with the intention of distinguishing them from Empresses though all Empresses except the sole case of one Empress Regnant in Chinese history are technically Empress Consorts in English terms, primacy spouses of the Emperor Regnant who is actually invested with governmental rule.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Sovereigns styled Ba Wang, hegemon, asserted official overlordship of several subordinate kings while refraining from claiming the title of emperor within the imperium of the Chinese subcontinent, such as its borders were considered from era to era, as in the case of Xiang Yu who styled himself Xīchǔ Bàwáng, Western Chu Hegemon, appointing subordinate generals from his campaigns of conquest, including defeated ones, as Wang, kings of states within his hegemony.


title: Chinese nobility

text: As noted above in the section discussing Emperors, the sovereigns during the Xia dynasty and Shang dynasty who called themselves Di (Chinese: 帝 dì) and during the Zhou dynasty who called themselves Wang (Chinese: 王 or 國王; wáng), was the title of the Chinese head of state until the Qin dynasty. The title "Wang" should not be confused with the common surname, which, at least by middle and later Chinese historical usage, has no definite royal implications. Rulers of these dynasties are conventionally translated with the title "king" and sometimes "emperor" in English.


title: Chinese nobility

text: It was a custom in China for the new dynasty to ennoble and enfeoff a member of the dynasty which they overthrew with a title of nobility and a fief of land so that they could offer sacrifices to their ancestors, in addition to members of other preceding dynasties. This practice was referred to as "the two crownings and three respects."


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Xia dynasty was overthrown by the Shang dynasty, Xia descendants were given a title and fiefs by the Shang King in the Qi (Henan), and Zeng (state). (The Kings of Yue (state) claimed to be a cadet branch of the Xia).


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Shang dynasty was overthrown by the Zhou dynasty, the Zhou King granted a Shang descendant the title of Duke and fief in the Song (state), and the Zhou King also reconfirmed the titles of the Xia descendants in the Qi and Zeng. Confucius was a descendant of the Shang Kings via the Song Dukes and Confucius' descendants held the hereditary title Duke Yansheng right to 1935.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Yue (state) King Wujiang (無彊) was conquered by Chu (state), the Chu King enfeoffed Wujiang as Marquis of Ouyang Ting.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Han dynasty Emperor Xian of Han was dethroned by the Cao Wei Emperor Cao Pi, Cao granted Emperor Xian the title Duke of Shanyang (山陽公). His grandson Liu Kang (劉康) inherited his dukedom, which lasted for 75 more years and two more dukes, Liu Jin (劉瑾) and Liu Qiu (劉秋), until the line was exterminated by invading Xiongnu tribes in about 309, during the Jin dynasty.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Emperors of Shu Han came from a cadet branch of the Han dynasty. When the Shu Han Emperor Liu Shan was defeated by Cao Wei, the Cao Wei enfeoffed Liu Shan as the "Duke of Anle" (安樂公; literally meaning "duke of peace and comfort") while his sons and grandsons became marquises. Liu Shan died in 271 in Luoyang, and was given the posthumous name "Duke Si of Anle" (安樂思公; literally "the deep-thinking duke of Anle"). His dukedom lasted several generations during Wei's successor state, the Jin Dynasty, before being extinguished in the turmoils caused by the Wu Hu.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Eastern Wu was defeated by the Jin Dynasty, the Jin Emperor granted the Eastern Wu Emperor Sun Hao the title of "Marquis of Guiming". Sun Hao's sons were made junior officials in the Jin government.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Jin Dynasty Emperor Gong of Jin was overthrown by the Liu Song Emperor Wu of Liu Song, Emperor Wu enfeoffed Emperor Gong as Prince of Lingling. However Emperor Gong was ordered killed. Sima Guang was a Jin Imperial family descendant who became a chancellor in the Song dynasty hundreds of years after the fall of the Jin.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Liu Song Emperor Shun of Liu Song was overthrown by the Southern Qi Emperor Gao of Southern Qi, Emperor Gao enfeoffed Emperor Shun as Prince of Ruyin. However Emperor Shun was killed.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Southern Qi Emperor He of Southern Qi was overthrown by the Liang dynasty Emperor Wu of Liang, Emperor Wu enfeoffed Emperor He as Prince of Baling. However Emperor He was killed.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Liang dynasty Emperor Jing of Liang was overthrown by the Chen dynasty Emperor Wu of Chen, Emperor Wu enfeoffed Emperor Jing as Prince of Jiangyin. However Emperor Jing was killed.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Xianbei Tuoba royal family of Northern Wei started to arrange for Han Chinese elites to marry daughters of the royal family in the 480s. Some Han Chinese exiled royalty fled from southern China and defected to the Xianbei. Several daughters of the Xianbei Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei were married to Han Chinese elites, the Han Chinese Liu Song royal Liu Hui 刘辉, married Princess Lanling 蘭陵公主 of the Northern Wei, Princess Huayang 華陽公主 to Sima Fei 司馬朏, a descendant of Jin dynasty (266–420) royalty, Princess Jinan 濟南公主 to Lu Daoqian 盧道虔, Princess Nanyang 南阳长公主 to Xiao Baoyin 萧宝夤, a member of Southern Qi royalty. Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei's sister the Shouyang Princess was wedded to The Liang dynasty ruler Emperor Wu of Liang's son Xiao Zong 蕭綜.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Eastern Jin dynasty ended Northern Wei received the Jin prince Sima Chuzhi 司馬楚之 as a refugee. A Northern Wei Princess married Sima Chuzhi, giving birth to Sima Jinlong. Northern Liang King Juqu Mujian's daughter married Sima Jinlong.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Northern Qi Emperor Gao Heng was overthrown by Northern Zhou Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Emperor Wu enfeoffed Emperor Gao Heng as Duke of Wen. However Gao Heng was killed.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Northern Zhou Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou was overthrown by the Sui dynasty Emperor Wen of Sui, Emperor Wen enfeoffed Emperor Jing as Duke of Jie. However, he had all of close male clansmen of the duke—all grandsons of Emperor Jing's great-grandfather Yuwen Tai—put to death, as well as Emperor Jing's brothers Yuwen Kan (宇文衎) the Duke of Lai and Yuwen Shu (宇文術) the Duke of Yan. About three months later, Emperor Wen had the Duke of Jie secretly assassinated as well, but pretended to be shocked and declared a mourning period, and then buried him with honors due an emperor. The dukedom was passed to a distant relative, Yuwen Luo (宇文洛).


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Western Liang (Southern and Northern Dynasties) (西梁) Emperor Jing of Western Liang was overthrown by the Sui dynasty Emperor Wen of Sui, Emperor Wen enfeoffed Emperor Jing as Duke of Ju (莒公) and then as Duke of Liang (梁公). His nephew Xiao Ju (蕭鉅) inherited the title of Duke of Liang.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Chen dynasty Emperor Chen Shubao was overthrown by the Sui dynasty Emperor Wen of Sui, Emperor Wen enfeoffed Chen Shubao as Duke Yang of Changcheng (長城煬公).


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Tang dynasty Emperors claimed descent from the Dukes of Western Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms) (西涼) and posthumously gave them Imperial titles.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Tang dynasty Emperor Ai of Tang was overthrown by the Later Liang Emperor Zhu Wen, Zhu Wen enfeoffed Emperor Ai as Prince of Jiyin. However Emperor Ai was killed.


title: Chinese nobility

text: There were Dukedoms for the offspring of the royal families of the Zhou dynasty, Sui dynasty, and Tang dynasty in the Later Jin (Five Dynasties).


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Wuyue King Qian Chu surrendered to the Song dynasty the Song Emperor Taizong of Song raised the prefecture of Yangzhou to the nominal state of Huaihai, and installed Qian Chu as King of Huaihai. In 984, Qian Chu was made King of Hannan (a smaller nominal feoff) instead, and in 987 reduced again to King of Hanyang, with the right to take up residence in Hanyang, but then immediately additionally created Prince of Xu, with an enlarged fief. In 988, Qian Chu lost his title as king and was made Prince of Deng instead, with a larger nominal fief and actual income.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) defeated the Liao dynasty and Northern Song Dynasty Emperor Tianzuo of Liao and Emperor Qinzong of Song were first enfeoffed with derogatory titles by the Jin, with Emperor Tianzuo becoming the Prince of Haibin 海滨王 ("Seashore Prince") and Emperor Qinzong becoming the Marquess of Chonghun (重昏, "Doubly muddled"); his father received a similarly derogatary-sounding title. In 1141, as the Jin relations with the Southern Song were about to normalized, Qinzong's captors granted him a neutrally-sounding title of the Duke (公, gong) of Tianshui Jun, after a commandery in the upper reaches of the Wei River (now in Gansu), while his father (who had died in 1135) was posthumously styled the Prince of "Tianshui Jun"; a few months later he started receiving a stipend due to his rank. Liao royal family members who stayed in the Jin state like Yelu Lu and his son Yelü Chucai served the Jin and then the Yuan dynasty as officials. Other members of the Khitan Liao royal family like Yelü Dashi and Song Imperial family like Emperor Gaozong of Song both survived to rule the Kara-Khitan Khanate and Southern Song dynasty respectively.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Kingdom of Dali was conquered by the Yuan dynasty, King Duan Xingzhi of Dali was then enfeoffed as Maharaja by the Yuan Emperor Kublai Khan. The Southern Song dynasty Emperor Gong of Song was enfeoffed as the Duke of Ying (瀛國公) by Kublai Khan, however, the Emperor Yingzong of Yuan ordered him to commit suicide. The Song Prince Zhao Yurui was enfeoffed with the title Duke of Pingyuan Canton (平原郡公) by Emperor Kublai Khan. Other Song Imperial family members like Zhao Mengfu and Zhao Yong were left alive by the Yuan. Zhao Yiguang was a Song Imperial family descendant who was a writer during the Ming dynasty.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Ming dynasty fell and the Qing dynasty took over, the Qing Emperors granted a Ming descendant the title Marquis of Extended Grace and gave him a stipend to perform sacrifices to his ancestors, the Ming Emperors at the Ming Imperial Tombs. The Qing granted Zheng Keshuang of the Kingdom of Tungning the title of "Duke of Haicheng" (海澄公) after he surrendered to the Qing.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Northern Yuan Chahar Borjigin Mongol Khan Ejei Khan surrendered to the Qing, he was given the title of Prince of the first rank (Qin Wang, 親王), a title he held until his death in 1661, and inherited by his younger brother Abunai (阿布奈). Abunai openly showed his discontent toward the Manchu and he was put under house arrest in Shenyang by the Kangxi Emperor in 1669 and his imperial title / rank was given to his son Borni (布尔尼) in September of that same year. Borni (布尔尼) was careful to not show any sign of disrespecting the Qing Dynasty, but finally in 1675, he suddenly rebelled along with his younger brother Lubuzung (罗布藏), capitalizing on the Revolt of the Three Feudatories. However, they had made a serious miscalculation in wrongfully believing that other Mongols would join them, when in reality only three thousand Chahar (Mongols) joined the rebellion. It only took a single decisive battle on April 20, 1675 to defeat Abunai (阿布奈) and his followers, who were all killed subsequently in their retreat. The Qing Dynasty's punishment of the rebellion was very harsh: all royal males of Chahar (Mongols) were executed, including infants born to Qing / Manchu princesses, and all royal females of Chahar (Mongols) were sold to slavery except these Qing / Manchu princesses.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Republic of China allowed the last Qing Emperor to stay in the Forbidden City and keep his title, treating him as a foreign monarch until 1924. The descendants of Confucius were maintained in the title of Duke Yansheng until 1935 when the title was changed to Sacrificial Official to Confucius (大成至聖先師奉祀官), which remains as a position to this day, currently held by Kung Tsui-chang.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Zhou dynasty not only preceded the full unification of early China under the Qin dynasty, the first empire whose realm would subsequently be considered to extend broadly enough to be national in the context of the territorial concept of China, the Zhouli, Rites of Zhou were subsequently canonized by Confucius among his Confucian Chinese classics as a model precedent in principles of government, so ranks of nobility in later regimes both in periods of unified sovereignty and of competing smaller states would typically draw from its catalog of peerage. From Zhouli, later Confucian political philosophy and government publications, and from the surrounding historical literature of particular individuals, localities and events, the following social classifications have been attested.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The social system of the Zhou dynasty is sometimes referred to as the Chinese proto-feudalism and was the combination of Fengjian (honors and awards) and "Zongfa" (clan law). Male subjects were classified into, in descending order of rank:


title: Chinese nobility

text: "Zongfa" (宗法, clan law), which applied to all social classes, governed the primogeniture of rank and succession of other siblings. The eldest son of the consort would inherit the title and retained the same rank within the system. Other sons from the consort, concubines and mistresses would be given titles one rank lower than their father.


title: Chinese nobility

text: As time went by, all terms had lost their original meanings nonetheless. "Qing" (卿), "Daifu" (大夫) and "Shi" (士) became synonyms of court officials. Physicians were often called "Daifu" during the Late Imperial China. Referring to a male or self-reference of a male as "Gongzi" eventually became a way to raise one's "mianzi" (refer to Face (social concept)), and would indeed be considered flattery today.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Under the Zhou dynasty were "Wǔděngjuéwèi" (), five (aristocratic) peerage ranks (abbreviated "Wǔjué") below the royal ranks in the following descending order from higher to lower rank:


title: Chinese nobility

text: Titles of female members of the aristocracies varied in different dynasties and eras, each having unique classifications for the spouses of the emperor. Any female member excluding a spouse of an emperor can be called a princess or "gōngzhǔ" (公主), and incorporated her associated place into her title if she had one.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Besides the systematized ranks listed above, there were also other familial appellations used as titles, e.g. "Shu" (叔, paternal younger uncle) or "Jiu" (舅, maternal uncle).


title: Chinese nobility

text: Sons of kings who did not receive other titles were generically called "Wangzi" (王子, king's son), and their children "Wangsun" (王孫, king's grandson). Similarly, sons and grandsons of dukes and lords are called "Gongzi" (公子, duke's son) and "Gongsun" (公孫, duke's grandson).


title: Chinese nobility

text: These honorifics occasionally became heritable titles, no longer indicating relation with the reigning king. And some clans even took them as family names. "Gongzi" eventually evolved into the generic honorific for all young gentry. Today it is either used as a flattering way to address an interlocutor's son, or an pejorative term for a wealthy man. "Wangzi", on the other hand, is used today as the generic translation for foreign princes (in the sense of a monarch's son, as opposed to a sui generis title).


title: Chinese nobility

text: The southern state of Chu had a notably distinct culture from the central plain states, including the nobility system. The royal Xiong clan and its collateral branches of Qu, Jing and Zhao formed the main aristocracy of Chu. Besides the royal clans, Chu did not have a system of nobility early on. Chu's formal system of rank only appeared around the late Spring and Autumn period, with such titles as "Tonghou" (通侯, lit. marquis-peer), "Zhigui" (執珪, lit. jade scepter bearer), "Zhibo" (執帛, lit. silk bearer). Noble ranks come with a state stipend, and holders of the highest ranks also received fiefs and the honorific title "Jun" (君, lord), e.g. Lord Chunshen.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Noble titles in Chu were bestowed primarily as reward for military and civil service, and were not heritable in principle.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Prior to the systematization of ranks in early Han dynasty, Liu Bang, being of Chu origin, also awarded distinctly Chu titles.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Prior to the Qin dynasty, "Wang" (sovereign) was the title for the ruler of whole China. Under him were the vassals or "Zhuhou" (諸侯), who held territories granted by a succession of Zhou dynasty kings. They had the duty to support the Zhou king during an emergency and were ranked according to the Five Orders of Nobility. In the Spring and Autumn period, the Zhou kings had lost most of their powers, and the most powerful vassals became the de facto ruler of China. Finally, in the Warring States period, most vassals declared themselves "Wang" or kings, and regarded themselves as equal to the Zhou king.


title: Chinese nobility

text: After Zheng, king of the state of Qin, later known as Qin Shi Huang, defeated all the other vassals and unified China, he adopted the new title of "Huangdi" (emperor). Qin Shi Huang eliminated noble titles, as he sponsored legalism which believed in merit, not birth. He forced all nobles to the capital, seized their lands and turned them into administrative districts with the officials ruling them selected on merit. After the demise of Qin Er Shi, the last Qin ruler to use the title "Huangdi" (his successor Ziying used the title King of Qin rather than Emperor), Xiang Yu styled himself Hegemon King of Western Chu (Xichu Bàwáng 西楚霸王) rather than Emperor. Xiang Yu gave King Huai II of Chu the title of "Emperor of Chu" (楚義帝) or "The Righteous Emperor of Southern Chu" (南楚義帝) and awarded the rest of his allies, including Liu Bang, titles and a place to administer. Xiang Yu gave Liu Bang the Principality of Han, and he would soon replace him as the ruler of China.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, continued to use the title "Huangdi". In order to appease his wartime allies, he gave each of them a piece of land as their own "kingdom" (Wangguo) along with a title of "Wang". He eventually killed all of them and replaced them with members of his family. These kingdoms remained effectively independent until the Rebellion of the Seven States. Since then, "Wang" became merely the highest hereditary title, which roughly corresponded to the title of prince, and, as such, was commonly given to relatives of the emperor. The title "Gong" also reverted purely to a peerage title, ranking below "Wang". Those who bore such titles were entirely under the auspices of the emperor, and had no ruling power of their own. The two characters combined to form the rank, "Wanggong", grew to become synonymous with all higher court officials.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The title of Duke of Song and ""Duke Who Continues and Honours the Yin"" (殷紹嘉公) were bestowed upon Kong An 孔安 (東漢) by the Eastern Han dynasty because he was part of the Shang dynasty's legacy. This branch of the Confucius family is a separate branch from the line that held the title of Marquis of Fengsheng village and later Duke Yansheng.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Han dynasty bestowed the hereditary title 周子南君 upon the Zhou dynasty royal descendant Ji Jia 姬嘉 and his descendants.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Family tree of Chinese nobility from the Han dynasty to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. (中國士族世系圖列表)


title: Chinese nobility

text: Special "commanderies of immigrants" and "white registers" were created for the massive amount of northern-origin Han Chinese who moved south during the Eastern Jin dynasty. The southern Chinese aristocracy was formed from the offspring of these migrants. Celestial Masters and the nobility of northern China subdued the nobility of southern China during the Western Jin (the Jiangnan region specifically) and Eastern Jin periods. Southern China became the most populous region of China after the depopulation of the north and the migration of northern Chinese to southern China. Different waves of migration of aristocratic Chinese from northern China to the south at different times resulted in distinct groups of lineages, with some lineages arriving in the 300s-400s and others in the 800s-900s.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Literati of all ethnicities seemed to be regarded as Han Chinese, because even ethnic Xianbei affiliated with the Northern Wei were referred to (insultingly) as "damned Chinese" by the Northern Qi elites from the Northern Garrisons.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Examples of individuals appearing as culturally Xianbei and at the same time declaring Han Chinese ancestry was Gao Huan and the Han family. The Han Chinese Gao family of Bohai (渤海高氏) was claimed by Gao Huan as his ancestors. Gao was of Han Chinese background but Xianbei-acculturated. He was raised in Huaishuozhen while his family came from Bohai prefecture in modern Hebei. He was culturally Xianbei since his clan was raised in Inner Mongolia after being relocated from what is modern Hebei (Bohai) where his Han Chinese ancestors lived. Honorary Bohai descent was bestowed upon Gao Longshi by Gao Huan. Bohai was asserted as the ancestral home of Gao Huan by Gao Huan.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Huaibei was the geographic origin of the Zhou of Runan 汝南周氏 who were part of the Eastern Jin dynasty. The Linghu of Dunhuang 敦煌令狐氏 were descended from King Wen of Zhou through his son Duke Gao of Bi 畢公高. The Yan of Langye 琅邪顏氏 spawned Yan Zhitui. The Northern Wei's Eight Noble Xianbei surnames 八大贵族 were the Buliugu 步六孤, Helai 賀賴, Dugu 獨孤, Helou 賀樓, Huniu 忽忸, Qiumu 丘穆, Gexi 紇奚, and Yuchi 尉遲. They adopted Chinese last names.


title: Chinese nobility

text: A fief of 100 households and the rank of 崇聖侯 "Marquis who worships the sage" was bestowed upon a Confucius descendant, Yan Hui's lineage had 2 of its scions and Confucius's lineage had 4 of its scions who had ranks bestowed on them in Shandong in 495 and a fief of ten households and rank of 崇聖大夫 "Grandee who venerates the sage" was bestowed on 孔乘 Kong Sheng who was Confucius's scion in the 28th generation in 472 by Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The aristocracy of the Tang era can be divided into 4 blocs, the most prestigious Northeastern (Shandong, which included Hebei, Henan, central Shanxi) bloc, the Northwestern (Guan-Long, or Shaanxi, southern and northern Shanxi) bloc, the Southern émigré clans, and the Southern native aristocrats. The Southern émigrés primarily emphasised Buddhism and belles lettres literature, while the other 3 blocs were more focused on Confucian Classics. Due to rebellions that plagued the south in late Northern and Southern dynasties, the Southerners were weaker than the Northerners, a situation exacerbated by the capital being in the north.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The northeastern Chinese aristocracy during the Sui-Tang period was of pure Han blood, while they looked down upon the northwestern aristocracy which was of mixed Han and Xianbei blood. This hybrid mixed blood Chinese and Northwestern (Guanlong) 關隴集團 aristocracy was the source of the Sui dynasty and Tang dynasty Imperial clans who were responsible for reuniting China.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The northwest military aristocracy was the group from which the Sui dynasty Emperors originated; they emphasized that their patrilineal ancestry was ethnic Han, claiming descent from the Han official Yang Zhen. The New Book of Tang traced his patrilineal ancestry to the Zhou dynasty kings via the Dukes of Jin. The Sui Emperors had maternal Xianbei ancestry from a woman of the Xianbei Dugu family. The Tang dynasty Imperial family claimed to be paternally descended from Laozi (whose personal name was Li Dan or Li Er), the Han dynasty General Li Guang, Qin General Li Xin and Western Liang ruler Li Gao. This family was known as the Longxi Li lineage (隴西李氏). The Tang Emperors had Xianbei maternal ancestry, from Emperor Gaozu of Tang's Xianbei mother Duchess Dugu.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Guanzhong noble families of Han Chinese background married the Northern Zhou Xianbei Yuwen family.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Northeastern aristocracy supported Wu Zetian while the Northwestern aristocracy opposed her. The northwestern aristocracy was countered by the northeastern aristocracy who were supported by the Sui Yangdi Emperor. However, political positions within both the northeastern and northwestern aristocracies was not uniform.


title: Chinese nobility

text: During the Tang dynasty, nobles lost most of their power to the mandarins when imperial examination replaced the nine-rank system. The Anding origin noble Liang family produced Liang Su, a Confucian scholar. An anti-meritocratic pro-aristocratic faction was led by Li Linfu.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Han Chinese noble families of Northeastern region dominated the Central Plains-based Northern Qi and Eastern Wei.


title: Chinese nobility

text: A "marriage ban" was applied to the northeastern aristocracy by emperor Tang Taizong in an attempt to stop them from intermarrying further and reinforcing their prestige. However this policy backfired. During the Tang dynasty the Li family of Zhaojun 赵郡李氏, the Cui clan of Boling, the Cui clan of Qinghe, the Lu clan of Fanyang, the Zheng family of Xingyang w:zh:荥阳郑氏, the Wang family of Taiyuan 太原王氏, and the Li family of Longxi 隴西李氏 were the seven noble families 七姓十家 between whom marriage was banned by law. Moriya Mitsuo wrote a history of the Later Han-Tang period of the Taiyuan Wang. Among the strongest families was the Taiyuan Wang. The prohibition on marriage between the clans issued in 659 by the Gaozong Emperor was flouted by the seven families since a woman of the Boling Cui married a member of the Taiyuan Wang, giving birth to the poet Wang Wei. He was the son of Wang Chulian who in turn was the son of Wang Zhou. The marriages between the families were performed clandestinely after the prohibition was implemented on the seven families by Gaozong. The Zhou dynasty King Ling's son Prince Jin is assumed by most to be the ancestor of the Taiyuan Wang. The Longmen Wang were a cadet line of the Zhou dynasty descended Taiyuan Wang, and Wang Yan and his grandson Wang Tong hailed from his cadet line. Both Buddhist monks and scholars hailed from the Wang family of Taiyuan such as the monk Tanqian. The Wang family of Taiyuan included Wang Huan. Their status as "Seven Great surnames" became known during Gaozong's rule. The Taiyuan Wang family produced Wang Jun who served under Emperor Huai of Jin. A Fuzhou-based section of the Taiyuan Wang produced the Buddhist monk Baizhang.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Other clans included the Zhao of Tianshui 天水趙氏, the Gao of Bohai 渤海高氏, the Liu of Pengcheng 彭城劉氏, the Zhang of Qinghe 清河張氏, the Zhang of Nanyang 南陽張氏, the Pei of Hedong 河東裴氏, the Wei of Jingzhao 京兆韋氏, the Yang of Hongong 弘農楊氏, and the Wang of Langye 琅邪王氏.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Zheng family of Xingyang 滎陽鄭氏 claim descent from the Zhou dynasty Kings via the rulers of the State of Zheng.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Marquis of Xingyang rank was created for Zheng Xi. The Xingyang Zheng spawned Zheng Daozhao and Zheng Xi. Zheng Wanjun was a member of the Xingyang Zheng. The Xingyang Zheng spawned Zheng Yuzhong (Zheng Qiao). The Xingyang Zheng spawned Zheng Jiong. The Zheng of Xingyang may have been miswritten in the records as the Zheng of Rongyang.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The bigger Longxi Li lineage outside of the Tang Imperial family has prominent members like Li Jiongxiu, Li Yiyan, Li Kui (chancellor), Li Wei (Tang dynasty), Li Fengji, Li Zhongyan, Li Jing (Tang dynasty), Li Zhaode, and Li Bai.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Tang Longxi lineage also included sub lineages like the Guzang Li (姑臧李), from which Li Zhuanmei 李專美 came from.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Zhaojun Li were written about by David Johnson while the Cui of Boling were written about by Patricia Ebrey.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The cadet Canhuang Li were part of the Li of Zhaojun. The Li of Longxi produced Li Kuan 李觀 while the Li of Zhaojun produced Li Hua 李華.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Tianshui Zhao 天水趙氏. The Song dynasty Emperors hailed from the Guandong Zhao while the Longxi Li produced the Tang Emperors.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Li of Zhaojun and the Lu of Fanyang hailed from Shandong and were related to the Liu clan which was also linked to the Yang of Hongnong and other clans of Guanlong.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Li of Zhaojun, Lu of Fanyang, Zheng of Yingyang 滎陽鄭氏 were of Shandong origin like the Wang of Taiyuan.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Yang of Hongnong 弘農楊氏 were asserted as ancestors by the Sui Emperors like the Longxi Li's were asserted as ancestors of the Tang Emperors. The Dukes of Jin were claimed as the ancestors of the Hongnong Yang. The Yang of Hongnong spawned 楊昭儉 Yang Zhaojian. This clan was the family of Yang Guozhong, Yang Guifei, and Yang Wan Their ancestor was Yang Zhen who served during the reign of Emperor An of Han. He is mentioned in the Book of the Later Han.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Yang of Hongnong, Jia of Hedong, Xiang of Henei, and Wang of Taiyuan from the Tang dynasty were claimed as ancestors by Song dynasty lineages.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Some of the Tang dynasty Imperial family's cadet branches ended up in Fujian- one founded by Li Dan 李丹 which became prominent in the Song dynasty. another founded by Li Fu 李富 also becoming prominent during the Song dynasty.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Tang Longxi lineage also included sub lineages like the Guzang Li 姑臧李, from which Li Zhuanmei 李專美 came from, who served the Later Jin.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Subsequent dynasties expanded the hereditary titles further. Not all titles of peerage are hereditary, and the right to continue the heredity passage of a very high title was seen as a very high honour; at the end of the Qing dynasty, there were five grades of princes, amongst a myriad of other titles. For details, see Qing dynasty nobility.


title: Chinese nobility

text: A few Chinese families enjoyed hereditary titles in the full sense, the chief among them being the Holy Duke of Yen (the descendant of Confucius); others, such as the lineal descendants of Wen Tianxiang, ennobled the Duke of Xingguo, not choosing to use their hereditary title.


title: Chinese nobility

text: When the Ming dynasty emerged Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang's military officers who served under him were given noble titles which privileged the holder with a stipend but in all other aspects was merely symbolic. (功臣世表) Mu Ying's family was among them. Special rules against abuse of power were implemented on the nobles.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Duke Huan of Lu's son through Qingfu (慶父) was the ancestor of Mencius. He was descended from Duke Yang of the State of Lu 魯煬公 Duke Yang was the son of Bo Qin, who was the son of the Duke of Zhou of the Zhou dynasty royal family. The genealogy is found in the Mencius family tree (孟子世家大宗世系).


title: Chinese nobility

text: During the Ming dynasty, one of Mencius' descendants was given a hereditary title at the Hanlin Academy by the Emperor. The title they held was Wujing Boshi (五经博士; 五經博士; Wǔjīng Bóshì).


title: Chinese nobility

text: In 1452 Wujing Boshi was bestowed upon the offspring of Mengzi-Meng Xiwen 孟希文 56th generation and Yan Hui-Yan Xihui 顔希惠 59th generation, the same was bestowed on the offspring of Zhou Dunyi-Zhou Mian 週冕 12th generation, the two Cheng brothers (Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi-Chen Keren 程克仁 17th generation), Zhu Xi-Zhu Ting 朱梴 (Zhu Chan?) 9th generation, in 1456–1457, in 1539 the same was awarded to Zeng Can's offspring-Zeng Zhicui 曾質粹 60th generation, in 1622 the offspring of Zhang Zai received the title and in 1630 the offspring of Shao Yong. Zhang Zai's offspring received the appointment as wujing boshi along with Zhu Xi's, Cheng Hao's, Cheng Yi's, and Zhou Dunyi's offspring. Biographies of those who were awarded the title of Wujing Boshi in the Ming dynasty are found in Volume 284, Biographies 172 of the History of Ming (明史).


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Imperial Clansmen consisted of those who trace their descent direct from the founder of the Qing dynasty, and were distinguished by the privilege of wearing a yellow girdle; collateral relatives of the imperial house wore a red girdle. Twelve degrees of nobility (in a descending scale as one generation succeeds another) were conferred on the descendants of every emperor; in the thirteenth generation the descendants of emperors were merged in the general population, save that they retain the yellow girdle. The heads of eight houses, the Iron-capped (or helmeted) princes, maintained their titles in perpetuity by rule of primogeniture in virtue of having helped the Manchu conquest of China.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The title Wujing boshi 五經博士 was created in the Han dynasty. Holders of the title were considered part of Hanlin Academy.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Confucian sages (Disciples of Confucius and Neo Confucian scholars) offspring were granted the office of "Wujing Boshi" (五经博士; 五經博士; Wǔjīng Bóshì). There were 22 of them. ""Present Day Political Organization of China"" by V.V. Hagelstrom and H.S. Brunnert contains a list of people who were awarded the title: "The title of 五經博士 Wu3 Ching1 Po2 Shih4, or simply 博士 Po2 Shih4 (literary designation, 大瀚博 Ta4 Han4 Po2), is also transmitted to the eldest, in a direct line, of the descendants of the following famous men of antiquity : 1. 周公 Chou1 Kung1, 2. 顏淵 Yen2 Yüan1, 3. 曾子輿 Tsêng1 Tzu3-yü2, 4. 閔子騫 Min3 Tzu3-ch'ien1, 5. 仲季路 Chung4 Chi4-lu4, 6. 有子有 Yu3 Tzu3-yu3, 7. 端木子貢 Tuan1 Mu4 Tzu3 Kung4, 8. 卜子夏 Pu3 Tzu3-hsia4, 9. 言子游 Yen2 Tzu3-yu2, 10. 冉伯牛 Jan3 Po2-niu2, 11. 冉仲弓 Jan3 Chung4-kung1, 12. 顓孫子張 Chuan1 Sun1 Tzu3 Chang1, 13. 孟子 Mêng4 Tzu3, 14. 伏生 Fu2 Shêng1, 15. 韓愈 Han4 Yü4, 16. 周敦頤 Chou1 Tun1-i2, 17. 邵雍 Shao4 Yung1, 18. 程顥 Ch'êng2 Hao4, 19. 程頤 Ch'êng2 I2, 20. 張載 Chang 1 Tsai3, 21. 朱熹 Chu1 Hsi3, and 22. 關羽 Kuan1 Yü3." It was also granted to the cadet branch of the Confucius family at Quzhou.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The descendants of the Four Sages 四氏, Confucius, Mencius, Zengzi, and Yan Hui still use generation poems for their names given to them by the Ming and Qing Emperors.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The main line of the Duke of Zhou's descendants came from his firstborn son, the State of Lu ruler Bo Qin's third son Yu (魚) whose descendants adopted the surname Dongye (東野).


title: Chinese nobility

text: One of the Duke of Zhou's 72 generation descendants family tree was examined and commented on by Song Lian.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The Zhikou (Chikow) Chiangs such as Chiang Kai-shek were descended from Chiang Shih-chieh who during the 1600s (17th century) moved there from Fenghua district, whose ancestors in turn came to southeastern China's Zhejiang (Chekiang) province after moving out of Northern China in the 13th century AD. The 12th century BC Duke of Zhou's (Duke of Chou) third son (管叔鮮) was the ancestor of the Chiangs.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The oldest held continuous noble title in Chinese history was that held by the descendants of Confucius, as Duke Yansheng, which was renamed as the Sacrificial Official to Confucius in 1935 by the Republic of China. The title is held by Kung Tsui-chang.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Han defectors played a massive role in the Qing conquest of China. Han Chinese Generals who defected to the Manchu were often given women from the Imperial Aisin Gioro family in marriage while the ordinary soldiers who defected were often given non-royal Manchu women as wives. The Manchu leader Nurhaci married one of his granddaughters to the Ming General Li Yongfang 李永芳 after he surrendered Fushun in Liaoning to the Manchu in 1618. The offspring of Li received the "Third Class Viscount" () title. Li Yongfang was the great great great grandfather of Li Shiyao 李侍堯.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Upon the surrender of Zheng Keshuang he received the title of Duke Haicheng from the Qing and his follower Feng Xifan received the title of Count Zhongcheng.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang received the title of Marquis from the Qing. Zeng Guofan was a descendant of Zengzi through a cadet branch.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Most titles of nobility were officially abolished when China became a republic in 1912, with the Republic maintaining some titles like Duke Yansheng. They were briefly expanded under Yuan Shikai's empire and after Zhang Xun's coup. The last emperor was allowed to keep his title but was treated as a foreign monarch until the 1924 coup. Manchukuo also had titles of nobility.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The bestowal of titles was abolished upon the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.


title: Chinese nobility

text: The families of the descendants of the Four Sages 四氏 still hold hereditary offices in the Republic of China (Taiwan) such as the Sacrificial Official to Confucius, "Sacrificial Official to Mencius", "Sacrificial Official to Zengzi", and "Sacrificial Official to Yan Hui".


title: Chinese nobility

text: After the fall of the Qing dynasty and its "Last Emperor" Puyi in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, Chinese President Yuan Shikai attempted to resurrect the imperial system, proclaiming himself emperor in his brief Empire of China (1915–1916) which ended with his death 83 days after its inauguration. During this period, Yuan Shikai as sovereign declared the ennoblement of several people, in this case not so much his family and clan as allies and those he sought as supporters for the new Empire. Some declined the honors.


title: Chinese nobility

text: In modern Chinese, a king is referred to as a "Wang", while an emperor would be referred to as "Huangdi". Traditional Chinese political theory held that "All lands under Heaven belong to the emperor, all people under Heaven belong, are subjects of the emperor." (普天之下，莫非王土; 率土之濱, 莫非王臣). Queen Victoria was styled "Nü-Wang" (Queen) of the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland. Thus, a foreign monarch would also be referred to as "Wang", implying that one was inferior in rank and thus subject to the Chinese emperor.


title: Chinese nobility

text: Other titles might be tailored down to a single individual being officially honored for a particular achievement, with or without executive portfolio following the granting of the title, and might truly be titles outside the executive government structure, even when words used in their phrasing would otherwise imply executive office, e.g.,


title: Chinese nobility

text: On the other hand, victorious generals were often granted official praise-names or names implying particular old and new duties or some combination of these, which would be quasi-executive or fully executive titles honored as much like peerage as like actual military rank, as in the case of Liu Bei promoting Guan Yu to a rank phrased as General Who Exterminates Bandits (蕩寇將軍) during the active course of Guan Yu's military career.


title: Chinese nobility

text: In Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia), the Dutch authorities appointed Chinese officers to the colonial administration to oversee the governance of the colony's Chinese subjects. These officials bore the ranks of "Majoor", "Kapitein" or "Luitenant der Chinezen", and had extensive political and legal jurisdiction over the local Chinese community. Their descendants bore the hereditary title of "Sia", and constituted the "Cabang Atas" or the Chinese gentry of colonial Indonesia.


title: Manifestation (popular psychology)

text: Manifestation (or manifesting) refers to various pseudoscientific self-help strategies that can purportedly make an individual's wishes come true by mentally visualizing them. Manifestation techniques are based on the law of attraction of New Thought spirituality. While the process involves positive thinking, or even directing requests to "the universe", it also involves actions on the part of the individual.


title: Manifestation (popular psychology)

text: Manifesting has been criticised as having no basis in physical science. Alison Bernstein, a professor of translational neuroscience at Michigan State University said in an interview with "Vice" that "You can’t magically make things happen. You can [however] change the way you react to certain situations, which sounds to me like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy". She went on to assert that "manifestation is not supported by science".


title: Manifestation (popular psychology)

text: The practice was popularized by the film "The Secret" (2006) and a book of the same name by Rhonda Byrne. It has been popularized on social media since the 2010s. It is promoted by Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Gabrielle Bernstein, and Iyanla Vanzant, among others.


title: Randolph Apperson Hearst

text: Randolph Apperson Hearst (December 2, 1915 – December 18, 2000) was the fourth son of the five sons of William Randolph Hearst and Millicent Hearst. His twin brother, David, died in 1986. Randolph is the father of Patty Hearst.


title: Randolph Apperson Hearst

text: Randolph Apperson Hearst was born on December 2, 1915 with his twin brother, David (1915–1986), to Millicent Hearst and William Randolph Hearst in New York City. He attended the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and graduated from Harvard University in 1938.


title: Randolph Apperson Hearst

text: After graduating, Hearst joined the family business, the Hearst Corporation. In the late 1930s, he worked for "The Atlanta Georgian", one of the Hearst family's papers. After the Georgian was sold in 1940, he moved to San Francisco and worked on "The San Francisco Call". In 1942, he joined the United States Army Air Forces's Air Transport Command and rose to the rank of captain. After leaving the Army, he became an associate publisher of the "Oakland Post-Enquirer" and in 1947, he returned to the "San Francisco Call" as an executive editor. In 1950, he became the publisher of the "Call".


title: Randolph Apperson Hearst

text: Long active in management of the "San Francisco Examiner", he eventually became chairman of the Hearst board (1973–96). He retired in favor of his nephew, George Randolph Hearst, Jr.


title: Randolph Apperson Hearst

text: Randolph Hearst never had the opportunity to become Chief Executive Officer. His father's will established a trust that had five family (initially his sons, then their heirs) and eight non-family trustees. All trustees served for life and elected their successors, which maintained the proportions of family and non-family trustees. The trustees name the corporation's board of directors, and the trust does not dissolve until all grandchildren of William Randolph Hearst alive at his death have died. It was under Randolph Hearst's chairmanship that the chief executive inherited from his father, Richard E. Berlin, finally retired, but the next three presidents were all also non-family trustees.


title: Randolph Apperson Hearst

text: Randolph Hearst was married three times, first on January 12, 1938 to Catherine Wood Campbell of Atlanta, Georgia, who was the mother of his five daughters: Catherine, Virginia, Patricia (Patty), Anne and Victoria. Catherine Hearst was a Roman Catholic and a conservative Regent of the University of California before resigning in 1976.


title: Randolph Apperson Hearst

text: In 1974, Patty Hearst made front pages nationwide when she was kidnapped by an extremist group, the Symbionese Liberation Army, and was soon after caught on film helping the group to rob banks. She renounced the SLA soon after her arrest. The ordeal placed enormous strain on the Hearst marriage, eventually leading to divorce in 1982. After their divorce, the first Mrs. Hearst moved to Beverly Hills.


title: Randolph Apperson Hearst

text: Randolph Hearst married his second wife, Maria Cynthia Scruggs (née Pachì, September 3, 1932 - July 17, 2017), originally of Rome, Italy, on May 2, 1982. The couple divorced in 1987. That year he married a third wife, Veronica de Gruyter (formerly de Beracasa y de Uribe).


title: Randolph Apperson Hearst

text: Hearst died on December 18, 2000 from a stroke. His seat as a trustee of his father's will went to Virginia Hearst Randt, second-oldest of his five daughters. He was buried on the family's plot in Colma, California.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Nathan Cleary (born 14 November 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and Australia at international level. He won both the 2021 and the 2022 NRL Grand Finals with the Panthers.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: He is best known for his accurate kicking game, playmaking, goalkicking and vision. He won the Clive Churchill Medal in 2021.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Cleary is the son of coach and former professional rugby league footballer Ivan Cleary who coaches him at the Penrith Panthers.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: He spent a number of his childhood years living in Auckland, New Zealand while his father was playing for, and later coaching, the New Zealand Warriors. Attended Sacred Heart College, Auckland for two years and having grown up playing soccer, Cleary switched to rugby league during his pre-teens, playing at a junior level for the Mount Albert Lions in Auckland and the Penrith Brothers in Sydney. He completed his HSC while attending St Dominic's College, Penrith in 2015, where he was a prefect.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Cleary is of Croatian descent. He is the nephew of Josh Stuart and Jason Death. He previously held a New Zealand passport.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Cleary progressed through the Penrith club's junior system, playing in their Harold Matthews Cup (under 16) and S. G. Ball Cup (under 18) teams, the latter of which he captained in 2015.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Cleary appeared for the Windsor Wolves in the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield in a handful of games, before being called into Penrith's National Youth Competition (under 20) squad mid-season. Cleary was unavailable to play in Penrith's 2015 NYC Grand Final winning team due to his selection in the Australian Schoolboys team, whom he captained during their two match series against New Zealand under-18s. Cleary played 20 games, scoring 11 tries and kicking 109 goals for 262 points in his U20s career from 2015 to 2016.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Starting the season as Penrith's first-choice halfback in the NYC, Cleary was selected to play for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis in May, where he played at five-eighth scoring a try and kicking 5 goals in the 34-20 win. He made his New South Wales Cup debut for the Penrith club in round 11, the only game he'd play in that competition in 2016. On 2 June, Cleary extended his contract with the Panthers until the end of the 2019 season; his decision to do so voided a 'father-son' clause in his contract, which would have allowed him to leave the club following his father's dismissal as Penrith's head coach late the previous year, had he so pleased.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Two days after the signing, in round 13, Cleary made his NRL debut for the Penrith Panthers against the Melbourne Storm at five-eighth. Despite a 6-24 defeat at AAMI Park, Cleary had a great debut; making 38 tackles. The next week against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Cleary scored his first NRL try, as well as kicking five goals in Penrith's 31-24 win at Brookvale Oval. Following a man of the match performance against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in round 15, The Daily Telegraph said of Cleary: "[it's] hard to believe he is only 18 playing his third NRL game. Composed under pressure, kicked well and supported inside for a crucial second half try."


title: Nathan Cleary

text: After the departure of seasoned half Jamie Soward and Peter Wallace shifting to hooker, Cleary remained at halfback for the rest of the season. He was in the race for the rookie of the year award, but lost to the Gold Coast Titans halfback, Ashley Taylor. He finished his debut season with 3 tries and 52 goals from 15 matches. He was the Penrith club's highest point-scorer with 116 points. Cleary was rewarded with being named in the emerging NSW Blues squad.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Cleary was named in Penrith's squad for the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines. On 1 May, Cleary was named in the NSW City Origin representative team to play in the last ever City vs Country game.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Cleary finished the season as highest pointscorer in the NRL with a total of 228 points, the youngest player to achieve this since 1913. He played in all 26 games for the Penrith club, scoring 11 tries and kicking 92 goals. Cleary also became the youngest player ever to score 200 points in a season.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Cleary started the 2018 season as possibly the NRL’s form player before suffering a knee injury in Round 3 against Canterbury-Bankstown where Penrith lost 20-18 at ANZ Stadium. While he was out with the injury, Cleary was still leading in contention for the halfback spot for New South Wales. Cleary made his return to the field in Round 11 against his father’s team the Wests Tigers, where he helped steer the Penrith club to a 16-2 victory at Penrith Stadium. In his next performance in Round 12 against table toppers the St George Illawarra Dragons, Cleary earned his spot in the New South Wales squad after a fine match, scoring a try as Penrith won convincingly 28-2 at Penrith Stadium.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: On 6 June 2018, Cleary made his debut for New South Wales in Game 1 of the 2018 State of Origin series against Queensland, starting at halfback in the 22-12 win at the MCG. Later that week, he kicked the match winning field goal in Penrith's 23–22 win over Canberra at GIO Stadium. He played in all 3 Origin games that year for the Blues at halfback.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: In the opening rounds of the 2019 season, Cleary had been criticized by sections of the media and fans for Penrith's underwhelming start to the season. In Round 4, Cleary kicked a goal from the sideline after the final siren to send their game against the Wests Tigers into extra time. Cleary then kicked a 40 metre field goal to win the game for Penrith 9-8.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: On 27 May, Cleary was selected at halfback for New South Wales in Game 1 of the 2019 State of Origin series despite his lacklustre start to the year and with Penrith only managing 2 wins from their first 9 games. Despite New South Wales losing the first game, Cleary was retained for the second game in Perth which New South Wales won 38-6 at Perth Stadium.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: In Round 18 against St George, Cleary scored a try and kicked 6 goals as Penrith won the match 40-18 at Penrith Park.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: In round 25, the final game of the year, Cleary scored 4 tries and kicked 9 goals in their 54-10 victory over Newcastle. In this game Cleary scored 34 points to have the 2nd most points scored in a single game in the NRL. Cleary put on a master class despite this game having no impact on the finals as Penrith finished a disappointing 10th.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: In round 12, Cleary scored one try and kicked seven goals as Penrith defeated Manly 42–12 at Brookvale Oval.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: In the 2020 qualifying final against the Sydney Roosters, Cleary scored a hat-trick and kicked a field goal in Penrith's 29–28 victory.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Cleary played a total of 21 games for Penrith in the 2020 NRL season including the grand final. He threw a pass in the first half of the match which was intercepted by Melbourne winger Suliasi Vunivalu who raced away to score a try at a pivotal moment in the game, but scored a last minute try and kicked two goals in the 26–20 loss.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Cleary was selected by New South Wales for the 2020 State of Origin series. He played poorly in the game 1 loss, with Andrew Johns calling for him to be dropped. Roy Masters said, "Cleary has a weakness and the Maroons have identified it. Cleary's below-par performances in the NRL grand final and the first State of Origin match are directly related to the pressure imposed on his kicking game." He was awarded man of the match in game 2 of the series, where he was praised for his exceptional kicking game, but another loss in game 3 saw a shock 2-1 series defeat. He said after, "2020 as a whole has been a roller coaster, really. I've ridden the highs and lows. I've lost some pretty big games in the last month."


title: Nathan Cleary

text: In round 10, Cleary scored a hat-trick and kicked eight goals in Penrith's 48-12 victory over the Gold Coast. The following week, he scored two tries and kicked ten goals in Penrith's 56-12 victory over South Sydney.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Cleary kicked eight goals for New South Wales in the opening game of the 2021 State of Origin series as they defeated Queensland 50-6.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: On 30 June, it was announced Cleary would be unable to play for an indefinite period after suffering a shoulder injury. In round 22, he made his return to the Penrith team in a 34-16 victory over St. George Illawarra.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Cleary played a total of 20 games for Penrith in the 2021 NRL season including the club's 2021 NRL Grand Final victory over South Sydney. Cleary was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for being man of the match. He was also named Dally M Halfback of the year.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: On 19 October, Cleary was handed a proposed $7000 fine by the NRL and a breach notice which alleges that he acted contrary to the best interests of the game after he was photographed on social media acting in a disrespectful manner toward the NRL Telstra Premiership Trophy. Although Cleary nor any of the Penrith players had broken the trophy, the NRL alleges Cleary and teammate Stephen Crichton showed disrespect towards the individuals depicted in the iconic moment memorialised on the Trophy.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: On 29 May, Cleary was selected by New South Wales to play in game one of the 2022 State of Origin series.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: In round 14 of the 2022 NRL season, Cleary scored a try and kicked seven goals in Penrith's 42-6 victory over Newcastle.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: In game 2 of the 2022 State of Origin series, Cleary scored two tries and kicked eight goals in New South Wales 44-12 victory over Queensland.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: In game 3, New South Wales were behind 16-12 against Queensland with less than two minutes remaining when Cleary elected a chip kick over the top of the defensive line which was intercepted by Queensland's Ben Hunt who ran 70 metres to score the match winning try.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: In round 20, Cleary was sent off in Penrith's 34-10 loss against Parramatta for a dangerous lifting tackle.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: On 30 July, Cleary was suspended for five games over the tackle which meant he would miss the remainder of the 2022 regular season.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: In the 2022 Qualifying Final, Cleary returned to the Penrith side and put in a man of the match performance in the clubs 27-8 victory over Parramatta.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: Cleary played for 17 games for Penrith throughout the year including their 2022 NRL Grand Final victory over Parramatta.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: In October he was named in the Australia squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. In the second match of Australia's 2021 Rugby League World Cup campaign, Cleary made his debut for Australia scoring one try and kicking 12 goals during a 84-0 victory over Scotland. Cleary played for Australia in their 2021 Rugby League World Cup final victory over Samoa.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: On 28 April 2020, Cleary was fined $10,000 after breaking protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cleary was pictured at his home with a group of women on ANZAC Day and the photo was uploaded to social media. Cleary later apologized to the Penrith club and his teammates over the incident.


title: Nathan Cleary

text: However, a video of Cleary dancing with the women emerged, thus bringing the validity of his apology into question. For lying about the incident, Cleary was hit with a 2-match ban as well as a $30,000 fine. It was then revealed that Cleary lied about the girls visiting his house and actually went to pick them up.


title: Conventional sex

text: Conventional sex, colloquially known as vanilla sex, is sexual behavior that is within the range of normality for a culture or subculture, and typically involves sex which does not include elements of BDSM, kink, or fetishism.


title: Conventional sex

text: What is regarded as conventional sex depends on cultural and subcultural norms. Among heterosexual couples in the Western world, for example, conventional sex often refers to sexual intercourse in the missionary position. It can also describe penetrative sex which does not have any element of BDSM, kink or fetish.


title: Conventional sex

text: The "British Medical Journal" regards conventional sex between homosexual couples as "sex that does not extend beyond affection, mutual masturbation, and oral and anal sex." In addition to mutual masturbation, penetrative sexual activity among same-sex pairings is contrasted by non-insertive acts such as intercrural sex, frot and tribadism, although tribadism has been cited as a common but rarely discussed sexual practice among lesbians.


title: Conventional sex

text: The term "vanilla" in "vanilla sex" derives from the use of vanilla extract as the basic flavoring for ice cream, and by extension, meaning plain or conventional. In relationships where only one partner enjoys less conventional forms of sexual expression, the partner who does not enjoy such activities as much as the other is often referred to as the "vanilla partner". As such, it is easy for them to be erroneously branded unadventurous in sexual matters. Through exploration with their partner, it may be possible for a more vanilla-minded person to discover new facets of their sexuality. As with any sexually active person, they may find their preferences on the commonly termed "vanilla-kink spectrum" are sufficient for their full satisfaction.


title: Danville, California

text: The Town of Danville is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California. It is one of the incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their names instead of "city". The population was 43,582 at the 2020 census. Since 2018, for four years in a row, Danville was named "the safest town in California".


title: Danville, California

text: The Iron Horse Regional Trail runs through Danville. It was first a railroad that has been converted to an wide corridor of bike and hike trails as well as controlled intersections. Extending from Livermore to Concord, the trail passes through Danville.


title: Danville, California

text: Danville is also home to the Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site, Village Theatre and Art Gallery, and the Museum of the San Ramon Valley.


title: Danville, California

text: Often referred to as the "Heart of the San Ramon Valley," Danville was first populated by Native Americans who lived near creeks and camped on Mount Diablo in the summer. Later, it was part of Mission San José's grazing land as well as a Mexican land grant called Rancho San Ramon.


title: Danville, California

text: Initially a farming community, the Town of Danville switched from wheat to fruits and nuts after the Southern Pacific Railroad built a spur line through the area in 1891. It developed as a residential suburb in 1947 when the first sizable housing tracts were constructed and its population boomed in the 1970s and 1980s.


title: Danville, California

text: Churches, schools, farmers unions and fraternal lodges began as the community grew. The Union Academy, a private high school begun by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, served the county from 1859 to 1868, until it burned down. Danville Presbyterian Church was dedicated in 1875.


title: Danville, California

text: Many early Danville buildings remain standing today. The original 1874 Grange Hall exists as well, and the original Danville Hotel remains downtown which was last renovated in 2016. Many of the early pioneer names appear on the streets and schools, including Baldwin, Harlan, Wood, Love, Hemme, Boone, Bettencourt and Meese.


title: Danville, California

text: When the Southern Pacific Railroad came to the Valley in 1891, Danville continued to grow. Farmers built warehouses and shipped crops by rail, and residents were able to travel to and from Danville.


title: Danville, California

text: John Hartz sold of his land for the Danville Depot and granted land access to the station. He then subdivided and sold lots east of the station, shifting the town's focus from Front Street to Hartz Avenue. Eventually, a bank, drug store, saloon, doctor's office and Chinese laundry joined the houses lining the street. The Danville Hotel originally sat across from the station and was moved to face Hartz avenue in 1927.


title: Danville, California

text: The twentieth century found Danville affected by the wars, the Spanish flu, the depression, and new immigrants.


title: Danville, California

text: In 1910, a public high school district was organized and San Ramon Valley Union High School was built. A library opened in 1913 with 104 books. St. Isidore's Catholic Church was first established in 1910. An Improvement League funded the first streetlights and paved roads in 1915.


title: Danville, California

text: Danville continued as farm country into the 1940s. The Valley had a population of 2,120 people in 1940, growing to 4,630 by 1950. Developments such as Montair and Cameo Acres were built, the water and sewer districts extended their boundaries, and the new I-680 freeway which cut through Danville in the mid-1960.


title: Danville, California

text: Danville was ranked as the safest city in California for a fourth year in a row, most recently in 2021.


title: Danville, California

text: Danville is set in a narrow section of the San Ramon Valley with the Las Trampas Ridge to the west and the Diablo Range to the east. The most prominent landmark of Danville is the backdrop of Mount Diablo, which stands to the east at and provides a picturesque backdrop for Danville and neighboring towns and cities. Sycamore Creek drains some of the Mount Diablo slopes and flows through Danville.


title: Danville, California

text: To the north of Danville, the unincorporated town of Alamo sits in the uppermost reaches of the San Ramon Valley and extends into the surrounding hills. San Ramon, another affluent suburb, borders Danville to the south.


title: Danville, California

text: Interstate 680, extending along the valley to the north and south, is the main route used by traffic in and out of town. Camino Tassajara is the main thoroughfare for east–west travel, most importantly to reach the eastern subdivisions far from the interstate. Camino Tassajara also provides access to the wealthy gated community of Blackhawk.


title: Danville, California

text: Danville's weather typifies a Mediterranean climate. Summers are long, with hot days and cool nights. Winters are cool, with mild daytime temperatures usually in the 50s, and nighttime temperatures usually above freezing. Like in the rest of the Bay Area, summers in Danville are extremely dry, and it's not uncommon for four to six months to elapse between the last drop of rain in the spring and the first rain in the fall. Winters are rainy, but periods of several days to a week of mild, dry, sunny weather are quite common even in midwinter.


title: Danville, California

text: According to "Business Insider", Danville's 94506 is the 14th wealthiest zip code in America. Danville is one of the wealthiest suburbs of Oakland and San Francisco. Danville also ranks as the 2nd highest-income place in the United States with a population of at least 40,000. It is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area and the United States. According to CNN Money, Danville's 94506 also has the fourth highest percentage of six-figure income earners in the nation, with 78% of Danville households having at least a six-figure income.


title: Danville, California

text: The 2010 United States Census reported that Danville had a population of 42,039. The population density was . The racial makeup of Danville was 34,942 (83.1%) White, 372 (0.9%) African American, 67 (0.2%) Native American, 4,417 (10.5%) Asian, 68 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 509 (1.2%) from other races, and 1,664 (4.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,879 persons (6.8%).


title: Danville, California

text: The Census reported that 41,796 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 56 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 187 (0.4%) were institutionalized.


title: Danville, California

text: There were 15,420 households, out of which 6,034 (39.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 10,389 (67.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,140 (7.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 449 (2.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 452 (2.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 84 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,801 households (18.2%) were made up of individuals, and 1,365 (8.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71. There were 11,978 families (77.7% of all households); the average family size was 3.10.


title: Danville, California

text: The population was spread out, with 11,196 people (26.6%) under the age of 18, 2,117 people (5.0%) aged 18 to 24, 8,050 people (19.1%) aged 25 to 44, 14,628 people (34.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 6,048 people (14.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.


title: Danville, California

text: There were 15,934 housing units at an average density of , of which 15,420 were occupied, of which 13,020 (84.4%) were owner-occupied, and 2,400 (15.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.3%. 36,137 people (86.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 5,659 people (13.5%) lived in rental housing units.


title: Danville, California

text: The Danville Library of the Contra Costa County Library is located in Danville. It is one of the busiest libraries in Contra Costa County by circulation.


title: Danville, California

text: According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Danville has 30,076 registered voters. Of those, 10,412 (34.6%) are registered Democrats, 10,381 (34.5%) are registered Republicans, and 7,963 (26.5%) have declined to state a political party.


title: Danville, California

text: Throughout its history until 2008, Danville was a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. Ronald Reagan carried it by a 3-to-1 margin in 1984. However, in 2008, Barack Obama became the first Democrat to carry Danville in a presidential election. He narrowly won it again in 2012 with a plurality. Hillary Clinton carried it in 2016 by nearly 24 points and Joe Biden won it by nearly 29 points in 2020.


title: Danville, California

text: The Town of Danville has a Council–manager government, with a five-person Town Council and an appointed Town Manager. Council members' terms are four years. Each year, in December, the council selects a new mayor to take office in January. The current Mayor of Danville is Newell Arnerich.


title: Danville, California

text: Danville has its own police department, which consists of 42 full-time employees, including 30 Officers and 12 civilian support staff. In addition, it has 8 Reserve officers and 32 volunteers. Allan Shields is the current police chief.


title: Danville, California

text: The San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District (SRVFPD) provides fire protection for Danville. A Special District, it covers 155 square miles includes the following communities: Alamo, Blackhawk, Diablo, the City of San Ramon, the southern boundary of Morgan Territory and the Tassajara Valley, all located in Contra Costa County.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: Jodie Louise Marsh (born 23 December 1978) is an English media personality, model and bodybuilder. She has appeared on numerous reality television shows, such as "Essex Wives" (2002), "Back to Reality" (2004), "Love on a Saturday Night" (2004), "Celebrity Big Brother" (2006, 2012), and "Big Brother's Bit on the Side" (2011–2013). She also featured in her own reality show titled "Totally Jodie Marsh" (2007).


title: Jodie Marsh

text: Marsh began glamour modelling in 2002 on Page 3 of "The Sun", for which she appeared six times in total. Her autobiography, "Keeping It Real", reached the top 10 on The Sunday Times Bestseller List.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: Jodie Louise Marsh was born in Brentwood, Essex to John Marsh and Kristina Marsh, who owned a scaffolding business. She was educated at the independent Brentwood School. She has one brother. Marsh has spoken extensively about her experiences of being bullied at school, which began when she was 11.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: She had rhinoplasty aged 16 after experiencing bullying for her nose, which she broke in a hockey accident. Marsh acquired 11A*-A grade GCSEs at school, followed by three A-Levels.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: Marsh was working as a stripper at Stringfellows gentlemen’s club in London when she appeared in the documentary television series "Essex Wives" in 2002. This led to a number of modelling jobs. She has subsequently participated in many reality television shows, including "Trust Me - I'm A Holiday Rep", Channel 4's "The Games" and E4's "Fool Around... with Jodie Marsh" on two occasions.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: Marsh won a celebrity version of "The Weakest Link" in 2006. In mid-2008 she had a cameo role in the first episode of Channel 4's Friday night comedy show "The Kevin Bishop Show".


title: Jodie Marsh

text: In January 2006, Marsh appeared on "Celebrity Big Brother 4". Marsh's treatment by other contestants provoked debate about whether Marsh was being bullied. Australian feminist writer and ex-Big Brother contestant Germaine Greer wrote a comment piece for "The Guardian" accusing the show's production company Endemol, presenter Davina McCall, and Marsh's fellow housemates, particularly George Galloway, of bullying.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: On 13 January, she was the first to be voted out of the Big Brother house — with 8 out of 10 possible nominations from her fellow housemates, and 42 percent of the public vote.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: Marsh appeared on several of the spinoff shows including: "Big Brother's Little Brother", "Big Brother's Big Mouth" and "Big Brother's EForum".


title: Jodie Marsh

text: In its second UK series, Marsh showed viewers around her home on "MTV's Cribs" in 2008. Also in 2008, Marsh appeared on Channel 4's documentary "It's Me or the Dog". She was given training tips at home to deal with her six dogs – two bulldogs (Paddy and Lyla) and four chihuahuas (Bean, Baby, Teddy, and Tommy).


title: Jodie Marsh

text: Marsh appeared as a contestant in Channel Five's reality show "The All Star Talent Show", hosted by Myleene Klass and Andi Peters. Following this, Marsh began presenting her own series, "Get A Life" for Living TV on 1 March 2007. It was cancelled after two episodes.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: On 29 September 2010, Marsh appeared in the one-off documentary "Jodie Marsh Tattoo Apprentice" which was screened on the channel DMAX.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: On 25 January 2012, Marsh appeared on Channel 5's "Bullied: My Secret Past". She spoke of the effect bullying had on her and how it has made her who she is today. She also met other victims of bullying.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: In April 2013, Channel 5 broadcast the first of two shows titled "Jodie Marsh: Bullied". The show features Marsh venturing to the United States to investigate how American schools tackle bullying.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: In March 2015, TLC broadcast "Jodie Marsh On… Women Who Pay For Sex And Drugs", about women who pay for the services of male escorts.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: In May 2007, the website Marry Me Jodie Marsh was launched with the teaser "I'm getting married this September... Only problem is that I don't have a man!" Men were invited to submit an application for a series of open auditions for the chance to marry Marsh that September. MTV filmed the search and subsequent wedding.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: The reality series documenting Marsh's search to find a husband, entitled "Totally Jodie Marsh: Who'll Take Her Up the Aisle?", premiered in July 2007. Marsh eventually chose Matt Peacock, an ex-boyfriend of fellow glamour model Jordan.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: The couple married on 1 September 2007. A second ceremony at her mother’s home was shown on MTV on 2 September 2007. They decided to separate in December 2007. Marsh later admitted to "Love It" magazine in its 8 January 2008 issue that ".. the marriage was for TV. It was never for real" and "I'm not hiding the fact I did the TV show for money. Of course I did".


title: Jodie Marsh

text: Following her appearance on "Essex Wives", Marsh modelled for "The Sun"'s Page 3, which she appeared on six times in total.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: In June 2009, Marsh appeared on the cover of "Zoo Weekly" for the first time; she also appeared in a number of subsequent issues.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: At the end of January 2010, Marsh was featured on LA Muscle TV in an hour long show called "6 pack in 4 weeks". Jodie's work on the show resulted in a photo shoot for "Muscle and Fitness" magazine. In October 2011, Marsh entered the UK Natural Physique Association Bodybuilding Championships in Sheffield, where she was placed 5th overall.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: Marsh's new physique resulted in photoshoots and interviews with various magazines. "OK!" magazine featured an "at home" interview on 11 October 2011. "Heat" magazine followed on 12 October 2011.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: In 2012, Marsh featured in two TV shows for the DMAX network. The first, "Jodie Marsh: Bodybuilder" chronicled Marsh's attempts to compete with only weeks of training. The second show, "Jodie Marsh: Brawn in the USA", featured Jodie winning gold in the International Natural Bodybuilding Federation Bodybuilding Championships in Los Angeles in June 2012.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: Marsh owns a nutritional food supplements firm called JST Nutrition. In 2021, she was named by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK's advertising watchdog, on a list of 122 Instagram influencers who have repeatedly violated ASA regulations.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: In 2005, Marsh published her autobiography "Keeping It Real". The hardback was released in 2005, followed by a paperback version in 2006. The hardback version reached the top 10 on the Amazon best-sellers list.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: Marsh was previously "Zoo Weekly" magazine's "sexpert", advising men on sex-related issues. Her choice as an agony aunt angered some established professionals. She defended herself against these claims, stating, "I haven't exactly got a degree in psychology but I just love sex, don't I?"


title: Jodie Marsh

text: In December 2006, Marsh announced her engagement to Brentwood DJ David Doyle (II), after dating for 11 days. Eschewing the traditional engagement ring, Marsh instead tattooed Doyle's full name on her hand and the couple appeared together in "OK!" magazine announcing their plan to marry in a fetish ceremony in a dungeon. The relationship ended between late December and mid-January 2007. Marsh claimed Doyle had been unfaithful.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: In 2015, Marsh married personal trainer James Placido. She claimed that she was celibate for 5 years before she met Placido. The couple got divorced after eight months in April 2016.


title: Jodie Marsh

text: In 2004, Marsh sold a story to the "News of the World" claiming that she had had a sexual liaison with Chelsea F.C. midfielder Frank Lampard. Lampard denied the claims and filed a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission. The complaint was not upheld.


title: Maytag

text: The Maytag Corporation is an American home and commercial appliance company owned by Whirlpool Corporation since April 2006.


title: Maytag

text: The Maytag Washing Machine Company was founded in 1893 by businessman Frederick Maytag. In 1925, Maytag Washing Machine Company became Maytag, Inc. Frederick's son Elmer Henry Maytag took over as president of the company from 1926 until his own death in 1940. In the early 1930s, photographer Theodor Horydczak took pictures of the plant and some of its workers. During the Great Depression of the 1930s the company was one of the few to make a profit. In 1938, Maytag provoked strikes by the company's workers because of a 10% pay cut. The company was able to beat the strike because of the intervention of four military companies, including a machine gun company, of the 113th Cavalry Regiment, Iowa National Guard. At his father's death in 1940, Fred Maytag II, grandson of the founder, took over the presidency. During World War II, the company participated in war production by making special components for military equipment. In 1946, production of washing machines was resumed; in 1949, the first automatic washers were produced in a new, dedicated factory. In 1946, Maytag began marketing a separate line of ranges and refrigerators made by other companies under the Maytag name. During the Korean War, the company again produced parts for military equipment, although washing-machine production continued.


title: Maytag

text: During the 1950s, the 'white goods,' or laundry and kitchen appliance industry, grew rapidly. Maytag first entered the commercial laundry field at this time, manufacturing washers and dryers for commercial self-service laundries and commercial operators. In response, other full-line appliance producers began to compete with Maytag in the white-goods consumer market. These included 'full-line' manufacturers such as Whirlpool, General Electric, Westinghouse, and Frigidaire, who built not only washing machines and dryers, but also refrigerators, stoves, and other appliances. Since Maytag was much smaller than the full-line producers, the company decided to limit itself to the manufacture of washers and dryers, alongside marketing ovens and refrigerators built by other companies, as a small, premium-brand manufacturer. The company capitalized on its reputation by renaming its corporate address in Newton, Iowa, "One Dependability Square".


title: Maytag

text: By 1960, Maytag had ceased marketing ovens and refrigerators, but later started again to expand into kitchen appliances with its own design of portable kitchen dishwasher and a line of food-waste disposers. Upon the death in 1962 of Fred Maytag II, the last family member involved in the company's management, E. G. Higdon was named president of the company, with George M. Umbreit becoming chairman and CEO. By the late 1970s, over 70 percent of U.S. households were equipped with washers and dryers, and with approximately 18,000 employees worldwide, the company was established as a dominant manufacturer of large laundry appliances. After the company's acquisition of Magic Chef, Inc., in 1986, a move which nearly doubled its size, the company acquired a new corporate name, Maytag Corporation.


title: Maytag

text: In 1988, Maytag acquired Chicago Pacific Corporation, which was formed using the remnants of the bankrupt Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. Chicago Pacific Corporation owned Hoover US and Hoover UK as well as Thomasville Brand Furniture. Maytag quickly sold off the Thomasville Furniture brand. Maytag Corporation, led by Chairman Daniel Krumm, next planned to make Maytag a worldwide organization.


title: Maytag

text: The UK part of Hoover was to help Maytag expand into Europe. Hoover UK was not doing well financially and offered customers a round-trip ticket anywhere if they purchased a vacuum. This campaign cost the corporation $50 million to settle. Subsequently, Maytag sold off Hoover UK. This was a huge setback for the amount of cash Maytag had in hand and thus started the downward spiral financially.


title: Maytag

text: In 1991 Maytag built a new plant in Jackson, Tennessee, for the manufacture of newly designed plastic tub dishwashers. The Plastic tub was developed in Newton, Iowa, but in 1996 Engineering was transferred to Jackson because Mr. Len Hadley, then president of Maytag Corporation, wanted the plant to be self-sufficient. This engineering team engineered a Stainless Steel dishwasher, Tall-Tub Plastic and Tall-Tub Stainless steel product. Engineering crescendoed with a Double Drawer dishwasher which today is manufactured in Findlay Ohio at the Whirlpool Plant, the only Maytag legacy product built in the Whirlpool Appliance line-up. The Jackson plant evolved into a streamlined manufacturing facility that could build thousands of dishwashers daily on multiple lines. This plant was the most efficient plant and was a hallmark for other facilities. Whirlpool closed this plant in 2009.


title: Maytag

text: In 1997, Maytag Corporation purchased G.S. Blodgett Corporation, a maker of commercial ovens. At the time of this purchase Maytag was looking at the Turbo Chef line they had been working on up to this point.


title: Maytag

text: Prior to 1997, the Maytag engineering team, at Maytag Laundry Appliances Research and Development, developed the Maytag "Neptune" line of front-load washers.


title: Maytag

text: A matching dryer was introduced to accompany the new washer. The company claimed that the new "Neptune" model saved energy costs over traditional washer/dryer sets. Production of the "Neptune" line was later switched to Samsung Electronics.


title: Maytag

text: In 2001, the company acquired the Amana Corporation and its appliance assembly facilities. That same year, Ralph F. Hake became the last chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Maytag Corporation, serving in that post until March 2006. Once renowned as the standard for laundry appliances, by 2003 the company faced increasing competition from new appliance brands in the US market, as well as from existing appliance manufacturers who had outsourced production a decade earlier in order to reduce costs.


title: Maytag

text: While Maytag had begun the process of shifting appliance production to lower-cost assembly plants outside the United States, in 2004 the company was still producing 88 percent of its products in older U.S.-based factories.


title: Maytag

text: In an apparent move away from traditional company marketing strategy, company management decided on a plan to stimulate consumer purchases of new Maytag appliances before their old ones had worn out.


title: Maytag

text: Costs incurred in Maytag's acquisition and integration of Amana and an increased corporate debt load led to aggressive internal cost-cutting efforts in direct materials, manufacturing, and distribution costs.


title: Maytag

text: Maytag introduced a value-priced appliance line under a separate label, "Performa by Maytag". To increase sales, the company also marketed Maytag-branded 'Legacy Series' washing machines that were otherwise identical to low-end Amana models, and built at the formerly Amana assembly plant in Searcy, Arkansas. The rebranded Maytag models, later termed "Amanatags" by dissatisfied owners, received poor customer reviews after reports surfaced of major mechanical and/or durability problems.