Ts'ao (earls)
and Ts'ai (marquesses) were small states to the north and south of
CHENG, both of the imperial family name. The state of CH'EN was
ruled by the descendants of the Emperor Shun, the monarch who
preceded the Hia dynasty, and who, as stated before, is supposed
to have been buried in the (modern) province of Hu Nan, south of
the Yang-tsz River: they were marquesses. These three last-named
states were always bones of contention between Tsin and Ts'u, on
the one hand, and between Ts'i and Ts'u on the other. The
remaining feudal states are scarcely worth special mention as
active participators in the story of how China fought her way from
feudalism to centralization; most of their rulers were viscounts
or barons in status, and seem to have owed, or at least been
obliged to pay, more duty to the nearest great feudatory than
direct to the Emperor.
No matter what the rank of the ruler, so soon as he had been
supplied with a posthumous name (expressing, in guarded style, his
personal character) he was known to history as "the Duke So-and-
So.
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