Patent of Nobility

Qing emperors used documents known as gaoming or "Patents of Nobility" to confer ranks of lower nobility, which were inheritable in perpetuity by the heirs of the rank holder. This patent is made of thick paper layered with silk threads in a variety of colors. The text on the scroll is handwritten, using multiple colors on different bands of silk brocade in vertical columns of Manchu (left-hand side) and Chinese (right-hand side). The Manchu script is read from left to right while the Chinese script is read from the opposite direction. The Manchu end contains the phrase Feng tian gaoming ("Patent by Ordinance [of the Emperor, who is] entrusted by Heaven") in large seal-script characters flanked by twin dragons. The Chinese text begins with the phrase Feng tian cheng yun or "entrusted by heaven with the care of the empire." Unfortunately, the name of the recipient, which is recorded in the center of the scroll next to the imperial date, is badly obscured and has not been properly identified.