The imperial family was made up of the emperor as the head and the Empress of China|empress as the primary consort and Mother of the Nation. In addition, the emperor had a series of other consorts and concubines divided in a system of ranks who made up the harem (household)|harem of which the empress was the leader. Every dynasty had its set of rules regarding the numerical make up of the harem. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), for example, imperial convention dictated that at any given time there should be one Empress, one ''Huang Guifei'', two ''Guifei'', four ''fei'' and six ''pin'', in addition to an unlimited number of other consorts and concubines. Although the emperor had the highest status by law, by tradition and precedent the mother of the emperor, ''i.e.'', the Empress Dowager , usually received the greatest respect in the palace and was the decision maker in most family affairs, and at times, especially when a young emperor was on the throne, became the ''de facto'' ruler. The emperor's children, the princes and princesses , were often referred to by their order of birth, ''e.g.'', Eldest Prince, Third Princess, etc. The princes were often given titles of peerage once they reached adulthood. The emperor's brothers and uncles served in court by law, with the status of any other court official , and the emperor was always elevated above them despite any chronological or generational superiority.
I am giving you some important wesites sources-
http://www.friesian.com/sangoku
wwb.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum210/tml/asiantml.htm
http://www.wikipedia.org
By Sharad Chandra Shukla
[Edit by="sshukla on Jan 14, 9:58:26 PM"][/Edit]
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