中常侍

Chinese

		middle; centre; within middle; centre; within; among; in; while (doing sth); during; China; Chinese; hit (the mark)	the emperor's personal secretary
trad. (中常侍)		中	常侍
simp. #(中常侍)		中	常侍

Etymology

This position was established in the Qin Dynasty. The post was originally filled by either a scholar official or a eunuch. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the post was exclusively held by eunuchs. They were entrusted with the task of delivering imperial edicts, and the handling of documents. By the end of the Han Dynasty, eunuchs were no longer used for this position. From that point forward, the post was held by scholar officials.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhōngchángshì

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄨㄥ ㄔㄤˊ ㄕˋ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhōngchángshì
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄨㄥ ㄔㄤˊ ㄕˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhongchángshìh
    • Wade–Giles: chung¹-chʻang²-shih⁴
    • Yale: jūng-cháng-shr̀
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jongcharngshyh
    • Palladius: чжунчанши (čžunčanši)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

Noun

中常侍

1. (archaic) the emperor's personal attendent

Synonyms

• 常侍 (chángshì)