The queen is the empress, and the title of the emperor's first wife is also found in Japan and Southeast Asia. Sometimes the first wife of a Western monarch is also translated as the queen. In the ancient Chinese court, the emperor had a harem of three thousand beauties. Among the many wives and concubines, the emperor's first wife was called the queen, or simply called the queen in this ancient book; the emperor's mother was honored as the empress dowager; the emperor's grandmother was revered as the empress dowager. . Concubine, also known as imperial concubine, palace concubine, imperial concubine, etc., is a kind of side chamber of the emperor in ancient China, and is also the title of the prince's main wife. It is used in many areas of East Asia, such as ancient Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Ryukyu, etc. The queen is in charge of all affairs in the harem. In other words, as long as the seventy-two concubines in the three palaces and six courtyards are all under the queen's management, the queen, as the mother of the country, has impeccable conduct and virtue. Although the queen is similar to the queen, the difference is that the queen is not as high-ranking as the queen, nor does she have as much power. When the queen sees the queen, she must perform the courtesy of a monarch and a minister.
After the Western Han Dynasty, the wives of princes and kings were generally called "queens". They had their own Tangmuyi and fiefdoms, and their status was relatively prominent. This system should have originated from the history of the pre-Qin period. After the Han Dynasty, the system of the Qin Dynasty basically did not change much, but it still continued unchanged. This is what the so-called "Han inherited the Qin system" means.
However, with the development of the times and changes in history, many people felt that the status of the princes and kings posed a greater threat to the court, and gradually began to weaken their power and sent important officials to monitor various kingdoms. The situation must be reported to the emperor in a timely manner. Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, the king's wife has been replaced by another title, that is, "Princess", but it is also a fact that the king's status has dropped a lot compared to the Western Han Dynasty.
"Princess" is the king's wife, which can be used as a spouse. Interestingly, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, many women were named "Fei", pronounced "pei". This name reflected a psychological and emotional attitude of ancient people, including some from ethnic minorities. At that time, people from the upper class of ethnic minorities were able to receive a fairly good cultural education, and naturally there was a trend similar to Sinicization in naming.
In ancient society, the wife of a prince was generally called "Crown Princess", which should be a common practice. The name "Crown Princess" has appeared since the Western Han Dynasty. Her status can reflect the identity of the future queen, which is somewhat different from the status of the princess. Probably for some reason, after the Song Dynasty, the prince and the king's wife were called "ma'am", and this system continued throughout the Song Dynasty. Whether it is official history, biographies or notes, they can all reflect this change in title.
There are roughly two types of kings in China. One is a feudal vassal king like the Han and Jin Dynasties. They have their own kingdom within the empire and have semi-independent powers to dispatch officials and implement taxation; The king of a subject country, such as the monarch of Korea and other countries, can only be called king.
The differences between foreign emperors and kings are similar, but the situation is more complicated, so I won’t go into details here. In short, the difference between the king and the emperor is clear, and the difference between the queen and the queen is also obvious.
In Han culture, the title "Queen" first appeared in the Zhou Dynasty. From the Zhou Dynasty, the wife of the King of Zhou was called "Queen". Later, Qin Shihuang unified the world and called himself emperor, so "Queen" became After becoming a "queen", the word "queen" is no longer used.
So after the Qin Dynasty, "Queen" was the exclusive title for the emperor's wife, and "Queen" only referred to the emperor's wife. The king's wife cannot be called "Queen", the king's wife is called "Princess".
It is not that there are no emperors in the West. Like China, emperors are also very respected in the West. Throughout the history of the West, there are not many dynasties that dare to proclaim themselves emperors. They are: the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the French Empire, the Russian Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the German Empire. These six regimes dare to proclaim themselves emperors.