Gentlemen-Marshal

The Gentlemen-Marshal (郎中令, rang-trung-ringh) is an official responsible for the Gentlemen of the Household, who originated as royal retainers but have diversified into many roles.

Duties

The Gentlemen-Marshal controls the primitive functions of the retainers of the Themiclesian monarch, who are collectively called the Gentlemen of the Corridors, or Gentlemen for short in most literature. Because many of them have been permanently integrated into the structures of other departments, such as both houses of Parliament and the Privy Council, the Gentlemen-Marshal is responsible for those that remain independent, which today is confined to the running of the palaces and the royal household.

Amongst them, the Gentlemen-Marshal retains authority over the palace hall (殿, ntenh), the royal residence within the palaces. Aside from ranking members of the bureaucracy, an individual wishing to enter the palace hall must possess a leave of entrance issued by the Gentlemen-Marshal. Without one, he would be considered trespassing in the hall, which was a capital offence. The leave of entrance could be purchased after the 1700s, possibly in imitation of Casaterran courts and in an effort to induct influential commoners as courtiers. In 1952, the purchase of the leave was abolished by statute; since then, any visitor may enter the place where the emperor sometimes lives, given an appointment scheduled with the appropriate authority. Since 1970, the palaces have also been open for tours if the emperor is absent for more than a month.

See also

• Themiclesia