Rank and insignia of the armed forces of Themiclesia

Etymologies

Army

• General (中領軍／領軍將軍, trjung-rjêng-kwljel and rjêng-kwljel-tsjang-kwljel): trjung-rjêng-kwljel is derived from from the office of Privy Commander of Armies, which is generally held by the Secretary of State for War during times of war to emphasize his direct authority over regional militias and other forces. If the War Secretary was in the field, which rarely occurred, his title would be changed to the General Commander of Armies. Not always in use during peacetime, the authority of the War Secretary has implied that the holder of either title has policy powers over all Themiclesian forces (except the Navy, when it was founded in 762). For this reason there was generally only one trjung-rjêng-kwljel or rjêng-kwljel-tsjang-kwljel in the entire country at one time. In the Pan-Septentrion War, commanders of divisions, corps, and field armies were of the same rank, until in 1940 when field army commanders were promoted to rjêng-kwljel-tsjang-kwljel, with the proviso that it was no longer an office with specific powers, only a marker of seniority over other commanders.

• Lieutenant-general (中護軍／護軍將軍, trjung-ghagh-kwljel and ghagh-kwljel-tsjang-kwljel): trjung-ghagh-kwljel is derived from the office of Privy Prefect of Armies, which is generally held by a junior minister in the government before the modern period. If the minister was in the field, it would be changed to General Prefect of Armies. The powers of this office was broad but primarily focused on the appontment of officers and assessment of their performance and legal compliance. Since most of the Themiclesian home military was in militias, the Privy Prefect was responsible for reviewing the inventories of armouries and attendances of regional musters, to ensure that military affairs were properly attended to by local administrators, but the Privy Prefect was not responsible for discovering and prosecuting military offences. As with the case of the Privy Commander, this office was specific to the central government, and historically there could only be one Privy Prefect at one time, and equally the office was generalized as a rank for commanders of corps-sized formations.

• Major-general (右將軍, gwrje′-tsjang-kwljel): this is a conflation of two different offices that occurred early in Themiclesian history. During the Hexarchy, the title gwrje′-tsjang-kwljel meant "assistant general", and the character gwrje′ (右, "right") is to be read in the agentive derivation as gwrjes (佑, "assistant"). This is justified by the presence of gwrjes on vessels of investiture as a mediator between the sovereign and a low-ranking person who would normally not be permitted to interact with the sovereign directly. On the other hand, the reading of gwrje′-tsjang-kwljel is also attested, where it is to be translated as "right [side] general", since early Mengheans often used opposing descriptors such as left-right, bright-dark, and fore-rear to distinguish between offices of similar duties. In this series there are other (impermanent) general titles such as "left general" and "rear general". gwrje′-tsjang-kwljel was used as a common title for commanders of divisional-level formations, since it had been a flexible title in the past, without implying specific authorities.

• Brigadier (副將軍, pjegh-tsjang-kwljel): this is an old title for any commander that held authority over multiple colonels but not in charge of an army raised by edict. The word pjegh (副) means "slice" in Shinasthana, meaning to take charge of a "slice" of a superior's responsibilities. This title is also occasionally seen as pêgh-tsjang-kwljel (嬖將軍, lit. "concubine general"), comparing the status of a concubine or lover relative to the legal spouse.

Philologists have asserted that clothes iron is a phonetic or semantic source for the Army rank of Colonel.

• Colonel (尉, ′wjedh): this is the usual title for the commander of the basic unit of the Themiclesian militias, usually translated as a regiment, though its size varied from around 700 to 2,000 men depending on time, place, and specialty. Philologists believe this is a phonetic or semantic borrowing of ′wjelh (熨, "clothes iron"), perhaps from the sense that an iron is a heavy object that keeps things under it in order or removes defects. The title ′wjedh is also used to indicate a broader military responsibility, most notably as regional military officers in charge of local militias. In this case it is usually translated as marshal. Each county and prefecture has a ′wjedh to administer its militias, and each palace also has a ′wjedh to control its Royal Guards units.

• Lieutenant-colonel (司馬, slje-mra′): comparatively uncontroversially interpreted as "controller of horses". The title harkens back to the bronze age, where warfare was characterized by chariot manoeuvres, which required large amounts of horses, and it has since been generalized as a commander of military units smaller than a regiment.

• Major (侯, go): uncontroversially related to the term goh (候) "to (lie) waiting". go itself remains in use in the sense of "scout", as in someone who waits for events to occur and then to report on them. It is also used as a title of nobility, now translated as "lord". In the Gojun dynasty, go was written in the shape of an arrow shot into a target of some kind. Scholars suggest that the go sort of lordship originally also was some sort of military functionary, though the feudal meaning quickly overtook the military one and is the sense which survives today.

• Captain (長, ′trjang): the root word of ′trjang means "long". The meaning is extended to mean "senior", because adults are taller than children. Its use as a military rank is usually linked to the gerontocratic traditional of prehistoric Menghean society, as in many others, where seniors and elders hold more power.

• First Lieutenant (軍吏, kwljel-rjegh): before the rank of second lieutenant was introduced in the 19th century, this was the lower-ranking military officer that was an administrator ex officio. The administrator was highly regarded and considered the foundation of government in Themiclesia. Themiclesian law required all officers, civil or military, that had power to spend resources, whether in men or in money, to be administrators. Administrators were chosen in local deliberations by men of letters amongst themselves, and a code of conduct regulated them. They were furthermore expected to exercise some degree of independent judgment in discharging their duties and could be called to answer if their performance or integrity were questioned. The rank of first lieutenant literally translates to "military administrator", who would be in charge of a unit around 100 men. In the 19th century, starting from the rank of first lieutenant, the Army could only recommend promotions and submit candidate names, the final decision being made by the Ministry of Administration. However, the proportions of the PSW-era force compelled the Ministry of Administration to abandon its appointment powers.

• Second Lieutenant (假吏, kra-rjegh): the second lieutenant was introduced in the 19th century as a rank for unqualified individuals (non-administrators) filling positions that were otherwise unable to be filled. The rank translates literally to "administrator stand-in".

The enlisted ranks are primarily based on the disused honours system that was established during the Hexarchy to encourage bravery in battle, where honours were granted solely on the basis of valour, regardless of origin or other skills.

• Sergeant-major (庶長, djak-′trjang): the word djak means "many", and ′trjang as mentioned means a holder of power. The relative clear meaning of the rank means "officer of many [things]".
• First Sereant (長秩, ′trjang-drjit): this rank appears to be an abbreviation of ′trjang "senior" and the next-lower rank.
• Sergeant 1st Class (中秩, trjung-drjit): the interpretation of this rank is controversial. A literal reading would provide "middle salary", but historically this was the lowest rank to have a fixed annual salary, which rules out that interpolation. A likelier candidate would be to read it as trjungh-drjit, which means "achieve salary", but that requires the circumstantial derivation of trjung, which is not reflected in the actual reading of the term that soldiers usually employ. It is argued that the corrupted reading was spread by soldiers who were aware neither of the proper reading nor the fact that the character 中 can be read both ways, depending on context, though there is naturally no evidence of this happening.
• Staff Sergeant (上造, djang′-tsuh): this Army rank is an old rank on the honours system, and as such its precise origins are difficult to determine. Some scholars argue that tsuh is an phonetic borrowing of tsuh, "stove". Further elaboration states that the cook also occupied a central place in early Themiclesian military life, and the first word djang′ is to be read as ′djang′, meaning "to manage, tend after". As with the reading of sergeant 1st class, it is difficult to imagine how this can be evidenced, given that Themiclesian soldiers spoke a variety of dialects, and corruptions in speech spread very quickly and frequently.
• Sergeant (公士, kong-dzrje′): this is literally interpreted as "royal warrior", where the glyph for dzrje′ is simply the shape of a battle-axe. While the meaning of dzrje′ is plain, it has been extended to mean any literate person in public service, since education and military service were inseparable obligations of the petty nobility. The word kong has since been extended to mean any public affair.
• Corporal (官士, kwal-dzrje′): given the definition of dzrje′ above, kwal-dzrje′ is to be read as "formation warrior", as the kwal is a military formation.
• Private (卒, tsut): in bronze inscriptions, the glyph for tsut consists of those for "clothing" and "pattern". Depending on the source, tsut, which means "fighting men", can either be envisioned as someone wearing clothing, with a badge of identity, or as someone with a tattoo, again as a badge of identity. There is some evidence that very early Themiclesians use tattoos as some sort of marker, but the word it has come to mean "culture, literature" rather than anything to do with warfare. Alternatively, the character for "clothes" may also be written as a phonogram only, in which case the correct reading of tsut would be mset. The Colonial Army also used tattoos as identification, but that was clearly inherited from their criminal heritage and is far too late to have influenced the writing of this glyph. The prefix to this word distinguishes between the three lowest ranks of the enlisted ones, ′trjang meaning senior as before, tjeng meaning "proper, qualified", and kong "royal".

Navy

The Navy's ranks are less straightforward to interpret than those of the Army, as it originated later and was subject to fewer government restrictions, allowing its structure to flow more freely.

• Admiral (都督, ta-tuk): ta means "city", and tuk means "middle". tuk is extrapolated to mean one who corrects deviations. This title is probably borrowed from the army, where it meant a supervisory officer of a county or prefecture's troops, which has been re-interpreted to mean ships.
• Vice Admiral (監督, kram-tuk): kram means "to supervise".

Funerary mural of the 2nd Director of Fleets, Gong Mik (in office 765 – 766), presumably the first holder of the title admiral.

• Rear Admiral (右監督, gwrje′-kram-tuk): the explanation of gwrje′ give above, Navy reads this as "assistant admiral", rather than "right [side] admiral".
• Commodore (二八百將, njidh-prêt-prêk-tsjangh): the literal meaning of this rank is "commander of two eight-hundreds". The usual explanation given is that ship captains received a salary pegged to the eight-hundred bushel rank in the civil service, and a njidh-prêt-prêk-tsjangh usually controlled two ships. However, contrary voices state that ship captains did not always have this emolument, particularly not during the time when the phrase was first attested. Hexarchy bronzes demonstrate that the "eight-hundred" can be interpreted as a unit of eight-hundred men, though early ships were incapable of carrying eight-hundred men, or even half as much, until the 1200s. This rank is deemed an unresolved mystern as of 2019.
  • Colonel-general (內司, nubh-slje): this rank, held exclusively by the Captain-general of Marines, has a similarly troubled history. Since it is limited to one holder, it only appears in writing, and marines inconsistently treat it as nup-slje or nubh-slje. If the former is correct, the literal meaning would be "interior controller", and if the latter, "receiver controller". At any rate, it is unclear why the Captain-general should have a rank of this name, though it has been translated as "brigadier" since 1931. Note that both “Colonel-general” and “Captain-general” are used by the same individual, the former being the rank, and the latter the office. Since marines are not mentioned by the Peace Time Generalships Act (1895), the rank “Colonel-general” should be read as a senior colonel, rather than a general.
• Captain (大司, dadh-slje): though ancient, this rank is simply read as "great controller", and it matches exactly its Tyrannian translation and means the captain of a ship, the "great officer in charge".
  • Colonel (航司馬, gang-slje-mra′): the first character gang means "fleet". The two other words are as they are employed in the Army, meaning "controller of horses". As A. A. Ascott points out, it is used as a general appelation, as the Marines do not have cavalry units. Prior to the 17th century, gang-slje-mra′ was an office occupied by the most senior officer of naval infantry in a given fleet, hence the prefix "fleet"; only with the expansion of the fleet (and thus the number of marines in it) were multiple gang-slje-mra′ appointed. In this case, the longest-serving officer in that rank would be the de facto leader of the several gang-slje-mra′.
• Commander (作司, dzak-slje): slje having been given before, the glyph for dzak represents an axe cutting into wood in frontal view. The generalized meaning is "to make", and the further generalized definition is "to act". According to most authorities, dzak means a captain's mate who goes around the ship to enforce the captain's decisions, or an executive officer as distinguished from a commander.
  • Lieutenant-colonel (廷司馬, mlêng-slje-mra′): this comparable to the rank name for colonel, except it uses the prefix mlêng, which may have several meanings. Etymologically, it literally means the space before a building, which was used in ancient times for public meetings. In the civil service, it most often refers to an abstract government authority. As the next-lower rank from gang-slje-mra′, the application of mlêng here may only be metaphorical, as no part of a ship is called mlêng.
• Lieutenant Commander (右司, gwrje′-slje): as mentioned, gwrje′ means "assistant", and slje "controller".
  • Major (右司, gwrje′-slje): this rank is written and pronounced the same way as in the naval ranks and has the same meaning.
• Lieutenant (航將, gang-tsjangh): gang means "fleet", and tsjangh "commander". The notable issue is that this has always been a comparatively low-ranking position in the navy, so it cannot be interpreted to mean "commander of the fleet". Alternatively, it can be read as a "commander in a fleet".
  • Captain (房中將, bjang-trjung-tsjangh): there is dispute over the the intended meaning. Dictionaries provide the writing and reading noted here, as "commander in the rear chamber", but the naval establishment has insisted it is to begin with pjang′ instead. This would point to the meaning "twin-keeled" (舫). While twin-keeled boats did exist in Themiclesia, they were only used for river transport, conflicting with the Navy as an oceanic fleet. Additionally, bjang would connect it with the Shinasthana name of the Themiclesian Marines, bjang-njung′-njing.
• Sub-lieutenant (司直, slje-drjek): slje having been given before, the interpretation of drjek has troubled the navy for some time before an unearthed tombstone shows this written as slje-drjek (司德, normally slje-tek). The word tek, while meaning "ethics, morality" in most contexts, can also mean "to ascend" or "view from on high". With this in mind, most agree that it should be read as "controller of scanning", that is, someone who stands from a higher position to scan the distance. However, this prompts why it is written as 直, which some regard as a phonetic borrowing, and others as shorthand. A popular Internet meme has noted that the shorthand lacks the "heart" glyph under the standard orthography, calling the Navy "heartless", which as the same derogatory meaning in Shinasthana as in Tyrannian.
  • First Lieutenant (長吏, ′trjang-rjegh): as given before, ′trjang means "senior", and rjegh means "administrator".
• Midshipman (長吏, ′trjang-rjegh): this rank is written and read exactly the same way as first lieutenant in the Marine Corps, though the difference is made in translation.
  • Second Lieutenant (計吏, krjebh-rjegh): literally, "administrator of account". Themiclesian administrators are each responsible for clearing their annual expenditures in the annual Accounting Ceremony, at the Ides of the eighth lunar month. This was abolished in the Marine Corps in 1881 and by then long obsolete.

Enlisted ranks are equally challenging to interpret. A significant difference between the Navy and Army is that the former was apparently much more willing to give credence to organic abbreviations rather than staying true to dictionary forms, and a number of the following ranks have been so thoroughly abbreviated that their original forms were lost to history, sometimes recovered by archaeological evidence.

• Chief Petty Officer 1st Class (中事, trjungh-dzrjeh): trjungh is unambiguously read in this context as "to meet, accomplish", of dzrjeh "affairs".
  • Sergenat-major (中事, trjungh-dzrjeh): read and written exactly the same way as above, with the same meaning.
• Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class (執事, dzjip-dzrjeh): dzjip means "to hold", with dzrjeh given above, cp. the etymology of lieutenant in Sieuxerrian
  • First Sergeant (作中事, dzak-trjung-dzrjeh): dzak as given, meaning "to act", in the sense of an executive.
• Petty Officer 1st Class (砲元士, ′pruh-ngjon-dzrje′): this is clearly a borrowing from the Naval Engineers, who were once a distinct military body that operated guns on the Navy's ships; their identity in the fleet began to blur in the 16th century, with heavy, fixed guns gradually integrating into the Navy, and light, mobile guns becoming the characteristic weapons of the Marines. They remained distinct on land, as they were also responsible for constructing naval forts and other installations, as well as operating the Navy's shops and manufactories. The first word pruh is "cannon"; ngjon, "head"; dzrje′, "warrior, officer".
  • Sergeant 1st Class (中宦航, trjung-ghwranh-gang): the first word of this rank trjung was thought to be interpreted as "royal", giving "royal officer in the fleet", cp. trjung-ta-prjang (中都兵), "Royal Signals Corps". But a chance archaeological find in 1957 has show it, written on a funerary inscription, to be an abbreviation of trjung-drjit-ghwranh-gang (中秩宦航), that is "fleet officer with salary". It also implies it to be a borrowing from the Army's ranks, in which the first half trjung-drjit means first sergeant.
• Petty Officer 2nd Class (內用事, nubh-longh-dzrjeh): meaning "inner chargé d'affaires". It is not known compared to what the officer is inner; the semantic connection may be metaphorical, cp. nubh-′sem-ngjarh (內參議), "inner councillor", the title of invited officials at the Ministerial Conference of the Ministry of Defence. While the "interior of the cabin" is suggested, records show that nubh-longh-dzrjeh had outdoor duties.
  • Staff Sergeant (隊士, tuih-dzrje′): literally, "squad warrior".
• Master Seaman (寺航人, lje′-gang-njing): lje′ (寺) has the general meaning of "public office place" in Themiclesia. This suggests the holder of this rank may have expected some office duties around higher officers.
  • Sergeant (長作人, ′trjang-dzak-njing): a prefixation of dzak-njing (see below) with ′trjang, indicating seniority.
• Leading Seaman (長航人, ′trjang-gang-njing): a prefixation of gang-njing (see below) with ′trjang, indicating seniority.
  • Corporal (寺作人, lje′-dzak-njing): a prefixation of dzak-njing with lje′, "office", indicating the holder of this rank may have expected some office duties around senior officers.
• Able Seaman (年航人, ning-gang-njing): prefixation with ning, "year". Professional sailors were given a higher rank to start with than pressed sailors.
  • Private (作人, dzak-njing): this term appears in Themiclesian statutes with the meaning "employee". Despite what is intuitive, the reading "employee of the Marine Corps" is implausible, because military service was not statutory employment until the 20th century. The prevailing argument is that the infantry of the early navy consisted of merchants or prospective merchants, who are likely to be under the employ or someone else.
• Seaman (航人, gang-njing): literally "fleet people".
  • Private (冗徒, njing-da): literally "following passenger".

Air Force

The ranks of the Themiclesian Air Force are nominally imitative of the Navy, since early Air Force leaders often conceived of the force as a "fleet in air". Some of the Air Force's ranks are also derived from Army ranks or translated from Tyrannian terms. Since the Air Force was founded in 1921, most of its ranks have transparent meanings.

• Air Chief Marshal (航都督, gang-ta-tuk): imitative of naval ranks, prefixed with gang (航), "fleet".
• Air Marshal (航監督, gang-kram-tuk): imitative of naval ranks, prefixed with gang, "fleet".
• Air Vice Marshal (右監督, gwrje′-kram-tuk): imitative of naval ranks, prefixed with gang, "fleet".
• Air Commodore (航尉, gang-′wjedh): appears to be a portmanteau of the Army rank of ′wjedh, "colonel" and gang, "fleet".
• Group Captain (右尉, gwrje′-′wjedh): as above, but with gwrje′, "assistant".
• Wing Commander (行將, gang-tsjangh): from gang (行), "unit of 1,000 chariots", and tsjangh (將), "commander". The meaning of "chariot" is extended, or perhaps referencing the gang as a unit in the Air Force.
• Squadron Leader (旅正, rja′-tjengh): from rja′ (旅), "ancient military unit", and tjengh (正), "controller". rja′ is a unit in the Air Force.
• Flight Lieutenant (隊正, mludh-tjengh): from mludh (隊), "ancient military unit", and tjengh, "controller". mludh is a unit in the Air Force.
• First Lieutenant (長吏, ′trjang′-rjegh): ′trjang′ as given above, "senior", and rjegh, "administrator".
• Flying Officer (飛吏, pjur-rjegh): pjur, "fly", and rjegh, "administrator".

Enlisted ranks show influence from the two other services.

• Chief Sergeant (直事, drjegh-dzrjeh): drjegh (直), "one on duty", from drjek (直), "on duty", is an agentive derivation and not a shorthand, as in the Navy's case. dzrjeh (事), "affairs". Alternatively, drjek is also a valid reading in the Air Force.
• Master Sergeant (寺中事, lje′-trjungh-dzrjeh): lje′, "office place". trjungh-dzrjeh, used as in the Navy, "to meet (determine) affairs".
• Staff Sergeant (寺執事, lje′-dzjip-dzrjeh): lje′, as above. dzjip-dzrjeh, used as in the Navy, "to hold affairs".
• Sergeant (長航士, ′trjang′-gang-dzrjeh): ′trjang′, "senior". gang, "fleet", meaning the Air Force. dzrje′, as in the Army and Navy, "warrior, officer".
• Master Corporal (公航士, kong-gang-dzrjeh): as above, but with kong, "royal".
• Corporal (官航士, kwal-gang-dzrjeh): as above, but with kwal, "formation".
• Lance Corporal (航人, gang-njing): gang, "fleet", meaning the Air Force, and njing, "person".
• Aviator (航人, gang-njing): as above.

See also

• Themiclesian Army
• Themiclesian Navy
• Themiclesian Air Force