Standing, grade, and vestments (Themiclesia)

Civil ranks and vestments are a system of hierarchies addressing members of the public services of Themiclesia and the symbols of dress associated with them. In the past, political philosophy provided that members of the civil government held office of, and were responsible to, the Throne directly. This tradition gave rise to its Anglian name Imperial Civil Service, but Themiclesians themselves called it brek-qwang or "in service to the elders". The term "civil" in this context should be understood in its archaic meaning of the public government, as officers possessing a civil rank are not necessarily civilian in the modern sense.

History

The Themiclesian bureaucracy developed from classes of officers serving royal administration during Antiquity. The urban offices, originating from the cultic affairs within and without the royal household, is understood to be considerably older than local administrations, which were formalized only during the Classical period to support a royal kingdom growing more diffuse and expansive.

Comparison

As Themiclesia's bureaucracy developed under influence from the Menghean one, many basic concepts and systems are shared between them. Indeed, the concept of the bureaucracy divided into nine classes, or "Standigns" as they are called in Themiclesia, is geographically as widespread as Dayashina, Hanhae, Quampon, Sunda, and Camia, and the concept may all be traced to a single system from Menghe. Yet as the system was adapted to the various political systems of the continent, there also surfaced a great degree of diversity between the localized and contextualized implementations of the same system and their respective evolutions in time.

Of easily-noted differences is the further division of the 9 classes into steps. While the basic 9-class structure was probably present in Menghe by the 3rd century, regional variations of it had surfaced in the prolonged period of political multilateralism, and in some of these systems the nine classes were divided into as much as 54 steps, though both Menghe and Dayashina settled on a system comprised of 30 steps—the first 3 classes divided into 2 steps each and the latter six into 4 steps, for a total of 30. In Menghe and some surrounding kingdoms, the system was streamlined in the turn of the 2nd millennium, using only 2 steps per class. In this respect Themiclesia has been the most conservative in terms of nomenclature: the 9 classes were never formally subdivided into finer steps.

When the 9 class system became an ingrained part of the bureaucracy, various social stratifications were also generated based on class. In this regard, Menghe regarded class 5 and above to be part of the general aristocracy, while those appointed to the 2 upper steps of class 5 to be genuinely aristocratic; in Dayashina, one had to be promoted to class 5 for generally aristocratic status, while those above class 3 were genuinely aristocratic. In Themiclesia the rule is that anyone above class 6 was aristocratic.

Themiclesia's implementation of the system was also more restrictive than cognate systems. In both Menghe and Dayashina, it became the rule that anyone in the bureaucracy could be freely (albeit progressively) promoted based on service record to the highest offices; in Themiclesia, a person's career is capped at the class they were assigned personally by the capital city society. In theory it is possible to change the class one is assigned to, but in practice and in the absence of extremely unusual reasons, one's assignment was for life, and potential changes were usually demotions (imposition of a lower cap) due to misbehaviour. Promotions were most often granted by way of intermarriage with the royal family.

Standing

The concept of Standing (品, prem) was introduced to Themiclesia either late in the 5th century or in the mid-6th century in imitation of a similar Menghean institution. In either case, Standing is a rank which a person holds, determining the most senior office for which the person is eligible; similarly, the ordinary offices of the Themiclesian state are also divided into nine Standings. The Standings are termed First Standing through Ninth Standing, with First being the highest. Thus, a person who inhabits the Third Standing is eligible for any Third Standing office or lower, but no higher. By custom, however, an official is never appointed to the highest permissible rank when only entering service; instead, the official is given an initial appointment four or five Standings lower than their personal Standing, so they may accumulate experience and reputation.

The process of assigning Standings, which very concretely define the ceiling of a bureaucratic career, varies from administration to administration, but in general a mixture of aristocracy, reputation amongst peers, and personal track record is taken into account by a government official whose task is to record an individual's Standing. It is notable that this official's purview is not to determine the Standing of a person (which would effectively make this official the true master of the government) but to record it. There was, in all but the most dictatorial reigns, a consensus in the capital city's high society that determines and alters a person's Standing.

Standings associated with offices also changed over time, albeit very little. Before the restoration of the Kenar dynasty in 1531, the Standings associated with the vast majority of offices did not change since initially recorded in 571. The stability of the Standings was described as a constitutional part of the Themiclesian state and its interaction with the landed aristocracy, which expected on the one hand to serve the state in the bureaucracy and on the other hand to have predictable career path and goals in this bureaucracy. When the Standings were recodified in 1534, the old system was retained as much as practical and rationalized with the addition of some offices that were not part of the Standing system.

Historians observe that offices introduced at the Meng restoration of 543 are nearly universally part of the Standing system, while offices that pre-date the restoration are only partially incorporated into the Standing system. Some have concluded that as the Standing system represents a compromise between monarchy and aristocarcy and also functions as a restraint on monarchical authority, only offices within the Emperor's gift need to be part of the Standing system to ensure that the aristocracy also had a say who was eligible for them. Offices that were not within the Emperor's gift, like hereditary offices and those of supreme importance—like the State Chancellor—were always appointed in consultation with the entire peerage, thus not requiring inclusion in the Standing system to regulate its appointment. For these offices, there were certainly restrictions on eligibility, though not through the Standing system.

Generals are not part of the Standing system, as their duties are highly specific to the campaign; generally, generals are appointed with consutlation with the peerage. Lower-ranking military officers are, however, part of the Standing system.

First Standing

Prior to the restoration of monarchy under the Kenar dynasty, there were no individuals ever recorded as being granted a First Standing; commensurately there were also no officies that were assigned the First Standing. On the basis that Standing has a component of moral character and that First Standing would suggest a perfect moral character, it has been inferred that First Standing referred to the position of Emperor itself, and as such no subject would be given the same Standing. This view accords with the idea that the Emperor was given the Mandate of Heaven on the basis of a perfect moral character. The office of State Chancellor, of First Standing post-Kenar restoration, was not part of the Standing system.

In the Kenar dynasty and beyond, the positions of State Chancellor and Chancellor of the Household are generally accorded the First Standing. But as both positions are largely honorary, the promotion of an individual to the First Standing is also largely a ceremonial affair, though the holder of the title would always be a powerful member of the court to start with.

Second Standing

In the Second Standing are important positions like the Vice Chancellor (when sole) and the First Vice Chancellor (when collegiate).

Third Standing

The Second Vice Chancellor (always collegiate), Account Chancellor, and Exchequer Chancellor are in Third Standing. Of these, only the Second Vice Chancellor and Exchequer Chancellor are regularly filled. The Account Chancellor is typically appointed only for a few months a year to oversee the delivery of annual clearing reports, in the process of Account (which formally beings with the appointment of the Account Chancellor). As for the Exchequer Chancellor, this title originally applied to when the Exchequer Commissioner is acting as the head of government, as indeed the Exchequer was considered the department second in importance only to the Chancery; in later times, an Exchequer Commissioner who oversaw the Exchequer's fiscal functions was regularly promoted to Exchequer Chancellor.

The President of Tribunes may have Third Standing or Fourth Standing. Frequently, if the appointee is a baron, they will be promoted to Third Standing before taking this office.

The Viceroys of the provinces are of Third Standing post-Kenar restoration. It has been suggested that the Viceroys were of Second Standing before the restoration, but the majority view was that viceroyalties were not part of the Standing system, even though most often individuals appointed viceroys are of Second Standing.

The Grand Marshal, which really is the same office as the Civic Marshal except in wartime, is of Third Standing. This officer was responsible for maintaining the military census (a tabulation of the state's military manpower and resources available for mobilization) and to oversee mobilization and demobilization. The Grand Marshal was not only an important but tiresome office—all the generals in the field depended on the Grand Marshal for timely furbishments of men and weapons. In principle, the Grand Marshal was the chief executive over most aspects of resources and has a strong voice in strategy, since the approprite strategy always depended on resource; however, the Grand Marshal still reported to one of the Vice Chancellors who, as head of government, would formulate the final proposal before royal sanction.

Fourth Standing

Of the Fourth Standing is the Civic Marshal, which is the same officer doing the same things as the Grand Marshal except in peace time. As there would not be distant campaigns in peacetime, the job was considerably less stressful than in wartime.

The Third Vice Chancellor (also translated as Palace Vice Chancellor) has Fourth Standing and is an additional office granted to either the Arcade Commissioner or the President of the Privy Council, when they are acting as head of government, usually in a caretaker capacity. Very rarely, another official who is not one of the two listed above can take office as Third Vice Chancellor, though not as head of government. While all the other types of chancellors must have baronial tenure, the Third Vice Chancellor does not and thus will not hold the office on a long-term basis.

The Chief Justice had Fourth Standing.

The Exchequer Commissioner, head of imperial government finance, had Fourth Standing.

Fifth Standing

Offices of the Fifth Standing included the Royal Marshal, the Guard Marshal, and the Arcade Commissioner.

Sixth Standing

Sixth in Standing include the four Magistrates of Kien-k'ang as well as all the Provincial Justices.

Sixth Standing is special as it represents the starting point of bureaucratic careers

Pay grade

Pay grade (秩, lrit) was the common denominator for all officers in service to the royal government. The very most senior officers like the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor did not receive a salary, as they were typically barons already; these continue an earlier tradition for barons and others of a similar tenure to undertake additional offices for no additional compensation. Approaching the modern period, particularly after the Kenar Restoration, these instances have become rarer.

The name lrit meant "expense", from the royal treasury's perspective.  From the time the scale was introduced in the 5th century, the nominal tiers, measured in bushels (approx. 31 kg) grain per annum, were never changed; however, other disbursements in the forms of coins, meats, cloth, as well as entitlements to the use of farms and labour, did frequently change from time to time and depended on the place where an officer worked. Where grain was short in supply (such as in the navy), salaries were partly or wholly commuted to money. In 1541, salaries in kind for all officers were commuted to money for the convenience of the royal treasury, which was very short on grains due to mismanagement of royal farms in previous decades and the convenience of collecting taxes in urban areas. From that time, the quantity of bushels was only used as a rank.

The Second Reform of 1890 gave lrit a major reworking, using the paygrades to specify the number of "salary points" a government worker was entitled to. But under the 1890 Act, a government employee's salary points came not only from the paygrade but from a range of other factors, such as the scarcity of qualifications, relative danger, as well as workplace ambiance or convenience. The paygrade reflected seniority and was a major, albeit not sole, component of the salary points a government worker had. Each salary point was then converted into a fixed amount of money. This system remains in use in Themiclesia, with modifications, due to its versatility: it was easy for Parliament to adjust the fiscal value of each salary point and examine how concentrated salary points were in high-ranking officials.

Rank name	Bushels (720)	Money (1742)	Salary Points (1890)	Civil positions	Military positions
倫矦	4,800	$1,320,000	Vice-Chancellor (sole)
中二千石	2,400	$760,000	Exchequer-Chancellor, President of Attorneys
真二千石	2,000	$450,000	Viceroy, President (Privy Council)
二千石	1,600	$320,000	Provincial Magistrate, Gentleman-Captain, Royal Guard Magisrate, Secretary of State	General (field)
比二千石	1,200	$320,000
千石	1,000	$270,000	Secretary to the Cabinet, Viceregal Secretary	General (staff)
八百石	800	$220,000	Principal-Secretary	Brigadier
七百石	700	$190,000	Deputy-Secretary	Colonel
六百石	600	$165,000	Under-Secretary
五百石	500	$145,000	Assistant-Secretary	Lieutenant-colonel
四百石	400	$130,000	Principal Director	Major
三百石	300	$120,000	Executive Director	Captain
二百五十石	250	$112,000	Senior Director
二百石	200	200	Director
百六十石	160	160	Senior Officer	Lieutenant
百廿石	120	120	Officer
百石	100	10	Acting Officer	Cornet

Vestments

Vestments are traditional through many periods for the denotation of various public office. These are functionally comparable to seals or insignia adopted by Casaterran officials but, rather than an image, consists of various articles of clothing, headwear, and official seals and their pouches.

The earliest system of vestments arose during the G-rang period.

See also

• Themiclesian Civil Service