The following are the general rules of etiquette as they pertain to the Jade Princess. In general, etiquette is predicated upon being polite to everyone and showing due reverence to your social superiors. Of course, there are literally thousands of ways to make a fool of yourself, but if you make sure that you remain polite, reverent and do not make a scene most slips will be forgiven... eventually.
If you are unsure how to act in a given situation, base your actions on the above rules and throw in whatever Victorian or Modern equivalent you can remember. I'm sure the princess will correct any little slips for you...
In a formal presentation the Princess sits on a throne at one end of a reception hall, surrounded by her attendants and courtiers. Guests stand at the side.
High ranking guests will be presented individually:
Lower ranking guests are presented en masse (a certain number at a time depending upon the size and geometry of the room). They enter together as a row and kow-tow once, then move to the middle of the room and kow-tow twice before moving to the side to admit the next group.
For smaller, more informal gatherings, you will greet the princess as you enter the room. The princess stands on your right behind the doorway. You will be announced by a person standing to the left of the doorway, you step forward through the doorway and turn to face the princess. You and the announcer (who is behind you and also facing the princess) together make a standing bow to the princess. The announcer then moves into the room and you take a step backwards to stand where the announcer was. You then announce the next guest and the next guest introduces the one afterwards, etc.
This swift and efficient procedure was devised by Emperor Sheng Yin (The great voice) of the Hsiang Hsiang dynasty. It is fraught with social difficulties, because each guest must introduce the next one. Going first is considered getting off very lightly as the first person will be introduced by a courtier. People stay awake at nights trying to come up with the perfect way of putting someone down whilst introducing them in a way that the subject cannot justifiably take offence but will nonetheless leave them fuming!
Once you have been presented at a given social gathering, further evenings and parties in that same gathering will commence with the princess making her entrance. By tradition, she enters last (woe betide anyone who turns up late!). As she enters, everybody faces her in rows and gives a single kow-tow. Blood has been draw in jostling for position as the princess' approach is announced!
If you meet the princess in passing, your response depends upon your social status. Everyone except the Emperor and Imperial princes and princesses are expected to step aside and politely offer a standing bow. Servants must remain bowed until the princess has passed. You may only speak to the princess if your social standing is high enough. Very high-ranking nobles such a dukes would be expected to greet the princess.
You may initiate conversation with the princess if your social status is good enough.
When you are being introduced, the form of address is up to you. Generally, a florid and flowery mode is used, either using a classically approved form or, much riskier but worth it if it pays off, you may make up an original mode of address.
If you want to say something formal but you don't know the princess at all, she should be address as "Your Imperial Highness".
Once you are deep in conversation with the princess, she should be addressed as "Your Elegance".
When there is only one person of a given rank around, it is quite satisfactory to refer to them by their normal modes of address (see below). If there is a possibility of confusion, one may always add the person's name to clarify who is being addressed. Names follow the ordering:
RACE - HOUSE - FAMILY - PERSONAL
In general you would use the family name to distinguish different people. You may use the personal name if there are many members of the same family present but if you are of lower social status you must always remember to use the family name as well to avoid over-familiarity. The race and house are only used if needed to distinguish different families with the same name or if being very formal./p>
These forms of address are only required when addressing a social superior. It is considered polite to use a person's formal mode of address when first introduced even if you are higher ranking than they, but subsequently you may use your own discretion and address them less formally. Friends of similar social class will use personal names.
Nobles are native titles recognised by the Empire. The order of precedence is as follows. The male form is technically higher ranking than the female but in practice the two are considered equal, so a Duke and a Duchess have the same standing.
The children of nobles are considered nobles one rank lower- the son of a Duke is a Marquis and so on. The children of knights are commoners.
| Noble | Second Form | Third Form |
| Emperor | Your Imperial Majesty | Your Ascendancy |
| Prince | Your Imperial Highness | Your Valiance |
| Princess | Your Imperial Highness | Your Elegance |
| Duke | My Lord Duke | Your Grace |
| Duchess | My Lady Duchess | Your Grace |
| Marquis | My Lord | My Lord |
| Marquise | My Lady | My Lady |
| Earl | My Lord | My Lord |
| Countess | My Lady | My Lady |
| Baron | My Lord | My Lord |
| Baroness | My Lady | My Lady |
| Knight | Sire/Your Ladyship | Sire/Your Ladyship |
As above, the first form, used for formal introductions, is up to you (but don't get it wrong).
The Empire is actually held together by civil servants who have been centrally assigned to their offices following the competitive civil service examinations. Even the lowliest guttersnipe can rise to the head of the civil service if brilliant enough, although somehow he must get himself trained in almost every scientific and artistic subject the empire has to offer if he is to qualify at the head of his year.
The civil service is divided into twelve grades. Grades eight to twelve are considered to have ennobled themselves and are thus worthy of formal address. Although in theory no civil servant's rank is above that of a minor baron, in practice only a fool would fail to offer the Chancellor or Minister for Public Spending reverence equal to that of a Duke.
Nobles may sit the civil service examinations like anyone else. Whilst they are actively employed in the civil service, their civil service rank takes precedence and only family friends should address them by their noble title.
| Rank | Title | Authority | Form |
| 12 | Minister | Ministry | Shih (gentleman) + family name |
| 11 | Prefect | Sector | My Lord Prefect |
| 10 | Prefect | Planet | My Lord Prefect |
| 9 | Secretary | County | My Lord Protector of (county) |
| 8 | Under Secretary | Mister + family name | |
| 7 | Assistant Secretary | ||
| 6 | Clerk grade 6 | ||
| 5 | Clerk grade 5 | ||
| 4 | Clerk grade 4 | ||
| 3 | Clerk grade 3 | ||
| 2 | Clerk grade 2 | ||
| 1 | Clerk grade 1 |
There are two ranks of ministers. The top three are the Chancellor, the Imperial Counsellor and the Commander-in-Chief. Below them are the Outer court of nine ministers: The Minister of religion (who is responsible for ceremonial matters and for ensuring the happiness and general well-being of the populace), the Minister in charge of Palace Security, The Chief Judge, The Foreign Secretary, The Head of the Tax Office (who is responsible for income), The Minister for Public Spending (who is responsible for expenditure), The Minister of Agriculture, the Head of the Lesser Treasury (which is concerned with trade) and the Imperial Censor (whose remit is the elimination of corruption within the Imperial bureaucracy). The three central ministries are The Ministry of Agriculture and Revenue, the Military and the Lesser Treasury.
Unlike the British/US system, the ranks used in the Imperial Army and Navy are the same. The relative rank of military men compared with nobles and civil servants is very variable; under the current dynasty they are considered equivalent to minor nobles and knights at best, since resorting to military force is considered somewhat a distatesful admission of failure.
| RANK |
| Marshall |
| General |
| Colonel |
| Major |
| Captain |
| Lieutenant |
For formal address, use "Rank+Family Name". For informal or when there's no danger of misunderstanding, "Rank" alone is sufficient.
Under the current dynasty, dancing is definitely in. Drinking is in at parties, but tea is not drunk. Mild intoxicants are permitted if you feel that you can afford to relax your guard that way.
Parties begin with introductions (see above). Dancing follows, getting less formal through the evening.
The dances scheduled for this party are:
There will then be breaks in the formal program although people may keep dancing if they wish.