Taishi is not an official title, but an honorary title. Those who can get this title must at least reach the position of prime minister. Equivalent to the current Prime Minister.
Taishi refers to two official positions. First, in ancient times, Taishi, Taifu, and Taibao were called the "Three Dukes". Later, they were mostly given titles to senior officials to express favor but no actual duties. For example, in the Song Dynasty, Zhao Pu and Wen Yanbo were given the title of Taishi. Secondly, in ancient times, the prince's grand master, the prince's Taifu and the prince's Taibao were also called the "Three Masters of the East Palace". They were all teachers of the prince. Taishi was the abbreviation of the prince's grand master, and later it gradually became a virtual title. In the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng had eight false titles, and was finally given the title of Prince and Grand Master. In the Qing Dynasty, Hong Chengchou was also given the title of Prince and Grand Master, but he did not actually teach the prince.
The difference between the Grand Master and the Crown Prince: The official records of the Ming Dynasty record that "the Grand Master, the Grand Tutor, and the Taibao are the three masters, and they are the first rank. The emperor manages the yin and yang and promotes the development of the state. His duties are extremely important. There is no fixed number of personnel and no special appointment. "The prince's grand master, the crown prince's tutor, and the crown prince's guardian are all responsible for moral guidance and protection of the prince." The young master, the prince's young master, the prince's young master, and the second-rank master serve the prince to observe the morality of the three princes and give instructions."
It can be seen that the prince and the prince are not the same thing. It cannot be simply called Grand Master. In the Guanyuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, all Grand Masters had the title of Zhengyipin, while the Prince and Grandmaster only had the title of Chongyipin.
Extended information
In the Jin Dynasty, the title of Taishi was changed to Taizai to avoid Sima Shishi. After the Jin Dynasty, it was restored. Together with Taifu and Taibao, it was called the "Three Masters" or "Taibao". "Three Dukes". His status is higher than that of the so-called "Three Dukes" of Taiwei, Situ and Sikong, so he is also called Shang Gong.
During the Xia and Shang Dynasties, China was built on a feudal system. Those who could serve as grand masters were all from powerful princes or clans. Therefore, their high status also represented the strongest, and they were the first of all officials. . The most famous grand master of the Zhou Dynasty was Jiang Ziya. Because he assisted King Wu of Zhou to destroy the Shang Dynasty, he was granted the title of Qi State in Zibo, Shandong today. He was a duke and had the right to conquer other princes on behalf of the emperor.
In the Qin Dynasty, the Grand Master was abolished. After the establishment of the Han Dynasty, although the Taishi was restored, China entered the stage of monarchical centralization and did not allow such a person to have a status higher than the king and control real power. Therefore, Taishi became an honorary title, retaining only status and representing the treatment level of ministers until the Qing Dynasty.
For example, it was most obvious in the Song Dynasty. The grades of ministers were generally very low. Those of seventh or eighth rank were courtiers. There might only be three or four hundred of them in the country. If they had enough qualifications, they might be national-level cadres with only fifth or sixth rank. . Some famous officials of the Song Dynasty in history seemed to have great power, but their grades were not actually high. For example, Ouyang Xiuguan rose to the position of Councilor for Political Affairs (equivalent to deputy prime minister), but when he retired, his rank was only from the second-rank Minister of the Ministry of War to the Prince's Young Master. , so he will be posthumously awarded a grand master after his death.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Taishi (official name in ancient China)