Why do some ministers of the Qing Dynasty call themselves ministers and others call themselves slaves? Is there a difference between the two?

We watched TV plays in the Qing Dynasty and found that some ministers would call themselves "slaves" in front of the emperor, and some courtiers would call themselves "ministers". Why does the same court have two titles? Especially in the TV series Ji Xiaolan with Iron Teeth and Copper Teeth, Ji Xiaolan always calls himself a "minister" before the emperor, while Shenyang always calls himself a "slave". It turns out that this has a lot to do with the hierarchy of the Manchu Dynasty.

Before the establishment of the Manchu dynasty, there was a deep and strict hierarchy in their tribe, so this system continued after the establishment of the dynasty. The reason why the Qing dynasty had two titles: minister and slave was because the rulers of the Qing dynasty wanted to attack the status of Han ministers. In the Qing dynasty, no matter how big the official position of the Han people was, they could not call themselves "slaves" in front of the emperor. Only Manchu ministers can use these two words.

Manchu practiced slavery before entering the customs, so the relationship between master and servant was implemented. Therefore, only by joining Manchu ministers or Han ministers with full ranks can they claim to be slaves in front of the emperor, representing the relationship between master and servant and the emperor's domestic slave relationship. So before the emperor, I will always think that the slave is his man and will be loyal to him. If Chen Han calls himself a slave in front of the emperor, he will not show his loyalty to the emperor, but will make the emperor feel offended, so he will be punished.

In modern times, we will think that slave is a derogatory term and a manifestation of low status. But in the Qing Dynasty, the slave represented that he and the emperor were a family, so being able to call himself a slave in front of the emperor was a status symbol.