In ancient times, the first step was called, when did you use it?

Readers who have seen costume dramas should know that ancient ministers often used the word Your Majesty when addressing the emperor.

In ancient times, ordinary people used words like the first step to address each other.

so, what do your majesty, your highness, your Excellency and your first step mean?

your majesty

actually, your majesty was not used to address the emperor at first, but to refer to the waiter standing under the steps. When a courtier speaks to the son of heaven, he can't call the son of heaven directly, but must first call the waiter under the stage and tell him. This step is called "pursuit", so it is called your majesty.

Later, "Your Majesty" became the honorific title for dealing with the emperor face to face, which means: "I respect you very much, and I feel that I am not qualified to speak to you directly, so I ask your Majesty's waiter to take a message for me".

Your Highness

Your Majesty, the others are relatively easy to understand.

Your majesty's dignity refers to the step in front of the emperor's dragon chair, and princes and other nobles cannot be called dignity. And their iconic object is the palace.

so, in order to respect each other, call it your highness. The meaning is the same as that of your majesty: "I respect you very much, and I feel that I am not qualified to speak directly to you, so I ask your royal highness waiter to take a message for me."

Your Excellency

The palace is where the royal family lives. The average person, no matter how high the official is, the mansion is not allowed to be called a palace or a temple. Ordinary senior officials, where they live, are called "pavilions".

just like the above two meanings, in order to respect each other, it is called your Excellency.

The first step

Another name that is often used to address each other is called the first step. Before the word "Your Majesty" appeared, junior officials used the word "first step" to address their masters. Later, the first step slowly evolved, and peers also called each other like this.

the literal meaning of this word can be understood: I am at your feet. Of course, this is not a waiter at your feet, which means: "I respect you very much, and I feel that I am not qualified to talk to you directly, so I have to talk to your feet."

I

have read so much, and this is easy to understand. This is the humble name of the ancients, which means to put yourself below.