From December 14, 1754 to December 17, 1888, Qing dynasty
Qing dynasty imperial orders and edicts were official items issued by the emperor to confer noble titles upon members of the imperial clan, foreign vassals, and civil and military officials, as well as to bestow honors upon their families. The artifact Imperial Order for the Successive, Hereditary Xushun Duke Title of the Shen Duo records the Qing court’s appointment of the Shen family to inherit the Xushun Duke title. This lineage traces back to 1638, when Shen Zhixiang (?–1648), the Ming commander of Shicheng Island, accepted an invitation from Emperor Hong Taiji (1592–1643). In the first month of the following year, Shen was granted the title of Xushun Duke. According to historical records such as the Imperial Annals of the Eight Banners and Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty, this non-ranking Xushun Duke title was passed down through thirteen generations of the Shen family from the Chongde to the Guangxu eras.
For a hereditary appointment without termination, the process required the original imperial orders and edicts to be returned during each inheritance. New appointment text would then be added. When the original brocade surface was filled with inscriptions, a blank brocade extension would be attached for further entries. After completion, the item was submitted to the imperial cabinet for the addition of the imperial seal and then returned to the inheritor along with the original imperial order/edict. Although the extant bilingual (Manchu–Chinese) imperial order originates from the seventh Xushun Duke, Shen Duo (?–1754), it lacks records of previous holders. Nonetheless, it documents the successive inheritance of the title after Shen Duo, aligning with the standard format and content of such hereditary edicts. This artifact illustrates how the imperial order served as a symbol of imperial favor and a testament to the enduring prominent identities and statuses of its recipients.