<p>Formally, the Chinese title was <em>President</em> - that is, the English word <em>President</em> was transliterated into Chinese as <strong>伯理璽天德</strong>. From the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Wanghia" rel="noreferrer">Treaty of Wanghia</a> (望廈條約):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>以上關涉太平、和好、貿易、海面各款條約，應候各大臣奏明大清大皇帝批准，大合眾國大<strong>伯理璽天德</strong>既得各國選舉國會長公會大臣議定允肯批准...</p>
<p><em>The present Treaty of peace, amity, and commerce, shall be ratified and approved by the <strong>President</strong> of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by the August Sovereign of the Ta Tsing Empire...</em></p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-05T07:03:34.400Z
Are you aware of other titles? I vaguely remember having read that there were a dozen or so different titles that had been used to refer to US presidents in literature, newspapers, etc.
Flux
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-05T07:24:56.800Z
@Flux I can't find any. There is 伯理, which is just the first two characters of 伯理璽天德, then there is the word 總統(領), which is really just the modern word - these were used in less formal contexts during the Qing.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-05T14:47:00.983Z
What language would this have been? It certainly doesn’t sound like persistent in msm. I mean, probably some form of 官话 but still...?
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-05T14:48:59.047Z
@user3306356 you mean *President*? bo-li-xi-ten-de has all the necessary consonants to approximate *president* (b l x t d > p r s d t). You're right though, Qing Dynasty is slightly different from MSM.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-05T06:28:07.623Z
2020-02-05T06:28:07.623Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
dROOOze
<p>depends on the original texts, here’re some:</p>

<p>in <a href="https://archive.org/details/02087088.cn/page/n86/mode/1up" rel="nofollow noreferrer">瀛環志略 卷九</a></p>

<p>governor of state is “統領”, while president of the united states is “總統領“ (i suspected it’s the origin of “總統”</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/8W3B1.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/8W3B1.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>in 合省國說，the president is just “統領”</p>

<p>in 遐邇貫珍，governor of state is “總憲”, while president of the united states is “合郡國主“</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/HU2bK.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/HU2bK.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>in 海國圖說 卷五十九：</p>

<p>governor of state is “首領”, while president of the united states is “統領”</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/GrhEs.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/GrhEs.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>there should be more, have fun :)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-05T07:41:37.263Z
2020-02-05T08:06:49.243Z
2020-02-05T08:06:49.243Z
水巷孑蠻
<p>What title did Qing China use for the US president, given that US presidents are periodically &quot;deposed&quot;? Certainly not 王 as the office is not hereditary and could not be held for life.</p>
<p>I am looking for translations used by the Qing government, and also other translations used by writers of the era (in literature, newspapers, correspondence, etc).</p>

<history><terminology><terms-of-address>
What title did Qing China use for US presidents?
# What title did Qing China use for US presidents?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-02-05)

What title did Qing China use for the US president, given that US presidents are periodically "deposed"? Certainly not 王 as the office is not hereditary and could not be held for life.

I am looking for translations used by the Qing government, and also other translations used by writers of the era (in literature, newspapers, correspondence, etc).

**Tags:** history, terminology, terms-of-address


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-02-05. Score: 6

Formally, the Chinese title was *President* - that is, the English word *President* was transliterated into Chinese as **伯理璽天德**. From the [Treaty of Wanghia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Wanghia) (望廈條約):

> 以上關涉太平、和好、貿易、海面各款條約，應候各大臣奏明大清大皇帝批准，大合眾國大**伯理璽天德**既得各國選舉國會長公會大臣議定允肯批准...
>
> *The present Treaty of peace, amity, and commerce, shall be ratified and approved by the **President** of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by the August Sovereign of the Ta Tsing Empire...*

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Are you aware of other titles? I vaguely remember having read that there were a dozen or so different titles that had been used to refer to US presidents in literature, newspapers, etc.  
> **username_1**: @username_0 I can't find any. There is 伯理, which is just the first two characters of 伯理璽天德, then there is the word 總統(領), which is really just the modern word - these were used in less formal contexts during the Qing.  
> **username_2**: What language would this have been? It certainly doesn’t sound like persistent in msm. I mean, probably some form of 官话 but still...?  
> **username_1**: @user3306356 you mean *President*? bo-li-xi-ten-de has all the necessary consonants to approximate *president* (b l x t d > p r s d t). You're right though, Qing Dynasty is slightly different from MSM.  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2020-02-05. Score: 3

depends on the original texts, here’re some:

in [瀛環志略 卷九](https://archive.org/details/02087088.cn/page/n86/mode/1up)

governor of state is “統領”, while president of the united states is “總統領“ (i suspected it’s the origin of “總統”

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/8W3B1.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/8W3B1.jpg)

in 合省國說，the president is just “統領”

in 遐邇貫珍，governor of state is “總憲”, while president of the united states is “合郡國主“

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/HU2bK.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/HU2bK.png)

in 海國圖說 卷五十九：

governor of state is “首領”, while president of the united states is “統領”

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/GrhEs.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/GrhEs.jpg)

there should be more, have fun :)


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