E An


E An were the highest military award and decorations during the Taiping Rebellion. These terms require an adjective to indicate who granted it and for what reason. E is first class merit and An is the second merit; Chinese meant E is friendly, An is luck and peaceful.
In Taiping, if the king wanted to promote someone, he gave the person either award, the E or An. This rule was challenged after 1861, because Li Xiucheng thought the award had been given too freely.

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