Is there still a hereditary nobility in communist China?

China is a communist country that has achieved the end of the landlord system, a legacy of the Kuomintang regime and the end of the feudal system, a legacy of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty, according to the official history: we have therefore to assume that there is no more hereditary political power and this view is strengthened by the collectivisation of all the rural land, made by the Communist Party since 1949.

Today, China is providing information, especially on ethnic minorities: since the Chinese political history has always been one of centralization and that this centralization has been done for the benefit of the centralized political elite (the Party elite today and the Mandarins of the dynasties before), the only areas where a natural hereditary power could be found are the ethnic minorities.

The system of nobility titles in China inspired many honour systems in Asia along these two principles:
1° the numerous descendants of the Chinese Emperors were recognized only for several generations until they became commoners: this is a feature that we can find in the royal dynasties of Thailand and Vietnam and is probably justified by the large number of descendants of the monarchs at the time polygamy was the rule;
2° exceptions to this declining principle were created for prominent collateral branches and families, such as the descendants of Confucius with the Rank of Perpetual Inheritance where the heirs succeeded to the same ranks as their predecessors.
The Imperial Household of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) was estimated to number 30,000 in 1549: other estimates of the Ming Imperial Family go up to 100,000. A pretender was still living in Peking in 1924.
The Almanach de Gotha 1902 stated that there were approximately 6,000 members of the Imperial Family of the Manchu or Qing Dynasty (1644-1912).

As mentioned above, the descendant of Confucius was titled the Holy Duke of Yen (Yen Sheng Kung).
Hereditary titles were also conferred to collaterals of the Imperial Family and to other dignitaries: Kung (translated as Duke), Hu (translated as Marquess), Po (translated as Count), Tzu (translated as Viscount), Nan (translated as Baron) plus 4 more ranks of nobility, heritable for several generations (up to 26) and each divided in 3 subranks.
Recognized ethnic minorities with substantial hereditary political power before 1949 were: the 34,000 Achang in Yunnan (hereditary chiefs until 1911), the 92,000 Blang in Yunnan (hereditary headmen), the 1.1 million Dai or Shan in Yunnan (the national-minority hereditary headmen until 1911), the 18,000 De'ang in Yunnan (hereditary headmen), the 132,000 Jingpo in Yunnan (hereditary administrators until 1911), the 1.2 million Kazak in Xinjiang Uygur (nobility and tribal chiefs), the 3,000 Lhoba in Tibet (the Maide noble class until 1949), the 8.9 million Miao in Yunnan, Hunan, Sichuan and Guangxi (feudal lords until 1911), the 300,000 Naxi in Yunnan (the Mu hereditary administrator until 1911), the 300,000 Qiang in Sichuan (hereditary headmen), the 93,000 Salar in Qinghai (hereditary chief at least until 1644), the 407,000 Shui in Guizhou (hereditary headmen at least until 1644), the 242,000 Tu in Qinghai (16 hereditary headmen until 1949) and the 7.7 million Yi in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi Zhuang (noble class and slavery officially abolished in 1949).

The Dai or Shan include the former States of Chefang, Chiangsoong (Keng Sung), Jinghong (Chianghoong), Luang (Mong Long), Mawla, Mong Hing, Mengla (Mong La) and Mong Na, Mong Oo Tau, Mong Pong, Mong Wen and Ta Law: the Prince ofJinghong (Chianghoong) was or is the Head of the Autonomous Dai Region. In the Shan tradition, the former rulers and their heirs are still titled Pce (Saopha or Saopahlong).

And in Tibet, we have the Dalai Lama (not recognized by China) and the 19th King of Muli (another Dalai Lama recognized by a Tibetan lineage).

Considering what happened in other Communist countries, it would not be surprising to see these traditional families make a comeback in the political spectrum.