abstract:The nine bestowments () were awards given by Chinese emperors to extraordinary officials, ostensibly to reward them for their accomplishments. (The reason why the character 錫 (pronounced xī in modern Mandarin and meaning "tin") is used, rather than the expected 賜 (cì, meaning "bestowment"), is because the two characters were interchangeable during times when the ceremonies were first established in the Classic of Rites, and it is not clear whether in modern Mandarin 九錫 should be pronounced jiǔxī or jiǔcì.