surname Hou

marquis, second of the five orders of ancient Chinese nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4]; nobleman; high official

used in 閩侯|闽侯[Min3 hou4] (the name of a place in Fujian)

Husain or Hussein (name); Hussein (c. 626-680), Muslim leader whose martyrdom is commemorated at Ashura; Saddam Hussein al Tikriti (1937-2006), dictator of Iraq 1979-2003

noble house

see 侯馬市|侯马市[Hou2 ma3 Shi4]

duke (old); nobleman; gentry

two-character surname Xiahou

see 武侯區|武侯区[Wu3 hou2 Qu1]

aristocracy

dukes or princes who rule a part of the country under the emperor; local rulers

see 閩侯縣|闽侯县[Min3 hou4 Xian4]

Marquis (highest Han dynasty ducal title meaning lord of 10,000 households); high nobles

Houma, a county-level city in Linfen City 臨汾市|临汾市[Lin2 fen2 Shi4], Shanxi

hereditary title bestowed on Confucius' descendants

Wuhou, a district of Chengdu City 成都市[Cheng2 du1 Shi4], Sichuan

temple dedicated to the memory of Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮|诸葛亮[Zhu1 ge3 Liang4] (There is one in Chengdu, and many others in various parts of China.)

vassal state

Minhou, a county in Fuzhou City 福州市[Fu2 zhou1 Shi4], Fujian

rebellion against Liang of the Southern Dynasties 南朝梁 in 548

(lit.) the gate of a noble house is like the sea (idiom); (fig.) there is a wide gap between the nobility and the common people

aristocracy

(lit.) kings, nobles, generals and ministers (idiom); (fig.) people of the highest rank and status; the ruling elite

(expr.) hold the feudal overlord and you control his vassals

the winners become princes and marquises; the losers are vilified as bandits (idiom); history is written by the victors

see 勝者王侯敗者寇|胜者王侯败者寇[sheng4 zhe3 wang2 hou2 bai4 zhe3 kou4]

Saddam Hussein

steal the whole country and they make you a prince, steal a hook and they hang you (idiom, from Daoist classic Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3])

steal a hook and they hang you, steal the whole country and they make you a prince (idiom, from Daoist classic Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3])