Gong (title)

Gong was a title of ancient and imperial Chinese nobility roughly equivalent to and usually translated as duke. It was also historically used within Chinese fiefs as a respectful term of address to any living liege (similar to the English "lord") and is still used in modern Chinese as a respectful term of address for any man of high status (similar to "sir"), particularly for the honored deceased as with formal reference to Chiang Kai-shek as Jiǎng Gōng (蔣公) in Taiwan.