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Emperor of China

Origin and history

The pre-Qin monarchs were called Wang (王), roughly translated as King. In 221 BCE, after the then King of Qin completed the conquest of the various kingdoms of the Warring States Period, he adopted a new title to reflect his prestige as a ruler greater than the kings before him. He created the new title Huangdi or "Emperor", and styled himself Shi Huangdi, the First Emperor. Before this, Huang (皇) and Di (帝) were the titles of several pre-historical leaders.

Chinese political theory does not totally discourage or prevent the rule of non-royals or foreigners under the title of the "Emperor of China". Historically, China has been divided, numerous times, into smaller kingdoms under separate rulers or warlords. The Emperor in most cases was the ruler of a united China, or must at least have claimed legitimate rule over all of China if he did not have de facto control. There have been a number of instances where there has been more than one "Emperor of All China" simultaneously in Chinese history. For example, various Ming Dynasty princes continued to claim the title after the founding of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), and Wu Sangui claimed the title during the Kangxi Emperor's reign. In dynasties founded by foreign conquering tribes that eventually became immersed in Chinese culture, politics, and society, the rulers would also take on the title of Emperor of China in addition to whatever titles they may have had from their original homeland. The most prominent example is Kublai Khan, who was also proclaimed the title of Khagan of the Mongols apart from the Emperor of China.

Number of Emperors

From the Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, there have been nearly 400 Emperors. Some declared themselves emperors and founded their own empires as a rival government to challenge the legitimacy of the existing emperor, such as Li Zicheng, and Yuan Shu. Not all of these Emperors are recognized as legitimate. Among these emperors, 10% are seen as able administrators while 10% are generally classified as incompetent rulers. These emperors make up popular legends in China and are much better known."看版圖學中國歷史", p.5, Publisher: Chung Hwa Book Company, Year: 2006, Author: 陸運高, ISBN 962-8885-12-X. Among the well-known Emperors, the most famous are: Qin Shi Huang (Qin Dynasty), Emperor Gaozu of Han (Han Dynasty), Emperor Wu of Han (Han Dynasty), Emperor Taizong of Tang (Tang Dynasty), Kublai Khan (Yuan Dynasty), Hongwu Emperor (Ming Dynasty) and Kangxi Emperor (Qing Dynasty).

Position and power

Pre-imperial rulers of the Zhou Dynasty bore the title of the Son of Heaven (天子). The Qin founder did not employ this title, perhaps as it implied submission to a supreme divine authority; but the title was restored under the Han dynasty and employed thereafter for all rulers of China. As the descendant and representative of Heaven on Earth, he had absolute power over all matters, big or small, under Heaven (天下). His mandate to rule was regarded as divine and predestined. In contrast to modern international relationships, the Emperor of China was seen in East Asia not merely as the head of one nation-state among many, but also as the sole and supreme overlord of the entire civilized world.

The emperor's words were considered sacred edicts (聖旨), and his written proclamations "directives from above" (上諭). In theory, the emperor's orders were to be obeyed immediately. He was elevated above all commoners, nobility, and members of the imperial family. Addresses to the emperor were always to be formal and self-deprecatory, even by the closest of family members.

In practice, however, the power of the emperor varied between different emperors and different dynasties. Generally, in the Chinese dynastic cycle, Emperors founding a dynasty usually consolidated the empire through absolute rule, as evidenced in Emperors Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty, and Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. These emperors ruled as absolute monarchs throughout their reign, maintaining a centralized grip on the country. During the Song Dynasty, the Emperor's power was significantly overshadowed by the power of the chancellor.

The Emperor's position, unless deposed in a rebellion, is always hereditary usually by agnatic primogeniture. As a result, there are many cases where a child Emperor ascends the throne when his father dies. When this occurs, the Empress Dowager, or the Emperor's mother, is in a position of significant power. In fact, the vast majority of female rulers during the entirety of Chinese Imperial history have come to power through ruling as regents on behalf of their sons; prominent examples include the Empress Lü of the Han Dynasty, as well as Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Dowager Ci'an of the Qing Dynasty, who for a time ruled jointly as co-regents. If the Empress Dowager is too weak to assume power, court officials usually seize control. The presence of eunuchs in the court is also important in the power structure, as the Emperor usually relied on a few of them as confidants, which gave them access to many court documents. There are cases where eunuchs wielded absolute power, most prominent was the rule of eunuch Wei Zhongxian during the Ming Dynasty. There are also situations wherein other members of the nobility seized power as regents. The actual area ruled by the Emperor of China varied from dynasty to dynasty. In some cases, such as during the Southern Song dynasty, political power in East Asia was effectively split among several governments; nonetheless, the political fiction that there was but one ruler was maintained.

Heredity and succession

The title of emperor was hereditary, traditionally passed on from father to son in each dynasty. There are also instances where the throne is assumed by a younger brother, should the deceased Emperor have no male offspring. By convention in most dynasties, the eldest son born to the Empress (嫡長子) succeeded to the throne. In some cases when the empress did not bear any children, the emperor would have a child with another of his many wives (all children of the emperor were said also to be the children of the empress, regardless of birth mother). In some dynasties the succession of the empress' eldest son was disputed, and because many emperors had large numbers of progeny, there were wars of succession between rival sons. In an attempt to resolve after-death disputes, the emperor, while still living, often designated a Crown Prince (太子) . Even such a clear designation, however, was often thwarted by jealousy and distrust, whether it was the crown prince plotting against the emperor, or brothers plotting against each other. Some emperors, like the Yongzheng Emperor, after abolishing the position of Crown Prince, placed the succession papers in a sealed box, only to be opened and announced after his death.

Unlike, for example, the Japanese monarchy, Chinese political theory allowed for a change in the ruling house. This was based on the concept of the Confucian "Mandate of Heaven". The theory behind this was that the Chinese emperor acted as the "Son of Heaven" and held a mandate to rule over everyone else in the world; but only as long as he served the people well. If the quality of rule became questionable due to repeated natural disasters such as flood or famine, or for other reasons, then rebellion was justified. This important concept legitimized the dynastic cycle or the change of dynasties.

This principle made it possible even for peasants to found a new dynasty, such as Han and Ming; and the establishment of conquest dynasties such as the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty and Manchu-led Qing Dynasty. It was moral integrity and benevolent leadership that determined the holder of the "Mandate of Heaven". This Sinocentric concept, historians note, was one of the key reasons why imperial China in many ways had the most efficient system of government in ancient times.

There has been but one lawful reigning Empress in China, Empress Wu of the Tang dynasty or the Wu-Zhou (Wu-Chou) dynasty founded by her. Many females, however, did become de facto leaders, usually as Empress Dowager. Prominent examples include Empress Dowager Cixi, mother of the Tongzhi Emperor (1861–1874), and aunt and adoptive mother of the Guangxu Emperor (1874–1908), who ruled China for 47 years (1861–1908), and the Empress Dowager Lü of the Han Dynasty.

Styles, names and forms of address

To see naming conventions in detail, please refer to Chinese sovereign

As the emperor had, by law, an absolute position not to be challenged by anyone else, his subjects were to show the utmost respect in his presence, whether in direct conversation or otherwise. In a conversation with the emperor, it was considered a crime to compare oneself to the emperor in any way. It was taboo to refer to the emperor by his given name, even if it came from his own mother, who instead was to use Huangdi (Emperor), or simply Er ("son"). The emperor was never to be addressed as you. Anyone who spoke to the emperor was to address him as Bixia (陛下), corresponding to "Your Imperial Majesty", Huang Shang (皇上, lit. Emperor Above or Emperor Highness), tian zi (天子, lit. the Son of Heaven ), or Sheng Shang (聖上, lit. the Divine Above or the Holy Highness). Servants often addressed the emperor as Wan Sui Ye (萬歲爺, lit. Lord of Ten thousand years). The emperor referred to himself as Zhen (朕), translated into the royal "We", in front of his subjects, a practice reserved solely for the emperor.

In contrast to the Western convention of referring to a sovereign using a regnal name (e.g. George V) or by a personal name (e.g. Queen Victoria), a governing emperor was to be referred to simply as Huangdi Bixia (皇帝陛下, His Majesty the Emperor) or Dangjin Huangshang (當今皇上, The Imperial Highness of the Present Time) when spoken about in the third person. He was usually styled His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the Great [X] Dynasty, Son of Heaven, Lord of Ten Thousand Years. Forms of address varied considerably during the Yuan and Qing Dynasties.

An emperor also ruled with an era name (年號). Since the adoption of era name by Emperor Wu of Han and up until the Ming Dynasty, the sovereign conventionally changed the era name on a semi-regular basis during his reign. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, emperors simply chose one era name for their entire reign, and people often referred to past emperors with that title. In earlier dynasties, the emperors were known with a temple name (廟號) given after their death. All emperors were also given a posthumous name (謚號), which was sometimes combined with the temple name (e.g. Emperor Shengzuren 聖祖仁皇帝 for Kangxi). The passing of an emperor was referred to as jiabeng (駕崩, lit. "collapse") and an emperor that had just died was referred to as Daxing Huangdi (大行皇帝).

Family

The imperial family was made up of the emperor as the head and the empress (皇后) as the primary consort and Mother of the Nation (國母). In addition, the emperor had a series of other consorts and concubines (妃嬪) ranked by importance into a harem, in which the empress was supreme. Every dynasty had its set of rules regarding the numerical make up of the harem. During the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), for example, imperial convention dictated that at any given time there should be one Empress, one Huang Guifei, two Guifei, four fei and six pin, plus an unlimited number of other consorts and concubines. Although the emperor had the highest status by law, by tradition and precedent the mother of the emperor, i.e., the Empress Dowager (皇太后), usually received the greatest respect in the palace and was the decision maker in most family affairs. At times, especially when a young emperor was on the throne, she was the de facto ruler. The emperor's children, the princes (皇子) and princesses (公主), were often referred to by their order of birth, e.g., Eldest Prince, Third Princess, etc. The princes were often given titles of peerage once they reached adulthood. The emperor's brothers and uncles served in court by law, and held equal status with other court officials (子). The emperor was always elevated above all others despite any chronological or generational superiority.