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83-682: All rulers of the Xia declared themselves " emperors ". Both the Tiefu and Xia were based in the Ordos Desert , and during the reign of Helian Bobo , they constructed their capital of Tongwan, a heavily fortified and state-of-the-art city that served as a frontier garrison until the Song dynasty . Its ruins were discovered during the Qing dynasty and can still be seen in present-day Inner Mongolia . At its peak,

166-659: A constitutional monarchy . Puyi , who had reigned as the Xuantong Emperor, abdicated on 12 February 1912, ending the Qing dynasty as well as the imperial tradition altogether, after more than 2100 years. Yuan Shikai , former President of the Republic of China , attempted to restore dynastic rule with himself as the Hongxian Emperor, however he abdicated the throne on 22 March 1916 after only 83 days. Puyi

249-479: A Jin army of 100,000 commanded by Huan Chong attempted to recover Xiangyang but was driven off by a Qin relief column of 50,000 men. In response, Fu Jiān ordered a general mobilization against Jin: 6 of every 10 able-bodied men were conscripted, and 30,000 elite guards ( 羽林郎 ) were gathered. In August 383, Fu Jiān sent his brother, Fu Rong , the Duke of Yangping (who had opposed the campaign), with an army of 300,000 as

332-601: A civil war broke out among his sons, which ended in him appointing Helian Chang as his new Crown Prince. After Helian Bobo’s death in 425, the Northern Wei intensified their pressure on the Xia. While Helian Chang was away campaigning against the Western Qin , Wei carried out a surprise attack on Xia, capturing many cities in Guanzhong including Chang’an. In 427, as Xia attempted to recapture Chang’an, Wei launched

415-634: A dynasty usually consolidated the empire through comparative autocracy —examples include Qin Shi Huang, emperors Gaozu and Guangwu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Kublai Khan of the Yuan, and the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing. The usual method for widespread geographic power consolidation was to involve the whole family. From generation to generation, the bonds weakened between the branches of family established as local rulers in different areas. After

498-507: A major assault. The "Qin is Defeated" rumor spread like wildfire, and chaos followed. Fu Rong personally tried to halt the retreat and reorganize his troops, but his horse suddenly fell and he was killed by advancing Jin troops. The Jin generals noticed the chaotic footprints and wheel marks and declared that the Former Qin army was not in an organized retreat but was indeed in total disarray. The Jin soldiers continued their pursuit, and

581-448: A male emperor). The given names of all the emperor's deceased male ancestors were forbidden from being written, and were avoided ( 避諱 ) by the use of synonyms, homophones, or leaving out the final stroke of the taboo character. This linguistic feature can sometimes be used to date historical texts, by noting which words in parallel texts are altered. The emperor was never to be addressed as you . Instead, one used Bixia ( 陛下 'bottom of

664-459: A new title to reflect his prestige as a ruler greater than the rulers before him. He called himself "Shi Huangdi", or the 'First Emperor'. Before this, Huang ( 皇 'august', 'sovereign' ) was most commonly seen as a reverential epithet for a deceased ancestor, and Di ( 帝 , OC : * ‍ tˤeks ) was an apical ancestor, originally referring to the deified ancestors of the Shang kings. In

747-451: A retreat. The Jin's tactics of ambush and bribery now paid off. Many soldiers in the Former Qin army began to wonder why a sudden retreat order was given. Already retreating and demoralized, the Former Qin army went into a panic when Zhu Xu raised a cry of "the Qin army has been defeated" and it was routed. Xie Xuan and generals Xie Yan ( 謝琰 ) and Huan Yi crossed the river and launched

830-499: A second attack and captured their capital at the Battle of Tongwancheng . Chang relocated to Shanggui , but after several more defeats, he was finally captured in battle in 428. Helian Chang’s brother, Helian Ding , declared himself the new emperor at Pingliang . In 431, as Wei continued their encroachment, he made a last-ditch effort to expand westwards. He conquered the weakened Western Qin, but on his way to invade Northern Liang, he

913-549: A significant role in the power structure, as emperors often relied on a few of them as confidants, which gave them access to many court documents. In a few places, eunuchs wielded vast power; one of the most powerful eunuchs in Chinese history was Wei Zhongxian during the Ming. Occasionally, other nobles seized power as regents. The actual area ruled by the emperor of China varied from dynasty to dynasty. In some cases, such as during

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996-632: A strong central monarch. Following a brutal succession crisis and relocation of the royal capital, the power of the Zhou kings ( 王 ; wàng ) waned, and during the Eastern Zhou period, the regional lords overshadowed the king and began to usurp that title for themselves. In 221 BC, after the King of Qin completed the conquest of the various kingdoms of the Warring States period , he adopted

1079-416: A sufficient period of time, their loyalty could no longer be assured, and the taxes they collected sapped the imperial coffers. This led to situations like the reign of Emperor Wu of Han , who disenfranchised and annihilated the nobilities of virtually all imperial relatives whose forebears had been enfeoffed by his own ancestor, Gaozu. Apart from a few very energetic monarchs, the emperor usually delegated

1162-513: A threat to Wei, but in 392, Weichen was killed and the tribe’s power base was destroyed after a Wei counteroffensive. A son of Weichen, Liu Bobo , went into exile and found protection under the Xianbei chieftain, Moyigan (沒弈干) at Gaoping (高平; in present-day Guyuan , Ningxia ). In 402, Moyigan and Liu Bobo fled to the Qiang -led Later Qin under pressure from Wei. During his time in Qin, Bobo caught

1245-447: Is no shortage of soldiers and weapons, please stay in the west, just in case." Huan Chong sighed at his subordinates and said, "Xie An has the strength to live in the imperial court, but he is not familiar with the means of leading troops to fight. Now that the great enemy is coming, they are still playing to their heart's content, they will talk big, and they can only send young people (Xie Xuan) who have never fought to resist, coupled with

1328-640: The Han Chinese surname of Liu (劉), members of which also ruled the Former Zhao state. This writer further suggests that 'Tuge' is an alternate form of 'Tuhe' (徒河), which is the branch of the Xianbei from which the Murong (慕容) were descended. Emperor of China Throughout Chinese history , " Emperor " ( Chinese : 皇帝 ; pinyin : Huángdì ) was the superlative title held by

1411-664: The Han-Zhao emperor, Liu Cong , gave him the title of Duke of Loufan. The Tiefu resided in Shuofang for many years. Liu Hu waged war with Dai but was repeatedly defeated and at one point had to flee the Great Wall . His son, Liu Wuhuan succeeded him in 341 and immediately entered a marriage alliance with Dai. On the other hand, he also submitted to the Jie -led Later Zhao dynasty . His brother Liu Eloutou succeeded him in 356, but

1494-719: The Jurchens of the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) , who later ruled the Qing dynasty as the Manchus , and the Mongols of the Yuan dynasty. The orthodox historical view sees these as dynasties as sinicized polities as they adopted Han culture, claimed the Mandate of Heaven , and performed the traditional imperial obligations such as annual sacrifices to Heaven for rain and prosperity. The revisionist New Qing History school, however, argues that

1577-474: The Qin dynasty to the Qing dynasty , there were a total 557 individuals who at one point or another claimed the title of Emperor, including several simultaneous claimants at various times. Some, such as Li Zicheng , Huang Chao , and Yuan Shu , declared themselves the emperors, Son of Heaven and founded their own empires as a rival government to challenge the legitimacy of and overthrow the existing emperor. Among

1660-568: 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. 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,

1743-727: The Three Kingdoms , and at what point the Song dynasty ceased to be the legitimate dynasty in favor of the Yuan dynasty . The Qing view, reported to Europe by the Jesuits, was that there had been 150 emperors from the First Emperor to the Kangxi Emperor . Adding the eight uncontroversial emperors that followed the Kangxi Emperor would give a grand total of 158 emperors from the First Emperor to Puyi. By one count, from

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1826-619: The Tuoba tribe. In 318, Fulun's son, Liu Lugu (劉路孤) also surrendered to the Tuoba and was given a daughter by Tuoba Yulü to marry. Fulun's branch became known as the Dugu tribe (獨孤), and like the Tiefu, they were known as Wuhuan people due to their mixed ethnicity. Yao Weiyuan (姚薇元) suggested in the past that 'Dugu' was an alternate form of 'Tuge' (屠各), the Xiongnu aristocratic clan that had adopted

1909-479: The monarchs who ruled various imperial dynasties or Chinese empires . In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was the " Son of Heaven ", an autocrat with the divine mandate right to rule all under Heaven . Emperors were worshiped posthumously under an imperial cult . The lineage of emperors descended from a paternal family line constituted a dynasty , and succession in most cases theoretically followed agnatic primogeniture . The emperor of China

1992-598: The "Mandate of Heaven". There has been only one lawful queen regnant in Chinese history, Wu Zetian , who briefly replaced the Tang dynasty with her own Wu Zhou dynasty . Many women, however, did become de facto leaders, usually as Empress Dowager . Prominent examples include Empress Dowager Lü of the Han, Empress Liu of the Song , and Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing. As the emperor had, by law, an absolute position not to be challenged by anyone else, his subjects were to show

2075-597: The 3rd century BC, the two titles had not previously been used together. The emperor of China, like the Zhou kings before him, and the Shang kings before them, was most commonly referred to as Tianzi ( 天子 'Son of Heaven'), who was divinely appointed to rule. The appellation Huangdi carried similar shades of meaning. Alternate English translations of the word include "The August Ancestor", "The Holy Ruler", or "The Divine Lord". On that account, some modern scholars translate

2158-548: The Fei River so that the two armies could engage. Most Former Qin generals opposed that plan, since maneuvering such a large army in that manner was too complicated for the benefits that might be obtained, especially with so many poorly trained troops. Fu Jiān overruled them, however, planning to attack the Jin army as it was crossing the river to seize a tactical advantage, as the Jin would be split in two. Fu Rong agreed and ordered

2241-672: The Five Divisions of the Southern Xiongnu in Shanxi . As the Xiongnu imperial family claimed descent from the Han dynasty through their heqin marriages with Han princesses, Qubei's family adopted the "Liu" (劉) surname. In 309, Qubei's grandson, Liu Hu succeeded his father, Liu Gaoshengyuan , as chieftain and named his tribe “Tiefu”. The word "Tiefu" referred to people with Xiongnu fathers and Xianbei mothers, indicating that

2324-404: The Former Qin forces under Fu Rong captured the important Jin city of Shouyang ( 壽陽 , in modern Lu'an , Anhui ). Fu Jiān, seeing the possibility of achieving a quick victory, left his main force at Xiangcheng and led 8,000 light cavalry to rendezvous with Fu Rong. Fu Jiān sent captured Jin official Zhu Xu as a messenger to try to persuade Xie Shi to surrender. Instead, Zhu tipped off Xie Shi to

2407-536: The Japanese monarchy, Chinese political theory allowed for a change in the ruling house. This was based on the concept of the " 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 because of repeated natural disasters such as flood or famine, or for other reasons, then rebellion

2490-466: The Later Qin. He refused to establish a capital in his early reign, instead choosing to lead a roving army and attacking Qin’s northern borders when least expected. In 413, Bobo, believing that it was inappropriate to claim lineage of the Han dynasty through his maternal line, changed his family name from Liu to the prestigious-sounding name of Helian. He also built his capital city of Tongwancheng at

2573-532: The Qin economy and military, with many of their key generals being killed in battle. In 417, the Eastern Jin commander, Liu Yu , conquered Qin, but the situation back at the Jin capital forced him to return and leave behind his generals to defend the Guanzhong region. In 418, Bobo invaded the Guanzhong, and due to violent infighting among the Jin generals, he inflicted them a catastrophic defeat and captured

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2656-408: The Xia also controlled the Guanzhong region in modern-day central Shaanxi . Due to their mix Xiongnu and Xianbei ethnicity, the Tiefu were initially known as a group of Wuhuan , which in the 4th century, was another term for "miscellanous hu " or " zahu " (雜胡). It was not until Helian Bobo came to power that they fully affirm their Xiongnu lineage in a bid for legitimacy by claiming descent from

2739-636: The Xiongnu alleged that they descended from Yu the Great , Liu Bobo claimed descent from the Xia dynasty and founded his state of Great Xia, claiming the titles of Heavenly King and Grand Chanyu. The same year, he led his forces to subjugate the tribes in Shuofang. He briefly fought with the Southern Liang after they rejected a marriage alliance, dealing them a heavy defeat. Despite his grudge against Northern Wei, Bobo mainly concentrated his military efforts on

2822-471: The advance force. Later that month, Fu Jiān marched with his army of 270,000 cavalry and 600,000 infantry from Chang'an . In September, Fu Jiān reached Xiangcheng. Separate columns were to push downstream from Sichuan, but the main offensive would occur against the city of Shouchun on the Huai River . Emperor Xiaowu of Jin hurriedly made preparations for defense. He gave Huan Chong responsibility for

2905-577: The ancient Xia dynasty . The rulers of Xia came from the Tiefu tribe, who descended from the Southern Xiongnu leader, Qubei . Qubei was a member of the ruling- Luandi clan as the brother of the chanyu , Qiangqu , although a later and more dubious account alleged that he was the descendant of a Han dynasty prince-turned-Xiongnu noble, Liu Jinbo (劉進伯) instead. In 196, he assisted the warlord, Cao Cao in escorting Emperor Xian of Han to Xuchang , and in 216, Cao Cao appointed him to supervise

2988-455: The army, saying, "My army is so huge that if all the men throw their whips into the Yangtze, its flow will be stopped" ( 投鞭断流 ). Xie Xuan 's Beifu army was drawn from the militarized settlements of powerful local families, with officers bringing along their own hereditary troops. This army underwent significant training and could be considered a professional military unit. In October 383,

3071-472: The attention of its ruler, Yao Xing . Impressed by his appearance and talents, Yao Xing made Bobo a general and assigned him to defend Shuofang, despite warnings from his officials regarding his violent behaviour. In 407, Bobo was angered by peace talks between Qin and Wei, leading him to rebel. After ceasing 8,000 tribute horses from the Rouran , he went to Gaoping and killed Moyigan, taking over his forces. As

3154-520: The autumn of 383 AD in China, where forces of the Di -led Former Qin dynasty were decisively defeated by the outnumbered army of the Eastern Jin dynasty . The location of the battle, the Fei River, no longer exists but is believed to have flowed through modern Lu'an , Anhui , near the Huai River . The battle is considered to be one of the most significant and pivotal battles in Chinese history, as it ensured

3237-533: The battle, Jin forces advanced to the Yellow River and recovered much of the Chinese heartland, forming a basis for Liu Yu's expeditions and the Southern and Northern dynasties period that would follow soon afterward. This battle is famous not only because of its significance in history but also because it demonstrated the importance of troop training, morale, loyalty and organized battle command. The battle

3320-498: The civil bureaucracy wielded more power than the emperor himself. The emperor's position, unless deposed in a rebellion, was always hereditary, usually by agnatic primogeniture . As a result, many emperors ascended the throne while still children. During minority reigns , the Empress Dowager , the emperor's mother, would usually possess significant political power, along with the male members of her birth family . In fact,

3403-571: The culturally appropriate rituals of formally declaring a new dynasty and taking on the Chinese title of Huangdi , in addition to the titles of their respective people, especially in the case of the Yuan dynasty. Thus, Kublai Khan was simultaneously khagan of the Mongols and emperor of China. In 1911, the title of Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet was created to rule alongside the emperor, as part of an attempt to turn China into

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3486-570: The defense of the Middle Yangtze. The pressing defense of the Huai River was given to Xie Shi ( 謝石 ) and Xie Xuan and the elite 80,000-strong Beifu Army ( 北府兵 ). Prime Minister Xie An oversaw overall strategy. Huan Chong was deeply worried and sent three thousand elite soldiers into the city to support the capital, but was resolutely stopped by Xie An, saying: "The way the imperial court will deal with it has been decided, there

3569-593: The eldest son born to the Empress consort ( 嫡长子 ; 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,

3652-646: The emperor was also limited by the imperial bureaucracy , which was staffed by scholar-officials , and eunuchs during some dynasties. An emperor was also constrained by filial obligations to his ancestors' policies and dynastic traditions, such as those first detailed in the Ming-era Huang-Ming Zuxun ( Ancestral Instructions ). During the Western Zhou dynasty ( c.  1046 BC  – 771 BC), Chinese vassal rulers with power over their particular fiefdoms served

3735-588: The emperor was referred to in the third person simply as Huangdi Bixia ( 皇帝陛下 'His Majesty the Emperor') or Dangjin Huangshang ( 当今皇上 ; 當今皇上 'present emperor above'). Under the Qing, the emperor was usually styled 'His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the Great Qing Dynasty, Son of Heaven , Lord of Ten Thousand Years ', though this varied considerably. In historical texts, the present emperor

3818-472: 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

3901-538: 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,

3984-500: The emperors were known with a temple name given after their death. Most emperors were also given a posthumous name which was sometimes combined with the temple name (e.g. Emperor Shengzu Ren 圣祖仁皇帝 ; 聖祖仁皇帝 for the Kangxi Emperor). The passing of an emperor was referred to as Jiabeng ( 驾崩 ; 駕崩 'collapse of the imperial chariot') and an emperor that had just died was referred to as Daixing Huangdi ( 大行皇帝 'the emperor of

4067-413: The entire Former Qin force collapsed. A large amount of food and supplies were abandoned as Former Qin soldiers tried to escape with their lives. In the ensuing retreat and pursuit, an estimated 70-80% of the Former Qin troops died from combat, starvation and exposure to the elements. The Jin army defeated the overwhelming Former Qin forces with only minor casualties. The Jin had routed and killed most of

4150-491: The escaping soldiers of the Former Qin army, greatly weakening the pool of troops from which the Former Qin could draw. Fu Jiān's forces were not able to be reorganized, even after he eventually withdrew to Luoyang under the protection of Murong Chui , whose 30,000-man army was one of the few that did not collapse. Meanwhile, agrarian rebellions arose after news of the defeat at Fei River. Murong Chui used this opportunity to ask Fu Jiān to let him try to lead an army to pressure

4233-403: The fact that the entire Former Qin force had not yet arrived and that he should try to defeat the advanced Former Qin forces to cripple the Former Qin's campaign. At Zhu's suggestion, Xie Xuan and Liu Laozhi ( 劉牢之 ) led 5,000 elite troops to engage the advanced Former Qin force, scoring a devastating victory, killing 15,000 men. Afterwards, Jin troops were lined up in a wide formation to give

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4316-508: The great journey'). The imperial family was made up of the emperor and the empress ( 皇后 ) as the primary consort and Mother of the Nation ( 国母 ; 國母 ). In addition, the emperor would typically have several other consorts and concubines ( 嫔妃 ; 嬪妃 ), ranked by importance into a harem , in which the Empress was supreme. Every dynasty had its set of rules regarding the numerical composition of

4399-526: 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 or Third Princess. 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

4482-441: The harem. During the Qing dynasty, for example, imperial convention dictated that at any given time there should be one Empress , one Imperial Noble Consort , two Noble Consort , four Consort and six Concubine , plus an unlimited number of Noble Lady , First Class Attendant and Second Class Attendant . Although the emperor had the highest status by law, by tradition and precedent the empress dowager ( 皇太后 ) usually received

4565-547: The illusion that the Jin forces could match Former Qin's manpower. Because of the early minor defeats and the Jin formation, Fu Jiān overestimated the amount of Jin forces. In November 383, the Former Qin troops set up camp west of the Fei River . The Jin forces stopped east of the Fei and could not advance. Xie Xuan sent a messenger to Fu Rong, suggesting that the Former Qin forces retreat slightly west to allow Jin troops to cross

4648-402: The interaction between politics and ethnicity was far more complex and that elements of these dynasties differed from and altered "native Chinese" traditions concerning imperial rule. Battle of Fei River The Battle of Fei River , also known as the Battle of Feishui ( simplified Chinese : 淝水之战 ; traditional Chinese : 淝水之戰 ; pinyin : Féishǔi zhī zhàn ), took place in

4731-420: The lack of numbers and weak troops, the end of the country has long been known, and we are about to be ruled by barbarians!" Later, the Jin army on the eastern front defeated the Qin army, and Huan Chong was ashamed to learn the news, and died of an attack of illness at the age of 57. Fu Jiān's force was composed of many smaller armies levied from the conquered northern territories, along with cavalry drawn from

4814-495: The majority of decision making to the civil bureaucracy (chiefly the chancellery and the Central Secretariat ), the military, and in some periods the censorate . Paranoid emperors, like Emperor Wu of Han and the Ming's Hongwu Emperor , would cycle through high government officials rapidly, or simply leave top-ranking posts vacant, such that no one could threaten their power. During other reigns, certain officials in

4897-533: The most famous emperors were Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty , emperors Gaozu , Han Wudi as well as Guangwu of the Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang of the Tang, the Hongwu Emperor and Yongle Emperor of the Ming, and the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing. The emperor's words were considered sacred edicts ( 圣旨 ; 聖旨 ), and his written proclamations were called 'directives from above' ( 上谕 ; 上諭 ). In theory,

4980-409: The nephew of the founder Fu Jiàn , was a vigorous leader of tremendous drive and ambition. In 370 he conquered the state of Former Yan and in 373 seized modern Sichuan and Chongqing from Jin. In 379, the strategically important city of Xiangyang , gateway to the Middle Yangtze, fell to Qin. By 381, he had conquered all of north China and was preparing for an invasion of the south. In May 383,

5063-421: The nomadic peoples of the north (the Xianbei and Xiongnu ). Most men had little or no loyalty to the Former Qin, and many were forced to join or joined only because of military rations and pay. Many battalions had problems following orders as instructed by their commanding officers. Fu was warned of the poor training of his heterogeneous army, but instead chose to rely on the vast number of men that made up

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5146-456: The original Chinese first-person singular pronoun arrogated by Qin Shi Huang, functioning as an equivalent to the royal we . In front of subjects, the emperor may also refer to themselves self-deprecatingly as Guaren ( 寡人 'the morally-deficient one') or Gu ( 孤 'lonely one'). In contrast to the Western convention of using a regnal or personal name (e.g. George V) to refer to a sovereign,

5229-494: The rebels in the eastern empire back into submission. Instead, Murong Chui himself rebelled in early 384, which started a chain reaction of many Xianbei and Qiang uprisings. The Former Qin capital Chang'an would fall in 385 to the Xianbei forces of Western Yan , and Fu Jiān himself would die later that year at the hands of his former general Yao Chang , the founder of Later Qin . While Former Qin would last until 394, it would never regain its power and glory. In addition, after

5312-434: The region. In 419, Helian Bobo elevated himself to Emperor of Xia. Although the ancient capital, Chang’an , was under his control, he merely set up a Southern Administration there and remained with Tongwancheng as his capital out of concern that the Northern Wei would invade the Ordos in his absence. Throughout his reign, Bobo is described in records as an extremely cruel ruler who often killed his subjects on impulse. In 424,

5395-454: The restoration of monarchy. Traditional political theory holds that there can only be one legitimate Son of Heaven at any given time. However, identifying the "legitimate" emperor during times of division is not always uncontroversial, and therefore the exact number of legitimate emperors depends on where one stands on a number of succession disputes. The two most notable such controversies are whether Cao Wei or Shu Han had legitimacy during

5478-419: The southern edge of the Mu Us Desert . Construction of the city was reportedly brutal, with around 100,000 Han Chinese and tribal people being drafted to build the city. Remains of the city can still be seen today at Jingbian County , Shaanxi . In 414, Helian Bobo entered into an alliance with the Northern Yan in Liaoning , and in 415, with the Northern Liang in Gansu . The war with Xia greatly drained

5561-462: The steps'), corresponding to "Your Imperial Majesty" and originally referring to his attendents, Huangshang ( 皇上 'imperial highness', Shengshang ( 圣上 ; 聖上 'holy highness') or Tianzi ( 天子 'Son of Heaven'). The emperor was also alluded to indirectly through reference to the imperial dragon symbology . Servants often addressed the emperor as Wansuiye ( 万岁爷 ; 萬歲爺 'lord of ten thousand years '). The emperor referred to himself as zhen ( 朕 ),

5644-413: The survival of the Eastern Jin and Han-ruled regimes in South China. In the aftermath of the battle, the Former Qin fell into a massive civil war, resulting in its eventual collapse, ensuring the survival of Eastern Jin and subsequent Han -ruled regimes south of the Yangtze River . The state of Former Qin, led by ethnic Di ( 氐 ) tribesmen, rose rapidly from a string of successes in the 350s. Fu Jiān,

5727-445: The title as " thearch ". On occasion, the father of the ascended emperor was still alive. Such an emperor was titled as the Taishang Huang ('grand imperial sire'). The practice was initiated by Qin Shi Huang, who gave the title as a posthumous name to his own father, as was already common for monarchs of any stratum of power. Liu Bang , who established the Han dynasty , was the first to become emperor while his father yet lived. It

5810-402: The tribe had intermingled with the Xianbei. The Tiefu were also known as Wuhuan , which in the 4th century was another term for "miscellaneous hu " or " zahu ". In 310, Liu Hu rebelled against the Western Jin dynasty in Shanxi . The Tuoba -Xianbei tribe allied with Jin and quelled his rebellion, and were rewarded with their fiefdom of Dai . Liu Hu fled west to Shuofang Commandery , where

5893-446: The utmost respect in his presence, whether in direct conversation or otherwise. When approaching the imperial throne, one was expected to kowtow before the emperor. 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 for the emperor's own mother, who instead was to use Huangdi ( 皇帝 ), or simply Er ( 儿 ; 兒 'son', for

5976-449: The vast majority of female rulers throughout Chinese Imperial history came to power by ruling as regents on behalf of their sons; prominent examples include Empress Lü Zhi of the Han, as well as the empress dowagers Cixi and Ci'an during the Qing, who for a time ruled jointly as co-regents. Where Empresses Dowager were too weak to assume power, or her family too strongly opposed, court officials often seized control. Court eunuchs had

6059-574: Was briefly restored for 12 days during a coup in 1917 but was overthrown again shortly after. Although permitted to remain in the palace, he absconded to the Japanese concession in Tianjin in 1924. In 1934 he was installed as emperor of Manchukuo , a Japanese puppet state. In 1945, he was captured by the Red Army as a prisoner of war, where he was held in the Siberian city of Chita . In 1950, he

6142-517: Was almost universally referred to as Shang ( 上 ). Generally, emperors also ruled with an era name ( 年号 ; 年號 ). Since the adoption of era names by Emperor Wu of Han and up until the Ming dynasty , the sovereign conventionally changed the era name semi-regularly 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,

6225-518: Was always elevated above all others despite any chronological or generational superiority. Recent scholarship is wary of applying present-day ethnic categories to historical situations. Most Chinese emperors have been considered members of the Han ethnicity , but there were also many Chinese emperors who were of non-Han ethnic origins. The most successful of these were the Khitans of the Liao dynasty ,

6308-495: Was ambushed and captured by the Tuyuhun . Helian Ding’s capture marked the end of the Xia, and in 432, he was turned over to Wei and executed. In 434, Helian Chang tried to escape west from Pingcheng but was intercepted and killed. Liu Hu's uncle was Liu Meng , who in 272 was killed by the Jin dynasty after he rebelled the previous year. While Hu's father Liu Gaoshengyuan took over their people, Meng's son, Liu Fulun (劉副崙) fled to

6391-554: Was an absolute monarch . During the Han dynasty , Confucianism gained sanction as the official political theory. The absolute authority of the emperor came with a variety of governing duties and moral obligations; failure to uphold these was thought to remove the dynasty's Mandate of Heaven and to justify its overthrow. In practice, emperors sometimes avoided the strict rules of succession and dynasties' purported "failures" were detailed in official histories written by their successful replacements or even later dynasties. The power of

6474-686: Was considered those made by the official dynastic histories ; the compilation of a history of the preceding dynasty was considered one of the hallmarks of legitimacy, along with symbols such as the Nine Ding or the Heirloom Seal of the Realm . As with the First Emperor, it remained very common to grant posthumous titles to the ancestors of the victors. The Yuan and Qing dynasties were founded by successful invaders of different ethnic groups. As part of their rule over China, they also went through

6557-616: Was extradited to China and imprisoned in Fushun War Criminals Management Centre . He would be formally pardoned and released in 1959, working in a repair shop and as a researcher of literature and history until his death in 1967. The current head of the House of Aisin-Gioro and hypothetical claimant to the throne is Jin Yuzhang . He has worked for various local councils on China, and has no interest in

6640-474: Was justified. This important concept legitimized the dynastic cycle or the change of dynasties. This principle made it possible even for peasants to found new dynasties, as happened with the Han and Ming dynasties, and for 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

6723-409: Was ousted by Wuhuan's son, Liu Xiwuqi in 358. After Xiwuqi died in 359, his brother, Liu Weichen , killed his son and took power. Weichen vacillated his allegiance between Dai and the Di -led Former Qin. In 376, after multiple defeats to Dai, he convinced Qin to launch a campaign against them, with him acting as a guide. Qin conquered Dai that same year, but when dividing up their territory, Weichen

6806-407: Was said he granted the title during his father's life because he would not be done obeisance to by his own father, a commoner. Owing to political fragmentation, over the centuries, it has not been uncommon to have numerous claimants to the title of "Son of Heaven". The Chinese political concept of the Mandate of Heaven essentially legitimized those claimants who emerged victorious. The proper list

6889-665: Was unhappy that Qin deferred more control over to his cousin, Liu Kuren of the Dugu tribe, prompting him to rebel. He was defeated and forced to cross the Yellow River west of the Ordos , where he resubmitted to Qin. As Former Qin collapsed following the Battle of Fei River , Weichen re-occupied Shuofang in 386. Around the same time, the Tuoba had also revived their state, now known as the Northern Wei . The Tiefu initially posed

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