Emperor of China
The
Emperor of China or
Huángdì () was the
head of government and
head of state of
China from the
Qin Dynasty in
221 BC until the fall of the
Qing Dynasty in
1912. The pre-Qin heads of the government were called
Wang (roughly translated as
King). Before the first Emperor of China,
Qin Shi Huang, the characters
Huang ("godking") and
Di ("sage king") were used separately and never consecutively (See
Three Huang and five Di). After the
Han Dynasty,
Huangdi began to be
abbreviated to
Huang or
Di"the two characters had lost their original pre-Qin meanings.
Since the Qin Dynasty, the Emperor of China was been formally styled the
Son of Heaven (天子), and as the descendant and representative of heaven on earth, legally had absolute power over all matters, big or small, under heaven. The Emperor's words and directives were considered
Sacred Edicts (聖旨). In theory, the emperor's orders were followed with immediate obedience. He was elevated above all commoners, nobility, and members of the imperial family. Address to the emperor was always to be formal and self-deprecatory, often even with the closest of family members.
In practice, however, the power of the emperor varied between different emperors and different
Chinese dynasties. Many emperors ruled as
absolute monarchs, maintaining a tight grip on the country. A prominent example is
Qin Shi Huang, the first
Emperor of China. Other emperors, however, had found the
Empress Dowager, court officials,
eunuchs, and nobility taking over actual power (
e.g.,
Wanli Emperor of the
Ming Dynasty or
Guangxu Emperor of the
Qing Dynasty).
The title of
emperor was transmitted from father to son. By convention in most dynasties, the eldest son born to the
Empress of China (嫡長子) succeeded the throne. In some cases when the empress did not bear any children, she adopted a son as her own (all children of the emperor were said to also be the children of the empress, regardless of birth mother). In some dynasties the succession of the empress's eldest son was disputed, and because many emperors had large numbers of progeny, often led to wars of succession between rival sons. In attempts to resolve disputes after death, the emperor often designated a
Crown Prince (太子) in early times. Even such a clear designation, however, caused problems within the imperial family involving jealousy and distrust, whether it was the crown prince plotting against the emperor, or brothers plotting against each other, and did not actually ensure a peaceful succession. Some emperors, like the
Kangxi 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 the
Emperor of Japan, Chinese political theory (see
Mandate of Heaven) allowed for a change in dynasty, and an emperor could be replaced by a rebel leader. Prominent examples include the first Ming emperor
Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu Era), and
Hong Xiuquan, leader of the
Taiping Rebellion, who ruled with the title
Heavenly King. As the emperor usually had a large number of sons, it was generally not possible for a female to succeed to the throne. In the history of China there was only been one lawful reigning empress,
Empress Wu of the
Tang dynasty. Many females, however, had become
de facto leaders, usually as the
Empress Dowager. Prominent examples include the Empress Dowager
Cixi, mother of the
Tongzhi Emperor and adoptive mother of the
Guangxu Emperor, who ruled China for 47 years (1861-1908), and the
Empress Dowager Lü of the Han Dynasty.
To see naming conventions in detail, please refer to Chinese sovereignAs the emperor had, by law, a high position challenged by no one else, his subjects were to show the utmost respect in his presence, whether it included 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
Er (simply "son"). The emperor was never to be addressed as
you. The emperor referred to himself as
Zhen (朕) in front of his subjects. Anyone who spoke to the emperor was to address him as
Bixia (陛下), translated as "Your Imperial Majesty";
Huang Shang (皇上, lit.
Emperor Above or Emperor Highness),
Wan Sui (萬歲, lit.
Ten thousand years, which was commonly used by his subjects at the beginning of each day), 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).
Contrary to the Western convention of referring to a sovereign using a reign name (
e.g., George V) or by a personal name (
e.g., Queen Victoria), a governing emperor was to be referred to as simply
Huang-di Bi-xia (皇帝陛下 lit.
His Majesty the Emperor) or
Dang-jin Huang-shang (當今皇上 lit.
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. His styles varied considerably during the
Yuan and
Qing Dynasties.
An emperor also ruled with a
reign title (年號). Up until the
Ming Dynasty, the sovereign conventionally changed the reign title on a semi-regular basis during his reign. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, emperors simply chose one reign title to last for that 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., Shengzu-Ren-Emperor 聖祖仁皇帝 for
Kangxi) or
Da-xing Huangdi (大行皇帝) to refer to an emperor that had just died. The passing of an emperor was referred to as
Jia-beng (駕崩), literally "collapse".
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) divided in a system of ranks who made up the
harem, of which the empress was the leader. 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, and at times, especially when a young emperor was on the throne, became the
de facto ruler. The emperor's children, the princes (王子) 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, with the status of any other court official (臣子), and the emperor was always elevated above them despite any chronological or generational superiority.
*
Table of Chinese monarchs*
Chinese sovereign*
Mandate of Heaven*
Son of Heaven
