The Complexity of Chinese Dynasties
In reality, Chinese history is not as neat as is often described in the chronology of the dynasties and it was rare indeed for one dynasty to end calmly and give way quickly and smoothly to a new one. Dynasties were often established before the overthrow of an existing regime, or continued for a time after they had been defeated.
In addition, China was divided for long periods of its history, with different regions being ruled by different groups. At times like these, there were few dynasties ruling a unified China. As a case in point, there is much dispute about times in and after the Western Zhou period. One example of the potential for confusion will suffice: The conventional date 1644 marks the year in which the Manchu Qing Dynasty armies occupied Beijing and brought Qing rule to China proper, succeeding the Ming Dynasty. However, the Qing Dynasty itself was established in 1636 (or even 1616, even though under a different name), while the last Ming Dynasty pretender was not deposed until 1662. This change of ruling houses was a messy and prolonged affair, and the Qing took almost twenty years to extend their control over the whole of China. It is therefore inaccurate to assume China changed suddenly and all at once in the year 1644. For the detailed List of Chinese Dynasties, please refer to Appendix 1.
Prominent Emperors in Chinese History
The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning since the founding of China, united by Fu Xi (mythological) in 2852 BC until the fall of the Qing Dynasty. When referred to as the Son of Heaven, a title created no later than the Shang Dynasty, the Emperor was recognized as the ruler of “all under heaven” (i.e. the world). From the Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, there have been nearly 400 Em- perors.
Among the well-known Emperors, the most famous are: Qin Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty, Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, etc.
Profiles of Legendary Emperors
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang, named Ying Zheng , was King of Qin during the Warring States Period prior to becoming an emperor. He unified China and proclaimed himself the First Emperor of Qin, as he was the first Chinese sovereign able to rule the whole country. He reigned from 246 BC to 210 BC.
“Huang” and “Di” were titles once reserved for the eight legendary kings (three Huang and five Di), so by employing the term“Huangdi”, Ying Zheng indicated that he was even greater than the eight legendary kings combined.
The First Emperor of Qin gave China a common currency and standardized systems of weights and measures, which propelled the development of economy. To build a unitary national market, he ordered that a new currency be cast to replace the currencies of the six states he conquered. The round coin with a square hole was used as money in China for more than 2,000 years. He also issued order to unify writing characters, which enhanced cultural communication. He set the system of prefecture and counties which enabled him to grasp the absolute power of controlling the whole country. He adopted his Prime Minister’s advice to burn the classic books, especially those of Confucianism, in a political purge. He also buried many Confucian scholars alive who criticized his tyranny. Endless labor in the later years of his reign (including the link- up of the Great Wall of China and an inconclusive campaign against the Huns, and the widening and paving of countless roads all over China) started to provoke widespread discontent. Assassins tried to kill him but in vain. In reality, he died suddenly at Shaqiu prefecture when he traveled in Northern China to inspect the efficiency of the bureaucracy and to symbolize the presence of Qin’s prestige.
His son, the heir, became a puppet emperor after his death. Finally, the Qin Dynasty collapsed when the peasants went uprising.
Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan
Genghis Khan was born in 1162 AD, and was originally given the name Temujin. Temujin united the nomadic tribes of Mongolia in a disciplined military state. He became known as Genghis Khan, or “Uni- versal Ruler”. Genghis Khan never learned how to read, but his success as a ruler resulted from his superior military organization, strategy and mobility.
Kublai Khan (1215—1294), a grandson of Genghis Khan, conquered the Central Plains, founded the Yuan Dynasty, and made Dadu (today’s Beijing) the capital. Kublai, the first Yuan Emperor of China, ended the centuries-long situation in which many independent regimes existed alongside each other, by forming one united state that brought Xinjiang, Tibet and Yunnan under its sway.
At its height, the Mongol Empire stretched from Korea to Hungary and as far south as Vietnam. It was the largest empire the world has ever known. The Mongols are remembered mostly for their ferocious military force, but they improved the road system linking China with Russia and promoted trade throughout the empire and with Europe.
After Kublai Khan died in 1294, the Mongols became less warlike. They were resented as an elite, privileged class exempt from taxation. Several natural disasters and peasant rebellions broke out. The emperor of the Yuan Dynasty was expelled from Dadu in 1368 by Zhu Yuan- zhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty.
Emperor Yongle
Emperor Yongle (1360— 1424), was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty from 1402 to 1424. His era name means “Perpetually Jubilant”, literally Yongle. His usurpation of the throne is now sometimes calledthe “Second Founding” of the Ming. He is generally considered one of the greatest emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and to be among the great- est Chinese emperors.
At first, he was the Prince of Yan possessing a heavy military base in Beijing. Later, he became known as Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty after becoming emperor following a civil war. Emperor Yongle ambi- tiously planned to move China’s capital from Nanjing to Beijing and to build a massive network of structures in which government offices, officials, and the imperial family itself resided. After a painfully long construction time, the Forbidden City was finally completed and be- came the imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty.
Emperor Yongle spent his entire life fighting the Mongols. He mounted five military expeditions into Mongolia and crushed the rem- nants of the Yuan Dynasty that had fled north after being defeated by Emperor Hongwu. He repaired the northern defenses and forged buf- fer alliances to keep the Mongols at bay, in order to build an army.
As part of his desire to expand Chinese influence, Emperor Yongle sponsored the massive exploratory sea voyages. These were China’s only major sea-going explorations of the world. The first ex- pedition launched in 1405 (18 years before Henry the Navigator began Portugal’s voyages of discovery). The expeditions were all under the command of China’s greatest admiral, Zheng He. Some of the boats used were apparently the largest sail-powered boats in human history.
During his reign, Emperor Yongle commissioned the compilation of Yongle Encyclopedia , which is the world’s largest known general en- cyclopedia, and one of the earliest.
Emperor Yongle is buried in the Changling Tomb, the central and largest mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty Tombs.
Emperor Kangxi
The Qing Dynasty was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro(D in what is today northeast China. Starting in 1644, after capturing Beijing, it expanded into the whole China and its surrounding territories, establishing the Empire of the Great Qing. Complete pacification of China was accomplished around 1683 under the Kangxi Emperor. During his reign, the Qing Dynasty became highly integrated with Chinese culture.
Emperor Kangxi was the third Emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and the second Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1661 to 1722. His reign of 61 years makes him the longest-reigning Chinese Emperor in history and one of the longest in the world (although his grandson Qianlong had the longest period of de facto power). Kangxi’s reign is also celebrated as the beginning of an era called “Kang-Qian Golden Age” during which the Qing Dynasty reached the zenith of its social, economic and military power.
However, having ascended the throne aged seven, he did not exercise much, if any, control over the empire until later, that role be- ing fulfilled by his four guardians and his grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang. Kangxi, considered one of China’s greatest Emperors, was a pivotal figure in Chinese history, having de- feated the Three Feudatories, the Zheng Jing government on Taiwan, expanded the Qing Empire in the northwest, and achieved such liter- ary feats as the Kangxi Dictionary. Kangxi’s reign brought about long- term stability and relative wealth after years of war and chaos.
Emperor Kangxi was the architect of the period known as the “Prosperous Era of Kangxi and Qianlong” which lasted generations past his own life.
However, the Great Qing’s military power weakened during the 1800s, and faced with international pressure, massive rebellions and defeats in wars, the Qing Dynasty declined after the mid-19th century. The Qing Dynasty was overthrown by the Xinhai Revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, when the Empress Dowager Longyu abdicated on be- half of the last emperor, Puyi, on February 12, 1912.
