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The Emperor of China was the title given to the rulers of China from the founding of the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. In addition to theoretically having unlimited powers, the Emperor was the symbol of imperial power. Often styled the Son of Heaven, amongst a myriad of other titles, the Emperor was not nominally constrained by any constitutional documents limiting his power, although in practice the level of power exercised is variable. The title had always been used for people who, by inheritance or by self-declaration, claim to be the sovereign of all of China.
It should be noted that the Emperor of China is not always ethnically Han Chinese. The Yuan and Qing Dynasties have been ruled by Emperors who were ethnically Mongol and Manchu, respectively. Once they assume the title, however, they often adopt Chinese norms and their rule, with some variation, is largely based on existing Chinese institutions.
The pre-Qin monarchs were called Wang (王, roughly translated as King).
In 221 BC, after the then King of Qin completed the conquest of the various kingdoms of the Warring States, he decided to adopt a new title to reflect his position 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, the words Huang (皇, figuratively "god-king") and Di (帝, figuratively "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 words had lost their original pre-Qin meanings and simply meant emperor.
Position and power
Since the Qin Dynasty, the Emperor of China was formally styled the Son of Heaven (天子), and as the descendant and representative of Heaven on Earth, he legally had absolute power over all matters, big or small, under Heaven. In contrast to modern international relationship, the Emperor of China was seen not merely in East Asia as head of one nation-state among many, but rather as the overlord of the entire civilized world, as such there could only be one legitimate emperor in the world at any given time. In addition, because the Emperor was the head of the entire civilized world, the ethnicity of the Emperor was not considered important.
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. 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 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. 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). In addition the effective 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, however the theory that the head of one of these states was the legitimate emperor to which the other states owned allegiance was kept. |
