China was amonarchy from prehistoric times up to 1912, when arepublic was established. The succession oflegendary monarchs of China were non-hereditary.Dynastic rule beganc. 2070 BC whenYu the Great established theXia dynasty,[d] and monarchy lasted until 1912 when dynastic rulecollapsed together with the monarchical government.[5] Various attempts at preserving and restoring the Chinese monarchy occurred during and following the1911 Revolution, but these regimes were short-lived and lacked widespread recognition.
The monarchy of China took the form ofabsolute monarchy during most of its existence, even though the actual power of theruler varied depending on his/her ability to consolidate the rule and various other factors. On 3 November 1911, theQing dynasty issued the constitutionalNineteen Creeds which limited the power of the emperor, marking the official transition to aconstitutional monarchy. However, after only 3 months, the monarchy was abolished.[6][7]
During periods of political disunity, China was divided among competing dynasties that often claimed exclusive Chinese politico-cultural orthodoxy; in such cases, more than one Chinese monarchy existed simultaneously. ThroughoutChinese history, there were monarchs of both ethnicHan and non-Han origins, including many who were of mixed heritage.[8]
The Chinese monarchy reached its largest territorial extent under either theYuan dynasty or the Qing dynasty, depending on the historical source.[24][25][26][27][28] This discrepancy can be mainly attributed to the ambiguous northern border of the Yuan dynasty: whereas some sources describe the Yuan border as located to the immediate north of the northern shore ofLake Baikal, others posit that the Yuan dynasty reached as far north as theArctic coast.[29][30][31] Contrastingly, the borders of the Qing dynasty were demarcated and reinforced through a series of international treaties, including theTreaty of Nerchinsk and theTreaty of Kyakhta, and thus were more well-defined. The total area under the control of the Qing dynasty amounted to more than 13 million km2 at itspeak.[32][33][34]
Apart from exercising direct control over the Chinese realm, the Chinese monarchy also maintained hegemony over other states through theChinese tributary system.[35] The Chinese tributary system had its roots during theWestern Han dynasty and lasted until the 19th century AD when theSinocentric order collapsed.[36][37]
Since the establishment of the Xia dynasty, China had been ruled by a succession of dynasties. A recurring theme in Chinese history, dynastic transitions occurred typically as a result of military conquest or usurpation. Historians often seek to account for Chinese dynastic transitions using the concept ofdynastic cycle.[38][39][40]
In history, China was ruled by dynasties of various ethnic origins.[8] Although it is a common practice inChinese historiography to label a particular dynasty as being ruled by a specific ethnicity, there were Chinese monarchs who had mixed heritage. For instance, theEmperor Xiaoming of theXianbei-ledNorthern Wei dynasty was of mixed Xianbei and Han heritage; he obtained his Han ancestry from his mother, theEmpress Ling.[41] Similarly, theKangxi Emperor of theManchu-led Qing dynasty was of mixed Manchu and Han descent; he acquired his Han ancestry from his mother, theEmpress Xiaokangzhang.[42] Therefore, the ethnic identity of the ruling families as assigned by historians should not be regarded as absolute.
On 10 October 1911, theWuchang Uprising broke out in modern-dayWuhan, marking the start of the Xinhai Revolution.[43] Led by theTongmenghui, the predecessor of theKuomintang, the Xinhai Revolution soon spread to other parts of China. On 1 January 1912, the Republic of China was proclaimed bySun Yat-sen inNanjing.[44] On 12 February 1912, theXuantong Emperor abdicated, marking the end of the Qing dynasty and the Chinese monarchy altogether.[43]
According to the theory of thesuccession of states and Chinese historiographical tradition, theRepublic of China is accepted as the legitimate successor to the Qing dynasty and the Chinese monarchy. In particular, the Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor issued by theEmpress Dowager Longyu provided the legal basis for the Republic of China to inherit all territories of the Qing dynasty and to preserve the territorial integrity of the new Chinese state.[45][46][47]
During theXinhai Revolution, there were numerous proposals advocating for the replacement of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty by a new dynasty of Han ethnicity. Kong Lingyi (孔令貽), a 76th-generation descendant ofConfucius and theDuke of Yansheng, was identified as a potential candidate for Chinese emperorship byLiang Qichao.[49] Meanwhile, gentry inAnhui andHebei supported a restoration of theMing dynasty under Zhu Yuxun (朱煜勳), theMarquis of Extended Grace.[50] Both suggestions failed to materialize. In the year of 1937, the Japanese during their conquest of China offered the position of "Emperor of China" to the Duke of Yansheng,Kung Te-cheng, but he declined the offer.
^The last ruler of the Chinese monarchy is disputed. Puyi (reigning as the Xuantong Emperor) was the final emperor of theQing dynasty, the last dynasty with orthodox status inChinese historiography, from 2 December 1908 to 12 February 1912. He was reinstalled as emperor of the Qing dynasty in theManchu Restoration between 1 July 1917 and 12 July 1917. He later became emperor ofManchukuo, a puppet state of theEmpire of Japan, from 1 March 1934 to 17 August 1945. Both the Manchu Restoration and his reign in Manchukuo are not widely recognized as legitimate in Chinese historiography.Yuan Shikai was the founder and the only emperor of theEmpire of China from 12 December 1915 to 22 March 1916 as the Hongxian Emperor, but is usually not recognized as legitimate in Chinese historiography. Therefore, Puyi is usually considered the last monarch of China for his first reign between 1908 and 1912 in the Qing dynasty.
^TheQing dynasty, the last dynasty with orthodox status in Chinese historiography, collapsed on 12 February 1912 with the issuance of theImperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor. The Qing dynasty was briefly restored in an episode known as theManchu Restoration in 1917. TheEmpire of China existed from 1915 to 1916.Manchukuo, a puppet state of the Empire of Japan, existed as a monarchy from 1934 to 1945. However, the Manchu Restoration, the Empire of China, and Manchukuo are not widely considered as legitimate in Chinese historiography. Therefore, the Chinese monarchy is usually regarded as having ended in 1912 as a result of theXinhai Revolution.
^The Forbidden City inBeijing was the seat of government and the main residence of Chinese monarchs of theQing dynasty, the last dynasty with orthodox status in Chinese historiography, from 1644 to 1912.
^abTheXia dynasty is typically considered the first dynasty of China in orthodox Chinese historiography. However, sources such as theBook of Documents record two dynasties—"Ancient Tang" (古唐) and "Yu" (虞)—that existed before the Xia dynasty.[1][2][3][4] Whereas traditional sources disagree on the year of establishment of the Xia dynasty, theXia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project commissioned by the government of thePeople's Republic of China identified it as 2070 BCE.
^"His Imperial Majesty" is the common English translation of the style of Chinese monarchs with imperial ranks. Rulers of lesser ranks were styled differently.
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