China. The third largest country by land at 9.7 million square kilometers (9,706,961 sq. km) situated at Asian continent with very large population of over 1.3 billion people is well known for many reasons such as first class economy, space exploration enthusiasm and very large population. But taking a look into ancient China presents a very interesting history of a country ruled by emperors for thousands of years.
China was ruled by emperors for over two thousand (2,000) years. Before dynasties were formed, small states ruled the land. Seven kingdoms fought for supremacy to rule China with Qin state, situated at Sichuan plains, emerging victorious. The first emperor was a ruthless King called King Zheng who titled himself as Qin Shi Huang of Qin state. He ruled between 259 and 210 BC. The last was Emperor Puyi of Qing dynasty who was withdrawn in the year 1912 by the Republic of China. In terms of succession, the eldest son of the emperor took over the dynasty upon his (emperor's) death. But in some empires, papers were placed in a sealed box only for the successor to be revealed after death of the emperor. An example is Qing dynasty that abolished the Crown prince position under Emperor Yongzheng and adopted this style. In China, an emperor is called Huangdi. But other people referred the title as, "Son of Heaven," or "Lord of ten thousand years." There were sixty seven (67) dynasties with 446 emperors in total.
Having known a small history of the Emperors of China, let's now see some interesting facts about these emperors.
Emperor Puyi of Qing dynasty was the youngest emperor to ascend to power. Born on February 7th 1906, he took power when he was two years old at 1908 upon the death of his uncle who died on November 14th 1908.
On the other hand, the oldest emperor to ascend to power was Empress Wu Zetian (624-705) AD of Tang dynasty who ascended to power at sixty seven (67) years old. She took power in the year 690 AD and ruled up to 705AD when she died. Surprisingly, she was the only female monarch to rule over a dynasty in China.
Emperor Kangxi (1654-1722) was the longest reigning ruler. He was the 2nd emperor of Qing dynasty who took power in 1661, and served for sixty one (61) years until 1722.
The shortest serving was Emperor Wanyan Chenglin of Jin dynasty who died the same day he was crowned an emperor. He took charge from Emperor Aizong during the besiegement of Caizhou but died within few hours when Caizhou was taken by joint forces of Mongol Empire and Southern Song dynasty.
The longest reigning was the Zhou dynasty (1045-221) BC which lasted for 824 years. It traces its roots to the Zhou clan. Throughout its existence, it was ruled by thirty seven (37) emperors with the first emperor being Wu-Wang (1046-1043) BC and the last being King Nan of Zhou.
Zhou Empire was divided into two spells namely;
Qin dynasty (221-206) BC was the shortest serving empire. It only lasted for fifteen (15) years with three emperors. It was founded by Qin Shi Huang who became first emperor. The last emperor was Emperor Ziying who led for only 46 days.
Throughout history, dynasties were ruled by men who took power from their fathers or uncles. But one legendary lady stands out as she was the only woman to be an empress.
Empress Wu Zetian was born in 624 and died in December 16th 705. She ruled the Tang dynasty from 690 to 705. Her story fascinates many as she was a concubine once before assumption to power. Under Emperor Tiazong of Tang, Wu went to his palace as a concubine just at age fourteen (14). Upon the death of Tiazong, Wu had had a private affair with the heir of Tang who was Emperor Gaozong. After being demoted to a Buddhist convent upon death of Tiazong, she was occasionally visited by the new ruler who took her to his own palace as favorite concubine. She had ambitions to climb the reigns by killing fellow concubines and by 655, she gained herself the empress position. She bore Gaozong four sons and one daughter. She is said to have a much unified empire under her administration and Buddhism was highly respected and practiced.
Football is widely loved across the globe nowadays. But in ancient China, about 2500 years ago, there was a form of soccer known as, "Cuju. " It is said to be the father of current football. Cuju is combination of two words, "Cu" which means kick, and "ju" which means a leather ball with feathers as its interior contents. Military Cavaliers utilized Cuju while in training because of the savage nature of the sport. Cuju was widely enjoyed by the Han Dynasty including its Emperor, Wu Di (156-88) BC. He standardized the game and established rules of the game. It got to a point where courts were established called, "Ju" Cheng only for Cuju matches. The game was enjoyed only by those with class in the empire. It was improved by the Tang dynasty in two ways. First was by replacing leather filled interior with air. Second was by establishing two goal posts of different types. One had net between posts and the other had only one post at the center of the field. The game further became prominent during Song dynasty because of economic and social growth thus allowing the game to be played by all in the society.
Money can buy a lot. But depending on how you control your wallet, your fate is almost determined pretty early. One emperor stands out when it comes to consumption of his resources. Emperor Yang Guang (569-618) of the Sui dynasty was infamous for his spendthrift habits. First off, to gain power, he killed his father and his elder brother and rose to power in 604. In 608, he worked on a costly program of constructing a Great Canal between Beijing, which is on northern part, and Southern rice-producing regions. In 610, he expanded his transport system by constructing the Grand Canal. He began to rebuild the Great Wall of China which was very expensive with main intention being separating China from other Asian parts as well as strengthening China's northern corridor. His resources were dwindling but he continued with his overspending habits by lavishly spending loads of resources in constructing palace and adding ornaments on them. He expanded his territory to the south, (currently Vietnam) and parts of inner Asia. But his heavy blow was his attack on Koreans which miserably backfired. People revolted against him at this stage. His adventures took him to southeast China at Jiangdu (present day Yangzhou) where he was assassinated. His empire was disunited but was later reunited under Tang dynasty.
Emperor Hong Wu (1328-1398) is believed to be the wicked most ruler of ancient China. His dynasty was the Ming dynasty which ruled China close to 300 years. Before he became an emperor, he was a general in the military who won many battles. As he grew older, his habits are said to be full of suspicion, cruelty, and irrationality. He made his own court look like the Mongol court instead of writing off the Mongol influence. His leadership was full of despotism. Here below are some of his despotic acts.
Emperor Zhao Ji (1082-1135) of the Song dynasty is well known as, "patron of arts," a calligrapher and a painter. He could always run away from state affairs through his delight in arts and letters. He always encouraged students in his painting academy to paint objects that were realistic and unique in form and color. He is believed to personally produce very high quality painting work. His "Slender gold" style is well known with him as a calligrapher. He is the promoter behind the "Xuanhe huapu," which is classes of paintings of the Xuanhe Emperor. This catalog consisted of paintings and memoir of artistes between 3rd century and his spell as emperor.
China's ancient history is remarkably humorous when it comes to leadership with a very long era of dynasties led by emperors who exhibited very different characters. From dynasties lasting more than 800 years to others being led for 15 years. From rulers as young as two years to others as old as 67 years. From rulers leading more than 60 years to others leading only for few hours. As a parting shot, China's emperors left a legendary history long after they are gone and the world will surely learn their history as well as learn from their experiences.
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