Emperor of China

The emperor or huangdi (皇帝 in pinyin: huang2 di4) of China 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 1911. The pre-Qin heads of the government were called wang (roughly translated as King). Before 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.

Family

The Emperor's family, termed the Imperial Family, is made up of the Emperor as the head, the Empress (皇后) as the primary consort, leader of the harem, and Mother of the Nation (国母). In addition, the Emperor has a series of other consorts and concubines (妃嫔) divided in a system of ranks that make up the harem. Although the Emperor has the highest status by law, by tradition and precedent the mother of an Emperor, i.e. the Empress Dowager (皇太后), usually receives the greatest respect in the palace, and is the decision maker in most family affairs, and at times, especially when a young Emperor is on the throne, becomes the de facto ruler. The Emperor's children, the Princes and Princesses (皇子/公主), are often called with their order of birth, i.e. Eldest Prince, Third Princess. The Princes are often given titles of peerage once they reach adulthood. The Emperor's brothers and uncles serve in court by law with the status of any other court officials (臣子), and the Emperor is always elevated above despite chronological or generational superiority of another person in the family when in court.

Related Topics:
Imperial Family - Empress - Concubine - Harem - Empress Dowager - De facto

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

See also: Chinese sovereign -- Table of Chinese monarchs (VERY LONG)

Related Topics:
Chinese sovereign - Table of Chinese monarchs

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~