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[a] The earliest rulers in traditional Chinese historiography are of mythological origin, and followed by the Xia dynasty of highly uncertain and contested historicity. During the subsequent Shang (c. 1600–1046 BCE) and Zhou (1046–256 BCE) dynasties, rulers were referred to as Wang 王, meaning king. [4]
These mythical rulers were called the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. For the lists of the earliest, mythological rulers, both titles are conventionally translated in English as "Sovereigns", though translation as "Emperor" is also seen, which continues backwards in time the concept of an enduring political unity.
Map of tribes and tribal unions in Ancient China, including the tribes led by the Yellow Emperor, Emperor Yan and Chiyou. There are six to seven known variations on which people constitute the Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors, depending on the source. [10] Many of the known sources were written in much later dynasties.
For more information, see Two Chinas, Political status of Taiwan, One-China policy, 1992 Consensus and One country, two systems. "China" also refers to many historical states, empires and dynasties that controlled parts of what are now the PRC and the ROC. For leaders of ancient and imperial China, see List of Chinese monarchs.
The following is a list of empresses and queens consort of China. China has periodically been divided into kingdoms as well as united under empires, resulting in consorts titled both queen and empress. The empress title could also be given posthumously.
For most of its history, China was organized into various dynastic states under the rule of hereditary monarchs.Beginning with the establishment of dynastic rule by Yu the Great c. 2070 BC, [1] and ending with the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor in AD 1912, Chinese historiography came to organize itself around the succession of monarchical dynasties.
During the Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 BC – 771 BC), Chinese vassal rulers with power over their particular fiefdoms served a strong central monarch. Following a brutal succession crisis and relocation of the royal capital, the power of the Zhou kings (王; wáng [a]) waned, and during the Eastern Zhou period, the regional lords overshadowed the king and began to usurp that title for ...
The rulers of the previous Shang (c. 1600 – c. 1050 BC) and Zhou (c. 1056 – 256 BC) dynasties were referred to as 'king' (王 wáng). [11] By the time of the Zhou dynasty, they were also referred to as the Son of Heaven. [11] In 221 BC, King Ying Zheng of Qin completed the conquest of all the Warring States of ancient China.