Huangdi, translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heaven and the autocrat of all under Heaven. Under the Han dynasty, Confucianism replaced Legalism as the official political theory and succession in most cases theoretically followed agnatic primogeniture. The lineage of emperors descended from a paternal family line constituted a dynasty.
Empress dowager is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere.
Bumbutai, of the Khorchin Mongol Borjigit clan, was the consort of Hong Taiji. She was 21 years his junior. She was honoured as Empress Dowager Zhaosheng during the reign of her son, Fulin, the Shunzhi Emperor, and as Grand Empress Dowager Zhaosheng during the reign of her grandson, Xuanye, the Kangxi Emperor.
The Hongzhi Emperor was the tenth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1487 to 1505. Born Zhu Youcheng, he was the eldest surviving son of the Chenghua Emperor and his reign as emperor of China is called the "Hongzhi Restoration" (弘治中興). His era name, "Hongzhi", means "great governance". A peace-loving emperor, the Hongzhi Emperor also had only one empress and no concubines, granting him the distinction of being the sole perpetually monogamous emperor in Chinese history, besides Emperor Fei of Western Wei.
Empress Dowager Hu, formally Empress Ling (靈皇后), was an empress dowager of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty (515-528). She was a concubine of Emperor Xuanwu, and she became regent and empress dowager after her son Emperor Xiaoming became emperor after Emperor Xuanwu's death in 515. She was considered to be intelligent but overly lenient, and during her regency, many agrarian rebellions occurred while corruption raged among imperial officials. In 528, she was believed to have poisoned her son Emperor Xiaoming after he tried to have her lover Zheng Yan (鄭儼) executed. This caused the general Erzhu Rong to attack and capture the capital Luoyang. Erzhu threw her into the Yellow River to drown.
Li Ezi, later Buddhist nun name Changbei (常悲), was an empress dowager of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Zhou dynasty. She was the mother of Emperor Xuan.
Emperor Xizong of Jin, personal name Hela, sinicised name Wanyan Dan, was the third emperor of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty of China. He reigned for about 15 years from 1135 to 1150. During his reign, the Jin dynasty launched several military campaigns against the Han-led Southern Song dynasty in southern China.
The ranks of imperial consorts have varied over the course of Chinese history but remained important throughout owing to its importance in management of the inner court and in imperial succession, which ranked heirs according to the prominence of their mothers in addition to their strict birth order. Regardless of the age, however, it is common in English translation to simplify these hierarchy into the three ranks of Empress, consorts, and concubines. It is also common to use the term "harem", an Arabic loan word used in recent times to refer to imperial women's forbidden quarters in many countries. In later Chinese dynasties, these quarters were known as the back palace. In Chinese, the system is called the Rear Palace System.
Liu Fei, formally King Daohui of Qi was the eldest son of Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of Han, and Consort Cao—initially his mistress. After Liu Bang decisively defeated Xiang Yu in the Battle of Gaixia in 202 BC, he proclaimed himself the emperor of the new Han dynasty and named Liu Fei, his first son, the King of Qi.
Empress Xiao'an, of the Chen clan, was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty. She was the second wife of the Longqing Emperor.
Empress Xiaochengjing, of the Zhang clan, was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, married to the Hongzhi Emperor and mother of the Zhengde Emperor.
Xie Daoqing was a Chinese empress consort of the Song Dynasty, married to Emperor Lizong of Song. She was the regent of Southern Song China for Emperor Duzong in 1264, and for Emperor Gong of Song in 1274–1276.
Empress Quan (1241–1309), was a Chinese Empress consort of the Song Dynasty, married to Emperor Duzong of Song.
Empress Xiaogongzhang, of the Sun clan, was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, married to the fifth Ming emperor, the Xuande Emperor. She was mother of Zhu Qizhen, Emperor Yingzong.
Empress Hu, personal name Hu Shanxiang, was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, married to the Xuande Emperor. She was posthumously honoured with the title Empress Gongrangzhang.
Empress Chengxiaozhao, of the Zhang clan, was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, married to the fourth Ming ruler, the Hongxi Emperor. He only ruled for one year, so she then served as Empress dowager after the accession of her son the Xuande Emperor. She later served as the Regent of China during the minority of the reign of her grandson, Emperor Yingzong of Ming, from 1435 until 1442.
Empress Xiaozhenchun, of the Wang clan, was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, married to the Chenghua Emperor.
The daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei, whose given name is unknown, was briefly the emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty. She bore the surname Yuan, originally Tuoba. Yuan was the only child of Emperor Xiaoming, born to his concubine Consort Pan. Soon after her birth, her grandmother the Empress Dowager Hu, who was also Xiaoming's regent, falsely declared that she was a boy and ordered a general pardon. Emperor Xiaoming died soon afterwards. On 1 April 528, Empress Dowager Hu installed the infant on the throne for a matter of hours before replacing her with Yuan Zhao the next day. Xiaoming's daughter was not recognised as an emperor (huangdi) by later generations. No further information about her or her mother is available.
Empress Xiaosu, of the Zhou clan, was the concubine of Emperor Yingzong of Ming and the mother of the Chenghua Emperor.
