The Chinese sovereign was the ruler of a particular regime in ancient China and imperial China. Sovereigns ruling the same regime, and descended from the same paternal line, constituted a dynasty. Several titles and naming schemes have been used throughout Chinese history.
The Emperor of China, or Huángdì, was the monarch of China during the imperial period of 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 theoretically followed agnatic primogeniture. The succession of emperors in a paternal family line constituted a dynasty.
Dorgon, also Prince Rui, was a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty. Born in the House of Aisin-Gioro as the 14th son of Nurhaci, Dorgon started his career in military campaigns against the Ming dynasty, Mongols and Koreans during the reign of his eighth brother, Hong Taiji, who succeeded their father.
The Kangxi Emperor was the third Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1722.
The Shunzhi Emperor was Emperor of the Qing dynasty from 1644 to 1661, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper. A committee of Manchu princes chose him to succeed his father, Hong Taiji (1592–1643), in September 1643, when he was six years old. The princes also appointed two co-regents: Dorgon (1612–1650), the 14th son of the Qing dynasty's founder Nurhaci (1559–1626), and Jirgalang (1599–1655), one of Nurhaci's nephews, both of whom were members of the Qing imperial clan.
The Yongzheng Emperor was the fourth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He reigned from 1722 to 1735. A hard-working ruler, the Yongzheng Emperor's main goal was to create an effective government at minimal expense. Like his father, the Kangxi Emperor, the Yongzheng Emperor used military force to preserve the dynasty's position.
Yunreng, born Yinreng, was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty. He was the second among the Kangxi Emperor's sons to survive into adulthood and was designated as Crown Prince for two terms between 1675 and 1712 before being deposed. He was posthumously honoured as Prince Limi of the First Rank.
The House of Aisin-Gioro was a Manchu clan that ruled the Later Jin dynasty (1616–1636), the Qing dynasty (1636–1912) and Manchukuo (1932–1945). Under the Ming dynasty, members of the Aisin Gioro clan served as chiefs of the Jianzhou Jurchens, one of the three major Jurchen tribes at this time. Qing bannermen passed through the gates of the Great Wall in 1644, defeated the short-lived Shun dynasty and the Southern Ming, and gained control of China proper. The dynasty reached its zenith under the Qianlong Emperor, who reigned from 1735 to 1796. This reign was followed by a century of gradual decline.
Yinxiang, formally known as Prince Yi, was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty. The thirteenth son of the Kangxi Emperor, Yinxiang was a major ally of his brother Yinzhen during the latter's struggle for the succession of the throne. He was made a qinwang during Yongzheng's reign and became one of his closest advisors. He died eight years into the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor and was memorialized with top honours by the emperor. When he died, his title was granted "iron-cap" status and became perpetually inheritable, one of the only twelve such princes in Qing dynasty history.
Zhu Biao was the Hongwu Emperor's first son and crown prince of the Ming dynasty. His early death created a crisis in the dynasty's first succession that was resolved by the successful usurpation of his brother Zhu Di as the Yongle Emperor, an act with far-reaching consequences for the future of China.
Hongshi was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty. Born to the ruling Aisin Gioro clan as the third son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he was banished from the imperial clan in 1725, ostensibly for supporting his uncle Yunsi, a political rival of his father. He died in disgrace in 1727 but was later posthumously restored to the imperial clan by his younger brother, the Qianlong Emperor.
Yinzhi, also known as Yunzhi, was a Manchu prince of the Qing Dynasty.
Yuntang, born Yintang, was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty. He was the ninth son of the Kangxi Emperor and an ally of his eighth brother Yunsi, who was the main rival to their fourth brother Yinzhen in the power struggle over the succession. In 1722, Yinzhen succeeded their father and became historically known as the Yongzheng Emperor, after which he started purging his former rivals. In 1725, the Yongzheng Emperor stripped Yuntang off his beizi title, banished him from the Aisin Gioro clan, and imprisoned him in Baoding. Yuntang died under mysterious circumstances later. In 1778, the Qianlong Emperor, who succeeded the Yongzheng Emperor, posthumously rehabilitated Yuntang and restored him to the Aisin Gioro clan.
Zhu is the pinyin romanization of five Chinese surnames: 朱, 祝, 竺, 猪 and 諸.
Yongzheng Dynasty is a 1999 Chinese historical television series starring Tang Guoqiang and Jiao Huang. The series, spanning 44 episodes, occupied the CCTV-1 prime time slot; after its premiere, there have been many re-runs of the show on television networks in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The series was adapted from Eryue He's historical novels, which are loosely based on historical events in the reigns of the Kangxi and Yongzheng Emperors in the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). The series was followed by a 2001 prequel, Kangxi Dynasty, and a 2002 sequel, Qianlong Dynasty, both of which were also based on Eryue He's novels.
Events from the year 1662 in China.
Events from the year 1683 in China.
A coup of Hongxi was an unsuccessful coup d'etat organised by Hongxi, Prince Li of the First Rank and the eldest surviving son of deposed crown prince Yunreng and other co-conspirators, most of whom were sons of the imperial princes who did not participate in the succession brawl between Yinzhen, Yunzhi, Yunsi and their supporters.
