List of Emperors of the Great Qing Empire

The Qing Dynasty was founded as the "Later Jin Dynasty" in 1616 by Nurhaci, a Manchu of the Aisin-Gioro Clan, his son Hung Taiji changed its name to "Qing" in 1636. It lasted until 1912. In China proper, the Qing dynasty succeeded the Ming Dynasty in 1644, during the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor. Therefore politically the Shunzhi Emperor is the first Emperor of the Dynasty to be correctly titled the Emperor of China. There were a total of 12 rulers from Nurhaci, of which 10 were rulers of China proper. The Qing Dynasty was toppled in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, although the last Emperor did not officially abdicate to make way for the new Republic of China until early 1912 and kept his title until 1924.

List of emperors

Given name1	Posthumous name2 (short form) Chinese, "Manchu"	Temple name2	Reign name Chinese, "Manchu"	Reign years	Name by which most commonly known
Nurhaci 努爾哈赤 pinyin: Nǔ'ěrhāchì	Gāodì 高帝 "Dergi hūwangdi"	Tàizǔ 太祖	Tiānming 天命) (1616-1626)	1616-1626	Nurhaci
Huang Taiji 皇太極	Wéndì 文帝 "Genggiyen su hūwangdi"	Tàizōng 太宗	Tiāncōng 天聰 "Abkai sure" 1627-1636; Chóngdé 崇德 "Wesihun erdemungge" 1636-1643	1626-1643	Huang Taiji
Fúlín 福臨	Zhāngdì 章帝 "Eldembure hūwangdi"	Shìzǔ 世祖	Shùnzhì 順治 "Ijishūn dasan"	1643-16615	Shunzhi Emperor
Xuányè 玄燁	Réndì 仁帝 "Gosin hūwangdi"	Shèngzǔ 聖祖	Kāngxī 康熙 "Elhe taifin"	1661-1722	Kangxi Emperor
Yìnzhēn 胤禛	Xiàndì 憲帝 "Temgetulehe hūwangdi"	Shìzōng 世宗	Yōngzhèng 雍正 "Hūwaliyasun tob"	1722-1735	Yongzheng Emperor
Hónglì 弘曆	Chúndì 純帝 "Yongkiyangga hūwangdi"	Gāozōng 高宗	Qiánlóng 乾隆 "Abkai wehiyehe"	1735-1796 (died 1799)6	Qianlong Emperor
Yóngyǎn 顒琰	Ruìdì 睿帝 "Sunggiyen hūwangdi"	Rénzōng 仁宗	Jiāqìng 嘉慶 "Saicungga fengšen"	1796-1820	Jiaqing Emperor
Mínníng 旻寧	Chéngdì 成帝 "Šanggan hūwangdi"	Xuānzōng 宣宗	Dàoguāng 道光 "Doro eldengge"	1820-1850	Daoguang Emperor
Yìzhǔ 奕詝	Xiǎndì 顯帝 "Iletu hūwangdi"	Wénzōng 文宗	Xiánfēng 咸豐 "Gubci elgiyengge"	1850-1861	Xianfeng Emperor
Zǎichún 載淳	Yìdì 毅帝 "Filingga hūwangdi"	Mùzōng 穆宗	Tóngzhì 同治 "Yooningga dasan"	1861-18757	Tongzhi Emperor
Zǎitián 載湉	Jǐngdì 景帝 "Ambalinggū hūwangdi"	Dézōng 德宗	Guāngxù 光緒 "Badarangga doro"	1875-19087	Guangxu Emperor
Pǔyí 溥儀 "also known as" Henry	Xùndì 8 遜帝	"None given" 9	Xuāntǒng 宣統 "Gehungge yoso"	1908-192410 (died 1967)	Xuantong Emperor
1 The Qing imperial family name was Aisin Gioro (愛新覺羅 "aixin jueluo"), but it was not common Manchu practice to include the family or clan name in an individual's personal name.
2 As posthumous and temple names were often shared by emperors of different dynasties, they are usually preceded by the dynastic name, in this case, Qing, to avoid confusion. For example, the Qianlong emperor is frequently referred to as Qing Gaozong.
3 Nurhaci founded the Jin (金) or Later Jin (後金) dynasty in 1616, but it was his son Hong Taiji who changed the name of the dynasty to Qing in 1636. Nurhaci adopted the reign name Tianming but his Qing titles were all conferred posthumously.
4 Hong Taiji is referred to erroneously in some historical literature as Abahai (阿巴海).
5 The Shunzhi emperor was the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper following the occupation of Beijing in 1644.
6 The Qianlong emperor officially retired in 1796, taking the title Emperor Emeritus (太上皇帝). This was an act of filial piety to ensure that he would not reign longer than his illustrious grandfather, the Kangxi emperor. However, he remained the ultimate authority until his death in 1799, at which point his son, the Jiaqing emperor, began to exercise the power that had been his in name only from 1796.
7 The Empress Dowager Cixi, concubine of the Xianfeng emperor, mother of the Tongzhi emperor, and adoptive mother of the Guangxu emperor, used her considerable skills of political manipulation to act as the power behind the throne or on the throne from 1861 until her death in 1908. She acted as a regent during the minorities of the two young emperors and confined the Guangxu emperor in the Summer Palace after he attempted to introduce reforms in 1898. The death of the Guangxu emperor was announced the day before her own.
8 Xundi ("The Abdicated Emperor") is the posthumous name given by mainland China and Taiwan's history books to Pu-yi.
9 In 2004 the descendants of the Qing imperial family have conferred a posthumous name and temple name upon the late Pu-yi. Posthumous name: Mindi (愍帝). Temple name: Gongzong (恭宗). It remains to be seen whether these names will be accepted by the Chinese public.
10 The Qing dynasty was overthrown in 1911, and the last emperor, Xuantong, abdicated officially on February 12, 1912. However, that same day the Republic of China granted the "Articles of Favourable Treatment of the Emperor of the Great Qing after his Abdication" (清帝退位優待條件) which allowed Xuantong to retain his imperial title and stated that he should be treated by the government of the Republic with the protocol attached to a foreign monarch. These articles were revised on November 5, 1924, after the coup by General Feng Yuxiang: the revised articles stated that Xuantong was losing his imperial title and henceforth becoming a regular citizen of the Republic of China. Xuantong was expelled from the Forbidden City that same day. Thus, Xuantong was ruling emperor until February 12, 1912 (and also briefly between July 1 and July 12, 1917), and non-ruling emperor between February 12, 1912 and November 5, 1924. Xuantong also later became the puppet leader of Japanese-controlled Manchukuo under the reign name Datong (大同) (1932-1934), then the puppet emperor of the same under the reign name Kangde (康德) (1934-1945).

ee also

*Dynasties in Chinese history