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107-737: Qin , known as the Former Qin and Fu Qin (苻秦) in historiography, was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Fu (Pu) clan of the Di peoples during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Founded in the wake of the Later Zhao dynasty's collapse in 351, it completed the unification of northern China in 376 during the reign of Fu Jiān (Emperor Xuanzhao), being the only state of the Sixteen Kingdoms to achieve so. Its capital

214-564: A scorched earth strategy , and during the battle, his crown prince, Fu Chang (苻萇), was killed. Not long after, Fu Jiàn died in 355 and was succeeded by his son Fu Sheng . Traditional historians describe Fu Sheng as a violent ruler, killing many of his high-ranking officials over trivial matters. During his reign, he forced the Former Liang into submission and killed the Qiang warlord, Yao Xiang . However, as he planned to have his cousins killed, he

321-533: A calculated political move to obtain or enhance their legitimacy, even if such claims were unfounded. The agnatic relations of the following groups of Chinese dynasties are typically recognized by historians: The Central Plain is a vast area on the lower reaches of the Yellow River which formed the cradle of Chinese civilization. "Central Plain dynasties" ( 中原王朝 ; Zhōngyuán wángcháo ) refer to dynasties of China that had their capital cities situated within

428-430: A carefully worded letter to Huan, persuading Huan to stop. Yin, meanwhile, was preparing his own campaigns, and he launched one campaign in the middle of 352 and one late in 352—the second one being thoroughly disastrous, as he offended and intimidated the general Yao Xiang (姚襄) into rebellion, and was ambushed by Yao at great loss of life and materials. The people despised Yin for his military losses, and Huan submitted

535-513: A counterattack to relieve Luoyang, but the plan was cancelled after Emperor Ai died in spring 365. Soon, Luoyang fell. Late in 365, the Jin general Sima Xun , the governor of Liang Province (梁州, modern southern Shaanxi ), who had participated in many campaigns, rebelled, and Huan commissioned one of his generals, Zhu Xu , to attack Sima. Sima was soon captured and killed. After Murong Ke died in 367, Huan began to plan to attack Former Yan, whose regime

642-636: A form of respect, even if the official dynastic name did not include it. For instance, The Chronicles of Japan referred to the Tang dynasty as " Dai Tō " ( 大唐 ; "Great Tang") despite its dynastic name being simply "Tang". While all dynasties of China sought to associate their respective realm with Zhōngguó ( 中國 ; "Central State"; usually translated as "Middle Kingdom" or "China" in English texts) and various other names of China , none of these regimes officially used such names as their dynastic title. Although

749-444: A homosexual relationship between Emperor Fei and Xiang, Ji, and Zhu.) He then went to the capital and intimidated Emperor Kang's wife, Empress Dowager Chu , to issue an edict that he had drafted deposing Emperor Fei. Emperor Fei was reduced to the rank of Prince of Donghai, and then further to Duke of Haixi, and put under heavy guard. Huan made his granduncle, Sima Yu, Prince of Kuaiji , emperor (as Jianwen), apparently believing that

856-637: A legitimate regime. Ergo, historians usually consider the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor on 12 February 1912 as the end of the Chinese dynastic system. Dynastic rule in China lasted almost four millennia. China was politically divided during multiple periods in its history, with different regions ruled by different dynasties. These dynasties effectively functioned as separate states with their own court and political institutions. Political division existed during

963-475: A messenger submit a humble surrender petition to Huan. He then surrendered in person after binding himself and bringing a coffin—signifying readiness to be executed. Huan released him and escorted him to the Jin capital Jiankang , where Emperor Mu pardoned him and created him a marquess. To reward Huan, Emperor Mu created him the Duke of Linhe. The victory over Cheng-Han, however, brought fear in imperial officials that

1070-407: A petition demanding Yin's ouster. The imperial government was compelled to demote Yin to commoner status and exile him. From that point on, the imperial government largely no longer dared to deny Huan's requests. With Yin out of the picture, Huan launched a major attack against one of Later Zhao's successor states, Former Qin , in 354. His army defeated much of Former Qin's resistance, reaching all

1177-420: A poisoning after taking pills given to him by magicians in search of immortality , and Huan was initially summoned to the capital to serve as regent , but a second order was then issued him cancelling that summon. Instead, he set up his base at Zheqi (赭圻, in modern Wuhu , Anhui ) and monitored the situation at Jiankang remotely. In 365, Murong Ke attacked Luoyang, and initially, Huan and Sima Yu were planning

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1284-522: A political advisor. In 382, he sent his Di general, Lü Guang on an expedition to the Western Regions while requesting that he bring him Kumārajīva , a monk from Kucha . The Eastern Jin was the last state in the way of Former Qin's unification of China. Wang Meng died in 375, and before his death, he warned Fu Jiān against going to war with Jin. He instead advised him to focus on consolidating his territory, as many of his conquered people, particularly

1391-533: A prophecy, he changed his family name to Fu (苻) and, after briefly being a vassal to the Eastern Jin dynasty , proclaimed himself King of the Three Qins . However, en route, he was assassinated by one of his generals. Fu Hong's son and heir, Fu Jiàn , quickly quelled the rebellion and succeeded his father. Initially, he renounced his father's imperial titles and redeclared himself as a Jin vassal, but once he captured

1498-609: A significant defeat at the Battle of Dajie in 389. From then on, he was unable to launch anymore substantial campaigns. In 394, taking advantage of Yao Chang's death, he carried out one last attack on Later Qin at the Battle of Feiqiao , where his main forces were destroyed. He was soon captured and executed by Yao Chang's successor, Yao Xing . His son, Fu Chong , fled to Huangzhong (湟中, in modern Xining , Qinghai ) and declared himself emperor, but not long after, Western Qin forces seized his remaining territory and killed him in battle, marking

1605-616: A state of limbo during fragmented periods and was restored after political unification was achieved. From this perspective, the Song dynasty possessed legitimacy by virtue of its ability to end the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period despite not having succeeded the orthodoxy from the Later Zhou . Similarly, Ouyang considered the concept of orthodoxy to be in oblivion during the Three Kingdoms,

1712-555: Is a concept with geographical, political, and cultural connotations. The adoption of guóhào , as well as the importance assigned to it, had promulgated within the Sinosphere . Notably, rulers of Vietnam and Korea also declared guóhào for their respective realm. In Chinese historiography, historians generally do not refer to dynasties directly by their official name. Instead, historiographical names, which were most commonly derived from their official name, are used. For instance,

1819-447: Is a convenient and conventional method of periodization . Accordingly, a dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which a family reigned, as well as to describe events, trends, personalities, artistic compositions, and artifacts of that period. For example, porcelain made during the Ming dynasty may be referred to as "Ming porcelain". The longest-reigning orthodox dynasty of China was

1926-510: Is a prominent feature of Chinese history. Some scholars have attempted to explain this phenomenon by attributing the success and failure of dynasties to the morality of the rulers, while others have focused on the tangible aspects of monarchical rule. This method of explanation has come to be known as the dynastic cycle . Cases of dynastic transition ( 改朝換代 ; gǎi cháo huàn dài ) in the history of China occurred primarily through two ways: military conquest and usurpation. The supersession of

2033-570: Is defeated!", causing widespread panic among the soldiers. As the Qin soldiers fled in disarray, the Jin army pursued and dealt them a disastrous defeat. Fu Jiān himself was injured in battle and barely escaped to the north. In 384, as Former Qin was recovering from the recent defeat, the Xianbei general and previous prince of Former Yan, Murong Chui , rebelled in the northeast, founding the Later Yan dynasty with

2140-564: The Chinese tributary system . The Chinese tributary system first emerged during the Western Han and lasted until the 19th century AD when the Sinocentric order broke down. Huan Wen Huan Wen was born in 312. His father Huan Yi (桓彝) was a commandery governor. When he was young (less than a year old), his father once received a visit from Wen Jiao , who saw the infant boy and thought that

2247-611: The History of Liao and the History of Jin compiled by the Yuan historian Toqto'a revealed that the official dynastic name of some earlier dynasties such as the Liao and the Jin also contained the character " dà ". It was also common for officials, subjects, or tributary states of a particular dynasty to include the term " dà " (or an equivalent term in other languages) when referring to this dynasty as

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2354-588: The Korean Peninsula , Afghanistan , and Siberia . Territorially, the largest orthodox Chinese dynasty was either the Yuan dynasty or the Qing dynasty , depending on the historical source. This discrepancy can be mainly attributed to the ambiguous northern border of the Yuan realm: whereas some sources describe the Yuan border as located to the immediate north of the northern shore of Lake Baikal , others posit that

2461-615: The Later Liang , while the Tuoba -Xianbei restored their state of Dai, which later became known as the Northern Wei dynasty . Meanwhile, Xie Xuan led Eastern Jin forces to recover lost territory, pushing all the way to the Yellow River . Fu Jiān's son, Fu Pi , declared himself emperor in 385 and sought to restore Former Qin's authority from Jinyang in Bing province , but suffered a devastating defeat to

2568-626: The Liao dynasty by the Jin dynasty was achieved following a series of successful military campaigns, as was the later unification of China proper under the Yuan dynasty ; on the other hand, the transition from the Eastern Han to the Cao Wei , as well as from the Southern Qi to the Liang dynasty , were cases of usurpation. Oftentimes, usurpers would seek to portray their predecessors as having relinquished

2675-624: The Ming–Qing transition , most notably the Shun and the Xi dynasties proclaimed by Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong respectively. This change of ruling houses was a convoluted and prolonged affair, and the Qing took almost two decades to extend their rule over the entirety of China proper. Similarly, during the earlier Sui–Tang transition , numerous regimes established by rebel forces vied for control and legitimacy as

2782-564: The National Protection War , resulting in the premature collapse of the regime 101 days later. The Manchu Restoration (AD 1917) was an unsuccessful attempt at reviving the Qing dynasty, lasting merely 11 days. Similarly, the Manchukuo (AD 1932–1945; monarchy since AD 1934), a puppet state of the Empire of Japan during World War II with limited diplomatic recognition, is not regarded as

2889-575: The Northern Zhou is also sometimes referred to as the "Northern Zhou dynasty". Often, scholars would refer to a specific Chinese dynasty by attaching the word "China" after the dynastic name. For instance, "Tang China" refers to the Chinese state under the rule of the Tang dynasty and the corresponding historical era. While the earliest orthodox Chinese dynasties were established along the Yellow River and

2996-522: The Qiang and Xianbei , were not fully loyal to his regime. However, Fu Jiān did not listen, and to address Wang Meng's latter concern, he relocated many of the Qiang and Xianbei people to live near the capital while moving the Di to newly-controlled territories, hoping to integrate the various ethnic groups. In 378, Former Qin forces besieged Xiangyang and attacked Pengcheng . Although Xiangyang fell to Qin in 379,

3103-448: The Qing dynasty explicitly identified their state with and employed " Zhōngguó "—and its Manchu equivalent " Dulimbai Gurun " ( ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳ ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ )—in official capacity in numerous international treaties beginning with the Treaty of Nerchinsk dated AD 1689, its dynastic name had remained the "Great Qing". " Zhōngguó ", which has become nearly synonymous with "China" in modern times,

3210-795: The Qing dynasty succeeded the Ming dynasty in possessing the Mandate of Heaven . However, the Qing dynasty was officially proclaimed in AD 1636 by the Emperor Taizong of Qing through renaming the Later Jin established in AD 1616, while the Ming imperial family would rule the Southern Ming until AD 1662. The Ming loyalist Kingdom of Tungning based in Taiwan continued to oppose the Qing until AD 1683. Meanwhile, other factions also fought for control over China during

3317-604: The Republic of China on Taiwan . Dynastic rule in China collapsed in AD 1912 when the Republic of China superseded the Qing dynasty following the success of the Xinhai Revolution. While there were attempts after the Xinhai Revolution to reinstate dynastic rule in China, they were unsuccessful at consolidating their rule and gaining political legitimacy. During the Xinhai Revolution, there were numerous proposals advocating for

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3424-762: The Shang dynasty , before its conquest of the Shang which led to the establishment of the Zhou dynasty , is referred to as the Predynastic Zhou or Proto-Zhou. Similarly, the state of Qin that existed during the Zhou dynasty before its wars of unification and the establishment of the Qin dynasty in 221 BC is also referred to as the Predynastic Qin or Proto-Qin. The rise and fall of dynasties

3531-619: The Sui dynasty is known as such because its formal name was "Sui". Likewise, the Jin dynasty was officially the "Great Jin". When more than one dynasty shared the same Chinese character(s) as their formal name, as was common in Chinese history, prefixes are retroactively applied to dynastic names by historians in order to distinguish between these similarly-named regimes. Frequently used prefixes include: A dynasty could be referred to by more than one retroactive name in Chinese historiography, albeit some are more widely used than others. For instance,

3638-621: The Three Kingdoms , the Sixteen Kingdoms , the Northern and Southern dynasties , and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms periods, among others. Relations between Chinese dynasties during periods of division often revolved around political legitimacy , which was derived from the doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven . Dynasties ruled by ethnic Han would proclaim rival dynasties founded by other ethnicities as illegitimate, usually justified based on

3745-726: The Western Han is also known as the "Former Han", and the Yang Wu is also called the "Southern Wu". Scholars usually make a historiographical distinction for dynasties whose rule were interrupted. For example, the Song dynasty is divided into the Northern Song and the Southern Song , with the Jingkang Incident as the dividing line; the original "Song" founded by the Emperor Taizu of Song

3852-547: The Yangtze in China proper, numerous Chinese dynasties later expanded beyond the region to encompass other territorial domains. At various points in time, Chinese dynasties exercised control over China proper (including Hainan , Macau , and Hong Kong ), Taiwan , Manchuria (both Inner Manchuria and Outer Manchuria ), Sakhalin , Mongolia (both Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia ), Vietnam , Tibet , Xinjiang , as well as parts of Central Asia ,

3959-558: The Yellow River , stoppinging Fangtou (枋頭, in modern Hebi , Henan ) -- and again hesitated there at crossing the Yellow River and attacking Yecheng, not far away. Murong Wei and Empress Dowager Kezuhun were panicking and planning to flee back to the old capital Helong (和龍, in modern Jinzhou , Liaoning ), but Murong Wei's uncle Murong Chui the Prince of Wu offered to make one last attempt to resist Huan. Murong Chui and his brother Murong De engaged Huan, dealing him minor losses. Meanwhile,

4066-510: The Zhou dynasty , ruling for a total length of about 790 years, albeit it is divided into the Western Zhou and the Eastern Zhou in Chinese historiography. The largest orthodox Chinese dynasty in terms of territorial size was either the Yuan dynasty or the Qing dynasty , depending on the historical source. The term " Tiāncháo " ( 天朝 ; "Celestial Dynasty" or "Heavenly Dynasty")

4173-460: The nine bestowments on him, and then he could take the throne. Once, he had asked the fortuneteller Du Jiong (杜炅), who had a reputation for accurate prophecies, to see what he could achieve. Du's response was, "Your achievements are as great as the universe, and you will reach the highest rank among imperial subjects." This made Huan rather unhappy, as he hoped to be more than an imperial subject. After recovering Shouchun, he asked Xi Chao whether

4280-518: The Ba River (灞水), just east of Chang'an. As the situation stalemated, Huan began to run out of food supplies was forced to withdraw. He invited Wang to withdraw with him, but Wang declined, apparently believing that Huan was not the right person to follow. (Wang would eventually become the prime minister of the Former Qin emperor Fu Jiān a decade later.) In 356, Huan submitted a petition requesting that

4387-539: The Central Plain. This term could refer to dynasties of both Han and non-Han ethnic origins. "Unified dynasties" ( 大一統王朝 ; dàyītǒng wángcháo ) refer to dynasties of China, regardless of their ethnic origin, that achieved the unification of China proper. "China proper" is a region generally regarded as the traditional heartland of the Han people, and is not equivalent to the term "China". Imperial dynasties that had attained

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4494-553: The Di tribes as the Colonel Who Protects the Di (護氐校尉) and was highly favoured as a general and advisor by Shi Hu. After Shi Hu's death in 349, Pu Hong was involved in instigating the Later Zhao princes' internecine struggle for the throne by supporting Shi Zun against Shi Shi . He then took advantage of the confusion to lead his armies west towards Guanzhong, where he planned to establish an independent state. In accordance to

4601-717: The Duke of Lüeyang. He became a vassal after the Former Zhao dynasty entered the Guanzhong region, and later submitted to the Jie -led Later Zhao dynasty after they vanquished the former in 329. When Shi Hu seized power in 333, Pu Hong convinced him to resettle the various Di and Qiang tribes in Guanzhong to live around the capital region in Xiangguo. Pu Hong and his family were moved to Fangtou (枋頭, in modern Hebi , Henan ), where he supervised

4708-541: The Grand Marshal, under the precedents of Zhuge Liang and Wang Dao ," greatly reducing any legitimacy Huan might have if he should try to take the throne. Emperor Jianwen soon died, and was succeeded by his son Sima Yao the Crown Prince (as Emperor Xiaowu ). With Huan not in the capital, actual power at the capital soon slipped into the hands of Xie An and Wang Tanzhi, a situation that greatly displeased Huan, who, however, when again summoned by Emperor Xiaowu and Empress Dowager Chu to serve as regent, declined. He did visit

4815-417: The Jin army's food supply was running out (as a supply plan that Huan put Yuan in charge of was failing in light of the failure to build a canal quickly). Huan began to withdraw, and Murong Chui and Murong De set up a trap for Huan's army, nearly annihilating it. Soon, Former Qin forces, from which Former Yan had sought assistance from, also arrived, and Huan was dealt another major defeat. Huan, humiliated at

4922-429: The Luoyang region for Jin. He, in 362, reproposed the idea of moving the capital back to Luoyang, but the imperial government again declined. For the next few years, Huan largely spent his effort in securing his power, as he invited many capable people to join his staff, including Xie An , Wang Tanzhi , Xi Chao , Wang Xun , and Xie Xuan . He did not carry out another northern campaign, apparently not willing to face

5029-810: The People's Republic of China based in Beijing and the Republic of China based in Taipei . Both regimes formally adhere to the One-China principle and claim to be the sole legitimate representative of the whole of China. There were several groups of Chinese dynasties that were ruled by families with patrilineal relations , yet due to various reasons these regimes are considered to be separate dynasties and given distinct retroactive names for historiographical purpose. Such conditions as differences in their official dynastic title and fundamental changes having occurred to their rule would necessitate nomenclatural distinction in academia, despite these ruling clans having shared common ancestral origins. Additionally, numerous other dynasties claimed descent from earlier dynasties as

5136-431: The Sixteen Kingdoms, and the Northern and Southern dynasties periods. Traditionally, as most Chinese historiographical sources uphold the idea of unilineal dynastic succession, only one dynasty could be considered orthodox at any given time. Most historical sources consider the legitimate line of succession to be as follows: These historical legitimacy disputes are similar to the modern competing claims of legitimacy by

5243-405: The Sui launched a decade-long military campaign to reunify China proper. Frequently, remnants and descendants of previous dynasties were either purged or granted noble titles in accordance with the " two crownings, three respects " system. The latter served as a means for the reigning dynasty to claim legitimate succession from earlier dynasties. For example, the Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei

5350-423: The Western Yan. His brief reign came to an end after he was killed by Jin forces while trying to capture Luoyang in 386. At Nan'an Commandery (南安郡; southeast of present-day Longxi County , Gansu ) in the Guanzhong, a distant cousin of Fu Jiān, Fu Deng was acclaimed the new emperor after news of Fu Pi's death. Throughout his reign, Fu Deng fought with the Later Qin, finding much success early on before suffering

5457-467: The Yuan dynasty reached as far north as the Arctic coast, with its western boundary with the Golden Horde in Siberia delimited by the Ob and the Irtysh . In contrast, the borders of the Qing dynasty were demarcated and reinforced through a series of international treaties, and thus were more well-defined. Apart from exerting direct control over the Chinese realm, various dynasties of China also maintained hegemony over other states and tribes through

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5564-404: The aim of restoring his family's former state. Chui's rebellion encouraged his nephew, Murong Hong , to revolt around Chang'an, and their state was known as the Western Yan . Fu Jiān attempted to quell the uprisings, but soon, his Qiang general, Yao Chang also rebelled north of the Wei River , founding the Later Qin dynasty . Fu Jiān was besieged in Chang'an by Western Yan forces and later fled

5671-469: The ambitious Huan intended to control the government. Emperor Mu's granduncle Sima Yu , Prince of Kuaiji , in order to counter Huan, invited a renowned official, Yin Hao , to join in major decision-making with him and Cai Mo . This brought a rivalry that Huan and Yin had since their youth (when both were viewed as up-and-coming talent) into the open. The rivalry intensified after Yin seized more power late in 350 after accusing Cai of being disrespectful to

5778-514: The ancient capital of Chang'an , he declared independence from Jin by claiming the title of Heavenly King of Qin. Fu Jiàn further elevated himself to Emperor of Qin in 352. During his reign, he expanded his state by defeating remnants of the Later Zhao and wresting for control over the Longxi region with the Former Liang . His most serious challenge was in 354, when the Eastern Jin dynasty commander, Huan Wen launched his first northern expedition against them. Fu Jiàn barely repelled him using

5885-473: The assault on Pengcheng was defeated by the Jin general, Xie Xuan . In 383, aiming to unify China and despite opposition from most of his ministers, Fu Jiān invaded Jin with a massive army, with records claiming to be at 1 million strong. The Former Qin captured Shouchun before facing the Jin army led by Xie An at the Battle of Fei River . During the battle, Zhu Xu , a Former Qin general who had been captured from Jin, betrayed Fu Jiān by shouting "The Qin army

5992-474: The capable Former Yan general Murong Ke in battle. (Indeed, when Murong Ke's brother, the Former Yan emperor Murong Jun died in 360 and was succeeded by his young son Murong Wei , contrary to the optimism that many Jin officials had that with Murong Jun out of the way that Former Yan would be weakened, Huan commented, "Murong Ke is still alive, and I am afraid that we have an even greater problem.") In 364, Emperor Ai , who succeeded Emperor Mu in 361, suffered

6099-502: The capital be moved back to Luoyang —the capital until its fall in 311 to Han-Zhao - but the imperial government declined, instead ordering him to first attack Yao Xiang, who had taken many cities in the Luoyang region after rebelling against Yin Hao earlier. Huan advanced his troops to Luoyang and faced Yao in battle, and he eluded a trap Yao laid for him and dealt Yao a major defeat, forcing Yao to head west. (Yao would eventually be captured and killed by Former Qin in 357.) Huan secured

6206-523: The capital in 373, and there was a rumor that he would execute Wang and Xie and then seize the throne. As Wang and Xie greeted him, however, he did not carry out the rumored actions, and after visiting the young emperor, returned to his base at Gushu (姑孰, in modern Ma'anshan , Anhui ). He grew ill in fall 373, and, after entrusting matters to his brother Huan Chong, died. His domain was divided into three parts, governed by Huan Chong, another brother Huan Huo , and his nephew Huan Shixiu (桓石秀). As Huan Chong

6313-545: The child was special. Huan Yi, because Wen had a high opinion of the child, thus named his son Wen, after Wen Jiao's family name. After knowing of the name, Wen Jiao laughed and said, "I'll have to change my surname in the future." In c. August 328, during the rebellion of Su Jun , Huan Yi tried to resist Su's forces, but was defeated and killed by Su's general Han Huang , who received help from Huan Yi's subordinate Jiang Bo (江播). In 329, after Jiang had already died, Huan Wen killed Jiang's sons to avenge his father, and this

6420-423: The city due to the food shortages in 385. However, he was then captured by Yao Chang, who had him executed after he refused to formally pass the throne. Rebellions continued to break out in other parts of the empire. In 385, the Qifu-Xianbei tribe formed the Western Qin dynasty in the Longxi and the Chouchi state was restored. In 386, Lü Guang, returning from the Western Regions, seized Liang province and founded

6527-444: The commander of the military forces in the western provinces (roughly modern Hubei , Hunan , Guizhou , and Yunnan ), even though some other imperial officials had misgivings about Huan's ambitions and independence. Soon after taking over for Yu, the ambitious Huan turned his attention west, wanting to destroy Cheng-Han, whose emperor Li Shi had mismanaged his state and lost the trust of his people. Most generals had concerns about

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6634-583: The concept of Hua–Yi distinction . On the other hand, many dynasties of non-Han origin saw themselves as the legitimate dynasty of China and often sought to portray themselves as the true inheritor of Chinese culture and history. Traditionally, only regimes deemed as "legitimate" or "orthodox" ( 正統 ; zhèngtǒng ) are termed cháo ( 朝 ; "dynasty"); "illegitimate" or "unorthodox" regimes are referred to as guó ( 國 ; usually translated as either "state" or "kingdom" ), even if these regimes were dynastic in nature. Such legitimacy disputes existed during

6741-412: The contemporaneous Liao dynasty while the Western Xia exercised partial control over Hetao ; the Northern Song, in this sense, did not truly achieve the unification of China proper. According to the historian and sinologist Karl August Wittfogel , dynasties of China founded by non-Han peoples that ruled parts or all of China proper could be classified into two types, depending on the means by which

6848-445: The easy-going Sima Yu would be easy to control. Meanwhile, he carried out several acts intended to both terrorize imperial officials and to affirm his power—he deposed Emperor Jianwen's brother Sima Xi (司馬唏) the Prince of Wuling, and killed many members of the honored Yin and Yu clans under false accusations of treason. (He wanted to kill Sima Xi as well, but Emperor Jianwen wrote humble letters to him begging for Sima Xi's life, and Huan

6955-428: The emperor (by repeatedly declining an honor that was being bestowed on him) and demoting Cai to commoner status. Over the next few years, as Later Zhao collapsed in the midst of internecine wars between the emperor Shi Hu 's sons and adoptive grandson Shi Min after Shi Hu's death in 349, Huan repeatedly requested the imperial government to authorize him to advance north to try to recover northern China for Jin, but he

7062-472: The establishment of dynastic rule by Yu the Great c.  2070 BC , and ending with the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor in AD 1912, Chinese historiography came to organize itself around the succession of monarchical dynasties. Besides those established by the dominant Han ethnic group or its spiritual Huaxia predecessors, dynasties throughout Chinese history were also founded by non-Han peoples. Dividing Chinese history into dynastic epochs

7169-442: The first two were interrupted by the Later Qin , while the continuity of the latter was broken by the Wu Zhou . In Chinese sources, the term "dynasty" ( 朝 ; cháo ) is usually omitted when referencing dynasties that have prefixes in their historiographical names. Such a practice is sometimes adopted in English usage, even though the inclusion of the word "dynasty" is also widely seen in English scholarly writings. For example,

7276-446: The following dynasties to have unified China proper: the Qin dynasty , the Western Han , the Xin dynasty , the Eastern Han , the Western Jin , the Sui dynasty , the Tang dynasty , the Wu Zhou , the Northern Song , the Yuan dynasty , the Ming dynasty , and the Qing dynasty . The status of the Northern Song as a unified dynasty is disputed among historians as the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were partially administered by

7383-451: The following periods: Traditionally, periods of disunity often resulted in heated debates among officials and historians over which prior dynasties could and should be considered orthodox, given that it was politically imperative for a dynasty to present itself as being linked in an unbroken lineage of moral and political authority back to ancient times. However, the Northern Song statesman Ouyang Xiu propounded that such orthodoxy existed in

7490-411: The formal end of the Former Qin dynasty. During the fall of Former Qin, the Fu clan became dispersed throughout China. Fu Hóng , a son of Fu Jiān, fled to the Eastern Jin, where he became a confidant of the usurper Huan Xuan before being killed in battle in 405. The Later Yan welcomed members of the Fu clan to surrender, with two of them, the sisters Fu Song'e and Fu Xunying , becoming empresses to

7597-470: The geographic barriers that isolated Cheng-Han (which occupied modern Sichuan and Chongqing ) from Jin, and that Later Zhao might make a surprise attack if it realized that Jin's forces were attacking Cheng-Han. Late in 346, he launched the campaign. Li Shi sent his uncle Li Fu (李福), cousin Li Quan (李權), and Zan Jian (昝堅) to lead his forces to resist Huan, but Huan defeated Li Fu and then, abandoning most of his supplies and traveling light, quickly arrived in

7704-414: The greatest defeat in his career, deflected blame by accusing Yuan of being unable to supply food and ordered that Yuan be demoted to commoner status. Yuan, instead of submitting, occupied Shouchun (壽春, in modern Lu'an , Anhui ) and rebelled, seeking assistance from both Former Yan and Former Qin. With Huan's forces having been severely defeated, Yuan was able to hold Shouchun. He died in spring 370, and

7811-726: The history of the preceding dynasty, culminating in the Twenty-Four Histories . This tradition was maintained even after the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty in favor of the Republic of China . However, the attempt by the Republicans to draft the history of the Qing was disrupted by the Chinese Civil War , which resulted in the political division of China into the People's Republic of China on mainland China and

7918-617: The humiliation at the Battle of Fangtou had been removed—and Xi honestly told him that it had not. Instead, they planned an alternate strategy to try to showcase Huan's power—deposing Emperor Fei . Because Emperor Fei had been cautious in his behavior and lacked faults, they decided to spread rumors that Emperor Fei was impotent and unable to bear children—and that his sons, by his concubines Consort Tian and Consort Meng, had in fact been biological sons of men whom he favored, Xiang Long (相龍), Ji Hao (計好), and Zhu Lingbao (朱靈寶). (The rumors also implied

8025-496: The identities of the ruling ethnicities. For example, the Liao dynasty and the Yuan dynasty , ruled by the Khitan and Mongol peoples respectively, are considered conquest dynasties of China. These terms remain sources of controversy among scholars who believe that Chinese history should be analyzed and understood from a multiethnic and multicultural perspective. It was customary for Chinese monarchs to adopt an official name for

8132-409: The last ruler, Murong Xi . In Chouchi , Fu Chong's son, Fu Xuan , was made a military general. Ganlu (甘露) 359–364 Jianyuan (建元) 365–385 ¹ Fu Sheng was posthumously given the title " wang " even though he had reigned as emperor. Dynasties of China For most of its history, China was organized into various dynastic states under the rule of hereditary monarchs . Beginning with

8239-604: The power of the ruling Sui dynasty weakened. Autonomous regimes that existed during this period of upheaval included, but not limited to, Wei ( 魏 ; by Li Mi ), Qin ( 秦 ; by Xue Ju ), Qi ( 齊 ; by Gao Tancheng), Xu ( 許 ; by Yuwen Huaji ), Liang ( 梁 ; by Shen Faxing ), Liang ( 梁 ; by Liang Shidu ), Xia ( 夏 ; by Dou Jiande ), Zheng ( 鄭 ; by Wang Shichong ), Chu ( 楚 ; by Zhu Can ), Chu ( 楚 ; by Lin Shihong ), Wu ( 吳 ; by Li Zitong ), Yan ( 燕 ; by Gao Kaidao ), and Song ( 宋 ; by Fu Gongshi ). The Tang dynasty that superseded

8346-481: The precedent of the Duke of Zhou ," and "If the child can be assisted, assist him; otherwise, take the throne yourself," mirroring language that Liu Bei , the founding emperor of Shu Han , used when entrusting his son Liu Shan to Zhuge Liang . With Huan not in the capital to affirm it, however, Wang Tanzhi persuaded Emperor Jianwen to tear up the will and rewrite the instructions as, "All major affairs shall be submitted to

8453-405: The realm, even though in practice their actual power was dependent on numerous factors. By tradition, the Chinese throne was inherited exclusively by members of the male line, but there were numerous cases whereby the consort kins came to possess de facto power at the expense of the monarchs. This concept, known as jiā tiānxià ( 家天下 ; "All under Heaven belongs to the ruling family"),

8560-403: The realm, known as the guóhào ( 國號 ; "name of the state"), upon the establishment of a dynasty. During the rule of a dynasty, its guóhào functioned as the formal name of the state, both internally and for diplomatic purposes. The formal name of Chinese dynasties was usually derived from one of the following sources: There were instances whereby the official name was changed during

8667-412: The reign of a dynasty. For example, the dynasty known retroactively as Southern Han initially used the name "Yue", only to be renamed to "Han" subsequently. The official title of several dynasties bore the character " dà " ( 大 ; "great"). In Yongzhuang Xiaopin by the Ming historian Zhu Guozhen , it was claimed that the first dynasty to do so was the Yuan dynasty. However, several sources like

8774-672: The replacement of the Manchu -led Qing dynasty by a new dynasty of Han ethnicity. Kong Lingyi ( 孔令貽 ), the Duke of Yansheng and a 76th-generation descendant of Confucius , was identified as a potential candidate for Chinese emperorship by Liang Qichao . Meanwhile, gentry in Anhui and Hebei supported a restoration of the Ming dynasty under Zhu Yuxun ( 朱煜勳 ), the Marquis of Extended Grace . Both suggestions were ultimately rejected. The Empire of China (AD 1915–1916) proclaimed by Yuan Shikai sparked

8881-817: The ruling ethnic groups had entered China proper. "Infiltration dynasties" or "dynasties of infiltration" ( 滲透王朝 ; shèntòu wángcháo ) refer to Chinese dynasties founded by non-Han ethnicities that tended towards accepting Han culture and assimilating into the Han-dominant society. For instance, the Han-Zhao and the Northern Wei , established by the Xiongnu and Xianbei ethnicities respectively, are considered infiltration dynasties of China. "Conquest dynasties" or "dynasties of conquest" ( 征服王朝 ; zhēngfú wángcháo ) refer to dynasties of China established by non-Han peoples that tended towards resisting Han culture and preserving

8988-562: The state's initial dependence on mercantile towards agrarian policies by promoting agriculture, building irrigation facilities along with resettling the Xiongnu and Xianbei people to work on the farmlands. Imperial power was centralized by reorganizing the bureaucracy and cracking down on powerful, corrupt nobles and officials. He also emphasized education and restored many of the traditional Chinese rituals. Fu Jiān's early reign dealt with internal revolts by his dukes and vassal warlords, but by 368, these issues had largely been dealt with. At

9095-403: The throne willingly—akin to the abdication system of throne succession—as a means to legitimize their rule. One might incorrectly infer from viewing historical timelines that transitions between dynasties occurred abruptly and roughly. Rather, new dynasties were often established before the complete overthrow of an existing regime. For example, AD 1644 is frequently cited as the year in which

9202-504: The time, his main rivals were the Former Yan to the east, led by the Murong - Xianbei , and the Eastern Jin in the south. In 369, taking advantage of Former Yan's vulnerability, Former Qin forces led by Wang Meng launched an invasion, and by the end of 370, all of Yan was conquered. In 371, Qin conquered Chouchi , and in 373, they captured Sichuan from Jin. Qin's unification of northern China

9309-540: The title "Heavenly King" ( Tian Wang ). He was nonetheless posthumously considered an emperor by the Former Qin imperial court. The Fu clan of Lüeyang Commandery were originally had the surname Pu (蒲) and claimed descent from the legendary Youhu tribe (有扈) that once dwelled near Chang'an during the Xia dynasty according to records. During the fall of Western Jin , many refugees fled to join them, prompting their chieftain, Pu Hong to declare independence by proclaiming himself

9416-654: The unification of China proper may be known as the "Chinese Empire" or the "Empire of China" ( 中華帝國 ; Zhōnghuá Dìguó ). The concept of "great unity" or "grand unification" ( 大一統 ; dàyītǒng ) was first mentioned in the Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals that was supposedly authored by the Qi scholar Gongyang Gao. Other prominent figures like Confucius and Mencius also elaborated on this concept in their respective works. Historians typically consider

9523-526: The vicinity of Cheng-Han's capital Chengdu . Zan Jian's forces, in fear, collapsed, instead of being able to regroup to try to save Chengdu. However, Li Shi gathered the remaining troops and mounted a counterattack that was initially successful. Huan, in fear, ordered retreat—but his signal officer, in panic, beat his drums (signifying attack) rather than his gong (signifying retreat). The Jin forces attacked harder and defeated Cheng-Han forces, allowing Huan to march upon Chengdu's gates. Li Shi fled, but soon had

9630-454: The way to the vicinity of Former Qin's capital Chang'an —but Huan hesitated at making one final assault against Chang'an. It was at this time that Huan met Wang Meng , who came to see him. Huan was impressed at Wang's knowledge and tactics, and he asked Wang why the people of the Qin lands were not shifting their allegiance to Jin, and Wang pointed out that the people were not sure what Huan's intentions were, given that he hesitated at crossing

9737-469: Was Chang'an up to Fu Jiān's death in 385. The prefix "Former" is used to distinguish it from the Later Qin and Western Qin dynasties that were founded later. In 383, the severe defeat of the Former Qin by the Jin dynasty at the Battle of Fei River encouraged uprisings, splitting Former Qin territory into two noncontiguous pieces after the death of Fu Jiān. One remnant, at present-day Taiyuan , Shanxi

9844-631: Was accorded the title "Prince of Zhongshan" by the Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi following the latter's deposition of the former. Similarly, Chai Yong, a nephew of the Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou , was conferred the title "Duke of Chongyi" by the Emperor Renzong of Song ; other descendants of the Later Zhou ruling house came to inherit the noble title thereafter. According to Chinese historiographical tradition, each new dynasty would compose

9951-487: Was an act that brought him great fame. As he was considered capable, and his father had died for the imperial cause, he was selected as the husband for Emperor Cheng 's sister Sima Xingnan (司馬興男) the Princess Nankang. He inherited his father's title of "Baron of Wanning", and he gradually rose in rank, eventually becoming the governor of Xu Province (徐州, then modern central Jiangsu ). Emperor Cheng's uncle Yu Yi (庾翼)

10058-516: Was completed in 376, when they conquered Former Liang and Dai . Fu Jiān treated his defeated enemies with leniency and allowed them to serve in his administration. Former Qin also began receiving envoys from various states including Silla and Goguryeo . While upholding Confucianism, Fu Jiān also expressed interest in Buddhism . In 379, he welcomed the Buddhist monk, Dao'an into his court and made him

10165-457: Was extended to refer to the regime of the incumbent ruler. Terms commonly used when discussing historical Chinese dynasties include: As the founder of China's first orthodox dynasty, the Xia dynasty , Yu the Great is conventionally regarded as the inaugurator of dynastic rule in China. In the Chinese dynastic system, sovereign rulers theoretically possessed absolute power and private ownership of

10272-536: Was frequently employed as a self-reference by Chinese dynasties. As a form of respect and subordination, Chinese tributary states referred to these dynasties as " Tiāncháo Shàngguó " ( 天朝上國 ; "Celestial Dynasty of the Exalted State") or " Tiāncháo Dàguó " ( 天朝大國 ; "Celestial Dynasty of the Great State"). The Chinese character 朝 ( cháo ) originally meant "morning" or "today". Subsequently, its scope

10379-429: Was impressed with his talent, and often endorsed him for even greater responsibilities. During Emperor Kang 's brief reign, Huan was one of the few officials who supported Yu's plan for a northern campaign against Later Zhao in 343, although Yu's plan was never actually carried out. After Yu's death in 345 (during the reign of Emperor Mu , then a toddler), the chancellor He Chong commissioned Huan to succeed Yu, as

10486-410: Was in contrast to the pre-Xia notion of gōng tiānxià ( 公天下 ; "All under Heaven belongs to the public") whereby leadership succession was non-hereditary and based on the abdication system . There may also be a predynastic period before a regime managed to overthrow the existing dynasty which led to the official establishment of the new dynasty. For example, the state of Zhou that existed during

10593-414: Was in even greater distress. Former Qin relief forces, sent in spring 371, were defeated by Huan. Huan then captured Shouchun and slaughtered Yuan's clan, along with the clan of his supporter Zhu Fu (朱輔). Huan had long considered seizing the Jin throne, and his original plan had been that if he had been able to destroy Former Yan, he would then return to Jiankang and force the imperial government to confer

10700-471: Was loyal to the imperial government, the threats of a Huan usurpation dissipated. (When, on his deathbed, Huan Wen was asked by Huan Chong what to do with Wang and Xie, his response was, "They will not let you handle them," meaning that while Wang and Xie were not daring to disobey him while alive, they would not obey Huan Chong after his death, and that killing them would not be helpful to Huan Chong either.) Despite imperial officials' secret happiness that Huan

10807-567: Was now largely in the hands of Murong Wei's granduncle Murong Ping the Prince of Shangyong, regarded as incompetent and corrupt, and Murong Wei's mother Empress Dowager Kezuhun . In 369, he launched the campaign, in conjunction with Xi Chao's father Xi Yin (郗愔), his brother Huan Chong , and Yuan Zhen , although he soon seized Xi Yin's troops and put them under his own command. Despite Xi Chao's advice that he head directly for Former Yan's capital Yecheng , Huan proceeded slowly, defeating Former Yan's troops repeatedly but taking three months to reach

10914-481: Was overthrown in a coup in 357 led his cousin, Fu Jiān (note the different pinyin from his uncle and first ruler, Fu Jiàn). After Fu Jiān ascended the throne, he changed the imperial title back to Heavenly King. Although a Di, he had a strong background in Confucian education and employed many Han Chinese officials, the most prominent being his Prime Minister, Wang Meng . With the help of Wang Meng, Fu Jiān shifted

11021-491: Was repeatedly rebuffed, even after a campaign by Emperor Mu's maternal grandfather Chu Pou (褚裒) ended badly. Around the new year 352, Huan, upset that his requests were being repeatedly denied, mobilized his troops and gestured as if he were about to attack the capital. Yin was shocked, and initially considered either resigning or send the imperial banner of peace (Zouyu Fan, 騶虞幡) to order Huan to stop. After advice from Wang Biaozhi (王彪之), however, he instead asked Sima Yu to write

11128-505: Was soon overwhelmed in 386 by the Xianbei under the Later Yan , Western Yan and the Dingling . The other struggled in greatly reduced territories around the border of present-day Shaanxi and Gansu until its final disintegration in 394 following years of invasions by Western Qin and Later Qin . All rulers of Former Qin proclaimed themselves " Emperor ", except for Fu Jiān who only claimed

11235-435: Was succeeded by his son Yuan Qin . Huan's forces, under his generals Zhu Yao (竺瑤) and Huan Shiqian were able to defeat Former Yan and Former Qin forces sent in aid of Yuan Qin. In fall 370, Huan himself arrived at Shouchun and surrounded it. At that time, Former Yan was under a major attack by Former Qin's prime minister Wang Meng, and Former Yan forces withdrew. After Former Yan fell to Former Qin later that year, Shouchun

11342-574: Was therefore differentiated from the "Song" restored under the Emperor Gaozong of Song . In such cases, the regime had collapsed, only to be re-established; a nomenclatural distinction between the original regime and the new regime is thus necessary for historiographical purpose. Major exceptions to this historiographical practice include the Western Qin , the Southern Liang , and the Tang dynasty ;

11449-402: Was unable to insist on Sima Xi's death.) In 372, Emperor Jianwen grew ill, and he issued four successive edits summoning Huan to the capital—a strong indicator that he was willing to yield the throne to Huan—but Huan declined each time, apparently believing that the edicts were a trap. Indeed, Emperor Jianwen initially drafted a will that stated, "The Grand Marshal Huan Wen shall be regent under

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