The king or wang (王 wang2) was the Chinese head of state from the Zhou to Qin dynasties. After that, Wang (sometimes translated "prince") became merely the head of the hierarchy of noble ranks. The title was commonly given to members of the Emperor's family and could be inherited. f The characters huang (皇 huang "godking") and di (帝 "sage king") were used separately and never consecutively (see Three Huang and five Di) and reserved for mythological rulers until the first emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huang). The Emperor or huangdi (皇帝 in pinyin: huang2 di4) of China then became the title of head of state of China from the Qin dynasty (221) to the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. This article is about Wang as a surname. ... A head of state or chief of state is the chief public representative of a nation-state, federation or commonwealth, whose role generally includes personifying the continuity and legitimacy of the state and exercising the political powers, functions and duties granted to the head of state in the countrys... Alternative meaning: Zhou Dynasty (690 CE - 705 CE) The Zhou Dynasty (周朝; Wade-Giles: Chou Dynasty) (late 10th century BC to late 9th century BC - 256 BC) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... The Qin Dynasty (Wade-Giles) (秦朝 221 BC - 207 BC) was preceded by the Zhou Dynasty and followed by the Han Dynasty in China. ... The Three August Ones and Five Emperors (Chinese: 三皇五帝; pinyin: sānhuáng wǔdì, Wade-Giles: san-huang wu-ti) were mythological rulers of China during the period preceding the Xia dynasty from 2500 BC to 2205 BC. The Three August Ones The Three August Ones, sometimes known as the Three Sovereigns... Chinese mythology is the mythology of Chinese civilization. ... Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) (November or December 260 BC - September 10, 210 BC), personal name Zheng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 BC to 221 BC, and then the first emperor of a unified China from 221 BC to 210 BC, ruling under the name First... The king or wang (王 wang2) was the Chinese head of state from the Zhou to Qin dynasties. ... Pinyin (拼音, pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin used in the... The Great Wall of China, stretching over 6,700 km, was erected beginning in the 3rd century BC to guard the north from raids by men on horses. ... A head of state or chief of state is the chief public representative of a nation-state, federation or commonwealth, whose role generally includes personifying the continuity and legitimacy of the state and exercising the political powers, functions and duties granted to the head of state in the countrys... The Qin Dynasty (Wade-Giles) (秦朝 221 BC - 207 BC) was preceded by the Zhou Dynasty and followed by the Han Dynasty in China. ... Events June 26 - Roman Emperor Elagabalus adopts Alexander Severus as his heir. ... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner Asia, establishing the... A database query syntax error has occurred. ...

From the Han dynasty, huangdi was abbreviated to huang or di. Qing (卿);, Daifu (大夫) and Shi (仕) became synonyms for court officials. The Han Dynasty (Traditional Chinese characters: 漢朝, Simplified Chinese characters: 汉朝, pinyin Hàncháo 202 BC - AD 220) followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. ... Abbreviation (from Latin brevis short) is strictly a shortening, but more particularly, an abbreviation is a letter or group of letters, taken from a word or words, and employed to represent them for the sake of brevity. ... Synonyms (in ancient Greek syn συν = plus and onoma όνομα = name) are different words with similar or identical meanings. ...

Although formally the son of heaven, the power of the emperor varied between emperors and dynasties, with some emperors being absolute rulers and others being figureheads with actual power lying in the hands of court factions, eunuchs, the bureaucracy or noble families. A eunuch is a castrated human male. ...

The title of emperor was transmitted from father to son. Usually the first born of the queen inherited the office, but this rule was not universal and disputes over succession were the cause of a number of civil wars. Unlike the Emperor of Japan, Chinese political theory allowed for a change in dynasty and an emperor could be replaced by a rebel leader. It was generally not possible for a female to succeed to the throne and in the history of China there has only been one reigning Empress, Wu Zetian of the Tang dynasty. His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Akihito of Japan The Emperor of Japan (天皇, tennō) is Japans titular head of state and the head of the Japanese imperial family. ... Wu Zetian (武則天) (625 - December 16, 705), personal name Wu Zhao (武曌), was the only female emperor in the history of China, founding her own dynasty, the Zhou (周), and ruling under the name Emperor Shengshen (聖神皇帝) from 690 to 705. ... Tang Dynasty (唐朝 618-907) followed the Sui Dynasty and preceded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. ...

How to read the titles of a Chinese sovereign

All sovereigns are denoted by a string of Chinese characters. Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ...

Examples:

1. Hàn Gāo Zǔ Liú Bāng (漢 高祖 劉邦)
   
2. Táng Tài Zōng Lǐ Shì Mín (唐 太宗 李世民)
   
3. Wèi Wǔ Dì Cáo Cāo (魏 武帝 曹操)
   
4. Hòu Hàn Gāo Zǔ Liú Zhī Yuǎn (後漢 高祖 劉知遠)
   
5. Hàn Guāng Wǔ Dì Liú Xiù (漢 光武帝 劉秀)
   

The first character(s) are the name of the dynasty or kingdom. e.g. Hàn, Táng, Wèi and Hòu Hàn.

Then come the characters of how the sovereign is commonly called, in most of the times the posthumous names or the temple names. e.g. Gāo Zǔ, Tài Zōng, Wǔ Dì, Guāng Wǔ Dì. A posthumous name (諡號/謚號 Pinyin: shì hào; Romaji: shigō/tsuigō; Revised Romanization of Korean: siho) is a honorary name given to royalty in some cultures posthumously, that is, after the persons death. ... Temple names (廟號 or less commonly 庙號 Pinyin: miào hào;), are commonly used when naming most Chinese and certain Korean rulers. ...

Then follow the characters of their family and given names. e.g. Liú Bāng, Lǐ Shì Mín, Cáo Cāo, Liú Zhī Yuǎn and Liú Xiù.

In contemporary historical texts, the string including the name of dynasty and temple or posthumous names is sufficient enough as a clear reference to a particular sovereign.

e.g. Hàn Gāo Zǔ

Note that Wèi Wǔ Dì Cáo Cāo never was a sovereign but his son was. Thus he was revered as Wǔ Dì. Cáo Cāo is good enough for reference. Cáo Cāo (曹操, pronounced Tsao Tsao) (155-220), courtesy name Mèngdé (孟德), was the self-appointed Imperial Secretarist of the Han Dynasty and the de facto ruler of Northern China (as the Kingdom of Wei) during the beginning of the period of Three Kingdoms. ...

Some rules of thumb and helpful tips for reading a list of sovereigns

All sovereigns starting from the Tang Dynasty are contemporarily referred to using the temple names. They also had posthumous names that were less used, except in traditional historical texts. The situation was reversed before Tang as posthumous names were contemporarily used. Tang Dynasty (唐朝 618-907) followed the Sui Dynasty and preceded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. ...

e.g. The posthumous name of Táng Tài Zōng Lǐ Shì Mín was Wén Dì (文帝)

If sovereigns since Tang were referenced using posthumous names, they were the last ones of their sovereignties or their reigns were short and unpopular.

e.g. Táng Āi Dì Lǐ Zhù (唐哀帝 李柷), also known as Táng Zhāo Xuān Dì (唐昭宣帝), was last emperor of the Tang Dynasty reigning from 904 to 907. Tang Dynasty (唐朝 618-907) followed the Sui Dynasty and preceded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. ... Events Accession of Sergius III Destruction of Changan, the capital of Tang Dynasty and the largest city in the ancient world. ... Events Oleg leads Kievan Rus in a campaign against Constantinople Yelü Abaoji establishes Liao (Khitan) dynasty Births Deaths Categories: 907 ...

Hàn Guāng Wǔ Dì is equivalent to Dōng Hàn Guāng Wǔ Dì since he was the founder of the Eastern Han Dynasty. All dōng(east)-xī(west), nán(south)-běi(north), qian(former)-hou(later) conventions were invented only by past or present historiographers for denoting a new era of a dynasty. They were never used during that era. The Han Dynasty (Traditional Chinese characters: 漢朝, Simplified Chinese characters: 汉朝, pinyin Hàncháo 202 BC - AD 220) followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. ...

Some common conventions of naming Chinese sovereigns

If you are even more confused after reading the above, here is a quick guide (but not a thorough explanation).

1. Emperors before the Tang dynasty: use dynasty name + posthumous names. e.g. Han Wu Di
   
2. Emperors between Tang dynasty and Ming dynasty: use dynasty name + temple names e.g. Tang tai zong
   
3. Since all legitimate rulers of China after Qin Shi Huang were titled emperor of China, they can also be referred to by "emperor of" and the name of his/her respective dynasty after the temple or posthumous name. e.g.

   Han wudi = Emperor wudi of Han Dynasty

   Tang taizong = Emperor taizong of Tang Dynasty

4. Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties: use era names (same as reign names) because each emperor has only one distinctive era name. e.g. Kangxi (kang1 xi1) Emperor
   
5. Overrides rules 1 to 3: If there is a more common convention than using posthumous, temple or era names, then use it. e.g. Cao Cao instead of Wei wu di.
   
6. Some scholars prefer using the Wade-Giles romanization instead of the Pinyin but the above formats still hold. e.g. Han Wu Di = Wu-ti Emperor of Han Dynasty.

If you prefer better clarification and do not want to bother with all those "names", please refer to each dynasty of which the specific convention is shown on top of its sovereigns. Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) (November or December 260 BC - September 10, 210 BC), personal name Zheng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 BC to 221 BC, and then the first emperor of a unified China from 221 BC to 210 BC, ruling under the name First... The king or wang (王 wang2) was the Chinese head of state from the Zhou to Qin dynasties. ... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... Pinyin (拼音, pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin used in the...

However a consensus has yet to be reached in Wikipedia. Here is the discussion link.

Table of Chinese monarchs

The tables: the page is very long (among the longest Wikipedia articles). If you are looking for specific monarchs of a dynasty, it is best to use the following "See also" links. The table has been chopped into smaller, digestible pieces according to the dynasties and placed under those pages. Below is a table of Chinese monarchs. ...

See also

• Chinese noble
• Chinese History -- Dynasties in Chinese history -- Timeline of Chinese history -- Chinese Historiography
• Era name -- Temple name -- Posthumous name
• Huns -- Wu Hu -- Mongols -- Tribes in Chinese history
• Xia dynasty -- Shang dynasty -- Zhou dynasty -- Qin dynasty -- Han dynasty -- Three Kingdoms -- Jin Dynasty (265-420) -- Sixteen Kingdoms -- Southern and Northern dynasties -- Northern Wei dynasty -- Sui dynasty -- Tang Dynasty -- Zhou Dynasty (690 AD - 705 AD) -- Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period -- Song Dynasty -- Liao Dynasty -- Western Xia --Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) -- Yuan Dynasty -- Ming Dynasty -- Qing Dynasty
• Taiping Rebellion