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 Dorgon. Therefore politically Dorgon, Emperor Chengzong of the Qing Dynasty, is the first Emperor of the Dynasty to be correctly titled the Emperor of China. There were a total of 13 rulers from Nurhaci, of which 11 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.
| Given name1 | Posthumous name² (short form) |
Temple name² | Reign name Chinese, Manchu |
Reign years | Name by which most commonly known |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nurhaci 努爾哈赤 |
Gāodì 高帝 |
Tàizǔ 太祖 |
Tiānmìng 天命 |
1616–1626³ | Nurhaci |
| Hong Taiji4 皇太極 |
Wéndì 文帝 |
Tàizōng 太宗 |
Tiāncōng 天聰 |
1626–1643 | Hong Taiji |
| Dorgon (Regent) 多尔衮 pinyin: Duōěrgǔn |
Yìdì 義帝 |
Chéngzōng 成宗 |
1643–1650 | Dorgon | |
| Fúlín 福臨 |
Zhāngdì 章帝 |
Shìzǔ 世祖 |
Shùnzhì 順治 |
1643–16615 | Shunzhi Emperor |
| Xuányè 玄燁 |
Réndì 仁帝 |
Shèngzǔ 聖祖 |
Kāngxī 康熙 |
1661–1722 | Kangxi Emperor |
| Yìnzhēn 胤禛 |
Xiàndì 憲帝 |
Shìzōng 世宗 |
Yōngzhèng 雍正 |
1722–1735 | Yongzheng Emperor |
| Hónglì 弘曆 |
Chúndì 純帝 |
Gāozōng 高宗 |
Qiánlóng 乾隆 |
1735–1796 (died 1799)6 |
Qianlong Emperor |
| Yóngyǎn 顒琰 |
Ruìdì 睿帝 |
Rénzōng 仁宗 |
Jiāqìng 嘉慶 |
1796–1820 | Jiaqing Emperor |
| Mínníng 旻寧 |
Chéngdì 成帝 |
Xuānzōng 宣宗 |
Dàoguāng 道光 |
1820–1850 | Daoguang Emperor |
| Yìzhǔ 奕詝 |
Xiǎndì 顯帝 |
Wénzōng 文宗 |
Xiánfēng 咸豐 |
1850–1861 | Xianfeng Emperor |
| Zǎichún 載淳 |
Yìdì 毅帝 |
Mùzōng 穆宗 |
Tóngzhì 同治 |
1861–18757 | Tongzhi Emperor |
| Zǎitián 載湉 |
Jǐngdì 景帝 |
Dézōng 德宗 |
Guāngxù 光緒 |
1875–19087 | Guangxu Emperor |
| Pǔyí 溥儀 |
Xùndì 8 遜帝 |
None given 9 | Xuāntǒng 宣統 |
1908–191110 (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, Pu-yi, 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 Pu-yi 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 Pu-yi was losing his imperial title and henceforth becoming a regular citizen of the Republic of China. Pu-yi was expelled from the Forbidden City that same day. Thus, Pu-yi 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. Pu-yi 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). | |||||