Emperor of China Emperor of China The Emperor or Huangdi () was the secular imperial title of the Chinese sovereign reigning between the founding of the Qin dynasty that unified China in 221 BC and the abdication of Puyi in 1912 AD following the Xinhai Revolution and the establishment of the Republic of China, although it was later restored twice in two failed revolutions in 1916 and 1917. The holy title of the Chinese emperor was the "Son of Heaven" (), a title much older than the "Emperor of China" which predates the Zhou dynasty and recognized as the ruler of ""All under
Emperor of China most famous emperors were Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty, the Emperors Gaozu and Wu of the Han dynasty, Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty, Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty, and the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty. The Emperor's words were considered sacred edicts ( 聖旨/ 圣旨) and his written proclamations "directives from above" (上諭/上谕). In theory, the Emperor's orders were to be obeyed immediately. He was elevated above all commoners, nobility and members of the Imperial family. Addresses to the Emperor were always to be formal and self-deprecatory, even