Top 12 Amazing Facts of Chinese Emperors

In ancient Chinese long history, there were 67 dynasties with 446 emperors. Of them, some were great leaders, some ordinary, while some are notorious….. there are many interesting facts about Chinese emperors:

1. The dynasty with the most emperors

Among all Chinese dynasties, Shang Dynasty had the most the emperors. From first Tang Emperor to last Zhou Emperor the dynasty was led by 30 emperors in total.

2. The most short-lived emperor

Emperor Shang (105 –106) of Han Dynasty had the shortest life and died at the age of 2.

3. The oldest emperor to ascend the throne

Emperor Wu Zetian (625-705) was the oldest emperor to ascend the throne, at the age of 67.

4. The emperor with the most unusual experiences

Emperor Gong (1271-1323) of Southern Song Dynasty had the most unusual experiences. He was the emperor of Southern Song (1127–1279) in childhood, and later was captured and imprisoned by Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) army in his youth. During his middle-aged years he was dispatched to Tibet as a monk, becoming an eminent and translator, he was finally forced to commit suicide for literary inquisition.

5. The dynasty with the least emperors

Among all Chinese dynasties, Xin Dynasty and Eastern Wei Dynasty both had the smallest number of emperors with only one emperor for the entire dynasty.

6. The painter and calligrapher emperor
Emperor Huizong (1082 – 1135) of Northern Song dynasty was good at painting and calligraphy. He created his own style of calligraphy called shoujin (slender gold). He achieved much in paintings of flowers and birds and many of his works could be found today.

7. The carpenter emperor

Emperor Xi Zong (1605-1627) of Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) was not a qualified emperor but a good carpenter. He once built exquisite model houses of Qianqing Palace.

8. The most licentious emperor

Emperor Zhu Weng (852-912) of Later Liang Dynasty was the most licentious monarch. He was lascivious and sexually promiscuous and even had sex with his daughters-in-law.

9. The laziest Emperor

Emperor Zhu Yijun (1563 –1620) was the laziest emperor. He occupied the throne for 48 years in total, but was absent of court for 28 years.

10. The longest -lasting dynasty

The Zhou Dynasty was the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history, from 1066 BC to approximately 256 BC, with a time span of around 800 years.

11. The oldest emperor

Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was the emperor who lived for the longest time in Chinese history. He ruled the empire as an emperor for 60 years and died at the age of 89.

12. The only female Emperor in China

Wu Zetian (625-705) was the only lawful woman ruler in the Chinese history, who actually ruled the whole country for almost half a century. This was a great deed in the male-dominated Chinese history.