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The Emperor of China () was the title of any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of the Qin dynasty that unified China in 221 BC, until the abdication of Puyi in 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution and the establishment of the Republic of China. The emperor was also referred to as the "Son of Heaven" (), a title that predates the Qin unification, and recognized as the ruler of "all under heaven" (i.e., the whole world). In practice not every Emperor held supreme power in China, although this was usually the case. Emperors from the same family are classified in historical periods known as dynasties. Most of China's imperial rulers have commonly been considered members of the Han ethnicity, although recent scholarship tends to be wary of applying present day ethnic categories to historical situations. During the Yuan and Qing dynasties China was ruled by ethnic Mongols and Manchus respectively. The orthodox historical view sees these as non-native dynasties that became sinicized, though some recent scholars (such as those of the New Qing History school) argue that the interaction between politics and ethnicity was far more complex.〔(Sinicization vs. Manchuness: The Success of Manchu Rule )〕 Nevertheless, in both cases these rulers claimed the Mandate of Heaven to assume the role of traditional Confucian emperors in order to rule over China proper. ==Origin and history== During the Zhou dynasty, Chinese feudal rulers with power over their particular fiefdoms were called ''gong'' () but, as the power of the Shang and Zhou kings (, OC *''ɢʷaŋ'',〔Baxter, William & al. ''(Baxter–Sagart Old Chinese Reconstruction )''. 2011. Accessed 22 Dec 2013.〕 mod. ''wang'') waned, the dukes began to usurp that title for themselves. In 221 BC, after the then-king of Qin completed the conquest of the various kingdoms of the Warring States period, he adopted a new title to reflect his prestige as a ruler greater than the rulers before him. He called himself ''Shi Huangdi'', the First Emperor. Before this, ''Huang'' () and ''Di'' () were the nominal "titles" of eight rulers of Chinese mythology or prehistory: The three ''Huang'' (, OC *''ɢʷˤaŋ'', "august, sovereign") were godly rulers credited with feats like ordering the sky and forming the first humans out of clay; the five ''Di'' (, OC *''tˤeks'', also often translated "emperor" but also meaning "the God of Heaven") were cultural heroes credited with the invention of agriculture, clothing, astrology, music, &c. In the 3rd century BC, the two titles had not previously been used together. Because of the god-like powers of the ''Huang'', the cult worship of the ''Di'', and the latter's use in the name of the God of Heaven Shangdi, however, the First Emperor's title would have been understood as implying "The Holy" or "Divine Emperor". On that account, some modern scholars translate the title as "thearch".〔Nadeau, Randall L. ''The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Chinese Religions'', (pp. 54 ff. ) John Wiley & Sons (Chichester), 2012. Accessed 22 December 2013.〕 On occasion, the father of the ascended emperor was still alive. Such an emperor was titled the ''Tai Shang Huang'' (), the "Grand Imperial Sire". The practice was initiated by the First Emperor, who gave the title as a posthumous name to his own father. Liu Bang, who established the Han dynasty, was the first to become emperor while his father yet lived. It was said he granted the title during his father's life because he would not be bowed to by his own father, a commoner. Owing to political fragmentation, over the centuries, it has not been uncommon to have numerous claimants to the title of "Emperor of All China". The Chinese political concept of the Mandate of Heaven essentially legitimized those claimants who emerged victorious. The proper list was considered those made by the official dynastic histories; the compilation of a history of the preceding dynasty was considered one of the hallmarks of legitimacy, along with symbols such as the Nine Ding or the Heirloom Seal of the Realm. As with the First Emperor, it was very common also to retroactively grant posthumous titles to the ancestors of the victors; even in Chinese historiography, however, such grants were not considered to elevate emperors prior to the successful declaration of a new dynasty. The Yuan and Qing dynasties were founded by successful invaders; as part of their rule over China, however, they also went through the rituals of formally declaring a new dynasty and taking on the Chinese title of ''Huangdi'', in addition to the titles of their respective people. Thus, Kublai Khan was simultaneously Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of China. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Emperor of China」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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