Chinese Emperors Family Tree | Qin Dynasty to Qing Dynasty (221 BCE - 1912 CE)

[@UsefulCharts]

Chart 1: usefulcharts.com/products/ancient-history-family-trees Chart 2: usefulcharts.com/products/asian-royal-family-trees Project Imperial China playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLfp1VB3Lm4IliePR_gQtPa27Gof_XPh0F

[@champan250]

The Song Dynasty's founder chose his younger brother to secede him because in the ~120 years prior from the late Tang and Five Dynasties-Ten Kingdoms Period, warlords were often succeeded by young child and new warlord or even its own generals took advantage of the young emperors and replaced themselves. Hence, almost none of the Five Dynasties last more than 2 generations. In fact, that's exactly how the Song founder took power, and he wanted to get to the end of this vicious cycle

[@agniswar3]

Dear Matt, Can you make a chart on the family tree of the Nawabs of Bengal?

[@agniswar3]

Are your posters available in India?

[@mobitouchiha]

There is a Typo in the reign of Ruzi Ying (last western Han emperor): you wrote 6-9 BCE, but it should be 6 CE - 9 CE.

[@ultramagnus4105]

There is an interesting theory that the Song and the Jin Jurchen royals are related to the Qing because some of the offsprings and generations of tribal marriage between the Jurchen tribes. And some of the Song royals are forced to be slaves or wives to the Jurchen royals after their capture. There is an old prophecy/poem about the Ming dynasty and its transition to Qing, it goes something like this: The Zhu family(Ming dynasty) will fall by the Li(Shun dynasty), and the Zhao family(Qing) will once again unite China. The poem thing is based on the earlier Tang, Song dynasty, when the Li clan of Tang is overthrown by a military governor of Zhu clan, and then in the end the Zhao clan becomes rulers that united China under their banner.

[@FoolRegnant1]

One interesting fact about the Qianlong Emperor is that he abdicated out of filial piety towards his grandfather, so that the Kangxi Emperor would have the longest reign. He still held a ton of power after his abdication until he died three years later.

[@tc-hj9mj]

Matt actually said that in his original Chinese emperors family tree video. The tree starts with gaozu.

[@leminjapan]

That's the most Chinese Confucian thing I've ever heard.

[@骆思齐]

True! As soon as emperor Qianlong reached his 60th year of reign he decided to step down so that his grandfather's 61 years of ruling will become the longest in history. However, Qianlong, as the retired emperor with a title of Taishang Huangdi（太上皇帝）, managed to be de facto in charge because he believed himself a moral compass of filial piety so his sons were educated accordingly - listen to your father even when you inherited his throne. Although I wouldn't say Qianlong's successor emperor Jiaqing（嘉庆皇帝）agreed with his father deep down in his mind, still he did what Qianlong expected - being a good puppet for four more years.

[@drummerx8587]

@@骆思齐 thank you for intelligent and well articulated insight.

[@rahmadgerpol111]

@@骆思齐 And Heshen (The most corrupted people in history ever recorded) life are save for four years more 😁😁😁😁 After Qianlong dead, Heshen is finished. Heshen was early trigger of Qing downfall.

[@dengist8172]

Despite his turbulent life, Puyi ended up better than many last emperors. He became an ordinary citizen in Communist China who worked and sustained his own life. It was said that if you lived in Beijing at the time, you would likely see Puyi at least once on a bus

[@harukrentz435]

Thats because Mao want to score a point to prove Chinese communist were better than their Russian counterpart who slaughtered most of the Romanovs family.

[@alexanderchristopher6237]

@@harukrentz435 well, it works. In more ways than one and benefits more than just Mao and the communists. In a way, it did help him (Puyi) be a better man. Before, he was known as a cruel emperor to his servants and wives. He is also used to be dependent on his servants to do everything for him. Before, he is the object for many officials in court to play with for power. I think he said something about his life as a citizen is like a burden lifted out of him. He learned skills and is no longer dependent on others to survive. Even at re-education camp, he is able to find his passion for performing in plays. He is able to enter into a stable marriage after re-education. Maybe not a life of an emperor, but a happier life as a common man.

[@nehcooahnait7827]

@@harukrentz435 and… what’s your point? “The intention was not sincere enough?” Puyi was never gonna die anyways. He was sentenced to jail as he pledged guilty for collaborating with the Japanese even tho he didn’t have to. he only lived a life outside the walls because of the pardon.

[@nehcooahnait7827]

@@alexanderchristopher6237 Puyi wasn’t cruel. He was just a kid and worst case scenario spoiled. He was infertile due to sexual abuses he experienced under his servants since childhood, which were mostly eunuchs and maidens

[@linggao2602]

Infertile also because of some inbreeding among Manchurian nobles…

[@zetajolyne3689]

Xia dynasty is like dark matter in the universe, we still can't find a dynasty called "Xia", but the mature language and writing system of Shang dynasty could not appear from void, such as YanShi/ErLiTou Culture, a pre-Shang culture with regular stone walls, city planning and design, and water conservancy systems, which means it has been highly developed already.

[@cyberpunk2978]

Maybe Qin Shi Huang destroyed all the stuff

[@riza-2396]

@@cyberpunk2978 He only destroyed the history of the few decades how he won the war and created Qin (well, he ruined other versions of book of other. kingdoms, and kept all the secret copies in his library in his palace, but the palace was destroyed by XiangYu during the war decades later....)

[@connormac4401]

@@cyberpunk2978 bingo, Qin Shi Huang killed most of the intellectuals and burnt most of the books during his short and despotic reign of 15 years

[@chicoti3]

@@riza-2396 始皇帝萬歲

[@eveleung8855]

That is because there isn't a dynasty call Xia, those supposed be to be the Xia people, they don't call themselves Xia, very much like Egypt, this name was given to the region by the Greek, the actual name is Khemit, the root word for Chemical, because the original Chemical was associates with Alchemey, Al Khemit = of / from Khemit. This same theory goes to Xia, if those people don't call themselves Xia, archeology wouldn't find any culture or civilization called Xia.

[@gegahex]

Usually Wu Zetian is referred to as a Female Emperor instead of an Empress bc of the implications of the words. Her rise to power is incredibly interesting

[@glitchyikes]

Jack said regnant (meaning ruling in her own right and not mere consort), didn't he?

[@FoolRegnant1]

@@glitchyikes It goes back to the actual title that Wu Zetian used. As empress consort she was huanghou and married to the emperor, the huangdi. She took the title of huangdi. It's like if a European queen consort became queen regnant and then took the title of king - it does have a different implication.

[@glitchyikes]

@@FoolRegnant1 A ruling emperor/empress is emperor/empress regnant. Emperor and Empress are equivalent, just different terms for different gender. Don't conflate

[@carltonleboss]

Similar to how Jadwiga was King of Poland, I guess.

[@gegahex]

@@glitchyikes There was no such thing as an empress regnant in imperial china. Only Emperors could rule. Wu Zetian took the title of Emperor despite being a woman because the idea of an "empress regnant" didn't exist.

[@margottago]

Kudos to Jack for his pronunciation!! Chinese names can be tricky for those unfamiliar with the language, and many people end up butchering them as a result 😂 It's refreshing to see a non-Chinese-speaking KZbin creator take the time to familiarise themselves with the proper pronunciation of pinyin, it makes for a way more pleasing video. Love your work Jack, we stan 🙌

[@eveleung8855]

try the scientific Greek-Latin name for plants and animal. speak this real fast for 3 times - Rhapidofora foraminifera 😂

[@mikiohirata9627]

It's a lot easier if you can read Chinese characters (Kanji=Hung letters). You may not pronouncing them correctly but understand. That's the greatest accomplishment of Qing shi huan. I'm Japanese btw.

[@nurulnurwulan9447]

Many names are pronounced incorrectly though.

[@eveleung8855]

@@mikiohirata9627 LOL not even Chinese can 100% pronounce some of our own words correctly 😂😂

[@linggao2602]

You talked about that story of the sleeve… and forget to add that “cutting the sleeve” is basically synonymous with male homosexuality in Chinese. Just to add that in the last part “head of house” may not be the one who would sit on the throne should the empire be reestablished. “Head of house” is the most senior of the royal family. For example, during much of Qianlong’s reign the head of house was the 12th son of Kangxi, who was way behind in succession lineup but was the most senior of the family. He presided over family affairs while Qianlong worried about state affairs. But who knows? The empire is gone and whatever rules of succession don’t govern them anymore.

[@glitchyikes]

Perhaps another revolution to bring back the old monarchy

[@martytu20]

Anyone can become emperor. Bloodlines don't matter as much in China as long as the rulers rule justly and treat their subjects well.

[@sakaijin7270]

@@martytu20 It does matter. There is a thing called the periodic rule of the dynasty in China. During the prime ages of a empire. The bloodline is very very important. Because the country is stable. Most of the bureaucracy and nobles are loyal to the imperial family and also to the succession rule of tradition. In that case, even for emperor himself, there will very difficult for him to change the crown prince. If the central government fall to the wrong hand. All the local government and kingdom are not likely gonna obey This is why the Kingdom of Han empire started a rebellion toward central government and won the war.

[@frankyong2607]

@@glitchyikes bringing back monarchy is regression.

[@CalvinK300]

@@frankyong2607 in the future, governments should be run by AI.

[@IKEMENOsakaman]

USA "The Grand Central Station has a magnificient history of 200 years" Japan "Hold my Sapporo beer" China "Hold my Qindao beer"

[@krakendragonslayer1909]

lol, my home, which is an average house here in Krakow 130 years old, and every church around here is between 600 and 1100 years old

[@LordCoeCoe]

@@krakendragonslayer1909 You must be a novice.

[@Paranomalous]

USA: “It’s lonely at the top.”

[@zjpdarkblaze]

is there an egyptian beer? thats what you should hold.

[@kate_cooper]

@@zjpdarkblaze Didn’t the Egyptians invent beer?

[@umevelvets]

28:18 EXTREMELY big inaccuracy here D: yuan shikai actually overthrew the republic of china for a really short amount of time. the actual person who founded the republic of china was none other than sun yat-sen. yuan shikai wanted to re-establish the monarchy and made himself de facto emperor. sun yat-sen is extremely important in chinese history for this reason, and so this really needs to be changed/addressed as a mistake in some form however as a chinese person who had an entirely separate subject of chinese history from western history, this was nostalgia for my history nerd brain.

[@Ramiobomb]

Right, however Yat-sen never really took the presidency and gave it away to Yuan Shikai because Shikai had the army behind him and was persuaded to have the Presidency if he'd persuade the Emperor to abdicate without having to march into the northern provinces. And of course as a honorary clown, with a highly pro-republican government Shikai decided to crown himself Emperor of which, he enjoyed only 3 months before being forced to restore the republic and dying out right after, descending the republic into the Warlords era...

[@umevelvets]

@@Ramiobomb well yuan shikai basically took away what the people had fought for so he's just filth in everyone's eyes LMFAO

[@umevelvets]

@@Ramiobomb i think it's really important to note that sun yat-sen is genuinely called the "father of the natoin' not just in roc (taiwan), but also in mainland china bc he was that important of a figure

[@Ramiobomb]

@@umevelvets Well yeah, Shikai did a good job at doing everything wrong at the wrong time :v And yes Yat-sen was the leading and architect of how the post-imperial China should look and after Kai Shek died I think he also started to lead the Kuomintang from Guangzhou north to retake China from the Warlords. Honestly, I studied Chinese history fairly a long time ago and I don't remember details.. I'm catching on them again these days, and also the CCP grew out of the Kuomintang, they were practically under the same banner until Chiang Kai-shek decided to purge them.

[@hannibalburgers477]

Sound like you let your brain washed by the party propaganda

[@redere4777]

An interesting thing to note is that the Qing Dynasty kept the Ming Dynasty heirs around under the title of Marquis of Extended Grace. The last Marquis was Zhu Yuxun who some even wanted to become the new emperor after the 1911 Revolution overthrew the Qing. He vanished entirely from records in 1933 after the Republic of China abolished his title, last thing I know he did was follow Puyi into Manchuria. I often wonder what happened to him.

[@sinoroman]

probably some hidden records somewhere. i did hear that when the zhu family went into hiding, things became complicated. when the qing emperors were no longer hunting for the zhu, some claimed to be ming pretenders. that's where people theorize that the zhu family during the qing dynasty was not related to the ming emperors, it was just fakes who wanted fame or money. can't people be tested to see who has ming blood?

[@redere4777]

@@sinoroman I think testing for Ming blood is possible, but they have to get DNA from the remains in the Ming tombs to compare with. The only Ming tomb dug up so far has been the Wanli Emperor's, but the excavation was a disaster and his body was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The government now doesn't want to dig up any more imperial tombs in case something else goes wrong.

[@joshuakusuma5953]

I know that some descendants of the Zhu bloodline exists. One was even a government official back in the 80's or 90's. My guess is the Zhu family still holds some pull in the government of at least private sectors but are just lying low and not drawing too much attention.

[@taoliu3949]

@@sinoroman The Marquis of Extended Grace was awarded to one of the Zhu Princes who had fled to Taiwan after Taiwan was conquered. It's not something you can just bullshit out of thin air.

[@sinoroman]

@@taoliu3949 hopefully you’re right

[@盧璘壽로인수]

FYI: 1. The "Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors" (三皇五帝 _sanhuang wudi_ ) are the source of the Sinocentric term for "Emperor" (皇帝 _huangdi_ lit. "August Emperor", now commonly "Emperor (of China)"), a neologism first used by Zheng of Qin after his unification wars, therefore as the *First Emperor of Qin (秦始皇帝 Qin shi huangdi)* 2. Kangxi Emperor's reign was indeed long because he was *enthroned at the very young age of 7* (8 by East Asian reckoning) 3. China's "Century of Humiliation" actually started way back during the latter reign of Qianlong Emperor, when in his old age he became muddled & complacent as to allow corruption and yes-men in his court. And even though he "retired" in favor of his son Jiaqing Emperor, for 4 more years he still held power (similar to regents past such as his ancestors Dorgon (Hong Taiji's paternal half-brother) & Empress Xiaozhuangwen (Hong Taiji's concubine as well as Shunzhi Emperor's biological mother)), and even though Jiaqing tried hard to fix his father's problems, Qing's eventual downfall began during his reign 3. The Opium Wars are the reason East Asia (China, Japan, Korea) remains averse to and still designates illegal drugs (both usage & trafficking) as a penal crime 4. Guangxu Emperor's "(adoptive) mother" being Dowager Empress Cixi (and in effect Xianfeng Emperor's as well) was made with consideration to legitimate succession, as well as concessions with the imperial clan. Biologically speaking *Guangxu's mother is Dowager Empress Cixi's younger sister* (hence they're actually aunt-nephew) 5. The reason why Puyi's descendants took the surname "Jin" was because the imperial house of Qing, *the Aisin Gioro clan, in the Manchu language means "gold"* , and in Chinese that's 金 (Mandarin Pinyin _jin_ )

[@埊]

Eyes could translate 皇帝 as Sovereign of the Enlightened Kings.

[@team3am149]

China is the most underrated nation in the world by the West, and how small this chart is, is proof.

[@Junbug92]

14:00 correction Princess Anle was the daughter of Zhongzong and Empress Wei. She was the one that wanted to be crown princess and was killed with her mother after Ruizong came to power. Princess Taiping was the sister of Zhongzong who helped put their brother Ruizong in power; she was pretty bad ass and physically pulled the puppet emperor Shang (Zhongzong’s son and Empress Wei’s puppet) off the throne when Ruizong was proclaimed. Princess Taiping also wanted to emulate her mother and control her brother Ruizong who later became Retired Emperor but she was forced to commit suicide after she lost a power struggle with her nephew Emperor Xuanzong who she originally partnered with to take down Empress Wei and Princess Anle.

[@aliyaser7698]

@Dylan Eats Too Much Pasta Greed C, Chinese philosophy prevents women from ruling

[@aliyaser7698]

@Dylan Eats Too Much Pasta Your words are true and it would have succeeded greed and his mother's betrayal of me in order to control the throne

[@genesdelsur-mapping2744]

Great, I love how you can follow the history through the 2 charts in one video, and thank you a lot for including mine at the end :D Love the channel

[@In_Our_Timeline]

charts are most great way to learn history

[@duileyah]

Yuan shi kai actually proclaimed himself emperor after seizing power, though it didn't last long since he died shortly after. The founder of the republic was Sun yet-san, a very important figure in China's modern history, which you failed to mention!

[@frankyong2607]

Yeah, Sun yat-sen was the republic's founder but only acclaimed as the provisional president of the new republic as Sun without a military army to call his own and to back up his own rule/presidency had to give way to General Yuan s.k. of the Beiyang Army. But still Sun needs mentioning in modern Chinese history.

[@duileyah]

@@frankyong2607 Sun may not have had an army, but calling "emperor" Yuan the founder of the republic is just plain wrong.

[@frankyong2607]

@@duileyah yeah, absolutely Yuan s.k. wasn't the republic's founder (I didn't say so) but only its president. Yuan betrayed emperor guangxu to empress dowager cixi,.and manipulated against child emperor puyi/empress dowager longyu for his own personal gains.

[@weizhang9846]

Yes a huge error which destroyed the credibility of this video

[@sirius940]

@@weizhang9846 Not really, this video is about imperial China and an error about the republic of China doesn't "destroy" the whole thing

[@YJSP893]

8:40 WangMang is a fancy guy. People consider him as a morden people but teleport to an ancient age. He was literally publishing communism and many morden political pholosophy in thousands of year ago.

[@huaninglyu7372]

More like socialism.... but ye, the most likely time traveller in Chinese history. From his behavior, he probably did the time travel in the 1980s. But the will of the universe sent someone who can summon asteroids on the battlefield to correct this error on our timeline. (literally, the guy who is later called emperor Guangwu defeated Wangmang's army of 300K in a battle with only 3000 men, plus an asteroid, this is not a joke, it's in the official history record) Chinese netizens call him "The Grand Magister" these days.

[@davidjacobs8558]

Wang Mang was a blood relative of Jin 金 Clan, who were descendants of Xiongnu Prince Jin Midi 金日磾. When Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty collapesed, Jin Clan had to run for their life. and many of Jin Clan crossed the Yellow Sea and Settled in Southern coast of Korean Peninsula. These 金 Kim Clans established Gaya Kingdom and Shilla Kingdom in 1st Century AD. When Shilla Kingdom fell in 936 AD, one of Prince of Shilla escape to Manchuria, and became ruler of Jurchens, and Established Jin 金 Dyansty. Also Qing Dynasty was successor to Jin Dynasty. When Qing Dynasty collapsed in 20th Century, many of the Imperial family assumed the last name of Jin 金. And obviously they are remotely related to North Korean 金 Kim clan.

[@davidjacobs8558]

also, some scholars suggested that Wang clan also crossed the Yellow Sea and settled around Kaesŏng (city south of Pyongyang), and their descedant Wang Geon established Kingdom of Goryeo (Korea) in 918 AD.

[@newname3718]

hahah for this part i would nominate Qinshihuang. He probably was from another parallel universe, one with a forever fractured sinosphere.

[@埊]

@@newname3718 people always blaming 秦始皇 will always blame 秦始皇。

[@thomasdixon4373]

Awesome vid Matt and Jack!

[@jimmy5353]

Gaozu was not a name. It was a title given by his successor. Most dynasties had a 'Gaozu'. So as 'Hui', 'Wu' and so on. They were not names. They were titles.

[@nyleeu2632]

exactly

[@frankyong2607]

Gaozu the title literally means High/Esteemed Ancestor.

[@cantonmiao]

Author mentioned this already. "Temple Name" he said.

[@frankyong2607]

@@cantonmiao yeah, a temple name meaning a posthumous name.

[@bistli1566]

@@frankyong2607 so, are temple name and posthumous name the same? I find it confusing. Also, was Wu Zetians name (Wu) a surname, or also a title?

[@11324atafrbrgrdbted]

I love the inclusion of a fan-made chart.

[@ramirosotto]

Thank you! (I'm the one who made it)

[@sinoroman]

still waiting for the extensive pretenders of china video

[@HistoryOfRevolutions]

"The reason why China suffers bitterly from endless wars is because of the existence of feudal lords and kings" - Qin Shi Huang

[@In_Our_Timeline]

well that explains a lot

[@Guft-o-Shunaid]

That is why he bruetly killed or assasinated them all and merged all the states and kingdoms under his own reign and established the first chinese kingdom. He deserved it.

[@eveleung8855]

but but but.... even with abolished of feudal lords and kings after he united China, Qin Huang Zheng still brought huge amount of suffering to his people, if not because of his brutality, why would people want to over throw his power?

[@fanman2101]

​@@eveleung8855 thought the Qin Emperors adopted a heavy community service, the brutality is only a part of reasons why Qin Empire was overthrown. Some rebellions arose under Qin Shi Huang reign but were crushed immediately, when he had died, his son's incapable of ruling is another reason for the fall of the empire. After conquering other states, Qin Shi Huang declared a huge assimilation (culture, writing, philosophy...) which caused a lot of resistance, that Shi Huang's death before the assimilation finished (people still remember they belonged to other states, not Qin), is another reason. Feudal lords who lost their kingdoms still alive (yep, who surrendered during Qin Shi Huang conquests were spared but put under surveillance), when Shi Huang died, they took the chance to revive their lost kingdoms, this is another reason. Inside center government, eunuch Zhao Gao's conspiracy to hold power did weaken the empire and caused a Qin great general to defect, which lead to the collapse of the empire, another reason. There are other reasons I couldn't remember but sure, Qin brutality is not the only one because even nowadays, who would not exploit his slaves :)

[@prosinx999]

@@fanman2101 and also the arrival of Xiang Yu, the legendary warrior from the state of Chu. He defeated 400,000 elite qin army with 30,000 chu troops. This is the militarily reason that resulted in the fall of Qin, despite its brutality. Xiang Yu was later defeated by Liu Bang, the founder of Han (another commander of the Chu) 4 years later.

[@xinranwu4812]

Love from the Chinese! This is one of the best videos on Chinese history I have seen on KZbin, thank you very much : )

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

Dang these family trees are insane

[@In_Our_Timeline]

well your not wrong

[@WBCY2024]

it makes game of throne look like a primitive nation

[@bigbrotherdsad6535]

@@WBCY2024 human history is long my friend

[@lordwind9745]

Interesting thing about Wu Zetian was that she was called emperor instead of empress during her reign, this is because emperor is a gender neutral term in Chinese, with empress only meaning wife of the emperor. Likewise, had she remarried, her husband wouldn’t be called emperor and would instead be called husband of the emperor.

[@battletroll1likesminecraft214]

In Chinese, there is no word for empress, there is only a word for a queen consort (皇后). So they didn’t know what to call Wu zitian and ended up just calling her emperor, as “empress” in Chinese only applies to the main female consort of a emperor (all the emperors were super horny or whatever they usually had a whole army of secondary wives)

[@josephrong4780]

actually during Ming dynasty it was Chinese Navy who has beaten Portuguese army and then we let them only do business in Macau. We also beat Netherlands navy.

[@cheukchunng1718]

As a Chinese, your explanation are much better than my teachers

[@minminye9256]

There is one small mistake here.Princess Taiping is the sister of Emperor Zhongzong,while Princess Anle is the daughter who want to be the crown princess. Both the princesses are adored by their parents and brothers,thus wield enormous power.Ironiclly,they both was forced to commit suicide after they lose their power.

[@RichardNDoper]

Great video as always, but I just want to point out that most of the "names" of monarchs aren't their actual names, instead they are titles used either during their reigns, or by their descendents and historians after their death. That's why there're certain patterns and repetition for. some of the names in the chart, like how the first emperors of Han and Tang Dynasty shared the name "Gaozu"

[@DylanMoore164]

He acknowledged this at 20:18

[@newname3718]

yep, i remember the name by watching period drama about them.

[@michaeltsui3435]

Functionally speaking posthumous names is more of an epithet. So there are suffering emperors, last emperors etc

[@samsunglg6671]

The Yellow Emperor's mother was struck by lightning and he was born, talk about being spontaneous. It must've been shocking for her to learn that she was pregnant w him and she made it through all of that, legendary :)

[@luxborealis]

I guess that is what she told her husband.

[@samsunglg6671]

@@luxborealis classic

[@chaosli9040]

First Emperor of Han Liu Bang had a similar birth story. Apparently his mother step into a footprint left behind by a dragon and thus became pregnant with him. He later denied the story after becoming the emperor, hinting it was only used to legitimise hes rebellion.

[@nehcooahnait7827]

It was Zeus. Again

[@linggao2602]

It’s a way of legitimizing the rule of a dynasty by making the birth story look as if it’s god-sent. Of course the actual birth stories are as normal as they can be but after the individual becomes emperor, they are portended by the gods and their birth stories are supposed to reflect that.

[@tt-ew7rx]

Error: Tang dynasty Zhongzong/Ruizong part. Taiping was Zhongzong's (and Ruizong's) sister and Wu Zetian's favourite daughter, who helped bring Ruizong to the throng by deposing Zhongzong's wife after Zhongzong's death (allegedly killed by this wife of his), rather than the other woman deposed together with this wife. Taiping would ultimately try to grab power for herself but was eventually defeated, but that was some years later. Error: Qing dynasty end. Someone born in 1942 now working as a minor government official. This is impossible as minor government officials' mandatory retirement age is 60. In extraordinary cases this might be extended to 65 but no more. So he is a retired former minor government official.

[@zhiweidong6123]

I noticed this error as well. I think they are trying to say Anle Princess instead of Taiping Process. Anle Princess was the daughter of Zhongzong and was accused of poisoning her father, Zhongzong, in order to get the crown, to be the new female emperor but eventually her plan failed.

[@In_Our_Timeline]

china is like the most interesting place in the past and even right know

[@auraledgereal]

Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of Sui ( 541 - 604 AD ) is my favorite Chinese Emperor.

[@esyqm]

According to historical records, Yang Jian was a very henpecked emperor. He didn't even dare to speak loudly in front of Queen Dugu.

[@shinjinobrave]

I should watch Three Kingdoms again, I can hear Chen Jianbin giggle all throughout this ^^

[@harukrentz435]

3:42 Unfair to blame it on Qin Shi Huang. He basically had everything planned, he even appointed his most capable son to inherite the throne. Not his fault that his prime minister and head of eunuch conspired to manipulate his will.

[@peterg7120]

Before Jin Dynasty there was a Liao Dynasty founded bu the Khitans. Liao was at constant wars with Song until they themselves were conquered by the Jurchen.

[@enkii82]

Wu Zetian is also the concubine of Emperor Taizong, technically, Wu Zetian was the step-mother and wife of Emperor GaoZong

[@Brian82406]

There is a mistake with Republic of China part... the one that represented Taiwan today was not the same one as 1911 one, but the one that replaced the 1911 one in 1927 after Nanjing fell to KMT. Also, Yuan Shikai declared himself as the Emperor of Chinese Empire in 1915, but announced his abdication in 1916 due to his dramatic increasing unpopularity in the country. The Republic of China of 1911, which was largely influenced by "Beiyang" warlords, would eventually be succeeded by a new centralized KMT-led Republican government after KMT took over Nanjing, but the its legal authority over the entire China was only established after 1928 when the last powerful Beiyang clique - Fengtian clique declared their allegiance to Nanjing, and further stabilized after Central Plains War in 1930.

[@muic4880]

Technically speaking, they are all Republic of China, just under different government. The first one being called Beiyan, and then fractures warlords rule, and finally KMT government when it completed the northern campaign.

[@Dordordord]

​@@muic4880 the only similarity it the KMT didnt change the name of ROC, everything else are all changed

[@muic4880]

@@Dordordord I wouldn't say that, because the similarity between Beiyang government and KMT one really was not that great overall. Both were fractured in terms of administration due to numerous warlords controlling provinces, both were nominally authoritarian but since their rule were fractured by warlords its control wasn't like that of normal authoritarian state. That's the 1911-1949 part. The 1949-current part was indeed as you mentioned different in all but name to the early part.

[@karielefler1012]

Props on filling us in on this giant family in such a short time! 🤯

[@gsmiro]

If China becomes an empire again, Chinese probably would not want to reinstall a Manchu on the throne. They probably want to reinstall a Han Chinese so to revive the glories of the Han or Tang dynasties of the past. For most of the 260 years of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, it was a humiliating rule for the Han Chinese, the wearing of the pig queues is the symbol of humiliation, a sign of the Han Chinese being conquered by the Manchu barbarians. So if China became an empire again, just like after the Mongols Yuan were disposed, a new ruling dynasty would be established by whoever is the one who could overthrew the current communist government.

[@oussematrabelsi9429]

However Thanks to the manchu china explanded into tibet and central asia and till this day benefits from oil and gas in that region

[@unifieddynasty]

There was also another modern claimant. When Yuan Shikai helped establish the Republic of China, he shortly forwent democracy and declared himself emperor of the Chinese Empire. His descendants live on and include a famous American scientist. And perhaps we can also count the Falungong as being a modern claimant, with their leader claiming lineage to the Tang Dynasty and advocating for a 'New Tang Dynasty'.

[@leilei7572]

Falungong is a religious group that is usually not considered a dynasty.

[@unifieddynasty]

@@leilei7572 I am simply pointing out the rhetoric Falungong uses, which bears a striking resemblance to a dynastic claim.

[@richmanifesto1090]

"Conceived when his mother was struck by lightning" well someone certainly had a high opinion of his performance

[@suryagunda9297]

You should do a family tree for Monaco

[@Flyingpotatos]

Fun fact : Empress Wu Zetian of Tang dynasty remamed Wa to Japan. So the mother of state name of Japan is she.

[@kibetee9242]

Wa is 倭

[@JohnnyCash7126]

❤Thanks for your introduction of the China history.❤🎉🎉

[@enzhus]

Great wall is Qin Shi Huang but grand canal is not. It's about 800 years later in Sui Dynasty.

[@leilei7572]

Actually, the grand canal was started before the Qin dynasty by several different kingdoms separately. Qin Shi Huang contributed a lot after he destroyed the six kingdoms and ruled China but he was not the only contributor. The grand canal from Beijing to Hangzhou was improved by subsequent rulers and finally finished in Sui Dynasty. Also, the great wall was constructed by several different kingdoms separately during the Warring States Period. Qin Shi Huang connected and repaired the Walls, then started to be called the Great Wall of China. The emperors in the later 2000 years also contribute a lot based on Qin Shi Huang's prior work and finally made the wall great.

[@e.sorcerer_aoe412]

The most likely reason for the switch of using era names instead of the temple names or posthumous names to refer the emperors is the standadize of era names. China had used era names for naming years from the Western Han dynasty. However it is until the Ming dynasty that an emperor has only 1 era name associated to him (YingZong is an exception, since he accended to the throne twice) Like Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, he got 3 eras under his belt. (Xiantian, Kaiyuan and Tianbao)

[@Weiwuzu]

A lot of the pronunciations are very good, some of the best I've heard from a non Mandarin speaker.

[@peterbayne7227]

I was just thinking the other day on whether you would do a Chinese Emperor video. How on earth did you read my mind? Thank for the video mate.

[@EyeStorrm]

Can you do more elaborated version of family trees for Han Dynasty, Three Kingdoms, and Jin Dynasty? Admittedly, the Three Kingdoms only had few emperors, but still, as a fan of Three Kingdoms stories, I kind of want to see it.

[@ZWang-gf7vi]

Three Kingdoms: Wei: CAO Cao (Prime minister of Eastern Han, King of Wei) - CAO Pi (First emperor of Wei) - CAO Rui - (CAO Fang - CAO Mao - CAO Huang) (Last three emperors are controlled by House SIMA) Shu (formal name: Han) : LIU Bei (First emperor of Shu) - LIU Shan Wu: SUN Quan (First emperor of Wu)- SUN Liang - SUN Xiu - SUN Hao Western Jin: SIMA Yi (Marquis of Wuyang of Wei) - SIMA Shi (Marquis of Wuyang) - SIMA Zhao (King of Jin, slay emperor CAO Mao, conquered Shu) - SIMA Yan (First emperor of Jin, conquered Wu) - SIMA Zhong (Eight princed riot) - SIMA Chi (Beigin of five barbarian invasion) - SIMA Ye

[@SeanHiruki]

Hell yeah would love more three kingdoms

[@CoxDannyJ]

24:33 1661-1850 189 years 5 Emperors That's how you have a golden age

[@lamlam-bw7ev]

You missed the short lived Empire of China in 1916 under Emperor Hongwu (Yuan Shikai)

[@nehcooahnait7827]

Han Gaozu Liu Bang endorsed Daoist ideas. It was Han Wudi Liu Che who established the state of Confucianism being the official political philosophical orthodoxy.

[@haoye2413]

If we are going to chase back the family tree, at 3:07 Qing Shi Huang (first emperor) you might want to elaborate more, especially there are a lot of evidence and scripture relate back earlier. The collapse of Shang dynasty and fighting of subsitery state are just bunch of cousins fighting eachother.

[@gustavsvensson1944]

7:09 Emperor Ruzi, I think there’s a typo, it should say 6-9 CE, not BCE… Might be something someone might dislike after buying the poster!

[@EpicnessYeet]

It is just a typo and i assume 99.9% of people that buy the poster will just ignore it.

[@gustavsvensson1944]

@@EpicnessYeet I know it’s just a typo, might be something they wanna fix though! (I would wanna fix it)

[@theduckyduck27]

Maybe Ruzi became Emperor in 6 BCE and then using his godly imperial powers reversed time until he died in 9 BCE. Nah, your explanation seems more plausible.

[@gustavsvensson1944]

@@theduckyduck27 no no, yours are way lot more likely! He probably made the dangerous, chip-inserting, mind controlling 5G too.

[@ekmalsukarno2302]

UsefulCharts, are you gonna make a video on Confucius's family tree and if so when? Please let me know. Thank you very much.

[@LibeliumDragonfly]

Holy shit that monster? That thing extend all the way into some modern day Koreans and William Hung!

[@derekli8992]

There's a book of it published in 2009. Roughly 2 million names are included in that book. 25 million of words in total.

[@alexk5772]

The video is very good, and the research on Chinese history is quite in-depth, but there are still mistakes and it is not detailed enough. China has more than 200 emperors, and there are many more important emperors that you did not mention. In addition, the strength of a dynasty cannot be judged only by its territory, but also by the dynasties in other regions at the same time. According to this standard, the Qing Dynasty is actually relatively weak. The strongest was the Tang Dynasty, followed by the Han Dynasty, the third was the Qin Dynasty, the fourth was the Ming Dynasty, and then the Qing Dynasty.

[@BenAvraham배루린]

Little mistake. From what I know, Emperor Ai of Han is the son of Liu Kang, not of Emperor Cheng. And Emperor Ping's father is Liu Xing, another brother of Emperor Cheng.

[@عليياسر-ذ5ب]

The Liu family is as strong as the Xia family when it fled to the Huns and was able to control the Huns.

[@Dordordord]

​@@عليياسر-ذ5ب you got it oppositely, imagine indians call them British just because they were once ruled by British, you know why there are Liu family in huns😂

[@josephrong4780]

basically this video could be the best among all these videos about Chinese history.

[@nomagea2684]

Many many thanks for this. Loved how u got up to the current times. Waow!!! What a history😊

[@gofar5185]

truly excellent chronology of china civilization emperors to the present cpc reign of leadership...

[@WensBlog]

Wow! I love this!

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Who is your favorite Chinese emperor and would you like to see the Chinese Empire restored?

[@jackl2257]

No

[@thaliethalassekane6685]

One thing that's interesting but wasn't mentioned in the video was that Emperor Gaozu of Tang's mother was the sister of Emperor Wen of Sui's wife.

[@xusteve4820]

For the qin dynasty, you might also include when they were just a vassal under Zhou

[@Yongle96]

Circa 27:00. Empress Dowager Cixi was not the Guanxu's Emperor's mother.. she was Tongzhi's mother.

[@genesisexodus4687]

Love these ngl. Theyre amazing

[@xxxx3732]

13:50 her youngest child anle,...anle which her crown princess... taiping is the another princess stopped wei and anle 21:57 xuanzong is a great artist, huizong in song dynasty is great great artist trust me.

[@VFSin]

There is inconsistency at 22:00. That guy's temple name is Yingzong. The era name during his first rule is Zhengtong and Tianshun for his second.

[@ryanvoll7088]

I’m surprised Matt didn’t use a narrator who has a Chinese background, or Chinese history KZbin channel for this. As he uses Muslims for videos about Muslim families, and Indians for videos about India.

[@gingecharmander]

It's possible no one was available

[@eden6056]

As a Chinese , his pronunciation is still quite okay

[@ErmisSouldatos]

7:03 "I was influenced by a number of women" well I don't know how this personal detail about the narrator's life ties in to the Han dynasty's history

[@leilei7572]

That is not "I", is "Ai", the emperor Ai. The emperor Ai was influenced by a number of women.

[@chireiuji2047]

Actually Shikai Yuan managed to literally establish the Empire of China under his power in 1920s(but was soon forced to abdicate by the republic-protector rebels, making the literal empire lasting less than a quarter of a year) becuase he was, in fact, a monarchist and an eager politician for personal power. Shikai officially forced the royals of Qing to abdicate and formed the first republic in 1912 just to compromise with the republicans to attempt to make sure that he himself would be free from future bloodsheds when he still had millitary advantages against republicans and power advantage over the Manchurian royals.

[@yūsari5331]

Jin Yuzhang can be inherited Order of the Peacock Feather, Order of the Blue Feather, Grand Order of the Imperial Throne, Order of the Double Dragon, Order of the Yellow Dragon, Order of the Red Dragon, Order of the Blue Dragon, Order of the Black Dragon as pretender of Qing Dynasty by his own right. However, he can be inherited Grand Order of the Orchid Blossoms, Order of the Illustrious Dragon, Order of the Auspicious Clouds, Order of the Pillars of State by his own right from Manchukuo as well.

[@joeyz9738]

Would love to see an alt history video about Yuan Shikais reign as emperor and what would’ve happened if he succeeded in establishing another dynasty

[@rkt7414]

as soon as I saw the title of this video I immediately thought "good luck"

[@nesanetlehulum9046]

Very informative, thanks, from Ethiopia. Now that China is going to be the leading economic and military power its important to known about this country.

[@CardinalConky]

Thanks for this!

[@MvGNify]

Can someone explain me this: There are 2 brothers that have a cousin, the cousin has a daughter, daughter gets married and has a child. How close is that child in relationship to the 2 brothers? Maybe in percentage and what do you call that relationship?

[@RaymondHng]

If there are two brothers that have a first cousin and that first cousin has a daughter, she is *first cousin **_once_** removed* in relation to the two brothers. If the daughter has a child, that child is *first cousin **_twice_** removed* to the two brothers.

[@robertmugno927]

11:23 the way he said that made it sound all the more brutal

[@MJ-yz8yh]

Great video as always! are there any plan to do a similar one for the entire Islamic caliphate from 632ad -1924 ad ?

[@dieglhix]

A M A Z I N G !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will re-watch this many times.

[@In_Our_Timeline]

"who was conceived when his mother was struck by lighting" iam calling it it was zeus

[@howarddyla9676]

this is wonderful. just to mention; there is a very beautiful portrait of Emperor Huizong of Yuan that you could have used.

[@jestersareawesome4332]

I’ve seen it as well and it looks very nice.

[@SkepticalChris]

At the end, you should have continued down the line of the Last Emperor Pu Yi's brother, Pujie's family line, because Pujie married Hiro Saga, a Japanese noblewoman who was of distant relation to Emperor Hirohito, meaning that the Aisin-Gioro Manchu Imperial line of Manchu China, is now by blood, connected to the Imperial Japanese family.

[@CultureDTCTV]

Great video, would be great if it includes Liao dynasty though On a side note, when I was in school, we used to joke about the 乾 in "qianlong" because 乾 is usually pronounced differently and means "dry"

[@cyberpunk2978]

Liao and western Liao

[@messier8379]

Liao and Western Xia (Xi Xia) were Sinicized Nomad Dynasties...Liao Dynasty only remains on the Outer Chinese Prosper....

[@cyberpunk2978]

@@messier8379 There is no such thing as "Outer Chinese Prosper.". Liao is of Khitan. It's Chinese history.

[@nehcooahnait7827]

乾 and 幹 are not the same word. 幹 is 干

[@messier8379]

@@cyberpunk2978 i mean...Liao Dynasty were influenced by Chinese culture but they are descendants of Xianbie people whom Invaded China and established the Northern Wei and Northern Zhou/Northern Qi As i said they were outside Chinese Wannabe,the Khitans only remained in Manchuria and Mongolia,when the Jurchens(Predecessor of Manchus)ousted the Khitans.. Khitans mostly migrated via Diaspora,to modern day Kazakhstan some even Migrated to China but thats a small number.. out of 9Million Khitans,over 4Millions were expelled by Jurchens ,they ended up Kazakhstan and established the Qara Khitay(Western Liao) however as the Kara Khitay were too far from Chinese Sinosphere,the Khitan's Chinese identity were eroded overtime and when time Mongols invaded the Kara Khitay,they were Turkified during the Chagatai Khaganate... The Khitans however majority of them were absorbed by Manchu culture...

[@nysus7933]

Fun fact: 29:14 Pujie married to a Japanese noblewoman in Manchukuo era. As this chart shows, his family line continues. His descendants now live in Japan as Japanese and still interact with Japanese imperial family.

[@Alanshee-Valera]

Through one of the Princes of Han and a bit of a miracle of tight record keeping on royals behalf I can trace my ancestry to the Han Emperor I kept tracing further after I first discovered James the 4th and Margaret Drummond where the royal lineage began for us and it kept going further and I was astounded that thats where the basic roots of my family started as after him I can trace only a few generations then nothing.

[@ismeeiger5322]

Qin Shi Huang and Han gaozu are not their names,that's the respectful title(谥号)after death，their name should be YingZheng(嬴政) and Liu Bang（刘邦），most Chinese last names are come from the emporer of Zhou dynasty, Ji(姬).

[@peacetrain5623]

How about surname Qin come to existed

[@elgoblino4578]

that intro had me hooked in seconds, content is top notch.

[@achangster]

13:58, the princess is An-le, not Taiping. Taiping was Zhongzong's sister mentioned there.

[@JustBeingRandomx3]

Great video, Thanks!

[@keenoy17]

Make a video on gupta emperors family trees

[@MillerZhanged]

Sad they didn’t mention Emperor Huizong of Song being a great artist and poet

[@ol1163]

Princess Taiping is Wu Zetian's smallest child, Zhongzong ans Ruizong's younger sister.. Zhongzong's daughter is Princess Anle.

[@zacflemo1994]

Kinda wish he went more into the 3 kingdoms era, was my favourite era of Chinese history lol

[@adanphu4325]

Very very very good channel 🦍

[@devonodonnell715]

Video idea: So I’ve been learning a lot about the Irish clans lately and thought that it would be cool if you could make a “greatest Irish clan/dynasty”, from my clan I’ve learned that Emperor Franz Josef was saved by one of us.

[@aliyaser7698]

@@poetryflynn3712 The Arabs were like this, but everything evolves, my friend

[@Sebastian-wz1wh]

Princess Taiping is Zhongzong's sister, Wu zetian's youngest daughter, the princess you were referring to was Princess Anle

[@xanamata5386]

if yellow emperor joe ,was born at 2917 bc , he would be the same number in years(bce) as height in meters of mountain olympus where zeus lived and was the lighting king .

[@rafol1978]

Love these vids

[@jayc2345]

This is really interesting