Emperors Ruling from Yuán Dàdū or Míng and Qīng Běijīng
Part of the Background section of A Better Guide to Běijīng
Convention has Míng and Qīng rulers known by the names of their reigns. Yuán dynasty emperors are known by a mixture of their Khan names, their temple names, and posthumous names. Some had multiple reign names due to temporary dethronement during frequent civil wars.
The Yuán were Mongol and the Qīng were Manchu. Of the 35 emperors to reign from where Běijīng now stands, nearly two thirds were aliens, not Chinese.
Mongol Empire (Yuán) 元
Khubilai built Khanbalik or Dàdū (the site of modern Běijīng) from 1257, ruled the Mongols from 1260, and founded the Yuán dynasty in 1271. Jijaghatu Toq-Temür was dethroned by civil war in 1329 but reinstated the same year. Toghan-Temür was expelled from Běijīng in 1368, but continued as the first emperor of the Northern Yuán, ruling the Mongols from Karakorum in Mongolia until 1370.
Khubilai 1260–94
Temür Öljeytü 1294–1307
Qayshan Gülük 1308–11
Ayurparibhadra 1311–20
Suddhipala Gege’en 1321–23
Yesün-Temür 1323–28
Arigaba 1328
Jijaghatu Toq-Temür 1328–29
Qoshila Qutuqtu 1329
Jijaghatu Toq-Temür 1329–32
Irinchibal 1332
Toghan-Temür 1333–68
Great Míng Empire 明
The first two Míng emperors ruled from Nánjīng from 1368 until the Yǒnglè emperor in 1406 ordered craftsmen to be assembled for the construction of a new capital, Běijīng. He moved to a temporary palace in the city in 1417, until the Forbidden City was completed in 1420.
The inept Zhèngtǒng emperor was captured by the Mongols and then replaced by his brother the Jǐngtài emperor, but later remounted the throne as the Tiānshùn emperor.
Yǒnglè 永乐 1403–24
Hóngxī 洪熙 1425
Xuāndé 宣德 1426–35
Zhèngtǒng 正统 1436–49
Jǐngtài 景泰 1450–57
Tiānshùn 天顺 1457–64
Chénghuà 成化 1465–87
Hóngzhì 弘治 1488–1505
Zhèngdé 正德 1506–21
Jiājìng 嘉靖 1522–66
Lōngqìng 隆庆 1567–72
Wànlì 万历 1573–1620
Tàichāng 泰昌 1620
Tiānqǐ 天启 1621–27
Chóngzhēn 崇祯 1628–44
The rebel Lǐ Zìchéng (李自成), who dethroned the Míng, took Běijing in April 1644, sitting on the throne for an estimated 42 days as the Yǒngchāng emperor (永昌) of the Shùn (顺) dynasty, until the city was retaken by a combined force of Míng and Manchu armies in June.
Great Qīng Empire 清
Shùnzhì 顺治 1644–61
Kāngxī 康熙 1662–1722
Yōngzhèng 雍正 1723–35
Qiánlóng 乾隆 1736–95
Jiāqìng 嘉庆 1796–1820
Dàoguāng 道光 1821–50
Xiánfēng 咸丰 1851–61
Tóngzhì 同治 1862–74
Guāngxù 光绪 1874–1908
Xuāntǒng 宣统 1909–12
Yuán Shìkǎi (袁世凯), China’s first proper president from 1912, briefly proclaimed himself the Hóngxiàn (洪憲) emperor of the Great Chinese Empire in 1916 but was forced to cancel plans for a full enthronement owing to public protest.
On 1 July 1917 the Xuāntǒng emperor, last of the Qīng and more often referred to as Pǔyí (溥仪), was returned to the throne by Zhāng Xūn (张勋), a pro-monarchist warlord known as ‘the pig-tailed general’, in what was called the Zhāng Xūn Restoration (张勋复辟, Zhāng Xūn Fùbì). It lasted 12 days.
See Where are They Now? for details of the emperors’ tombs, many of which may be visited.
Next in Background: Hútòng Walking
Previous: A Brief History of Běijīng
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