Chinese Empire
221 BC–1912 empire in East Asia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Chinese empire?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Chinese Empire, also known as Imperial China or the Empire of China,[lower-alpha 1] is a term referring to the domain ruled by the Emperor of China. It was also known as the Celestial Empire in reference to the status of the Emperor of China as the Son of Heaven in the Sinosphere. For most of its history, China was organized into various dynasties under the rule of hereditary monarchs. In 221 BCE, China was unified under an emperor for the first time, establishing the first great Chinese empire. Appointed non-hereditary officials began ruling counties instead of the aristocracy, ushering in more than two millennia of Chinese dynasties or empires including the Qin, Han, Tang, Yuan, Ming, and Qing.
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: "Chinese Empire" is a generic term referring to the domain ruled by the Emperor of China rather than a concrete continuous empire. (May 2024) |
Chinese Empire | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
c. 221 BC–1912 | |||||||
Motto: None | |||||||
Anthem:
| |||||||
Approximate territorial extent of the various dynasties and states in Chinese history. | |||||||
Status | Empire | ||||||
Capital | |||||||
Official languages | Chinese | ||||||
Common languages | |||||||
Religion | |||||||
Demonym(s) | Chinese | ||||||
Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||
Emperor aka Son of Heaven | |||||||
• c. 221–210 BC (first) | Qin Shi Huang | ||||||
• 1908–1912 (last) | Xuantong | ||||||
Chancellor | |||||||
• 221–208 BC (first) | Li Si | ||||||
• 1911–1912 (last) | Yikuang | ||||||
Legislature | Imperial Court | ||||||
History | |||||||
230–221 BC | |||||||
206–202 BC | |||||||
581–618 | |||||||
613–628 | |||||||
1205–1279 | |||||||
1368–1644 | |||||||
1618–1683 | |||||||
12 February 1912 | |||||||
Area | |||||||
All combined c.[1][2][3] | 17,500,000–18,000,000 km2 (6,800,000–6,900,000 sq mi) | ||||||
Population | |||||||
• 1850 | 430,000,000 | ||||||
Currency | Ban Liang, Wu Zhu, Cash, Jiaochao, Tael, Paper money | ||||||
|
Originally emerged as a loose collection of various Han Chinese-speaking entities during the Warring States period, the Qin's wars of unification brought most of the Huaxia realm into one single dynasty, establishing Qin as the first imperial dynasty in 221 BC, the year where the first Chinese empire was established.[4] Imperial China would continue to expand even after the collapse of the Qin dynasty, with the Han dynasty established itself with unprecedented expansion in the north, south and west.[5] It would be the Tang dynasty four centuries later that China really achieved the golden age of its imperial realm, where China became the world's most powerful economic, political and military power, a status which China would hold until the 9th century, along with its territory spanned from Central Asia, Tibet, Mongolia to Northeast Asia and partial Southeast Asia until being put to bed by the An Lushan rebellion.[6][7][8][9] Imperial China marked its revival under the Mongol-based Yuan dynasty, in which China managed to incorporate Tibet and Mongolia into its inner territory. The Qing dynasty, founded three centuries after the fall of Yuan, laid ground to most of China's modern border today with its expansion into Inner Asia.[10][11]
Following the 1911 Revolution, the Qing monarchy was abolished a year later, thus put an end to the era of Imperial China following the imperial decree issuing abdication of the Xuantong Emperor.[12] Yuan Shikai attempted to restore the Chinese Empire three years later, with himself as the Emperor, but it was put to bed by the lack of popular support for the restoration of the monarchy.[citation needed]