This is a family tree of Chinese monarchs from the foundation of the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

in 221 BCE until the end of the Sixteen Kingdoms period.

Qin dynasty

The

(秦朝) was established in 221 BCE after

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Empero ...

, King of Qin, conquered his final independent neighbour, the

state of Qi Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a state of the Zhou dynasty-era in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Linzi, located in present-day Shandong. Qi was founded sh ...

. It is now recognised as the first Chinese imperial dynasty in the modern sense of the term; in recognition of this, its rulers were for the first time titled "Emperor" (皇帝), a title of which the components are drawn from legend, higher than the previous title "King" (王). The ancestral name of the family was Ying (嬴), although it is anachronistic to regard this as a family name in the modern sense: it would not have been used together with a given name. The titles of the Qin emperors were literally

regnal number Regnal numbers are ordinal numbers used to distinguish among persons with the same name who held the same office. Most importantly, they are used to distinguish monarchs. An ''ordinal'' is the number placed after a monarch's regnal name to differ ...

s: "Qin Shi Huang" (秦始皇), in full "Qin Shi Huangdi" (秦始皇帝) means literally "the first Emperor of Qin", "Qin Er Shi" (秦二世), in full "Qin Er Shi Huangdi" (秦二世皇帝) means "the second Emperor of Qin", and so forth.

Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms

Han dynasty, Xin dynasty and Shu Han

Emperor Xian Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220. Liu Xie was a so ...

, the last emperor of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

, was a descendant of the first emperor

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Empe ...

. Lasting for over 400 years (the first to last for more than a century), the Han dynasty is regarded as one of the golden ages of Chinese history. The Han dynasty was interrupted by the reign of the usurper

Wang Mang Wang Mang () (c. 45 – 6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later seized the thron ...

, who declared the

Xin dynasty The Xin dynasty (; ), also known as Xin Mang () in Chinese historiography, was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty which lasted from 9 to 23 AD, established by the Han dynasty consort kin Wang Mang, who usurped the throne of the Emperor Pin ...

(9–23 AD); on this basis, the Han dynasty is generally divided into the Western Han (206 BC – 9 AD and 23–25 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). The rulers of the Shu Han, one of the three successor states to the Han dynasty during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period, were descended from the Han imperial family, and considered themselves a continuation of the Han dynasty; they are included below.

Cao Wei

Eastern Wu

Jin dynasty and Chu

The following is a family tree for the Jin dynasty, which ruled a unified China during the Western Jin Dynasty (265–316 AD). Although greatly weakened by the

War of the Eight Princes The War of the Eight Princes, Rebellion of the Eight Kings, or Rebellion of the Eight Princes () was a series of civil wars among kings/princes (Chinese: ''wáng'' 王) of the Chinese Jin dynasty from 291 to 306 AD. The key point of contention in ...

during the reign of the developmentally disabled Emperor Hui, when members of the clan fought among themselves for imperial control, and forced Eastwards after the conquest of their capital in 316 AD, the dynasty nonetheless continued in the form of the Eastern Jin Dynasty until 420 AD.

Sixteen Kingdoms

Cheng Han

(Han) Former Zhao

Yan states and Tuyuhun

Legend about affiliations:

Later Zhao

Former Liang

Later Liang

Northern Liang

Western Liang

Former Qin

Later Qin

Western Qin

Southern Liang

Xia Xia (Hsia in Wade–Giles) may refer to: Chinese history * Xia dynasty (c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC), the first orthodox dynasty in Chinese history * Xia (Sixteen Kingdoms) (407–431), a Xiongnu-led dynasty * Xia (617–621), a state founded by Dou Ji ...

Other states contemporaneous with Sixteen Kingdoms

Dai

Zhai Wei Wei (), known in historiography as Zhai Wei (), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Dingling people that existed from 388 to 392, during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Its founder Zhai Liao had previously been vacillating ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese Emperors Family Tree (Early) * Chinese monarchs Dynasty genealogy Family trees