The
list of rulers of China includes rulers of
China with various titles. From the
Zhou dynasty to the
Qin dynasty, rulers usually held the title "king" . With the separation of China into different
Warring States, this title had become so common that the unifier of
China, the first Qin Emperor
Qin Shihuang created a new title for himself, that of "emperor" . The title of
emperor of China continued to be used for the remainder of China's imperial history, right down to the fall of the
Qing dynasty in 1912. While many other monarchs existed in and around China throughout its history, this list covers only those with a quasi-legitimate claim to the majority of
China, or those who have traditionally been named in king-lists. The following list of Chinese monarchs is in no way comprehensive.
Chinese sovereigns were known by many different names, and how they should be identified is often confusing. Sometimes the same emperor is commonly known by two or three separate
names, or the same name is used by emperors of different dynasties. The tables below do not necessarily include all of an emperor's names – for example, posthumous names could run to more than twenty characters and were rarely used in historical writing – but, where possible, the most commonly used name or
naming convention has been indicated.