Readers should know about the basic features of the Chinese language as desbribed below:
The Chinese language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan Family. The Chinese language is being used by over 1.3 billion people, including people in mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, China Towns in major American and European cities. It is the official language of China, and one of the six working languages of the United Nations.
A. The phonetics of the Chinese language:
The syllable of Chinese is consisted of three parts:
1. Shéngmǔ--initial consonant,
2. Yùnmǔ--simple or compound vowel,
3. Shéngdiào--the four tones of classical and modern Chinese phonetics:
High and level tone—汤—tāng: soup
Rising tone—糖—táng: sugar
Falling-rising tone—躺—tǎng: to lie dow
Falling tone—烫—tàng: hot
B. Grammar: most elements of Chinese language are of a single syllable, for instance 手(hand),洗(wash),民(people) and 失(lost). Two elements can be combined into a word: 马+路=马路(a road); 开+关=开关(a switch).Such disyllables take up a bigger part in Chinese words.
To compare with Indo-European languages, you find no suffix, such as “ness”, “tion”, “ment” in the Chinese.
In your language , the function of a word is rather simple, for instance, a noun can only be used as a subject or an object, but in Chinese, a word has more functions, for example, an adjective can be used as a predicate (这儿干净Here is clean.), an attribute (干净衣服Clean cloths), a complement (洗干净Wash it clean), a subject (干净最重要Cleanness is the most important thing) or an object (他不爱干净He does not like being clean).
The subject-predicate structure is quite loose in Chinese, you can put a comma fter the subject, for instance 这个人呐,很会说话(This person, knows how to talk). Such a structure is always used as a predicate, for example 中国地方真大(The expanse of China [is] really big).
The verb-complement structure is quite unique in Chinese, for instance 听懂(listening comprehension).
C. The Chinese characters, which is called “Han Zi”, has been a tool to record the Chinese language and exchange ideas by the Han people since ancient times. The earliest Chinese characters that we were able to discover are those from the Shang Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago. Chinese characters are kind of syllabic words, one character represents a syllable in the language. A Chinese character is usually formed by a radical and a basic part, for instance, “江,jiang, river”, is formed by a water radical “氵“and a basic part “工“;”信,xin, trust” is formed by a people radical “亻“ and a basic part “言--words”. More than 80% of characters are “pictophonetic characters”, which means that one part of a character indicates meaning, and the other sound. For example, “座”, a seating place, pronounced as “坐 -zùo”, seating under a roof“广”; “鸠”—“九”indicates sound—“jiú”, “鸟”indicates meaning, a bird, the character means a turtledove.
The earliest Chinese characters were found on animal bones or tortoise shells from the ruins of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). We have found more than 100 thousand pieces of such bones and tortoise shells, from which more than 2,000 characters can still be recognized. Such characters were very developed in the Shang, so presumably, the characters came into being before Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 BC). We can therefore say that the Chinese characters have existed for more than 4,000 years. Chinese characters are ideographs. So were the cuneiform used by Babylonians and Persians and the pictograph used by ancient Egyptians. But they no longer exist
Chinese characters have been regarded as square characters. They obviously evolved from simple paintings. Let me give you some examples: 日,the sun, was 日; 月,the moon, was 月; 目, eye, was 目; 草, grass, was 草; 水, water, was 水 and etc.
You may wish to know how many Chinese characters there are. The “Kangxi Dictionary”compiled in the Qing Dynasty contained more than 47,000 characters.
Despite minor changes in the long development of the characters, ancient words from Shang and Zhou Dynasties, books handed down from Qin and Han Dynasties can still be read and understood by people of today.
There are, generally speaking, 7 dialects. People in different parts of China use the same characters, but they may use different pronunciations. While allowing the continued existence of local dialects, we have been popularizing a common speech that is based on the Beijing dialect. For that purpose, since 1958, “The Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet” has been implemented. I shall use this scheme as well to give you the pronunciation of the poems I quote
Why do foreigners find Chinese language difficult to learn? I personally think there are three reasons. Unlike phonetic languages, when hearing a word, a foreigner who has never studied Chinese can not write it down; when he reads a word, he can not pronounce it. It is common in Chinese many words share the same pronunciation, a word may contain more than one meanings and a word may have different pronunciations. Secondly, the writing of characters is difficult. There are five basic strokes: dot, horizontal, vertical, left-falling and right-falling and turning strokes. There are more than a dozen other strokes. Finally, it is difficult to master the four tones.
I presume, such a general picture of the Chinese language would be enough at the present stage as background knowledge. Any further details would be a burden to you.
Let me now give you a very brief introduction to
the history of China. Please look at this chronology (attached as appendix I).
I would like to point out that man had lived for a very long time in the country known as China today. Fossil remains of the early Palaeolithic Ape Man, his stone implements, as well as large quantities of other palaeontological fossils, have been found on various occasions since 1929 at Zhoukoudian, fifty kilometers southwest of Beijing. Studies by experts reveal that the Chinese Ape Man, also known as the Peking Man, lived in the Pleistocene period of the Quarternary era, about 500,000 years ago.
A great amount of Neolithic remains including painted and black pottery was found in the vast expanse of China.
Prehistoric characters can be founded in ancient books. To name a few: Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor) who used jade to make weapons with which to conquer other tribes; Lei Zu, his wife, who introduced the rearing of silkworms; Shun, the inventor of lacquer-ware; and the Great Yu, who used bronze weapons to vanquish to Miao people and who harnessed great floods. The society was based on the primitive commune in which classes, private property and exploitation of man by man were unknown.
Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 B.C.) was the first Chinese dynasty that ruled a state. The Great Yu was the first king, who was succeeded by his descendants.
Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.) Written records of the Shang Dynasty, made by contemporaries, still exist. Some of the writings of this period were cast in bronze, some inscribed on tortoise shells or animal bones. Shang Dynasty has the following features: The discovery of an extraordinary variety of bronzes shows that production had reached the Bronze Age. It had entered into the stage of agriculture, as supported by evidence discovered. It was a slave society; people were buried as sacrifices in the tombs of the nobles.
Zhou Dynasty covers two periods, the first is the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 B.C.). Modern archaeological research and extant records reveal the following characteristics of the period:
1. Improved farming tools, greater variety of agriculture products and an enlarged scale of farming show that the production level was higher.
2. A hierarchy based on the private ownership of land existed. The sons of kings were made princes and princelings and granted fiefs.
3. The hierarchical system was closely connected with the patriarchal system, which established the right of succession by the eldest son.
4. Western Zhou culture developed further, as witnessed by the artistic creation in the Book of Songs and the form of ideographs used in the writings.
Eastern Zhou Dynasty was the second period of Zhou Dynasty. Eastern Zhou itself contains two periods: the Spring and Autumn (770-476 B.C.) and the Warring States (475-221 B.C.). Eastern Zhou society had the following features:
1. The discovery and use of iron promoted the growth of the productive forces
2. Changes in land ownership began to take place.
3. Local economy began to develop.
4. Political structure was being changed. Numerous vassal states submitted to big powers. Only seven (Qi, Qin, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Wei and Han) were left. The newly rising classes of landlords and peasants demanded an end to the separatist rule of the nobles and the establishment of a unified political power. The system of fiefs was partially abolished and superseded by a system of prefectures and counties. Governors and magistrates were appointed by the king.
5. Culture gained remarkable progress. Confucius (552-479 B.C.), champion of the feudal hierarchy, played a very important role in summarizing and spreading academic knowledge. The school of the philosopher Mo Di (480-390 B.C.) opposed the internecine wars of the princes and the extravagance of the time. The followers of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi (365? -290? B.C.) were opposed to social evolution and advocated a return to primitive society in which people lived in isolation all their lives. The legalists, represented by Shang Yang (390?-338 B.C.) and Han Fei (280?-233 B.C.) advocated a centralized monarchy and rule by law. There was great progress in natural sciences. A number of historical works appeared. In literature even more important developments were recorded, and long theoretical essays made their appearance in addition to narrative compositions. The long lyrical poems of the genius Chu poet, Qu Yuan (340-278 B.C.) and the works of other Chu poets constitute a particularly valuable part of China’s literary heritage.
The Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.) Shi Huang Di (246-210 B.C.), the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, conquered the six other states and put an end to the independent, disunited feudal states which had existed for over eight hundred years and founded the first centralized, autocratic feudal empire in Chinese history in 221 B.C.
Emperor Shi Huang Di unified the country by standardizing weights and measures, the length of axles of carts, the type of dress and the calendar and the initiating of a single currency, enforcing national laws and a unitary script. Shi Huang Di sought to stamp out the old aristocratic culture and ideas. In 213 B.C. there was a public burning of books in which an enormous number of books were consigned to the flames, only books on medicine, pharmacy, astronomy and agronomy were exempt from this wanton destruction. He and his son forced 300,000 men to build the Great Wall and dispatched 500,000 to Garrison Lingnan. An additional 700,000 men were used to build palaces, and equal number to erect his mausoleum, and myriads more were conscripted to build roads. In 209 B.C. peasants armed with hoes and clubs, led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, destroyed the rule of Qin.
Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-24A.D.) was established as a result of the peasant uprising. Under Wu Di (reigned 140-87 B.C.) the Western Han reached the zenith of its power and the central government wielded unlimited authority. Confucianism became the orthodox Chinese doctrine. It was during this period, China opened trade with Persia, India and key cities of the Roman Empire.
What was particular about the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 A.D.) was the invention of paper making in the year 105 by Cai Lun and the start of porcelain manufacture.
I would like to point out that the term Han nationality, which embraces the majority of the inhabitants of China other than those of the ethnic minorities, is taken from “Han” of the Han Dynasty when the Chinese people were known as Han beyond the borders. Four names in the Han Dynasty should be remembered: Sima Qian (148 B.C.-?) wrote “Historical Records” which introduced a new form of biography. Ban Gu (32-92) wrote the “History of Han”, which inaugurated the method of recording history by dynasties. Zhang Heng (78-139) invented an armillary sphere operated by waterpower, a seismoscope, and an instrument to detect the direction of the wind. Wang Chong (27-?), a materialist philosopher, boldly criticized and denounced superstitious ideas.
We now come to the period of Three Kingdoms; they are Wei (220-265), Shu (221-263) and Wu (222-280). The names of the rulers of Three Kingdoms, especially Cao Cao (155-220), the King of Wei and a great poet and Zhuge Liang (181-234), the renowned prime minister and strategist of the Kingdom of Shu, have been known to almost every Chinese, thanks to the influence of the historical book by Chen Shou of the Western Jin Dynasty and the long novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” by Luo Guanzhong of early Qing Dynasty.
The disunion under the Three Kingdoms came to an end and unified state was restored when the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316) was established.
The years between 304-439 were years in which the northern part of China suffered great destruction. Xiong Nu overthrew Jin and thereafter various tribes—Jie, Xian Bei, Di and Qiang—successively occupied the central part of China, while other tribes seized frontier areas. They established short-lived kingdoms. At the same time, Emperor Yuan Di established the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), dominated by the Han nationality in the Changjiang River basin. It was followed by four successive dynasties under Han rulers: Song (420-479), Qi (479-502), Liang (502-557) and Chen (557-589). They became known as the Southern Dynasties. During this period, Zu Chongzhi (429-500) made a remarkable calculation, namely, the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle was between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927.
The Northern Dynasties (386-550) during the period of great division in the north, Toba, a branch of the Xian Bei tribe, rose in today’s Shanxi Province. They brought the north under unified control and established the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). Caused by a peasant uprising, Northern Wei was splitted into Eastern Wei (534-550) and Western Wei (535-577). Later, Gao Yang, a Han, overthrew the government of the Eastern Wei and established the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-581). Yuwen Jue, a Xian Bei, took over the control of Western Wei and founded Northern Zhou (557-581). Northern Zhou eventually conquered Northern Qi, paving the way for the unification of China under the Sui Dynasty.
Buddhism, which was introduced into China through Da Yue Di about the beginning of the Christian era, gradually spread during the Eastern Han Dynasty and the period of the Three Kingdoms. Towards the close of the Eastern Jin, Buddhism became linked with Confucian ritualism. The Buddhist ideas of transmigration and retribution were widely accepted. Buddhist culture flourished. The Thousand-Buddha Grottoes at Dunhuang which started in the Liang Dynasty, the stone caves at Bingling Temple, the Grottoes at Maijishan, the stone grottoes at Yungang and Longmen, all dating back to the Northern Wei, are now part of China’s historical treasury of art. Buddhism also brought to China a new type of music, dance, musical instruments and architecture. The translation of Buddhist sutras into Chinese enriched the language.
sui Dynasty (581-618) In 581 Yang Jian (541-604), a Han, who was serving as prime minister under the Xian Bei rulers of Northern Zhou, seized power and established the Sui Dynasty. He vanquished the Chen Dynasty in the south in 589 and unified the whole of China. The Grand Canal between Hangzhou and Beijing was dug during the Sui period
Tang Dynasty (618-907) It was a peaceful and prosperous period during the reign of Tai Zong (627-649). Changan was a center of international trade and cultural exchanges. It was during this period, Princess Wen Cheng was married to Songtsan Gambo who unified the Tibetan area, and the economic and cultural ties between the Han and the Tibetan nationalities grew all the closer. Poetry came to the flower of its glory at this period. The dynasty produced many brilliant poets, like Li Bai (701-762), Du Fu (712-770) and Bai Juyi (772-846). These three rank as the greatest of them. Art reached a very high level; there was a galaxy of great painters and sculptors like Wu Daozi and Wang Wei.
The Five Dynasties (907-960) Tang Dynasty collapsed because of peasant uprising. In 907 Zhu Wen founded the Later Liang (907-923). The Later Tang (923-936), Later Jin (936-946), Later Han (947-950) and Later Zhou (951-960) followed this in rapid succession.
Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126) In 960, Zhao Kuangyin (927-976), a military officer of the Later Zhou Dynasty, organized a mutiny, captured political power from the ruling house and founded the Song Dynasty and brought reunification back to China. Rural economy recovered and developed. Industries like metal mining and smelting developed together with trade. Nǚzhen, a northern tribe, swept southward and seized the Song capital, the Northern Song Dynasty came to an end.
Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) In 1127 a group of civil and military officials crossed the Changjiang River and established a new government in Hangzhou, and the Southern Song Dynasty started.
In 1234 Mongols destroyed the Nǚzhen’s rule in China. In 1276, they conquered the capital of Southern Song and in 1279 they wiped out the last contingent of the Song army in Guangdong, bringing the whole of China under their control
During the Song Dynasty, Bi Sheng invented a movable type made of clay for printing, since than many voluminous works have been printed. Cheng Yi (1033-1107) and Zhu Xi (1130-1200) were leaders of a new school of Confucian philosophy known as rational philosophy or neo-Confucianism. Many authoritative historical works were written. The main contribution of Song literature was “ci”.
Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) Kublai Khan founded the Yuan Dynasty in 1271 with the capital in Beijing. The drama, known as “za ju”, reached a very high level of development. The writing of novels flourished, the best known of that period is “Outlaws of the Marsh” by Shi Naian.
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Zhu Yuanzhang, a commander of rebellion army succeeded in overthrowing the Yuan rule and established a powerful and prosperous dynasty. A few things are worth of mentioning about this period:
An armed fleet under the command of Zheng He (1371-1435), a court eunuch, made seven voyages of exploration to the South Sea Islands and Indian Ocean, they even sailed as far as the eastern shores of Africa.
Germs of capitalism emerged and the last phase of feudalism began in the middle of Ming Dynasty.
Europeans began to arrive. Portuguese trading ships came to Guangdong in 1516 and inaugurated a sea route between China and Europe. The Dutch in 1606 and the English in 1637 followed Spanish traders, who came in 1557.
Song Yingxing wrote “Nature develops Resources” to explain the process of industrial manufacture in great detail; Li Shizhen wrote “Compendium of Materia Medica” on zoology, botany and mineralogy. Both works carried worldwide influence.
Novels were written in vernacular, such as the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” and “Journey to the West”.
Qing Dynasty 1644-1911) The peasant army of Li Zicheng entered Beijing in 1644, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty was unable to get out of the city and hanged himself at Jingshan behind the imperial palace in Beijing. The Ming Dynasty ended with his death. At the same time, the Manchus, a branch of the Nǚzhen, were approaching the Shanhaiguan Pass, where the Great Wall meets the sea. Wu Sangui, the Ming garrison commander of the pass, betrayed his people and led the Manchu troops through the Great Wall. They defeated Li Zicheng’s peasant army and occupied Beijing, and the Qing Dynasty thus started. During the Qing Dynasty, catholic missionaries spread western scientific knowledge in China. In the early years of the Qing, the “Kunshan Drama” of the Ming was still in vogue, but after the reign of Qian Long, the Beijing Opera gradually supplanted it as the main dramatic form. More novels of fiction like “A Dream of the Red Mansions” and “The Scholars” appeared.
The Opium War in 1840 marks the beginning of a semi-feudal and semi-colonial period in China. During this period, the rotten Qing government signed many humiliating treaties, which ceded territories to foreign capitalist and imperialist powers like Britain, USA, Russia, Japan, France and Germany. The troops of these six powers, Italy and Austria marched like robbers into Beijing in August 1900. The outrages and atrocities—arson, looting, killing, raping and the burning down of the old summer palace by these aggressive armies have seldom been equaled in world history. The Taiping Uprising and Yi He Tuan Movement demonstrated the struggle of Chinese people against imperialist and feudal oppression. During this period the Bourgeois political reform movement of 1898 failed.
The Bourgeois Revolution of 1911 led by Dr. Sun Yatsen overthrew the Qing Dynasty and ended the more than 2,000-year-old feudal monarchical system. Yet, owing to the weak and compromising character of the Chinese bourgeoisie, warlords usurped the fruits of the revolution.
The Period of the New Democratic Revolution (1911-1949) The Peace Treaty of Versailles after World War I decided to give Japan all the special “rights” previously seized by Germany in Shandong, including the occupation of Qingdao. This aroused the indignation of the Chinese people. On May 4,1919, students in Beijing held a mass rally at Tian An Men. The May 4th Movement ended with success, the warlord government refused to sign the treaty. Since the movement, the influence of the October Socialist Revolution came to China. Marxism began to be disseminated. The Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921, and working class movement surged up. In the struggle against warlords, Dr. Sun Yatsen accepted the assistance of the Communist Party and reorganized Guomintang. As a result, the Northern Expedition gained victories. The Chiang Kai-shek clique of the Guomintang, representing the right wing of the national bourgeoisie, launched a coup deta in Shanghai; many workers and communist party members were massacred. Since the August 1st Uprising of 1927, the Chinese Communist Party established its own army. Mao Zedong established revolutionary bases in Jiangxi. On September 18,1931, Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on Shenyang. Chiang Kai-shek’s Guomintang adopted a “non-resistance” policy, as a result, the three northeastern provinces with a population of more than 30 million were lost to the Japanese in three months. At the same time, they organized five “encirclement and suppression” against the revolutionary bases. On October 16, 1934, the main forces of the Red Army left the Jiangxi revolutionary base, and began its celebrated Long March (12,500 kilometers). The Red Army arrived in Yanan in October 1935 and became the leading force in the War of Resistance against the Japanese Aggression. It took us eight bitter years to defeat the Japanese. Yet, after the war, the Kuomintang, planned to seize the people’s fruits of victory and unleashed a large-scale civil war on the Chinese Communist Party and all the revolutionary forces of the people. While the Communist Party smashed attacks of the Kuomintang troops, the patriotic democratic movement in Kuomintang-controlled areas upsurged. After three major campaigns, the People’s Liberation Army armed with rifles defeated Kuomintang army, which was equipped with planes and artilleries. After the overthrow of the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang, the Chinese people set about establishing their own state. The First Session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference opened on September 21, 1949 and adopted the Common Program, which defined the character and tasks of the New China; the rights and duties of the people, the structure of state power; military, economic, cultural and educational systems; policies on foreign affairs and ethnic minorities. Grand ceremonies inaugurating the People's Republic of China were held in Beijing on October 1st, 1949. From Tian An Men, Mao Zedong issued a proclamation to the people of the country and to the entire world, solemnly declaring the establishment of the people’s Republic of China and the Central People’s Government.
Table of Chinese Dynasties
Xia (21-16 cent. BC) 夏
Shang (Yin) (16-11 cent. BC) 商 (殷)
Western Zhou (11 cent.-771 BC) 西周
Eastern Zhou (770 - 221 BC) 东周
Spring & Autumn Period (770 - 475 BC) 春秋
Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC) 战国
Qin (221 - 207 BC) 秦
Western Han (206 BC - 24 AD) 西汉
Eastern Han (24 - 220 AD) 东汉
Three Kingdoms (220 - 280) 三国
Wei (220 - 265) 魏
Shu (221 - 263) 蜀
Wu (221 - 280) 吴
Western Jin (265 - 316) 西晋
Eastern Jin (317 - 420) 东晋
Southern & Northern Dynasties (420 - 589) 南北朝
Southern Dynasties (420 - 589) 南朝
Song (420 - 479) 宋
Qi (479 - 502) 齐
Liang (502 - 557) 梁
Chen (557 - 589) 陈
Northern Dynasties (386 - 581) 北朝
Northern Wei (386 - 534) 北魏
Eastern Wei (534 - 550) 东魏
Western Wei (535 - 557) 西魏
Northern Qi (550 - 557) 北齐
Northern Zhou (557 - 581) 北周
Sui Dynasty (581 - 618) 隋
Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) 唐
Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms (907 - 979) 五代十国
Five Dynasties (907 - 960) 五代
Later Liang (907 - 923) 后梁
Later Tang (923 - 936) 后唐
Later Jin (936 - 946) 后晋
Later Han (947 - 950) 后汉
Later Zhou (951 - 960) 后周
Ten Kingdoms (902 - 979) 十国
Former Shu (907 - 925) 前蜀
Later Shu (934 - 965) 后蜀
Wu Yue (907 - 978) 吴越
Min (909 - 945) 闽
Chu (927 - 951) 楚
Wu (902 - 937) 吴
Jing Nan (Nan Ping) (924 - 963) 荆南 (南平)
Southern Han (917 - 971) 南汉
Southern Tang (927 - 975) 南唐
Northern Han (951 - 979) 北汉
Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) 宋
Northern Song (960 - 1127) 北宋
Liao (Khitan) (916 - 1125) 辽 (契丹)
Southern Song (1127 - 1279) 南宋
Western Xia (Xixia) (1038 - 1227) 西夏
Kin (1115 - 1234) 金
Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368) 元
Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) 明
Hong Wu (1368 - 1398) 洪武
Jian Wen (1399 - 1402) 建文
Yong Le (1403 - 1424) 永乐
Hong Xi (1425) 洪熙
Xuan De (1426 - 1435) 宣德
Zheng Tong (1436 - 1449) 正统
Jing Tai (1450 - 1456) 景泰
Tian Shun (1457 - 1464) 天顺
Cheng Hua (1465 - 1487) 成化
Hong Zhi (1488 - 1505) 弘治
Zheng De (1506 - 1521) 正德
Jia Jing (1522 - 1566) 嘉靖
Long Qing (1567 - 1572) 隆庆
Wan Li (1573 - 1620) 万历
Tai Chang (1620) 泰昌
Tian Qi (1621 - 1627) 天启
Chong Zhen (1628 - 1644) 崇祯
Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) 清
Shun Zhi (1644 - 1661) 顺治
Kang Xi (1662 - 1722) 康熙
Yong Zheng (1723 - 1735) 雍正
Qian Long (1736 - 1795) 乾隆
Jia Qing (1796 - 1820) 嘉庆
Dao Guang (1821 - 1850) 道光
Xian Feng (1851 - 1861) 咸丰
Tong Zhi (1862 - 1874) 同治
Guang Xu (1875 - 1908) 光绪
Xuan Tong (1909 - 1911) 宣统
The Republic of China (1911 - 1949) 中华民国
The People's Republic of China (founded in 1949) 中华人民共和国
