157 replies to this topic

[KingMaradona]

Other emperors not on the list worthy of consideration would be

Tang Xuanzong ( Li Longji)
Kublai Khan
Yong Lo (Zhu Di)

[KingMaradona]

A COUPLE OF TEARS AGO HONG KONG CABLE TV RAN A TV SERIES OF THE TOP 10 EMPERORS THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF CHINA . THE LIST IS BELOW

QIN SHI HUANG
HAN GAO ZU
HAN WU DI
TANG TAI ZONG
WU ZEI TIAN
SUNG TAI ZU
MING TAI ZU
KANG XI
YONG ZHENG
QIAN LONG


DO YOU AGREE WITH THE LIST. WHAT IS YOUR OWN PERSONAL LIST ?
OTHER EMPERORS THAT I PERSONALLY THINK DESERVE MENTION INCLUDE TANG XUANZONG , KUBLAI KHAN, AND YONG LE

[orchid_dreams]

I don't see why Wu ZeTian is ranked 5th on the list.
Top 10 emperors -- in what?

I agree with you: Tang Xuan Zong deserve to be listed on there as well.

And I don't think Zhu YuanZhang should be on the list.
Again it comes to the term "top 10" -- it doesn't state what.

Btw, I think it would be nicer if you didn't use capitals -- it seems like you're shouting, and I don't like people shouting in my head. ^_~

[Yun]

King Maradona, you started a thread on the exact same topic in May 2005. Have you lost your memory since then?

Merged with older thread.

[shawn]

My list would be:

Qin Shi Huang
Han Gao Zu
Han Wen Di
Han Wu Di
Han Jing Di
Ming Hong Wu
Ming Yong Le
Kangxi
Yongzhen
Qianlong

[Yun]

Based on the criterion of political and military success within each emperor's lifetime:

1. Qin Shihuangdi (Ying Zheng)
2. Han Gaozu (Liu Bang)
3. Han Wudi (Liu Che)
4. Han Guangwudi (Liu Xiu)
5. Beiwei (Northern Wei) Taiwudi (Tuoba Tao)
6. Sui Wendi (Yang Jian)
7. Tang Taizong (Li Shimin)
8. Yuan Shizu (Khubilai)
9. Ming Taizu (Zhu Yuanzhang)
10. Qing Shengzu, the Kangxi emperor (Aisingioro Xuanye)

But based on how humane each emperor was, or how prosperous the empire was during his reign, we would have a slightly different list.

[Pax Americana]

A COUPLE OF TEARS AGO HONG KONG CABLE TV RAN A TV SERIES OF THE TOP 10 EMPERORS THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF CHINA . THE LIST IS BELOW

QIN SHI HUANG
HAN GAO ZU
HAN WU DI
TANG TAI ZONG
WU ZEI TIAN
SUNG TAI ZU
MING TAI ZU
KANG XI
YONG ZHENG
QIAN LONG
DO YOU AGREE WITH THE LIST. WHAT IS YOUR OWN PERSONAL LIST ?
OTHER EMPERORS THAT I PERSONALLY THINK DESERVE MENTION INCLUDE TANG XUANZONG , KUBLAI KHAN, AND YONG LE

I think Sui Wendi and Yuan Shizu should definitely be on the list. Their involvement in the Grand Canal alone should not be understated. Their accomplishment should easily replace Sung Tai Zhu and even Qian Long (I think Kang Xi and Yong Zheng set the tone for the Qing dynasty). Also, Yongle should be a consideration, maybe even over Zhu Yuanzhang.

Edited by Pax Americana, 27 November 2006 - 04:00 PM.

[Whsie]

my list would be in no chronological order and not in order of rank
1. Tang Taizong-the peak of China globally. Zhengguan with great economic success and military success. Reopened the Silk Road for trade. Tang got near its peak in territory+vassal.
2. Han Wudi- He was one of the most important emperors of Han. He turned the tide of the Xiongnu war in favor of the Han for future generations. Had a monopoly on salt. Though empire was bankrupt, but he realized his mistake and started to rebuild economically. Opened the Silk Road for the 1st time.
3. Han Xuandi- the period that Han was rebuilt economically wise from Wudi's period. Military wise, he would make the Xiongnu people weaken even more, setting up the tone for Yuandi to have complete control of Central Asia.
4. Han Gwuang Wudi- Reawakened the Han again. He rebuilt china. He let the country economically grow. He practically setted up Mingdi and Zhangdi known as the Ming Zhang Rule or Prosperity.
5. Sui Wendi- He was able to get China into great prosperity not seen since the Han Dynasty. During his period, the economy was prosperous and it was said that he stored enough food for 50 years.
6. Kangxi- He practically consolidated the Manchu rule. He conquered Taiwan, part of the Mongolian Dzungars, handled Oboi, gave Qing the advantage against the Russians, consolidated Manchu rule after the 3 Pan Rebellion, won against the Tibetans. Economy was also great during his reign. He was probably the most important emperor of Qing recieving the Han people's recognition.
7. Yongle- Military wise was genius and Ming was near its peak military wise. He created the grand encyclopedia. Zheng He expedition. Economy continued to prosper and grow, eventually setting up Xuan Ren Rule where economy reached a high point for the Ming.
8. Huang Taji(he may or may not be considered an emperor of China)- At his time, the Qing Dynasty was at its peak military wise. There was no worthy opponent. Unlike Nurhaci, he used Han officials and helped the Han people (not making the same mistake the Yuan made). Qing was strong economically wise(though not at peak). In MANY historical books, it is often said that if he lived long enough, he would have been an emperor that rivaled Tang Taizong. Reasons include his deciveness, his great useage of talent, his military genius (historians said he used "army like god"), all characteristics of great emperors.
9. Song Taizu- Military wise, Song was around its peak. Economically wise, it was growing. He set a lot of work for later North Song emperors to work with such as Taizong, Renzong, Zhenzong.
10. Khublai Khan- created the Yuan Empire. He was practically the only successful emperor of the Yuan empire. The empire after he died was corrupt and had weak rulers. Economically, the country prospered. Military wise, the Mongols still were their old self. It's noticeable however that he was a VERY unlucky emperor to rule. 1. he was ruling around the period of the Black Death. 2. Who doesn't know about kamikazi. Very unlucky. However, as an emperor, he did all the things he can do.

A few noticeable emperors that I didn't mention and why.
Qin Shi Huan- Yes, he is important historically for being the 1st to unify China, but my question is that is he a great emperor? In my opinion, no. Who doesn't know that he encouraged the brutal Legalism, burned books, buried officials alive. While his empire was no doubt strong military wise, it wasn't able to last long because of the standards that he set.
Tang Xuan Zong- Though he created the Kaiyuan Prosperity, but he also caused the downfall of Tang. He believed in corrupt officials. In a way, his reign is a lot like Qianlong. Early, he was successful. Later, he believed in corrupt officials and didn't pay as much attention and caused the decline of Tang.
Wu Zetian- HOW did she get in the top 10??!! Heck, during her reign, Tang lost a lot of land. In case no one noticed, Western Turk, Tibet, Korea, Eastern Turk all broke apart during her period. The government was also corrupt. I seriously don't see how she is in top 10 or probably even in top 30.
Yongzheng- He is close to top 10. During his period, the economy was about at its peak for Qing. Military was also very successful. Corruption is at a all time low during Qing. The only thing that kind of set him back was his shorter reign or else I would have put him in top 10.
Qianlong- same reasons as Tang Xuan Zong
Ming Taizu- Though economy started to grow and military was still strong, the government internally was chaotic from Taizu's mass killing of good officials.
Han Gaozu- Same as Ming Taizu except the military wasn't that strong comparitively because he was sacked by Xiongnu and he killed Han Xin.

[KingMaradona]

I think the top 10 are selected on one main criteria, their impact on the history of China for good or worse.
To have a major impact on the destiny of china the emperor has to be an absoloute monarch ruling over a unified empire. Thus not suprisingly each of the major chinese dynasties HAN, TANG, SUNG, YUAN, MING, and Qing has had a Great Emperor with strong dominating peronality that has a profound impact on the course of their Dynasty regardless of wether they are a Tyrant or not. While Qin Shi Huang ,Wu Zeitian , Hung Wu are no guardian angel, no one doubt their impact on Chinese History.

[Yun]

I don't really see what long-term impact Wu Zetian had, other than perhaps her emphasis on the examination system (which was not quite as exceptional as some accounts would have it).

She was of course the only official female emperor, but to put her on the list simply as an oddity or a concession to gender equality is not justifiable in my opinion.

[Rong Qin Wang]

My list would be:

Qin Shi Huang
Han Gao Zu
Han Wen Di
Han Wu Di
Han Jing Di
Ming Hong Wu
Ming Yong Le
Kangxi
Yongzhen
Qianlong

Zunjing de Shawn Xian Sheng,

Hmm, you have created a pretty interesting list here considering that four out of the ten were Han Emperors. The Han Dynasty was definitely one of the golden ages in Chinese History. However, I am really shocked that you did not place Tang Taizong in your list of top 10 Emperors. I would personally never ever vote for Tang Taizong as the Greatest Chinese Emperor, but he still definitely deserved to be in the top 10. Were there some particular reasons why you did not put Tang Taizong in your list? This is rather odd since the Chinese consider Tang Taizong as one of the greatest Emperors.

Xie Xie,

[Whsie]

I think the top 10 are selected on one main criteria, their impact on the history of China for good or worse.
To have a major impact on the destiny of china the emperor has to be an absoloute monarch ruling over a unified empire. Thus not suprisingly each of the major chinese dynasties HAN, TANG, SUNG, YUAN, MING, and Qing has had a Great Emperor with strong dominating peronality that has a profound impact on the course of their Dynasty regardless of wether they are a Tyrant or not. While Qin Shi Huang ,Wu Zeitian , Hung Wu are no guardian angel, no one doubt their impact on Chinese History.

true,but I was ranking them according to the prosperity and ability that the emperors had to rule the country.
If it was based on impact, than Qin Shi Huang and practically every dynasty opening emperor would be on the list, even if they aren't impressive emperors.

[Whsie]

Zunjing de Shawn Xian Sheng,

Hmm, you have created a pretty interesting list here considering that four out of the ten were Han Emperors. The Han Dynasty was definitely one of the golden ages in Chinese History. However, I am really shocked that you did not place Tang Taizong in your list of top 10 Emperors. I would personally never ever vote for Tang Taizong as the Greatest Chinese Emperor, but he still definitely deserved to be in the top 10. Were there some particular reasons why you did not put Tang Taizong in your list? This is rather odd since the Chinese consider Tang Taizong as one of the greatest Emperors.

Xie Xie,

Same here, I'm also shocked that Tang Taizong is not in the top 10. The only difference between me and Rong Qin Wang is that I would have put Tang Taizong as the Greatest due to the fact that he gave China the most powerful global position ever. I certainly don't believe that Wen/Jin Di of Han would be in the top 10. Yes, they were good emperors, but I don't think to the point of top 10. If based on ability and prosperity of the country, then I would never have included Qin Shi Huan for very obvious reasons.
Yongzheng maybe...
Qianlong not neccesary since he did plant the roots of the Qing destruction.
Han Gaozu, Ming Taizu each helped the economy but killed there most trusted advisors. They each weakened the army. Gaozu did so just by killing Han Xin. Taizu did so by killing several of his generals and by giving the power into scholars.

[Ashura]

No confucian here?

Where did Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Zhou Wen, Zhou Wu go?

[MING-LOYALIST]

1. Tang taizong
2. Han wudi
3. Ming chengzu (Yongle)
4. Qing shengzu (Kangxi)
5. Han gaozu
6. Han guangwudi
7. Yuan shizu (Khublai)
8. Ming taizu (Hongwu)
9. Qing gaozong (Qianlong)
10. Qin shihuang

Edited by MING-LOYALIST, 05 December 2006 - 04:56 AM.