China's imperial autocracy began when Qin Shi Huang unified China in 221 BC and took the title of emperor. It lasted until the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Puyi, abdicated in 1912 AD, spanning 2,132 years.
During this period, China saw dozens of imperial dynasties and approximately 397 emperors, great and small.
Based on research into China's imperial dynasties and the various circumstances surrounding the succession of emperors, this book classifies imperial successions into nine types: successors not chosen by the emperor; smooth transitions; emperors who succeeded but did not rule; usurpations; emperors who were killed; loss of the throne in defeat; succession after a struggle for the heirship; succession against the emperor's final wishes; and voluntary abdication.
The book then assigns 208 emperors to the relevant categories and gives a detailed account of how each came to the throne.
Three kinds of dynasties are not covered: those established by ethnic minorities; regional regimes, such as the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties period; and periods with many murdered emperors, such as the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Eastern Jin period.
In addition, three emperors whose succession types could not be determined are not placed into any category: Li Yuan, Emperor Gaozu of Tang; Zhao Kuangyin, Emperor Taizu of Song; and the Kangxi Emperor of Qing. Their cases are covered separately.
The book first discusses the unified dynasties: Qin, Han, Western Jin, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, the Zhou Dynasty founded by Wu Zetian, and the Xin Dynasty founded by Wang Mang. These thirteen dynasties had 116 emperors in total.
It then covers the dynasties from four periods of division in China's imperial era: the Three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu; Eastern Jin; the Northern and Southern Dynasties; and the Five Dynasties. Together, these eighteen dynasties had 92 emperors.
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