Imperial Family of China

[norenxaq]

tang and song, possibly. ming, less likely as many of them were killed by the qing. however, I did see a claim of one such possible ming descendant. his lineage was never provided, however

[David V]

That would make a good genealogical project- find the possible claimants of those houses, and even of the Ten Kingdoms (like the Qian of Wuyue).

[StoneCold]

Wu Zetian (624 - 705 AD) | Royal Insight

The First and only Female Emperor of China

[to.toro]

Originally Posted by Cory

Where is the tomb of the last Empress?

The is a monument to her in the western qing tombs that was placed there by her brother Runqi. Her body is buried somewhere in Yanji.

The attached is a photo of her monument.

[Kasumi]

Emperor Wang Mang: China's First Socialist? | Past Imperfect
Wang Mang, first and last emperor of China's Xin Dynasty, went down fighting amid his harem girls as his palace fell in 23 A.D.

[Kasumi]

Where the last emperor last ruled, in name only|Life|chinadaily.com.cn
When you walk through the corridors in Changchun's Museum of the Imperial Palace of the Manchu State, you can almost feel what was eating away at the young man who was - by birth - thrust into the storms of history.
The architecture in this 137,000-square-meter compound is a hybrid of traditional Chinese and Western, with a tinge of Japanese thrown in. It replaces the grandeur and apathy of the Forbidden City with something more homey and manageable.
[...]
The origin of the Changchun palace was a building with indoor plumbing - a rarity at the time - that belonged to a government office overseeing salt sales. The Japanese started constructing more after Puyi moved in.
But he was vigilant.
He refused to move into Tongde Building after it was completed in 1938 because he suspected it was tapped.
Like the Forbidden City, the Changchun palace was divided into an inner court and an outer court. The formal room for receiving foreign dignitaries was rarely used, as Manchukuo was recognized only by Japan and the Axis countries.
A banquet hall was converted into a small theater where documentary films about the war were the regular feature. Puyi had the strange habit of neither wanting to be alone nor being seen by others while watching movies. So others had to arrive and depart with the light switched off.
Puyi's favorite room, it is recorded, is a room inside Tongde Building where he gathered his royal relatives in celebration of traditional holidays, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival. During the later years of his so-called rule, he started training some students in sharp shooting - in the corridor.
In the residential part of the compound is a small garden with rockeries and a pond. It would pale next to any of Suzhou's gardens.
What stands out is a brand new locomotive, which must be a replica, as the track used to run straight into the compound. The stable and horse track have also been reclaimed or rebuilt.
On the compound's edge is a new building dedicated to preserving the history of Japanese aggression and atrocities in Northeast China. It is free to the public.

photo slideshow

[Kasumi]

No excavation for mysterious tomb near Qinshihuang Mausoleum - People's Daily Online
A mysterious tomb suspected of belonging to the last emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC) will not be excavated until thorough studies are conducted for subsequent protection plans, according to China's cultural heritage authorities.
The State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) has rejected a proposal to unearth the suspected resting place of Ziying, the grandson of Ying Zheng, or Emperor Qinshihuang (259 BC - 210 BC), the first person to unify China.
Sources with the cultural heritage bureau of Shaanxi Province told Xinhua on Sunday that SACH refused Shaanxi's proposal mainly because the tomb is too close to the famous Qinshihuang Mausoleum.
The tomb, discovered in 2003, lies about 500 meters northwest of the Qinshihuang Mausoleum -- a site authorities have banned from being excavated over concerns about damage.

[James VI]

Who is the present claimant to the Imperial ( Qing ) Throne? I know that Pu Yi died without issue, though he did have a younger brother and a half-brother. Are any of their descendants still living, and if so, have any sought recognition of their claim?

[Artemisia]

Puyi died without issue, upon which his brother Pujie inheerited his claim. Since he too died without issue, his claim was inherited by the only surviving brother of Puyi, Jin Youzhi (also known as Puren). Puren's heir is his eldest son, Jin Yuzhang.
Jin Yuzhang has only one daughter, Jin Xin; since according to Imperial law, succession can only be inherited in male line, his own heir is a younger brother, Jin Yuquan.
Jin Yuquan has only one daughter as well, Kim Jun. Jin Yuquan's claim would be succeed by his own younger brother, Jin Yulan.
Jin Yulan has only one daughter as well, Jin Zhao.

Who will succeed Jin Yulan's claims remains to be seen. Presumably, the claim will be inherited by the senior male descendant of Zaitao, the younger son of Yixuan, Prince Chun (and the only one who has left male descendants). Right now, the person with most claims (after Puren's sons) appears to be Puxi, Zaitao's second youngest son born in 1924.

There used to be another pretender, Prince Yuyan, who claimed Puyi named him his successor (which Puyi was entitled to do according to the laws of the time). However, the has never been any proof of that, apart from the fact Puyi did consider such a possibility for some time. Prince Yuyan is now dead; his son Prince Hengzhen has never been named heir by Yuyan, nor did he ever claim headship of the Imperial House.

[James VI]

Thanks for that information, Artemisia. Most of the posts regarding Pu Yi`s descendants are a few years old and i thought it best to ask for any more recent developments. Of course Jin Youzhi is only a half brother of Pu Yi, though they did have the same father, and im wondering if that would have any bearing on his claim, being only " half blood " in the eyes of the law.

[Artemisia]

A lot of Chinese Emperors were succeeded by half-brothers; since most Chinese Emperors and Princes had more than one wife, it was more or less inevitable.
The status of the mother was very important though; in case of Jin Youzhi, there are no obstacles parent-wise for him to be Head of the Imperial House.

[James VI]

Yes, that is a good point. I think i was guilty of looking at the " half blood " issue, through Western eyes!! I have just dug out my old copy of Pu Yi`s memoirs, " From Emperor to citizen " it`s a fascinating read and if anyone is unfamiliar with it, i would thoroughly recommend it.

[Kavebear]

Treasure Tomb of the Warrior Queen 2/7 Fu Hao Shang Dynasty Harvard - YouTube

[BeatrixFan]

Having just read 'The Last Emperor' (the book accompanying the movie) and seeing the photograph of the Last Empress' memorial in China, I wondered if the Dowager Empress had anything similar? I can't imagine it'd have been allowed under earlier regimes and I'm not sure where she's buried now? Can anyone in the know help?

[Hkdollar]

Originally Posted by David V

Is it possible that there are verifiable living descendants of the imperial familes of Tang (House of Li), Song (House of Zhao) and Ming (House of Zhu) among others?

Every emperiors had many, many sons and every sons have many, many sons.... all the imperial families in China are very big. I have met at least one person who claimed to be a member of the Zhu family of the Ming dynasty. However, his branch of the family switched thweir surname to Lau for safety reason..... the Chinese charactor of that surname had some hidden message. He said something liked: "the King survived under the knife". he told me that he met a college professor who was also from the Zhu family. I told him that I ain't surprised because the Imperial household are huge.

I met a girl who is a descendant of the Ching dynasty. Her family switched their name to Jin. In Manchurian, Aisin Gioro meant "Golden" and jin meant "golden" in Chinese. She said that she did not know how she was related to any of the emperiors. She only knew that she is from the Aisin Gioro family. In China, it is not difficult to run into someone with the "Jin" surname, she said. In Hong Kong, I also went into the store where the owner claimed to be a member of Aisin Gioro family.

[Noble Consort Ming]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

Having just read 'The Last Emperor' (the book accompanying the movie) and seeing the photograph of the Last Empress' memorial in China, I wondered if the Dowager Empress had anything similar? I can't imagine it'd have been allowed under earlier regimes and I'm not sure where she's buried now? Can anyone in the know help?

You mean the Dowager Empress Cixi, right? The wiki page about her talks about her burial place.

Empress Dowager Cixi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[TomBert]

I’ve been doing a bit of research into the death and burial of the Dowager Empress Longyu in February 1913. She was Dowager Empress for only four years (1908-1912) and has always been overshadowed by her predecessor the Dowager Empress Cixi. But it was she who issued the Imperial Edict of 1912 that established the Republic of China and brought to and end not just the Great Qin Empire but also 2000 years of imperial tradition. She died just over a year later at the age of 44. In his “autobiography” From Emperor to Citizen the former Xuantong Emperor wrote:

The birthday and then the death of the empress dowager Lung Yu in 1913 were occasions when the splendour of the old days was fully restored. Lung Yu’s birthday was on March 15 and she died seven days later. Yuan Shih-kai sent Liang Shih-yi, the head of the secretariat, to congratulate her on her birthday; in his official letter he wrote solemnly, “The President of the Great Repbulic of China writes to Her Majesty the Great Ching Empress Dowager Lung Yu.” After this envoy had gone Chao Ping-chun, the prime minister, arrived with the whole of the cabinet to pay their respects.

Yuan Shih-kai’s reaction to the death of Lung Yu was even more impressive: he himself wore a black armband; he ordered thats flags were to flown at half-mast throughout the country and that civil and military officials were to wear mourning for 27 days; and he sent the whole cabinet to pay their last respects to her. A so-called National Memorial Assembly was held in the Palace of Supreme Harmony with the Head of the Senate as master of ceremonies..... In the Forbidden City men in black court robes and Western dress came and went side by side to the sound of the wails of the eunuchs. The members of the royal family and nobility who had been ordered to wear mourning for 100 days, were beaming with delight.

The funeral appears to have been a grand affair, though I have only found one picture of it. Her husband, the Guangxu Emperor, is entombed at the Western Qin Tombs, so I assume that is where she was buried. It seems the President, Yuan Shih-kai, was careful to keep on good terms with the Qin dynasty. In early 1913 the republic might still have needed some of the legitimacy that came from being established by Imperial Edict. Also, Yuan Shih-kai was probably already planning to declare himself Emperor of China. When he did in late 1915 he received the support of some members of the Qin dynasty.

I think the short lived Empire of China was a lost opportunity. Who knows what China would be like now if a new dynasty had taken root?


Funeral of the Dowager Empress Longyu of the Great Qin Dynasty.


The last Dowager Empress of the Great Qin Empire

[Al_bina]

Missionary photos from early 1900s show life in China during last years of imperial rule | Mail Online

[Paul Wu]

Hi im Paul Wu,i am half Manchu,and half Italian born in London uk,my father is Wu from British Guyana he came to London,and met my mother,i come from a line of jewelers,my great grandfather and his eldest son were beheaded in the late 1800's,my grandmother fled disguised as a peasant,with 3 children,i am descended from one of those children,and from the Wu clan,after the disposition of monarchy and aristocracy,we were blown to the four corners of the planet,much is written of the empresses infamy,but little mentioned of their divine femininity,thank you for having interest,and giving me a good read,many thanks Paul Wu.

[Lenora]

It has taken more than 100 years to come to light, but the web of intrigue and corruption that toppled China's last emperor has finally been pieced together by a Chinese historian.
Author unravels mystery of plot that toppled China's last emperor - Telegraph