Head of the former Chinese imperial clan


It is not usual for a Chinese dynasty to pass smoothly into the next one, as is depicted in historical timelines, since dynasties were often established before the overthrow of an existing regime, or continued for a time after they had been defeated. However, in dynasties prior to the Yuan dynasty, the reigning dynasties often gave title to certain members of the previous dynasties as recognition of the legitimacy of the former dynasty and the way to show the right to the dynastic change. The method is known as "The two crownings and the three respects", the people who were given to such position had right to retain the law from the original dynasty within the land given to them, and the reigning emperor couldn't treat them as his subject. From Yuan dynasty to the Republic of China, titles or treatments given to members of previous dynasties were not considered crownings or respects.

Traditional two crownings and three respects (二王三恪)

[Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors]

granted the benefice Tang to Danzhu, and Yu to Shangjun, son of Emperor Shun. Both of them needn't use the courtesy of a vassal.

[Shang dynasty] (1600–1046 BC)

After Tang of Shang conquered Xia Dynasty, he made a descendant of Xia monarchs became the founder of the Qi state and Yusui, a descendant of Emperor Shun, as the founder of Chen. Both monarchs were technically not the vassals of Shang dynasty.

[Zhou dynasty] (1046–256 BC)

In 9 A.D., Wang Mang gave a series of titles to different people, some of whom he believed to be descendants from previous dynasties:
In 550, Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi made the abdicated Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei the King of Zhongshan and poisoned him afterwards.

Northern Zhou dynasty">Northern Zhou">Northern Zhou dynasty (557–581)

In 557, Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou made Emperor Gong of Western Wei the Duke of Song and killed him afterwards. The next year,, Emperor Gong's fifth cousin four times removed became Duke of Han as the successor of Western Wei.

[Chen dynasty] (557–589)

[Yuan dynasty] (1271–1368)

In 1276, Kublai Khan made Emperor Gong of Song the Duke of Ying.

[Ming dynasty] (1368–1644)

In 1368, Emperor Taizu of Ming made Maidarbal the Marquis Chongli.

[Qing dynasty] (1636–1912)

In 1724, Zhu Zhilian, claimed by Qing government as a descendant of Prince Jian of Dai, became the first Marquis of Extended Grace.

After Qing dynasty

House of Aisin Gioro">Aisin Gioro">House of Aisin Gioro

In 1912, the Qing dynasty was ousted and China was declared a republic.
Puyi, the last Qing emperor, later became the emperor of Manchukuo based in northeastern China, from 1934 to 1945; he was the only emperor of Manchukuo and the empire was abolished in 1945. He died without issue in 1967. His brother Prince Pujie was next in line under a 1937 succession law. Stories published in the Chicago Times and The New York Times acknowledge Pujie as heir to the throne.
Pujie died in 1994. He is survived by a daughter, Princess Husheng, who was born in 1941 and renamed "Kosei Fukunaga" when she married to a Japanese in 1968. However, the law restricts succession to males. Several news stories have suggested that Jin Yuzhang, a nephew of Puyi and Pujie, is the current family head of House of Aisin Gioro.
The present line of succession of Aisin Gioro clan goes by:
In The Empty Throne, Tony Scotland tells how he found Prince Yuyan, who lived in a mud floor hovel near the imperial palace. Yuyan, a distant cousin of Puyi, told Scotland that the former emperor made him heir to the throne in a ceremony performed while they were imprisoned in Russia together in 1950. This claim is not supported by any official document, although it was customary in the Qing dynasty that an emperor name his successor in a will or edict. Puyi's autobiography confirms merely that the idea was discussed. Yuyan died in 1997. His eldest son is Prince Hengzhen, who was born in 1944. There is no indication that Yuyan designated him heir to the throne, or that he claims this status.

Empire of China">Empire of China (1915–1916)">Empire of China (1915–1916)

In 1915, Yuan Shikai attempted to reinstate monarchy in China; he proclaimed the Empire of China with himself as the Hongxian Emperor. However, due to massive objection across provinces of China, Yuan needed to withdraw his attempt and died on June 6, 1916 as the President of the Republic of China. During the preparation of the empire, Yuan planned to make Yuan Keding, his eldest son, the crown prince of the Empire of China. Yuan Keding still retained the courtesy of a "crown prince" for decades later even though the empire never existed.
Yuan Keding had a son and two daughters with modern descendants, although he had the other 31 siblings:
During the 1911 Revolution, some minorities suggested that the Manchu emperor be replaced by an ethnic Han. Both Duke Yansheng, a descendant of Confucius, and the Marquis of Extended Grace, a descendant of the imperial family of the Ming dynasty, were proposed and rejected. The Duke Yansheng was proposed for replacing the Qing dynasty as Emperor by Liang Qichao.