Spanning over 2,000 years, from the .great 'First Emperor', buried with his terracotta army in the 3rd century BC, to the last emperor, enthroned in the Forbidden City in1991, Chronicle of the Chinese Emperors details the fascinating lives and personalities of all 157 Chinese emperors. It reveals the enormous flexibility of the Chinese imperial system, which combined Confucian philosophy based on moral-political beliefs with a highly centralized administration. This system weathered centuries of violent change. Rulers and dynasties fought and fell in brutal rebellions and civil wars,
but the Chinese emperor remained at the centre of the largest political unit in the world, the Middle Kingdom.
The emperors were an extraordinary group of men - and one woman Wu Zetian - whose virtues and failings were magnified by their exalted position. Many were literary scholars and painters - the Song emperor, Huizong, established an imperial academy of painting. Twice, a peasant founded a great dynasty. Some emperors were weak and left the control of the empire to their eunuchs, concubines or dowager empresses. In addition to timelines detailing the major events of every reign, this book includes each emperor's name in Chinese calligraphic script, and a datafile for each emperor listing key information, such as name at birth and imperial wives and concubines. Chronicle of the Chinese Emperors works equally well as a book to read for pleasure, an essential reference volume for the home, school or library, and as a source of discovery and visual inspiration about one of the richest cultures on earth.