Instant Expert: Important People in Chinese History

China’s history is a huge and daunting topic. Thousands of years, hundreds of emperors and politicians, dynasty after dynasty… But getting to grips with it all doesn’t need to be boring, and it certainly doesn’t have to take too long. In our series of Instant Expert guides, we’ll give you all the essentials with none of the tedium. 

Palace painting of the Empress Dowager Cixi, Photo: Wikimedia

This week, let’s take a quick spin through history to discover the movers and shakers that made China – from ancient emperors who may just be legend or may actually have lived, to the men (and women) who shaped the People’s Republic.

Confucius
A.K.A.: K?ngzi, K?ngfūzi, 孔子, 孔夫子
Born: September 28th, 551 BC during the Spring and Autumn Period, near the town of Qufu in Shandong Province

Famous for: K?ngzi’s influence as a philosopher and social theorist is undeniably huge. Confucianism (rújiā | 儒家), the philosophy he came up with, is still practised across East Asia in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. His ideology was all about treating others how you want to be treated, keeping one’s own affairs in order, social etiquette, and leading by example. His dream was to implement the Mandate of Heaven (天命 | tiānmìng) whereby good and just rulers would be supported by the sky god, but poor leaders would be struck down. K?ngzi ‘s teachings are collected in the Analects, known as Lún Y? (论语). During the Han Dynasty between 206 BC and 220 AD, K?ngzi’s philosophies began to overtake Daoist thought as the main Chinese idea system. Confucius is the Latinized form of K?ngzi, which was brought to Europe in the 16th century by famous Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci.

Died: 479 BC

The Yellow Emperor
A.K.A.: Huáng Dì, 黄帝, Gōngsūn Xuānyuán, 公孙轩辕
Born: Date of birth not known, but his arrival on earth is said to have been greeted by a roll of thunder

Famous for: The life and achievements of the Yellow Emperor are shrouded in myth. His long and illustrious reign started in around 2597 BC. He was one of the famous Five Emperors, and the historian Sima Qian chose him as the first entry in the Records of the Grand Historian. Huáng Dì’s wife Léi Z? apparently taught China how to weave silk, and his court historian Cāng Jié invented the Chinese hanzi writing system. According to legend, all Han Chinese are descended from Huáng Dì.

Died: The records are unclear. He either lived to be 100, or is immortal…

Dowager Empress Cíx?
A.K.A.: West Dowager Empress, 西太后, Cíx? Tài Hòu, 慈禧太后, Ts’u-hsi
Born: November 29th, 1835

Famous for: Cíx? was born into a Manchurian clan, and became one of Qing Emperor Xianfeng’s concubines. When he died in 1861, she wrestled power from their son and nephew, and ruled alone, eventually leading the Qing Dynasty into wrack and ruin with her lavish spending. The extent of her responsibility for the downfall of Imperial China has been exaggerated over the years, but she clearly played a part in the weakening of the dynasty.

Died: November 15th 1908, three years before the Revolution

Sun Yat-Sen
A.K.A.: Sūn Yìxiān, 孫逸仙, Sūn Zhōng Shān, 孫中山
Born: November 12th, 1866 to a Hakka family in Guangzhou

Famous for: Sun rose to power as the first leader of the Republic of China in 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution which had overthrown the Qing Dynasty and brought an end to Imperial times. He was also a founder and leader of the Guomindang (Kuomintang) nationalist party, enemy of the Communists who would later take power. Sun was famous for his three-pronged ideology of socialism, populism, and livelihood, believing that a nation would flourish using these philosophies. Despite his hand in the Revolution, Sun didn’t have an easy time of it, and was exiled several times because of his political views. However, nowadays he is viewed as one of China’s most influential politicians. His wife Song Qing Ling was one of the three famous Song sisters, and became Vice Chairman of the People’s Republic.

Died: March 12th, 1925 of liver cancer