Greatest emperor in Chinese history

Answer 1

The criteria to judge "the Best" is difficult to define.

Military prowess, cultural contribution, legacy all have to be considered.

A good conquerer might not be a good ruler, but good ruler might lack the grand foresight that builds great empires.

Below are several candidates that could all be considered "best emperor"

Qin Shi Huang aka THE First Emperor (259 BC - 210 BC)

Military prowess: he united China for the first time in history. It is said his army vanquished over 1.5 million opposing forces accomplish this feat. His army are well trained and well armed, see terracotta army on Wikipedia for details.

Cultural Contribution: He standardized writing, unites of measurement, and currency. He build national network of roads and canal (so his army can move more efficiently, but it was good for trade as well). He left the rest of the world the great wall of China, Qin Tomb and the Terracotta warriors. Most importantly he defined China as one country.

Legacy: Mixed. He was powerful, have great foresight, but he killed a lot people during his time. He burned books and buried scholars who oppose him. Prior to his rule, it is said, China had 100 school of thought, he banned most of them, putting and end to the golden age of free thought. He was so feared and hated by the scholars, that for the next 2,200 years, Chinese scholars portrayed him as a brutal, paranoid tyrant, down playing his contribution to the Chinese legacy. His empire is also the shortest, from the date he united China to the date it fell, the Qin Empire lasted 16 years (221 BC - 206 BC).

It is said he was extravagant and superstitious, obsessed immortality and finding the elixir of life.

Emperor Wu of Han (156 BC-29 March, 87 BC)

Military Prowess: He was a expansionist. Under his rule China doubled in size, his empire borders "spanned from modern Kyrgyzstan in the west, to northern Korea in the northeast, and to northern Vietnam in the south" ( 6 million km² or 2.32 million mi²).

Cultural Contribution: He established an autocratic and centralized state. He adopted Confucianism as state philosophy and code of conduct, which lasted till modern day (1911). His military conquest and diplomatic missions open up the Silk Road, promoted trade and cultural exchange between China and the rest of the the world. He also build a net work of granaries, expanded the great wall of China.

Legacy: Generally positive. He is considered one of the Greatest Emperors by Chinese scholars. He ruled for 54 years, 2nd longest in Chinese History. He is cunning, highly political and killed a lot people during his time. He is also extravagant and superstitious, obsessed with Witch craft.

Emperor Taizong of Tang (January 23, 599 - July 10, 649)

Military Prowess: In the history records, he co-founded the Tang Dynasty with his father. He joined the army at age 16, and was a skilled warrior, successful general, and a master strategist. During his reign, he waged wars with the neighboring countries (who raids China regularly, and are considered traditional enemies) and won. In the end, the neighboring countries submitted to his military prowess, and name him the "heavenly khan".

Cultural Contribution: He started China's greatest period in History. His rule is named "Reign of Zhenguan", widely considered as the golden age of Chinese history. His rule is regarded as the standard which all future emperor are measured against. It is said that he accepts criticism and tried not to abuse his absolute power. He promoted ban on extravagance, encouragement of frugality, reduction of taxes and corvee labor, construction of water conservancy projects, support of agriculture, promoted inter cultural tolerance and encouragement of a population increase.

During his reign, China was the center of world attention. A census taken during the third year of Zhenguan showed that the population in Chang'an was one million, with over 100,000 foreign expatriates. The largest city in the world at the time.

"During his reign, Tang China flourished economically and militarily. For more than a century after his death, Tang China enjoyed peace and prosperity. During Taizong's reign, Tang was the largest and the strongest nation in the world. It covered most of the territory of present-day China, Vietnam, Mongolia and much of Central Asia until east Kazakhstan." - wikipedia

Legacy: He is considered as the epitome of what an emperor should be, for the next 1300 years, crown princes studied his rule and aspired to be just like him. His is love by historians, and popular masses alike, but not without his fault. He killed his brothers and forced his father into early retirement to gain the seat of emperor.

He is a rationalist, and is known to ignore heavenly signs and modify ceremony rites to accommodate agriculture needs.

Yongle Emperor of Ming (May 2, 1360 - August 12, 1424)

Military Prowess: He overthrow his nephew r to become emperor, kill a lot people in the process. He was a master strategist. He shore up China's northern defense against the Mongols, and conquered Vietnam.

Cultural contribution: He was a great visionary. He moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing (the capital of China till today), constructed the forbidden city. He repaired the grand canal of China, promoted trade between the northern and southern part of the country. The monumental Yongle Encyclopedia was completed under his rule. He commissioned the exploratory expeditions of Zheng He, who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, and East Africa. During his reign he established diplomatic relationship with over 30 countries.

Legacy: Ambiguous, he was a brilliant ruler but the scholar did not like him much. He was a power hungry visionary. He does not trust his officials and generals, and relies heavily on secret police and eunuchs, but at the same time he is considered "an architect and keeper of Chinese culture, history". "He promoted Confucianism and kept traditional ritual ceremonies with a rich cultural theme." He was tolerant of different schools of thought, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, even commissioned a pair of Islamic mosques. He implemented a series of policies that promoted agriculture, trade, water resource management, that greatly improved the lives of his people.

Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang and Yongle Emperor of Ming presided China's golden ages in the ancient times. During their reign, China was the center of the world, inflation was low, people were prosperous, trade flourished. They rule over vast continuous empires, established China as formidable force in the world. Their reign was so successful, their legacy so grand, the Chinese still remembered them and praise them till this day.

As for THE First Emperor, he is an unparalleled visionary in China history, he define the idea of the Chinese empire. Everybody comes after him, and there is no one before him. He is so terrifying, for over 2200 years, the scholars refused to acknowledge his accomplishment. Awesome.

Answer 2

There are several.

Shi Huang Di,the first emperor of Qin dynasty.

Han Wu Di,the Han dynasty emperor that drove off the Hun and united the Chinese in thoughts.

Genghis Khan who conquered the widest lands.

Taizong of Tang who established the Great Tang Dynasty.

Answer 3

Suleyman