Page "Chinese sovereign" Paragraph 6

Although formally the Son of Heaven ( 天子, pinyin: tiānzǐ ), where the Heaven refers to the celestial heavens or the universe, the power of the emperor varied between emperors and dynasties, with some emperors being absolute rulers and others being figureheads with actual power lying in the hands of court factions, eunuchs, the bureaucracy or noble families.

In principle, the title of emperor was transmitted from father to son via primogeniture, as endorsed by Confucianism.

However, there are many exceptions to this rule.

For example, because the Emperor usually had many concubines, the first born of the queen ( i. e. the wife ) is usually the heir apparent.

However, Emperors could elevate another more favoured child or the child of a favourite concubine to the status of Crown Prince.

Disputes over succession occurred regularly and have led to a number of civil wars.

In the Qing dynasty, primogeniture was abandoned altogether, with the designated heir kept secret until after the Emperor's death.