The Chinese monarchs were the rulers of China during its Ancient and Imperial periods.^{[lower-alpha 1]} The earliest rulers in traditional Chinese historiography are of mythological origin, and followed by the Xia dynasty of highly uncertain and contested historicity. During the subsequent Shang (c. 1600–1046 BCE) and Zhou (1046–256 BCE) dynasties, rulers were referred to as Wang 王, meaning king.^[4] China was fully united for the first time by Qin Shi Huang (r. 259–210 BCE), who established the first Imperial dynasty, adopting the title Huangdi (皇帝), meaning Emperor, which remained in use until the Imperial system's fall in 1912.^[4]

At no point during Ancient or Imperial China was there a formalized means to confer legitimate succession between rulers.^[5] From the Zhou dynasty onwards, monarchs justified their reigns by claiming the Mandate of Heaven (天命; Tianming).^{[6][lower-alpha 2]} The mandate held that a ruler and their successors had permission from the heavens to rule as long as they did so effectively.^[6] It also declared a ruler the Son of Heaven (天子; Tianzi), giving them the right to rule "all under heaven" (天下; Tianxia).^[10] Given the Mandate's subjective nature, rulers also utilized a variety of methods to retain support and justify their accession.^[6] This ranged from military enforcement, political patronage, establishing peace and solidity, institutional reform, and historical revisionism to legitimize the dissolution previous dynasties and their own succession.^[11] For most of Imperial China, the wuxing (五行; "Five Elements") philosophical scheme was also central to justify dynastic succession.^[12]

Most Chinese monarchs had many names. They were given a personal name (名字; Mingzi) at birth, but later referred to by a posthumous name (謚號; Shihao)—which memorialized their accomplishments or character—due to a cultural naming taboo.^[13] Most emperors of the Imperial period also received a temple name (廟號; Miaohao), used to venerate them in ancestor worship.^[14] From the rule of Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BCE) onwards,^{[lower-alpha 3]} emperors also adopted one or several era names (年號; Nianhao), or "reign mottos",^[17] to divide their rule by important events or accomplishments.^[18] Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) rulers are referred to solely by their era names, of which they only had one.^[19]

Apart from ethnic Han rulers, China was also ruled by various non-Han monarchs, including Jurchen, Khitan, Manchu, Mongol and Tangut and many others.^[20] To justify their reign, non-Han rulers sometimes aligned themselves with the Confucian sages or the Chakravarti of Chinese Buddhism.^[5] There are numerous lengthy periods where many competing kingdoms claimed the throne, many of whose legitimacy is still debated by scholars.^[20]