In China's long history, there are few emperors who can have a long lifespan. Limited by the medical skills and sanitary conditions of ancient times, as well as the power struggles and political turmoil in the court, it is rare for emperors to live to be more than eighty years old. Next, let's take stock of these five ancient emperors with tenacious vitality.
5th place: Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty, died at the age of eighty
Kublai Khan, the fifth emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, the fourth son of Torrey, and the younger brother of Möngke. He was not only the last Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, but also the founder of the Yuan Dynasty. In 1271 AD, he changed the name of the country to "Yuan". Two years later, he moved the capital to the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, which is now Beijing. Subsequently, he marched south and succeeded in destroying the Southern Song Dynasty in 1279. Kublai Khan's position in the Mongol Yuan Empire was second only to Genghis Khan, and although his policy of conquest brought certain disasters to the Central Plains, it also injected new vitality into the land. He pioneered the provincial system, actively embraced Han culture, and became one of the few emperors among the rulers of the Mongol and Yuan dynasties to promote Confucianism, so he received a good evaluation in history. In addition, he was one of the longest-lived emperors in Chinese history, reigning for thirty-five years at the age of eighty.
4th place: Song Gaozong Zhao Gou, aged eighty-one
Zhao Gou, the founding emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, the ninth son of Zhao Ji of Song Huizong, and the half-brother of Zhao Huan of Song Qinzong. In the third year of Xuanhe, he was canonized as King Kang. Originally, in peacetime, he did not have a chance to ascend to the throne. However, in the second year of Jingkang, the famous "Jingkang Change" occurred in the Northern Song Dynasty, and Song Huizong and Song Qinzong were captured by the Jin State, and the country was left without an owner. With the support of the ministers, Zhao Gou ascended the throne in Nanjing Yingtianfu and changed to Yuan Jianyan. He was also a famous long-lived emperor in history, dying at the age of eighty-one.
3rd place: Empress Wu Zetian, aged eighty-two
Wu Zetian, the empress of this generation, is undoubtedly one of the most tenacious women in history. As a female emperor, she faced countless challenges and difficulties. However, with her excellent political skills, she successfully stabilized the regime and established the Great Zhou Dynasty. She is a woman of extraordinary ability, overcoming layers of political obstacles and ruling the world as a woman. She is ambitious, and has pampered many male pets throughout her life, although she has delegated power, she still firmly controls the power of life and death through cool officials. Her life was full of legends, and after her abdication, she still lived to be 82 years old.
2nd place: Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang, died at the age of eighty-six
Xiao Yan, whose name is Shuda, was born in the illustrious Lanling Xiao family. He possessed all the qualities and abilities to be an outstanding emperor. At the age of thirty-eight, he rebelled against Xiao Baojuan, the Marquis of Dongdu, and successfully invaded Jiankang, and then established himself as emperor and established the Liang Dynasty. However, in the Hou Jing Rebellion, Xiao Yan was unfortunately captured. In the face of Hou Jing's brutality, he still maintained the dignity of the emperor. Eventually, he was imprisoned by Hou Jing in Taicheng, cut off from the outside world, starved to death, and finally starved to death at the age of eighty-six. If it weren't for this unnatural death, Xiao Yan might have been able to go one step further on the ranking of longevity emperors.
1st place: Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, aged eighty-eight
Emperor Qianlong, also known as Aixin Jueluo Hongli, the fourth son of Emperor Yongzheng, he can be said to be the longest-lived emperor in Chinese history. At the age of twenty-five, he ascended to the throne and reigned for sixty years. After his abdication, he served as Emperor Taishang for another three years, effectively holding supreme power for sixty-three years. He died in the first month of the fourth year of Jiaqing at the age of 88. The life of Emperor Qianlong is full of legends, he is known as the "Ten Perfect Old Man", and he is an outstanding monarch in Chinese history.