Reigned AD 290 to AD 307. Reigned 781 BC to 771 BC. Supposedly 1728 BC to 1675 BC. Of note, compared to other terrible Chinese emperors on this list, Han Ai Di wasn’t particularly cruel or wicked; he was simply a foolish young man head over heels in love. Cruelty, debauchery, political ineptitude? Regrettably, this hastened the demise of his already embattled dynasty. Purportedly, Xia Jie was an exceptionally cruel man, greatly intolerant of criticism as well as obsessed with sex, luxury, and entertainment. Han Ling Di himself also approved the practice of selling political offices for money. Zhou You Wang was the twelfth ruler of the Western Zhou Dynasty and apart from his love story, little is known about him. when the Qin people came out of the west to prevail militarily over a number of rival states. After ascending to the throne in 604, he took Emperor Wen's favorite consorts, Lady Xuanhua and Lady Ronghua, for himself. Some historians go as far as to state it was not the final two Ming emperors, but Ming Shen Zong, who should be responsible for the stunning defeat. But he is undoubtedly the most bloodthirsty. Peace was short-lived, however, as barely after ten years, the devastating War of The Eight Princes broke out in AD 291. Actual name 高洋 (Gao Yang). Than Shwe. Few females in the palace were spared. The Middle Kingdom would also not be reunited until 60 years later. He was the Chinese Caligula, whose crimes were soo horrible, soo disgusting, that he was murdered in only one year into his reign. Reigned 1075 BC to 1046 BC. In several cases, their reigns were so terrifying, their titles became synonymous with evil and decadence. Question: Which Chinese ruler was the best? Here are the ten most terrible Chinese emperors to have ruled the Middle Kingdom. While his troops succeeded in conquering Champa in what is now Southern Vietnam, thousands of Sui soldiers also died from malaria. Some historians thus opined that the man’s “industrial action” was due to his disenchantment with court politics, particularly how he was denied his choice of successor. Burma’s senior general Than Shwe holds the 6th position in our list of most evil rulers the world has ever see. After many battles, Tang (汤), the king of Shang, defeated Xie and established the Shang Dynasty. Jin Hui Di is the only ruler on this list of terrible Chinese emperors that deserves sympathy. China under Mao 5. The blatant shirking of responsibility as an empire’s leader and soul? Without surprise, Han Ling Di’s actions were major catalysts for the demise of the Eastern Han Dynasty 31 years later. The Mad, the Bad and the Just Plain Crazy. Yang cunningly framed his elder brother Yang Yong and made their father Emperor Wen turn him into crown prince instead. He languished for seven years in humiliating imprisonment, before dying miserably away from home. The odds that a girl of this low rank would ever come to an emperor’s attention were slim. In 779 BC, a consort named Bao Si (褒姒) entered the palace and before long, Zhou You Wang was completely obsessed with the beauty, to the extent he replaced his original queen with her. During Wen Xuan Di’s final years, the entire court, including his son, lived in constant fear of him. So it was said he also held lavish nightly parties and orgies within the unfinished structure. Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China from 221 BC to 210 BC. Ancient Greece gave us the word "tyrant" in order to describe autocratic rulers, most of whom used their power for personal gain. His appalling policies infuriated and empowered various warlords and politician factions, with open conflict breaking out between these factions shortly after Han Ling Di’s death. Answer: This is subjective, esp with even the best ones guilty of certain atrocities. Often called by Chinese scholars as “secondary monarchs,” many empresses played significant roles (good or bad) in different dynasties and affect the course of Chinese history. He improvised and massacred his people. In the case of Ming Shen Zong, more commonly remembered as the Wanli Emperor (万历皇帝), it was his astonishing disinterest in governing China that earned him permanent placement on any list of terrible Chinese emperors. Soviet 4. Han Ai Di is often cited as China’s most famous homosexual. One could only speculate. Napoleon Bonaparte once remarked that “history is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.” This might particularly be so in the case of Di Xin, the last emperor of the Shang Dynasty. There were also no written records about Xia during the Shang Dynasty, the latter supposedly the one succeeding Xia. Actual name 司马衷 (Sima Zhong). In AD 280, after 60 years of civil war between Cao Wei, Shu Han and Sun Wu, China was once again reunited as one under the Jin Dynasty. With history often an imprecise science, though, one that’s unkind to the downtrodden, it might be wise to treat some of the more unforgiving accusations with skepticism. The founder of the Ming Dynasty was The Hongwu Emperor, and he is considered to be one of the most influential and important Chinese Emperors. Churches were to be destroyed, scriptures publicly burnt, and Christian priests imprisoned and forced to conduct sacrifices to the emperor on pain of death. In his first year in power, over 120,000 families were forced to relocate from their homes. The cruelty of China’s first true emperor needs no introduction. Rinke, A., 2013. Xia Jie. 2. Yang was remembered as one of the worst and self-indulged tyrants in history.