The former nobility titles Qing (卿), Daifu (大夫) and Shi (仕) became synonyms for court officials.
In the Qing dynasty, primogeniture was abandoned altogether, with the designated heir kept secret until after the Emperor's death.
[4] Unlike with over sovereigns such as the Emperor of Japan, Chinese political theory allowed for dynastic change, based on the concept of the Mandate of Heaven.
This single most important concept legitimized the dynastic cycle or the change of dynasties regardless of social or ethnic background.
Every dynasty that self-consciously adopted this administrative practice powerfully reinforced this Sinocentric concept throughout the history of imperial China.
Historians noted that this was one of the key reasons why imperial China in many ways had the most efficient system of government in ancient times.
Emperor Taizong of Tang was crowned Tian Kehan 天可汗, or "heavenly Khagan", after defeating the Gokturks, (Tujue).
As some of these titles were used repeatedly throughout history, historians often reference the name of the regime to avoid potential confusion.
Era names (年號; nián hào) were proclaimed by Chinese sovereigns for the purpose of identifying and numbering years since 140 BC, during the reign of the Emperor Wu of Han.
Temple names (廟號; miào hào) were accorded to Chinese monarchs after their death, for the purpose of ancestor worship.
Temple names consisted of two or three Chinese characters, with the last word being either zǔ (祖; "progenitor") or zōng (宗; "ancestor").
The monarchical rank held by the rulers is affixed to the back of these adjectives to form the full historiographical denominations.