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THE SHORT‐LIVED CHINESE EMPERORS

2006; Wiley; Volume: 54; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00821.x

1532-5415

Hai‐Lu Zhao, Xun Zhu, Yi Sui,

Mental Health Treatment and Access

To the Editor:"Long Live Your Imperial Majesty" was the formal address to the Chinese emperors who reigned for more than 2,000 years between 221 BC and AD 1911. The emperor legally had the absolute power, as well as supreme rank and utmost dignity. Many emperors lived extravagant lives, featuring delicacies, palaces, harems, and imperial doctors. It would be interesting to know whether power and wealth allowed the emperors to survive longer than Buddhist monks and traditional Chinese doctors, who lived simple lives. The age at death, reign, lifestyle, and cause of death of all the Chinese emperors were extracted from archival historical records.1–5 The age at death of the Buddhist monks and traditional doctors living in the same dynasties was used for comparison. There were 259 Chinese emperors who reigned during the 24 dynasties from the first Qin Dynasty (221–207 BC) to the last Qing Dynasty (AD 1616–1911). The date of birth, date of death, and age at death were documented for 241 (93.1%) emperors. Mean age at death of the emperors was 41.3, which was significantly lower than that of the Buddhist monks and traditional Chinese doctors (Table 1). Even the emperors' servant eunuchs, who survived to 71.3 (range 55–94), outlived the emperors.3,5 Causes of death were natural disease for 160 (66.4%), homicide for 68 (28.2%), drug toxicity for eight (3.3%), and suicide for five (2.1%). Homicide resulted in a significantly lower age of death (mean age±standard deviation 31.1±17.0) than disease (45.6±16.8), suicide (38.8±20.4), or drug toxicity (43.1±13.1). Emperor Ying Zheng (259–210 BC) reportedly died of swallowing mercury pills meant to make him immortal.2 He founded the Chinese imperial system and fascinates people with the Great Wall and the terra-cotta warriors and horses in China, which he ordered made. The way that a person became emperor was associated with age of death. Mean age at death was 56.2±14.2 for emperors who founded a dynasty (n=34), 39.6±17.2 for emperors whose title was transmitted from their fathers (n=174), and 33.3±16.8 for emperors whose dynasties ended (n=33, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) P<.001). Of the last 33 emperors, 16 died of homicide, and four committed suicide. The last emperor in China, Pu Yi (AD 1906–67), survived to the age of 62 and died in Beijing of cancer during the Cultural Revolution.6 Emperors who reigned for short period had a low age at death. Mean age at death was 31.8±17.1 if an emperor reigned for 0 to 5 years (n=84, 34.9%), 39.7±14.8 years if the emperor reigned for 6 to 10 years (n=33, 13.7%), and 47.9±16.3 years if the emperor reigned for longer than 10 years (n=124, 51.4%; one-way ANOVA P<.001). Of those who reigned for 0 to 5 years, 20 (23.8%) were the last emperors of their dynasties, and 48 (57.1%) died of the following reasons: homicide (n=42), suicide (n=3), and drug toxicity (n=3). Lifestyles were documented in 88 emperors, and 82 (93.2%) were overindulgent in drinking alcohol (n=9), sexual activity (n=8), or both (n=65). The overindulgent emperors had an age at death similar to that of those who died from homicide or suicide. The mean age of death was 31.4 (range 18–31) for the sexually overindulgent emperors, 38.6 (range 23–60) for the alcoholics, and 36.6 (range 23–55) for those overindulgent in alcohol and sexual activity. In contrast, only six emperors performed regular exercise and refrained from overindulgence. They survived to a mean age of 81.0±7.6 (range 69–89). All six of these long-lived emperors championed a simple lifestyle. Emperor Xiao Yan (AD 464–549) was a Buddhist monk before he was enthroned as the first emperor of the Liang Dynasty (AD 502–557). He was also a scholar of literature, music, and calligraphy.2 Emperor Hong Li (AD 1711–1799), the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1644–1911), traveled extensively around China and was accomplished as a master in martial arts, literature, calligraphy, and painting.7 An extravagant life, medications from imperial doctors, and supreme power are no guaranty of a long life. In contrast, the short-lived Chinese emperors teach us that overindulgence in drinking alcohol, drugs, and sexual activity are equal to homicide and suicide. Financial Disclosure: None. Author Contributions: All three authors made substantial contributions to the manuscript in terms of design; acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data; drafting the article; and approval of the final version. Sponsor's Role: None.