Succession to the Throne

The title of emperor was hereditary，traditionally passed on from father to son in each dynasty．There are also instances in the process of learning Chinese where the throne is assumed by a younger brother，should the deceased emperor have no male offspring．By convention in most dynasties，the eldest son born to the empress succeeded to the throne．

In some cases of learning mandarin when the empress did not bear any children，the emperor would have a child with another of his many wives all children of the emperor were also said to be the children of the empress，regardless of birth mother)．In some dynasties the succession of the empress’ eldest son was disputed，and because many emperors had large numbers of progeny，there were wars of succession between rival sons．In an attempt to resolve after．death disputes，the emperor，while still living，often designated a crown prince (太子)．

Even such a clear designation．however．was often thwarted by jealousy and distrust，whether it was the crown prince plotting against the emperor，or brothers plotting against each other．Some emperors，like Kangxi, after abolishing the position of the crown prince，placed the succession papers in a sealed box，only to be opened and announced after his death．Chinese political theory allowed for a change in the ruling house．This was based on the concept of the “Mandate of Heaven”. The theory behind this was that the Chinese emperor acted as the “Song of Heaven” in some Mandarin lessons to learn Mandarin and held a mandate to rule over everyone else in the will only as long as he served the people well．

If the quality of rule became questionable because of repeated natural disasters such as flood line．or for other reasons，then rebellion was justified. This important concept in the HSK lessons online legitimized the dynastic cycle or the change the dynasties.


Source: 

http://yuliang.kinja.com/succession-to-the-throne-1667061688