Mdthbs

If I understand correctly, 王 means "king", "monarch" or "sovereign". I also see that 皇 means "emperor", "sovereign" or "ruler".

So is 皇 higher than 王?

Also, in the case of female monarchs (considering both consorts and non-consorts), can females be called 王 and also 皇? Or are there gender-specific terms for female monarchs?

The generic way to refer to the highest ruler of any country/region is「君主」, corresponding to monarch.

If we talk about an English translation, specifically avoiding how these terms are used in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, then「國王」is used to translate the English equivalent of king and「皇帝」is used to translate emperor, which are strictly gender neutral. Their specifically female equivalents are「女王」and「女皇」, respectively, for regnants (non-consorts), and「王后」and「皇后」for consorts.

• 
  Margrethe II,「丹麥女王」 (Queen Regnant of Denmark)


• 
  Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein,「德國皇后」(Empress Consort of the German Empire)


• 
  Napoléon Bonaparte,「法國皇帝」(Emperor of the French)


• 
  Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,「沙特阿拉伯國王」(King of Saudi Arabia)

Equivalent titles for territories historically surrounding and interacting with China, like Khagan and Raja, have their own Chinese transcriptions (可汗, 羅闍).

In Chinese-language influenced regions, the situation is different, and whether a person holds the titles「王」or「皇」is more complicated.

1. 
   

   「皇」as a monarchial title was invented by Qin Shihuang, "the First Emperor of China". The「君主」of the previous Zhou Dynasty (and earlier) held the title「王」. Note that the Zhou Dynasty themselves invented another term for highest ruler, called「天子」(son of heaven), which wasn't shared by the predecessing Shang Dynasty. The timeline for the "highest ruler of China" title is something like:

   
   
   
   
   
   • Shang Dynasty:「后」>「王」(Yes,「后」was a title originally used by Shang Kings. The meaning queen (consort) arose later.)
   
   
   • Zhou Dynasty:「王」,「天子」
   
   
   • Qin Dynasty and beyond:「皇」,「天子」
   
   
   • Occasionally for non-Han rulers of China, in addition to their Chinese titles:「可汗」
   
   
   
   


2. 
   

   The context for inventing「皇」was the Qin's wars of unification, where the de-facto rulers of the smaller Warring States all declared themselves to be「王」.「皇」was thus invented to be an overlord title. From Qin unification onwards, any "leader" of "a small state" within China, or in contact with China and admitting themselves into the Sinocentric system, would likely be called a「王」(おう, 왕, vương). In Sinocentric-style vocabulary, they are granted the title of「王」by the Chinese Emperor (封王).

   
   
   
   
   

   • Liu An (劉安),「淮南王」(Prince of Huainan)

   
   

   • Five Kings of Wa,「倭の五王」; see also King of Na gold seal

   
   

   • Sejong the Great (世宗大王),「朝鮮國王」(King of Joseon)

   
   
   
   


3. 
   

   For China,「皇」corresponds to the Chinese Emperor; for Korea, Japan, and Vietnam,「皇」corresponds to their respective「君主」as soon as they are removed from the Sinocentric system.

   
   
   
   
   
   • 
     Naruhito (德仁),「日本天皇」(Emperor of Japan)
   
   

   • Sunjong (純宗　隆熙帝),「大韓帝國皇帝」(Emperor of the Korean Empire)

   
   

   • Lê Lợi (黎利),「大越皇帝」(Emperor of Đại Việt)

   
   
   • To remain within the Sinocentric system, but simultaneously call themselves「皇」, the monarchs would style themselves「王」only when they deal with China in diplomatic missions. Korean Kings were the only ones which styled themselves「王」and dealt with China as「王」; both Japanese and Vietnamese monarchs styled themselves as「皇」in their own regions.
   
   
   
   

王

王由三横一竖构成，三横代表天、地、人，一竖贯通天、地、人，这就是天、地、人都要归“王”管的不二哲学。

The character 王 consists of three horizontal lines and one vertical line. The three horizontal lines represent heaven, land and man, the one vertical line runs through and connecting heaven, land and man represents the highest ruler, meaning the king.

Edit:

droooze wrote:

「王」是個斧鉞刀片的象形字，後來作爲古代君主的象徵。「三者，天、地、人也」說法自從漢代《說文》，不可信

droooze explained 王 was originally a pictograph of ceremonial weapons and then given the meaning of 'ruler'. As for the origin story of "Connecting heaven, land and man", it was a later interpretation from 《說文》in the Han period, therefore, not true.

~

皇

“皇”是“煌”的本字。‘皇’和‘王’古为煇煌、光明之意。

The original meaning of 皇 is now written as 煌 (splendid; brilliant; sparkling)

甲骨文里的‘皇’，很明显一盏正在燃烧的灯 In the Oracle ‘皇’ was obviously a burning light

说文解字：“皇，大也，从自、王。自，始也。”

皇 = 自 + 王;

自 = 'first; alpha'; 王 = 'highest ruler; king'

In layman's term, 王 = highest 'ruler' and 皇 = 'alpha highest ruler'

In modern language, 皇 generally refers to emperor, and 王 refers to king

• female 王 is called 女王 (queen)




• female 皇 is called 女皇 (queen ; Empress)

In the Spring and Autumn Period, all the rulers of nation were called 王. After 秦國 (Qin nation) united all China, the ruler of Qin changed his title from 秦王 (king of Qin) to 秦始皇帝 (The Alpha Emperor of Qin / Emperor Qin Shihuang) . Since then, the highest rulers who had control of a united China were all titled 皇帝 instead of 王. And 皇帝 had the power to appoint 王爵 (kingship) to his relatives or anyone else worthy of the title.

in the case of female monarchs

well, there was only one "female" emperor in china history: Empress Wu

when she was in throne, she got many regnal names, most ended with "皇帝" e.g.:

"則天大聖皇帝", "聖母神皇", "聖神皇帝", "金輪聖神皇帝", "天冊金輪聖神皇帝", "越古金輪聖神皇帝" & "慈氏越古金輪聖神皇帝"

only when she was dead, her formal posthumous name is "則天順聖皇后"

so, the character "皇" is gender neutral.

So is 皇 higher than 王

yes. there's only one 皇, with numerous 王, under the sun.

皇 is the person sitting on the Iron Throne, 王 is like King in the North.

I think they are basically the same. I'm a native Chinese speaker and I can't differentiate them. Although they have a similar meaning, they are used in different places. I suggest you get familiar with the common words that include 王 or 皇 and there is no need to differentiate them. The words that spring to my mind are:

王族

大王

王八蛋

姓王

称王



皇家

皇帝

皇族

皇上

吾皇

奉天承运皇帝诏曰

皇宫

中国帝制中，皇是只有一个的，王则可以有多个，王是由皇帝指定的。
按照地域管理范围，整个国家都是属于皇帝的，王的属地是由皇帝分配的，在属地内王有最大的管理权。