Polity · 1916 CE – 1916 CE
Empire of China
中華帝國 · 中華帝國
- Peak recorded area
- 8,439,750 km²
- 1916 CE
- Rulers on record
- 1
- from 1915 CE
- Data series
- 25
- 1916 CE–1916 CE
Overview
The Empire of China, also known in historiography as the Hongxian Monarchy, was a short-lived attempt by Chinese president Yuan Shikai from late 1915 to early 1916 to reinstate the monarchy in China, with himself as emperor. The attempt ultimately failed, set back the republican cause by several years, and led China into a period of fracture and conflict among various local warlords.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
1 dated territorial extent on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
8,439,750 km² in 1916 CE(one extent on record — too few points to draw a series)
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1916 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
1 of 2 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population | 451.8Mpersons1916 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
Economy
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP | 873.1int'l $ (inflation adj.)1916 CE · Gapminder |
| Real Wage | 4.34index (1500=1)1916 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Total Exports | 382.38million USD (current)1916 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports | 409.85million USD (current)1916 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance | -27.47million USD (current)1916 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness | 792.23million USD (current)1916 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score | 0.0835CINC (share of world capability)1916 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption | 16Mcoal-ton equivalents1916 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production | 45Ktons1916 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure | 89.5Mcurrent USD1916 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel | 850Kpersons1916 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Coal Production | 55.12TWh1916 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production | 0TWh1916 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production | 0TWh1916 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index | 0.111index (0-1)1916 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index | 0.061index (0-1)1916 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index | 0.042index (0-1)1916 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity2 | -5index (-10 to 10)1916 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Regime Type | 0RoW index (0-3)1916 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index | 0.138index (0-1)1916 CE · V-Dem v15 |
Development
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index | 0.45index (0-1)1916 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Electricity Production | 167MGWh1916 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Freight Tkm | 2,619tonne-km1916 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
1 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Yuan ShikaiEmperor of China1915 CE – 1916 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Chinese
- Currency
- yuan
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Empire of China is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.