Note 575 — Chapter XLII
Reading edition
The title is undoubtedly very ancient and means Son of Heaven or Son of God. See Hirth, Ancient History of China, pp. 95-96. But the precise force of Son is not clear. The Emperor was Viceregent of Heaven, high priest and responsible for natural phenomena, but he could not in historical times be regarded as sprung (like the Emperor of Japan) from a family of divine descent, because the dynasties, and with them the imperial family, were subject to frequent change.