Terdapat beberapa kumpulan wangsa China yang diperintah oleh kerabat dari hubungan sebelah bapa. Namun disebabkan oleh beberapa keadaan, rejim ini dianggap sebagai wangsa yang berasingan dan diberikan nama retroaktif lain untuk tujuan pensejarahan.
Such conditions as differences in their official dynastic title and fundamental changes having occurred to their rule would create the need for nomenclatural distinction, despite these dynasties sharing common ancestral origins.
Additionally, numerous other dynasties claimed descent from earlier dynasties as a calculated political move to obtain or enhance their legitimacy, even if such claims were unfounded.
The agnatic relations of the following groups of Chinese dynasties are typically recognized by historians:
- Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou
- The Western Zhou and the Eastern Zhou are collectively known as the Zhou dynasty[8][80]
- The founder of the Eastern Zhou, the King Ping of Zhou, was a son of the last Western Zhou ruler, the King You of Zhou
- Western Han, Eastern Han, Shu Han, and Liu Song
- The Western Han and the Eastern Han are collectively known as the Han dynasty[81]
- The first emperor of the Eastern Han, the Emperor Guangwu of Han, was a ninth-generation descendant of the Western Han founder, the Emperor Gao of Han; he was also a seventh-generation descendant of the sixth Western Han monarch, the Emperor Jing of Han
- The founder of the Shu Han, the Emperor Zhaolie of Shu Han, was also descended from the Emperor Jing of Han
- The Book of Song states that the first Liu Song ruler, the Emperor Wu of Liu Song, was a male-line descendant of a younger brother of the Emperor Gao of Han, the Prince Yuan of Chu
- Western Jin and Eastern Jin
- The Western Jin and the Eastern Jin are collectively known as the Jin dynasty[82]
- The Eastern Jin founder, the Emperor Yuan of Jin, was a great-grandson of the Western Jin progenitor, the Emperor Xuan of Jin; he was also a grandson of the Prince Wu of Langya and a son of the Prince Gong of Langya
- Han Zhao and Hu Xia
- The Han Zhao founder, the Emperor Guangwen of Han Zhao, and the Hu Xia founder, the Emperor Wulie of Hu Xia, were descended from Liu Qiangqu and Liu Qubei respectively; according to the History of the Northern Dynasties, Liu Qiangqu and Liu Qibei were brothers
- Former Yan, Later Yan, and Southern Yan
- The founder of the Later Yan, the Emperor Chengwu of Later Yan, was a son of the Former Yan founder, the Emperor Wenming of Former Yan
- The first monarch of the Southern Yan, the Emperor Xianwu of Southern Yan, was also a son of the Emperor Wenming of Former Yan
- Western Liang and Tang dynasty
- The founder of the Tang dynasty, the Emperor Gaozu of Tang, was a seventh-generation descendant of the Western Liang founder, the Prince Wuzhao of Western Liang
- Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Western Wei
- The only ruler of the Eastern Wei, the Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei, was a great-grandson of the seventh emperor of the Northern Wei, the Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei
- The Western Wei founder, the Emperor Wen of Western Wei, was a grandson of the Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei
- Southern Qi and Liang dynasty
- The founder of the Liang dynasty, the Emperor Wu of Liang, was a son of the Emperor Wen of Liang who was a distant cousin of the Southern Qi founder, the Emperor Gao of Southern Qi
- Later Han and Northern Han
- The first ruler of the Northern Han, the Emperor Shizu of Northern Han, was a younger brother of the Later Han founder, the Emperor Gaozu of Later Han
- Liao dynasty and Western Liao
- The Western Liao founder, the Emperor Dezong of Western Liao, was an eighth-generation descendant of the first emperor of the Liao dynasty, the Emperor Taizu of Liao
- Northern Song and Southern Song
- The Northern Song and the Southern Song are collectively known as the Song dynasty[83]
- The first ruler of the Southern Song, the Emperor Gaozong of Song, was a son of the eighth Northern Song monarch, the Emperor Huizong of Song; he was also a younger brother of the last Northern Song emperor, the Emperor Qinzong of Song
- Yuan dynasty and Northern Yuan
- The Emperor Huizong of Yuan was both the last emperor of the Yuan dynasty and the first ruler of the Northern Yuan
- Ming dynasty and Southern Ming
- The Southern Ming founder, the Hongguang Emperor, was a grandson of the 14th emperor of the Ming dynasty, the Wanli Emperor
- Later Jin and Qing dynasty
- The Emperor Taizong of Qing was both the last Later Jin khan and the first emperor of the Qing dynasty