I'm a big fan of historical cdramas, especially palace cdramas. 

I wonder in what cdramas everyones favourite emperor is in.  Great acting, terrifying at times, and all those qualities that make an emperor.

For me this is the list:

#1: The Rise of Phoenixes    

#2: Story of Yanxi Palace    

#3: Nirvana in Fire   

In no particular order 

The emperor characters in these dramas can be questionable at times but I like watching conflicted characters HAHAHHAA

Ming Dynasty in 1566 - When I say best emperor I mean in terms of acting skills, not leadership ability.  The emperor gets a lot of screentime, so there's some good character development, and he behaves in a believable way (at least most of the time).

love like the galaxy - the emperor was honestly hilarious and I love how he acted more as a matchmaker for the main couple than an actual emperor. 99,9% of the time he was on screen, he would try to find ways to get the two leads together. 

I second Rise  of the Phoenixes and Nirvana in Fire. Also in Royal Nirvana the emperor is a very interesting character as is his relationship with his son ( but it's a heavy drama)

Oops! The Emperor Is In Love.  Mostly a comedy, he isn't remotely frightening. His love interest is a palace eunuch - okay, a lovely girl disguised as a eunuch.

I actually forget the best emperor, but it's from a korean drama, still maybe it counts because the story is from China:

Empress Ki 

IMO probably the best period piece chinese emperor.  Such a deeply conflicted character that goes through so much change.

 MilkyJungkyu:

love like the galaxy - the emperor was honestly hilarious and I love how he acted more as a matchmaker for the main couple than an actual emperor. 99,9% of the time he was on screen, he would try to find ways to get the two leads together. 

+1. He definitely gets points for being the least frustrating emperor in a Chinese drama.

 MilkyJungkyu:

love like the galaxy - the emperor was honestly hilarious and I love how he acted more as a matchmaker for the main couple than an actual emperor. 99,9% of the time he was on screen, he would try to find ways to get the two leads together. 

1st vote to the emperor of Love like the galaxy
2nd the rise of phoenixes 

3rd the long ballad

I haven't watched the story of ynaxi palace and the nirvana in fire so don't know about these

For me it's

1. Love Like Galaxy

2. The Long Ballad - questionable at first but over time you get to realize the King is a good Emperor