We often refer to the emperor of a certain dynasty as Taizu or Taizong, and the title of this Taizu or Taizong is actually the emperor's "temple number".
So what is a temple number? The temple number, which refers to the name called by the supreme ruler of ancient China when he was enshrined in the temple after his death, originated in the Shang Dynasty and made great contributions to the country, and the ancestors worthy of eternal sacrifice will be added to the temple number, and the title of ancestor or sect will be given according to the standard of "ancestor has merit, and Zong has virtue".
For example: "Taizu" and "Gaozu" have the merits of pioneering the country; "Emperor Taizong" is a major breakthrough in governing the homeland; "Renzong" and "Filial Piety" are virtuous lords with a loving heart and filial piety. Among them, "filial piety" is a relatively rare temple number in history, and only three emperors in history chose the word "filial piety" for their temple numbers.
1. Emperor Mu of Jin: Sima Dang
Sima Dan was the fifth emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he was still very young when he ascended the throne, and in the second year of Jianyuan (344) Emperor Kang of Jin died, Sima Dan was put on the throne at only two years old, because he was still too young to govern, so before Sima Dan was twelve years old, he was regent of Empress Dowager Chu. In such a situation, it stands to reason that the relationship between Sima Dan and the Empress Dowager will not be very good, and even Sima Dan may become a puppet emperor from now on, but fortunately, Empress Dowager Chu did not have such a conspiracy, and she taught Sima Dan wholeheartedly, and exposed him to the laws of governing the country from an early age.
Sima Dan also had great respect and filial piety for Empress Dowager Chu, even if he personally came to the dynasty later, he still trusted Empress Dowager Chu very much, and would consult her if he had doubts and troubles, and would get up early every day to free up time to ask the Empress Dowager for peace and care about the Empress Dowager's health. During Sima Dang's reign, the imperial government was also relatively harmonious and stable, and in the twelfth year of Yonghe (356), he sent the western general Huan Wen to send troops to the Northern Expedition, and successfully recaptured Luoyang. However, within a long time, Sima Dan had been seriously ill, and in the fifth year of Shengping (361), he died in the Xianyang Hall at the age of nineteen, and after his death, his descendants established the temple as Emperor Xiaozong.
2. Song Xiaozong: Zhao Yang
Zhao Yang was the eleventh emperor of the Song Dynasty and the second emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty. But he was not actually Song Gaozong's biological child, but because of an incident that changed Zhao Yang's fate. Zhao Yang's biological father Zhao Ziwei is a distant cousin of Emperor Gaozong of Song, in the second year of Shaoxing (1132), Emperor Gaozong of Song because Emperor Yuanyi had no children after the death of Zhao Shiki, the prince of Yuan Yi, so he planned to choose from among the descendants of Taizu, Zhao Yang and another child named Zhao Bohao were selected, just when Song Gaozong was considering who to choose, a kitten suddenly broke out and passed under the feet of two children, Zhao Yang just looked curiously, but Zhao Bohao kicked the kitten, and at the moment Song Gaozong suddenly lost his good feelings for this violent child, and decided to keep Zhao Yang.
In this way, Zhao Yang was brought back to the palace and was cultivated by Emperor Gaozong of Song as an heir, Zhao Yang is also very talented, he has been well-read since he was a child, and when he grows up, he can be literate and martial, and his usual words and deeds are relaxed and respectful, and he also has quite some opinions on political affairs, and everyone above the government and the public praises. In the twenty-second year of Shaoxing (1162), at this time, Zhao Yang had just ended a war with the Jin State with Emperor Gaozong of Song, and after this battle, Zhao Yang's ability was seen by Emperor Gaozong of Song, so he intended to give the throne to him, and not long after, he issued an edict to hold a Zen ceremony, Zhao Yang strongly pushed back, and after Emperor Gaozong's repeated exhortations, Zhao Yang agreed with tears.
After ascending the throne, Zhao Yang respected and filial piety to Emperor Gaozong of Song as always, first leading hundreds of officials to Deoksugung Palace, where Emperor Gaozong of Song lived, to say hello on the second day of his accession to the throne, and every day after that, he would go to Deoksugung Palace to say goodbye. Zhao Yang did not disappoint Emperor Gaozong of Song, and during his reign, the Southern Song Dynasty showed a stable situation, known in history as the "Reign of Qianchun". Zhao Yang rectified the officials internally, attached importance to financial management, and often allocated funds for disaster relief, and externally used Zhang Jun, the main war faction, so that Hanzhong Bashu was always in the hands of the Song army, so as to contain a large part of the Jin soldiers and maintain a relatively stable and peaceful state between the Song and Jin. Because of these merits and conduct, after the death of Shaoxi in the fifth year (1194), the descendants established a temple for him as Emperor Xiaozong, and was called Emperor Wuchengxiao of the Zhewen Shen.
3. Ming Xiaozong: Zhu Youxuan
Emperor Ming Xiaozong Zhu Youzhu was the third son of Emperor Zhu Jianshen of Ming Xianzong and the ninth emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Youxuan's childhood was very bumpy, because of his low status of his biological mother, he was targeted by Wan Guifei, who was the favored sixth palace at that time, before he was born, and tried to get rid of him, but fortunately, after birth, he was hidden by other well-wishers in the palace and grew up carefully. Later, after being discovered by Emperor Ming Xianzong, he disclosed his identity to the public and was crowned crown prince.
In the twenty-third year of Chenghua (1487), Emperor Xianzong died, Zhu Youzhuang was deeply saddened, and on September 6, the crown prince Zhu Youzhuang officially ascended the throne. Despite the hardships of his childhood, Zhu Youxiang's character was very generous and benevolent, even in the face of Wan Guifei, who persecuted him a lot at that time, because she respected her father and the emperor, she was quite fond of her during her father's lifetime, and did not listen to the minister's opinion and ordered her to be cut off. During his reign, he received extensive advice, discussed the way to govern the country with the ministers, was diligent in political affairs, attached great importance to the construction of the judicial system, advocated economy, rested with the people, vigorously built water conservancy projects, and developed agriculture, so that the Ming Dynasty at that time was economically prosperous, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, which was known in history as "Hongzhi Zhongxing".
However, the many tribulations of his youth eventually left the root of his illness, and in the eighteenth year of Hongzhi (1505), he died of illness in the Qianqing Palace at the age of Chinese New Year's Eve, and the temple name was Xiaozong.