In Chinese history, there are three ways to address the emperor: the name of the year, the name of the temple, and the name of the emperor. However, what is the difference between these three titles, why did emperors in different periods use different titles, and what historical secrets are hidden behind this? Let's explore the mystery of ancient imperial titles.
Although the name of the emperor, the name of the temple and the name of the year are all titles of the emperor, they have different meanings and periods of use. After the death of the emperor, the descendants of the emperor were evaluated according to the merits and demerits of his life. There are two kinds of derogatory titles, such as "Wen", "Wu", "Sheng", "Ming", etc., to commend the emperor's great achievements, and derogatory nicknames such as "faint", "chaotic", "desolate", "lewd", etc., to criticize the emperor's evil deeds. For example, Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty was called "Emperor Gao" and Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty was called "Emperor Taizong", both of which were nicknamed "Emperor Taizong", while Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty was called "Emperor Yang of Sui" and Zhu Youxiao of the Ming Dynasty was called "Emperor Huizong of Ming", which was a derogatory nickname.
The temple number is the title of the emperor when he was enshrined in the temple after his death, and it is generally divided into "ancestor" and "zong". "Zu" is the title of the founder of the country or the lord of Zhongxing, such as Gaozu of the Han Dynasty and Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, and "Zong" is the monarch who inherited the previous dynasty, such as Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty and Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. The temple number is generally composed of the emperor's nickname plus "ancestor" or "zong", such as the temple number of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty is "Emperor Xiaowen", and the temple number of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty is "Emperor Xuanzong".
The era name is the name used to chronicle the year during the reign of the emperor, which first appeared in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to use "Jianyuan" as the era name in the first year of Jianyuan (110 BC), and successive emperors followed the method of era name and year. The era name is generally composed of two characters, and most of them take auspicious meanings, such as "Jianyuan", "Yongle", "Kangxi" and so on.
Different dynasties addressed the emperor differently. Before the Tang Dynasty, emperors were often called by nicknames, because not all emperors had temple names at that time. Wu Zetian is a special case, she created a precedent for multi-character nicknames, such as "Zetian Great Sage Emperor", "The Ancient and Modern Unique Heaven and Earth Great Sage Emperor", which led to the lengthy and difficult to remember in later generations. Therefore, after the Tang Dynasty, the emperor was mostly called by the temple name, and the name was not so important.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, because an emperor had only one era name, and the era name often reflected the emperor's philosophy and vision of governing the country, the era name became the main way to call the emperors of these two dynasties. For example, the name of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, is "Hongwu", which means "Hongda's martial arts"; The era name of the Qing sage ancestor Xuanye is "Kangxi", which means "Kang Jian and Prosperous, Xi and Jingming". Common people often directly refer to the emperor by the name of the era, such as "Emperor Hongwu", "Emperor Kangxi", etc.
In general, the three emperor titles, the temple name, and the era name, have different meanings and periods of use. The name reflects the evaluation of the emperor's life by later generations, the temple name reflects the emperor's status in the temple, and the year name represents the emperor's governing philosophy and statecraft. The way of addressing the emperor in different periods was also different: before the Tang Dynasty, the temple name was used from the Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, and the era name was used in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
On the one hand, this change in the way of calling reflects the development and evolution of history, and on the other hand, it also reflects the value orientation and aesthetic taste of people in different periods. Before the Tang Dynasty, people attached great importance to the historical evaluation of the emperor after his death, so the nickname attracted much attention; During the Tang and Song dynasties, people began to attach importance to the inheritance and continuation of imperial power, so the temple number became the main title of the emperor; During the Ming and Qing dynasties, people paid more attention to the emperor's governing philosophy and achievements, so the era name became synonymous with the emperor.
Understanding the titles of ancient emperors not only helps us better understand Chinese history, but also gives us an in-depth understanding of the cultural characteristics and social customs of different periods. Behind each title is the wisdom and painstaking efforts of the ancients, which together constitute a brilliant chapter in Chinese history, which is worthy of our heartfelt taste and exploration.