Speaking of Empress Liu, who exchanged tanuki cats for princes, most people know that she is Empress Zhenzong of Song. However, empress dowager Zhang Xian probably knew very little, and "Zhang Xian" was the abbreviation of Empress Liu's posthumous title. The system of courtesy titles continued from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty for 3,000 years and was one of the important contents of the ancient etiquette system. The title is a summary of the deeds of the Son of Heaven and the princes and nobles after their deaths, and through the title, it is possible to understand what this person did before his death. This article will take you through the Song Dynasty's system of courtesy names.
It is generally believed that the title was made by the Duke of Zhou during the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the princes and nobles had names before they died and had titles after their deaths. At first, there was no distinction between good and bad, but in the Spring and Autumn Period, the ceremonies collapsed and began to use the title to praise and degrade the nobles, so as to restrain the nobles and make them afraid. Nobles do good deeds before they die, and after death they get good titles. Instead, you will get the evil name. The name can warn the nobles to do more good deeds and less bad deeds.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, there were several princes with the title of "Li", Qi Ligong was tyrannical before his death, and the Qi people rebelled and killed Qi Ligong; Song Ligong killed his uncle Gongxi Gongxi to stand on his own; Chen Ligong killed his nephew to seize the throne, and he liked to be immoral and unscrupulous before he died, and later Cai Guoren designed to kill Chen Ligong. The law: "Killing innocents is fierce." Some of these princes usurped the throne by killing before they were alive, and some of them killed innocents indiscriminately after they came to power, and after they died, they received the title of "Li".
Looking at the princes whose titles were "spirits", Zheng Linggong deliberately ignored the Zigong when giving the banquet, and the Zigong believed that he had been humiliated and killed Zheng Linggong. Jin Linggong only killed the chef because the chef was not cooked, and his life was extravagant and wasteful, and later Zhao Pu killed Jin Linggong. Marquis Jinghou of Cai's father, Jinghou, was self-reliant; Chen Linggong was immoral and unscrupulous, did not listen to advice and advice, and killed loyal subjects, who were later killed by their courtiers. The Dharma: "Chaos does not damage the spirit", these princes did not obey the ritual law during their lifetime, and after death they received such an evil title as "spirit".
Southern Song Dynasty Li Tang "Jin Wen Gong Restoration Map"
Speaking of good titles, Jin Wengong, one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, did a lot of practical things for the people after taking the throne, and handled major state affairs according to law and in an orderly manner. Wei Wengong was light on thin endowments, shared weal and woe with the people, and attached importance to education and selection of talents and abilities. Song Wengong once took out grain to help the hungry, and Corporal Lixian was a corporal. The Fa: "Scripture of Heaven and Earth, Grace and Love of the People, Grace and Love of the People, Grace of the People, Grace of the People, Grace of the People, Grace and Grace, Love, Grace and Love, After his death, these princes who treated the people well and observed the etiquette received the good title of "Wen".
People may not be able to punish those princes who take people's lives and do evil deeds before they die, but after death, they can use their nicknames to praise their lives, and those princes who do bad things will always remain in the world with the label of evil after death, allowing the world to spit and ridicule. The ancients attached great importance to reputation, and the title system was an invisible constraint on the princes and nobles.
After Qin Shi Huang unified the Six Kingdoms, he abolished the system of titles, believing that the courtiers were not qualified to comment on the king, and that the emperor of the Qin Dynasty should be passed down from the first to the ten thousand worlds, and the result was only the destruction of the second Qin state.
The Han Dynasty restored the Zhou Dynasty's title system, and after Liu Bang's death, his courtiers gave him the title of "Emperor Is subtle, reversing the chaos of the world, calming the world, and being the Ancestor of Han, with the highest merit." Emperor Gao was known as Emperor Gao. "Liu Bang's temple number is Han Taizu, and his nickname is "Gao". This is a special title made by the han dynasty ministers for Han Gaozu, and there is no "high" in the law, and the Han Dynasty people use this to express Liu Bangfeng's great deeds beyond the ancients.
The title of the emperor of the Han Dynasty is different from before, the Zhou Dynasty, the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period are all one word, and the Emperor of the Han Dynasty has an additional "filial piety" from the beginning of the Han Hui Emperor, such as the full name of the Han Wu Emperor is "Xiao Wu". This is because the Han Dynasty emphasized "filial piety" to govern the world. With the strengthening of imperial power, the emperor's evil titles also began to decrease. There were more than 30 emperors in the Han Dynasty, and only the Eastern Han Dynasty had two emperors who received bad titles, Emperor Huan of Han and Emperor Ling of Han.
The titles of empresses before Emperor Xuan of Han were generally the same as those of emperors, such as the Book of Han calling Empress Lü "Empress Gao" and Empress Dou of Han Emperor "Empress Xiaowen". Emperor Wu of Han's empress Dowager Wei Zifu and her son, who launched a mutiny and failed to commit suicide. After his great-grandson Emperor Xuan of Han ascended the throne, he reburied Wei and posthumously recognized her with the courtesy name "Si". From Emperor Xuan of Han onwards, empresses could also have separate titles, and empresses of the Eastern Han Dynasty all had titles.
For example, the Empress Yin of the Eastern Han Dynasty Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu's courtesy name was "Guanglie", "Lie" was her separate title, and the courtesy law was "Bingde Obeying the Karma Lie". After the death of Empress Ma of the Han Ming Emperor, her title was "Mingde", the title of Empress Ma was "Mingde", and empress Ma's noble character restrained foreign relatives, which was very consistent with the title. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were several empresses who had not very good titles, Empress Yan of The Han'an Emperor, Empress Dou of the Han Huan Emperor, and Empress He of the Han Ling Emperor, all of whom were losers of political struggle during their lifetimes and had killed political opponents. Dharma: "Repentance before thinking", they did wrong things before they died, so they received the nickname of "thinking".
People who did not have titles during the Han Dynasty did not have "titles" after death. The Western Han Dynasty writers Sima Xiangru and Dong Zhongshu did not have titles during their lifetimes and did not receive titles after their deaths. Lu Zhi, who had pacified Zhang Jiao at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, did not have a title before his death and did not have a title after his death. Wang Dao of the Eastern Jin Dynasty believed that the ministers of the Gongqing Dynasty, regardless of whether they had titles or not, should have titles after death, and from then on changed the system of the Han Dynasty in which people with titles had titles.
During the Wei and Jin dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the emperor's title was rarely evil, and only the Qi Xiao Baojuan and the Chen Hou Lord Chen Shu Bao's title was "炀". The empress's title is the same as that of the Han Dynasty, both of which are two characters, the first word is the same as the emperor's title, and the last word is the empress's separate title. For example, Empress Liu Yuzang of the Song Dynasty was given the title of "Wu Jing".
The Tang Dynasty was a period of change in the title, the emperor's title was no longer two words, and the number of words was increasing, for example, Tang Xuanzong's title was "Yuan Sheng Zhi Ming ChengWu XianWen Rui Zhi Zhang Ren Shen Cong Yi Dao Daxiao Emperor" A total of 18 characters. The Tang Dynasty also produced a system of adding insults. In the early Tang Dynasty, the emperor's title was one or two, and in the first year of emperor Gaozong's reign (674), Li Zhijia was the first emperor, Tang Gaozu was changed to "Emperor Shenyao", and Tang Taizong was changed to "Emperor Wenwusheng".
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the title of emperor before Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was increased from four characters to seven characters, and the word "filial piety" was added to each emperor's title. For example, Emperor Gaozong's nickname was originally "Emperor Of Heaven" and was changed to "Emperor Dasheng Dahongxiao". Tang Xuanzong believed that the Tang Dynasty had a prosperous era under his rule, all because of the blessings of his ancestors, in order to thank them, but also to show that the Tang Emperor surpassed the previous emperors, so there was a move to honor the ancestors. The tang emperor's title did not strictly adhere to the system of titles,
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the empress title was the same as that of the previous generation, and during the tang gaozong period, the empress was given a courtesy name, the tang gaozu empress was "empress taimu shen", and the empress dowager of tang taizong was "empress wende sheng". Emperor Gaozong of Tang broke the rule that the empress dowager system was two characters. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, he again gave the previous empress the title of "Shunsheng", such as Empress Dowager Dou of Tang Ruizong as "Empress Shunsheng of Zhaocheng". After Tang Xuanzong, the empress's nickname is still two words, such as Empress Shen of the Tang Dynasty, she is shen pearl in the TV series, and the nickname is "Ruizhen".
The process of emperor titles in the Tang Dynasty was divided into the following parts, first of all, Tai Changqing and Taichang Shaoqing formulated several emperor titles, and then handed them to Shangshu Province, and the hundred officials selected a suitable title. Then it was handed over to the ceremonial officer to write the epithet, and finally to the current emperor, who felt that there was no problem in making the epitaph.
The imperial power of the Tang Dynasty expanded even more, and the emperor's title lost its role in praising and devaluing good and evil. Several politically inactive emperors of the Tang Dynasty also received good titles. For example, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang fainted and was poisoned by his wife Wei Hou, and almost reappeared as a second Wu Zetian. His courtesy name was "Emperor Yamato Shōshō", which did not live up to his name.
The Song Dynasty inherited the Tang Dynasty's title system, which was different. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the emperor's title was six characters, such as the first title of Song Taizu was "Ying Wu Shengwen Shende", morality should be known as Ying, it is difficult to remove adultery and difficulty, poor god zhihua is known as sheng, longitude and latitude heaven and earth are known as sheng, yin and yang are unpredictable, and gongcheng is used to be virtuous. It's all good names. After Emperor Zhenzong of Song signed the Alliance of Liaoyuan with the Liao Dynasty, he was somewhat unhappy. Wang Qinruo came up with an idea that he could engage in sealing Zen to declare the great deeds of Song Zhenzong to the people of the world.
In the first year of the Great Zhongxiang Fu (1008), Song Zhenzong referred to the practice of Tang Xuanzong's addition of previous emperors, and changed the number of words to Song Taizu and Song Taizong, and Song Zhenzong added a total of 14 characters, and Song Zhenzong added a title that was double that of Tang Xuanzong, in order to show that the merits of the Song Emperor surpassed the Tang Dynasty. In the fifth year of the Great Zhongxiang Fu (1012), the word 谥 was added. Song Taizu's last courtesy name was "Emperor Qiyun Li Ji Ying Wu ShengWen Shen De Yuan Gong Daxiao Emperor".
Since then, the Song Dynasty has formed a system of titles, after the emperor's death, the first first is 6 characters, and a few years later, the emperor will add a number to the previous emperor, a total of 16 characters. For example, Emperor Zhenzong of Song's courtesy name was "Emperor Shengyuan Xiaoxiao of the Wuding Chapter of the Wuding Chapter of the Ancient Divine Gong of Yingfu Ji". The only one who did not add a title was Song Qinzong, whose posthumous title was 6 characters. The most famous of his titles was Song Shenzong, whose nickname was 20 characters "Body Yuan Xiandao Fa Gu Li Xian Emperor De Wang Gong English Liewu Qinren Shengxiao".
The northern Song emperor's title generally has five characters, "Wen", "Wu", "Gong", "Virtue", and "Filial Piety". At the beginning, there would be the words "Wen" and "Wu", and during the Song Dynasty, the word "filial piety" was added to imitate the Han Dynasty and tang Dynasty. For example, Song Renzong's initial title of "Shenwen Shengwu Mingxiao", Song Yingzong's initial title of "Xianwen Suwu Xuanxiao". The courtesy names of Emperor Qinzong of Song and Emperor Huizong of Song were exceptions, and "Wu" was missing. Emperor Qinzong of Song's title was "Gongwen Shunde Renxiao", and Emperor Huizong of Song's first title was "Shengwen Rende Xianxiao". Perhaps the Song Dynasty people felt that the two emperors were the kings of the subjugated country, and then using the word "wu" was to punch themselves in the face.
The process for the Emperor of the Song Dynasty to formulate the title was similar to that of the Tang Dynasty before, first the Taichang Temple thought of several titles, and then handed them to Shangshu Province. Attendants, Tai Zhi, Zhongshu Menxia Provincial Officials, and Officials above the Inspector Of imperial History went to Shangshu Province to discuss a title, and one of the officials above the lang official wrote a good title and handed it to the emperor, and after the emperor's consent, the title was finalized, and the Hanlin scholar was responsible for writing the title. The imperial examination is to narrate the life deeds of the emperor, select the appropriate title according to the "Tan Law", and explain the meaning of the selected nickname. Then the prime minister will write the book of books and treasures.
Next, go to the southern suburbs (the altar of the ancient emperor's sacrifice to the heavens) to ask for the courtesy, the regent, the Zaichen, the Zhongshu, the Privy Councillor and the attendants, the five pins of the Imperial Shitai, the four pins of Shangshu Province, the three pins of the various divisions, and the training envoys of the clan regiment, please be in the southern suburbs. The southern suburbs mean that this name is given by Heaven. Finally, in front of the spirit of the deceased emperor, he offered the book and the treasure, and the book was read by the prime minister.
The empress of the Song Dynasty is the same as before the Tang Dynasty, with the emperor's title in the front and a separate title in the back. For example, Song Zhenzong's initial title was "Civilization Zhang ShengyuanXiao", and his empress's first name was "Zhang". Emperor Zhenzong of Song had three empresses, Empress Zhang Huaipan and Empress Zhang Muguo, and the courtesy name of Princess Li, the biological mother of Emperor Renzong of Song, was "Zhang Yi". Empress Liu listened to the government for many years and contributed to the Great Song Dynasty. Her nickname was increased to four words, "Zhang XianMingsu". Wisdom and wisdom are dedicated, and no one is aware of the light, and Widek is known as Su. Later, a system was formed, and all the titles of empress dowagers were four words, and those who did not have them were two words. For example, Empress Gaozong of Song's title was "Xian Jie", and Empress Wu's courtesy name was "Xian Sheng Ci Lie".
Since the Tang and Song dynasties, the imperial autocracy has begun to expand, and the titles have lost their role in praising and disparaging the emperors, and the emperors' titles are all praiseworthy words that do not match the name. The number of words in the tang dynasty also increased, from one word in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, to two characters in the Han Dynasty, and then to 7 characters in the Tang Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty expanded to 16 characters. He also used many words that were not in the imperial law, and the emperor was no longer bound by the imperial system. In "Smiling Proud of the Rivers and Lakes", Mr. Jin Yong wrote that the sun and moon gods taught meat and hemp to do whatever they wanted, "Wencheng Wude and Ze were born by cangsheng". By the time of the Song Dynasty, it had also been alienated into a tool for the emperor to sing praises and praises!
Resources:
Yi Zhou Shu, Shi Ji, Han Shu, Hou Han Shu, Old Book of Tang, Song Hui To Compile Manuscripts, White Tiger Tongyi, TongZhi, Literature Tongkao