The Titles of Chinese Monarchs

【Language and Culture Series】 

The Titles of Chinese Monarchs

Hi everyone! Ready to hop on the time machine?🚀

We all know that in ancient times, one Chinese monarch (the king🤴🏼) always had many names. For example, 玄燁, aka 康熙、仁皇帝、 清聖祖; 李世民, aka 貞觀、文皇帝、唐太宗. Wow, that’s so many😵‍💫! How could we differentiate? Let’s introduce some rules of these titles today!

In ancient China, emperors typically held four distinct titles: their birth name, reign name (年號), posthumous title (諡號), and temple name (廟號).

Firstly, each emperor had a birth name, though it was not customary to address them directly by it. Instead, various titles were used for this purpose. Let’s delve into these titles:

 📆 Reign name: Upon ascending the throne, emperors would choose a reign name to symbolize their era of rule. This name is often seen in calling Qing dynasty emperors, such as 康熙 (Kangxi), 雍正(Yongzheng), and 乾隆 (Qianlong), as each Qing emperor typically adopted only one reign name. Additionally, these reign names were used to denote specific years of an emperor's reign, such as 貞觀年(Zhenguan era) and 永樂年 (Yongle era).

🏆 Posthumous title: After an emperor's passing, subsequent generations would give the emperor a posthumous title based on the emperor's contributions. Generally consisting of three words, the first word indicates the dynasty (e.g., Tang, Song, Ming, Qing), the second reflects an evaluation of the emperor's accomplishments, with positive traits like 文 (Wen -studious, virtuous) and 武 (Wu -valiant, blazing the trail for the country) or negative traits like 惠 (Hui -powerless) and 厲 (Li - severe), and the third word would end with 帝. Examples of posthumous titles include 漢武帝, 晉惠帝, and 文皇帝. However, not all posthumous titles consist of three words; the format can vary depending on circumstances.

⛩ Temple name: This title is used in the temples where emperors are venerated. Typically ending with 祖 or 宗, 祖 often represents emperors who unified their realm, such as 清世祖. If an emperor is given the name "太宗" (Taizong), it signifies significant achievements, as exemplified by 唐太宗.

The practice of posthumous titles and temple names traces its origins back to the Shang dynasty. Interestingly, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the subsequent Qin dynasty, suspended these titles out of reluctance to be judged by future generations. It was not until the Han dynasty that these practices were reinstated, with the creation of reign names during this period.

In conclusion, we have explored three distinct titles of Chinese emperors: reign name, posthumous title, and temple name. By examining these titles, one can gain insight into an emperor's reign and legacy. We hope this discussion enhances your understanding of Chinese imperial history. See you🙌!

Reference: wikipedia🔎