Posthumous title and Temple Name of Emperor China

Photo: Temple number of Emperor China and posthumous title.

In ancient China, the title of emperor was often associated with year number, temple number and posthumous title. For example, Emperor Gaozu is the temple number, Yang Di is posthumous title, and Qianlong is the year number. Generally speaking, posthumous title, the earliest emperor, used it more. Later, the names of temples also increased, but in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the titles were often more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Temple number: the name remembered by the descendants when they held a memorial service in the ancestral temple after the death of the emperor. Liu Zhiji's "Shi Tong/Title": "The temple name of the ancient emperor, whose ancestors had merits, began in the three generations and ended in the Han Dynasty." Live up to its reputation, from ancient times to the present "The ancient emperors used the same name before and after their death. Later, people found it inconvenient to call the dead first emperor and king directly, and it was not appropriate to call them by their first names when offering sacrifices. Therefore, in the Shang Dynasty, every king was called by his birthday, and his name was no longer used to show respect. For example, the kings of Xia and Shang Dynasties are customarily commensurate with their temple names, such as Taikang, Shao Kang and Kongjia in Xia Dynasty, ancestral home and imperial city in Shang Dynasty, and so on. But neither he nor posthumous title claimed that King Mu of Zhao was posthumous title from the very beginning.

Temple names originated in Shang Dynasty, and the word "ancestor" or "clan" is often used in temple names. Founding emperors are generally called "Taizu" or "Gaozu", such as Han Taizu, Tang Gaozu and Song Taizu. Later emperors were generally called "Zong", such as Emperor Taizong and Song Taizong. But there are exceptions The reproduction of "grandfathers" began in Cao Wei. In the Sixteen Kingdoms period, almost all the imperial temples in small countries such as Houzhao, Yan Qian, Houqin and Xiqin were ancestral temples. Since the Han Dynasty, the temple names of the first emperors in each dynasty were too long to be called, so the emperors since the Tang and Song Dynasties changed their temple names, such as Emperor Taizong and Song Taizu. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, emperors generally used a title to address their emperors, such as Emperor Wanli, Emperor Chongzhen, Emperor Kangxi and Yong Zhengdi.

Posthumous title: After the death of emperors, governors, ministers and ministers, the imperial court gave them a title of praising or criticizing good and evil according to their deeds before their death, which was called Shi or posthumous title. Zhou Gongdan and Jiang Ziya made great contributions to Zhou Shi and were posthumously awarded memorial awards. This is the beginning of the funeral ceremony. Zhou Li said, "A small funeral is a gift." Small mourning, a period of time after death. Yi Zhou Shu's Interpretation of the Law: "The interpreter, the trace of the action is also. The big line is named after the big name, and the small line is named after the small name. The line comes from oneself and the name comes from people. " Zheng Xuan wrote a cloud: "The dead are also the traces of their actions." . "Five Classics Tong Yi": "Virtue is good, and no virtue is evil. Therefore, although the monarch and the minister can be combined. " There was no obituary in ancient times. At the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, the obituary law was formulated, which was abolished in the Qin Dynasty. The restoration of the Han Dynasty ended in the Qing Dynasty. The emperor's posthumous title is generally discussed by etiquette officials. According to his life and achievements, posthumous title was drafted according to the funeral law, and was appointed by King James.

Posthumous title originated in the Zhou Dynasty. It is said that the Duke of Zhou made an obituary, and after the death of every emperor, he was given a nickname according to his behavior before his death. For example, Zhou Wuwang was called "Wu" after his death, because his martial arts were destroying the Shang Dynasty. Later generations called him Zhou, not Zhou. He is called "Wen" because he advocates culture, attaches importance to his own agricultural production and cares about internal affairs. Later generations called him Zhou Wenwang, not Zhou Jichang. This funeral ceremony spread for more than two thousand years, and it was not until 19 1 1 Xinhai Revolution broke out that it was destroyed with the demise of the Qing Dynasty. However, the funeral ceremony was once interrupted in the Qin Dynasty. This is because, after the King of Qin seized power and unified China in 22 1 year, he thought that it was not advisable to add posthumous title to "discuss the father by the son and the king by the minister". So he ordered the abolition of the obituary law and called himself the "first emperor." It has been handed down from generation to generation, that is, the second, third and even infinite generations of emperors. Unfortunately, only the second generation has survived. In the Han Dynasty, when filial piety was advocated, it was put into practice again. Posthumous title of all emperors has a word of filial piety, such as filial piety, filial piety, filial piety. Later, in the Han Dynasty, the temple name and posthumous title were restored. For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, whose real name was Liu Che, was called Sejong, and posthumous title Xiaowu, or Sejong Xiaowu for short. Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty made Cao Wei a national title after his death. He didn't have that name when he was emperor. In the literature and art of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he was called Xian Di when he was emperor. That's nonsense. Does Xian Di know that he will offer the throne?

According to the ceremony of Zhou, there are seven temples of the son of heaven, that is, the son of heaven only respects seven generations of ancestors, but if there is a temple number, it will be passed down from generation to generation. If there is no temple name, it will be "destroyed by relatives" at a certain time, his temple will no longer be preserved, and his god will be attached to other temples. Temple names are the names of ancestors, ancestors and ancestors. Generally speaking, ancestors rank higher than ancestors. At first, not many emperors had temple names. For example, in the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang was a great-grandfather, Liu Xiu was a great-grandfather, and there were no other temples. This ancestor, just like Europe honoring an emperor as the great, must have made special achievements, usually the founding emperor. However, there are also some who abuse seals. In the Wei Dynasty, Cao Cao was Emperor Mao and Cao Pi was Emperor Wen. When Cao Rui was alive, he couldn't wait to call himself Zuming Emperor, and was laughed at by later generations.

Generally, temples are called Gaozu or Taizu, and they are all founding emperors, such as Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, Yuan Taizu Temujin, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and Qing Taizu Nurhachi. Known as sai-jo, they are often unified, such as sai-jo Kublai Khan and Qing sai-jo He. They re-established a dynasty by themselves, so they are also sai-jo, and they are similar to them, so they are called Chengzu and Xuan.

Originally, not all emperors had temple names, but basically all had posthumous title, so most emperors before the Tang Dynasty were called posthumous title. Since the Tang Dynasty, the emperor had a temple name, and posthumous title became longer, so people used to call it the temple name. Emperors in Ming and Qing dynasties usually used a title for life, so people used to call him a title. Only Ming Yingzong used two titles, because he was captured by Vala, and Daizong acceded to the throne. After he was released, he became the father of the emperor. When Dai Zong was seriously ill, he staged a coup and proclaimed himself emperor again, so he got two titles. In addition, the original name of Tongzhi is Qixiang, which was drafted by Su Shun and others. Soon, Cixi staged a coup, killed Su Shun and changed her title to Tongzhi. The original name is not called, and people are used to calling it Tongzhi Emperor.

Sometimes, those who didn't become emperors were honored as emperors after their death, such as Cao Cao and Sima Yi, and another one was Dourgen, who was in power and was honored as emperor Zong Yi by Fu Lin after his death, but that was an expedient measure. Less than a month later, Fu Lin imprisoned Dourgen's younger brother Azig and others, and then announced that Dourgen had a rebellious heart and copied his home.

Posthumous title starts with one word. For example, before the Sui Dynasty, the emperor's posthumous title was very short and was generally called posthumous title. Such as: Liu Heng, posthumous title "Emperor Xiaowen", temple name "Taizong", known as "Emperor Wendi" in history; Sima Yan, posthumous title's "Emperor Wu", temple name "Shizu", was called "Sima Yan" in history; Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty, posthumous title "Wendi", temple name "Gaozu", known as "Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty" in history. Later, many words were used, which simply became a bunch of commendatory words. Such as: Li Shimin, posthumous title, "Emperor Xiaoguang, Great Sage of Civil and Military Affairs", temple name "Taizong", known as "Taizong" in history; Wu Zetian set a precedent for the emperor to superimpose curses before his death, which is his own curses. Its essence has changed from objective judgment to blind flattery, and the increase of words is the development of flattery. Because posthumous title is too long, it was generally called the temple number from the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, it is stipulated in the Northern Song Dynasty that evil obituary is not allowed, but only beautiful obituary and fair obituary. Therefore, a bad king like Evonne, posthumous title, whose temple number is Hui Zong, is known as "Song Huizong" in history, and is "the emperor who shows filial piety in unity of body and spirit, and the sage Wen Rende".

It is worth pondering that the posthumous title system, which lasted for thousands of years, did not end with the last emperor, but was ended by Wang Guowei, a master of Chinese studies. Because the deposed emperor Puyi didn't have posthumous title, but he gave Wang Guowei the word "loyalty" posthumous title. Since then, China's ancient posthumous title system has sunk into history.

China emperor posthumous title daquan

Emperor posthumous title was acquired with the participation of the heir emperor; Posthumous title, the last emperor, was posthumous title of the next dynasty, or posthumous title of the adherents' regime, such as posthumous title of Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty. In the Southern Ming Dynasty, it was "Emperor Chongzhen posthumous title was the' Emperor Zhuang Lie' of posthumous title after the Qing Dynasty pacified the Central Plains". Posthumous title, a minister, was given by the imperial court. Generally, he was presided over by the Ministry of Rites (official position), and posthumous title was approved by the emperor.

There are two main points in the funeral ceremony system: First, posthumous title should conform to the deceased himself; Second, posthumous title should be evaluated and awarded by others after his death. The monarch's posthumous title was decided by the etiquette officer, announced by the emperor who ascended the throne, and the minister's posthumous title was awarded by the court. Posthumous title is the key, equivalent to the final judgment.

Posthumous title learned from his example. The posthumous code stipulates several words with fixed meanings, which can be roughly divided into three categories:

Praise: Wen, Wu, Jing, Lie, Zhao, Mu, Ming, Rui, Kang, Jing, Zhuang, Xuan and Yi are all good words;

Critics include Yang, Li and Ling.

Belonging to sympathy are: mourning, thinking, caring, caring, mourning and so on. Hui Di is mediocre. For example, Han Hui and Hui Jin are incompetent. Emperor Zhi, Emperor Chong and Emperor Shao often acceded to the throne in their early years and died young. If the first emperor, Xian Di and Shundi were said, it was the winners who laughed at the losers. In addition, Sun Quan is a special case, and his posthumous title is the emperor, which is unique in China.

For example, Chu Huaiwang's "chest" means "kindness and kindness". The former is called Shangshu and Shu Mei; The one in the middle is called the next one, the evil one; The latter is called Zhong Shi. 1June, 926, the famous scholar Wang Guowei drowned himself, and Puyi wrote a faithful letter, with the words "Zhong Wang is a public disgrace" engraved on the tombstone. I: honest. Chen Yinque said in his inscription: "If there is no freedom of thought, give me death!" Fear of freedom of thought is the main reason why Wang Guowei wants to die. This is the end of the system in China and posthumous title.

Bad obituaries came later-people gradually realized that some imperial envoys were not good people and some were hateful. In Li, he said "no relatives" and "killing innocent people". He was a greedy monarch, and the "China people" launched a riot. He fled to Bi (now northeast of Huo County, Shanxi Province) and later died there. Zhao Gong's admonition and slander is a famous historical prose in the pre-Qin period, which has been selected by many textbooks. This paper reflects the tyranny and cruelty of Li Guowang from one side.

Emperor's "Yang" means "internal goodness and external disorder", which was added when Tang Dynasty's founding emperor Li Yuan was executed by imperial edict. Historical Truth: Yang Di was actually the most successful emperor in China.

Then how to distinguish "temple number" from "posthumous title"? Generally speaking, whoever calls a certain ancestor or a certain clan is the temple number, and whoever calls an emperor is posthumous title. However, in different historical stages, the customary names are somewhat different. If you look at the chronology of Chinese history, you will find that before the Tang Dynasty, it was generally called "posthumous title", such as Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty, Wei Wudi, Yang Di and so on. After the Tang Dynasty, the names of temples were generally called, such as Emperor Taizong, Song Taizu and Ming Shenzong. However, during this period, some people called posthumous title; For example, Li Longji's temple name is Xuanzong, posthumous title is "Great Sage, Great Sage, Daming and Filial Piety", and the key word is Ming, so Xuanzong is also called "Emperor Tang Ming". After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the titles of emperors changed again, and most of them were called by year numbers. For example, Zhu Youjian, the emperor in the late Ming Dynasty, was called "Chongzhen", and "Chongzhen" was his title. Emperors of the Qing Dynasty were also commensurate with their titles, such as Kangxi, Qianlong and Guangxu.

Year number: Also called Emperor number, it is the name used by ancient feudal emperors in China to mark the year. The title of the year is considered as a symbol of the emperor's orthodoxy, and it is called "Fengzhengshuo". Titles are not always available at the beginning. It didn't exist in the early Han dynasty, but it began to appear later. Moreover, emperors generally like to change titles, both good and bad, some once every few years and occasionally several times a year. Generally, simple and pragmatic emperors changed their names less, while unconventional emperors changed their names more. For example, Emperor Taizong always used Zhenguan, Xuanzong didn't change much, and Wu Zetian especially liked to change his title. Generally speaking, the title is two words.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, posthumous title was as smelly and long as a foot-binding yarn, with posthumous title 17 in Ming Taizu and12 in posthumous title. So many words, of course, can't be called by their first names, only used in specific occasions. For example, Aisingiorro Yongning, Xuanzong of the Qing Dynasty, Xiao Tianfu of posthumous title, and Wu Zhiyong, the filial and generous emperor in Wen Sheng, who still remembers? The title of Daoguang, known as Daoguang in history, is as simple as that. Posthumous title, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, was shameless.

Honorary title: It is usually very long, because ministers will try their best to add all the good words to the emperor. Honorary titles are generally invited by ministers when the emperor is alive, and are constantly lengthened. For example, the honorific title of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty is "The filial piety of Emperor Wudi of God should be the way to learn from heaven and treasure", and Song Taizu's honorific title is "Li Qiyun Emperor Ying Ji Wu Ruiwen and Shen Desheng are filial to the Ming Dynasty". Empress Dowager Cixi also has a similar name, called Hui. For example, the emblem of Cixi is "Empress Dowager Cixi supports health, makes her royal family prosperous, and presents her to Cixi". Because the honorific title is too long, people seldom call the emperor's honorific title.