Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the
Sinosphere
The Sinosphere, also known as the Chinese cultural sphere, East Asian cultural sphere, or the Sinic world, encompasses multiple countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically heavily influenced by Chinese culture. The Sinosph ...
for the purpose of
ancestor worship
The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...
. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...
in China and had since been adopted by other
dynastic regimes in the Sinosphere, with the notable exception of Japan. Temple names should not be confused with
era names (年號),
regnal names (尊號) or
posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...
s (謚號).
Modern academia usually refers to the following rulers by their temple names:
Chinese monarchs from the
Tang to the
Yuan dynasties,
Korean rulers of the
Goryeo
Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...
(until AD 1274) and
Joseon
Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...
dynasties, and
Vietnamese rulers of the
Lý,
Trần, and
Later Lê dynasties (with the
Hồ and
Later Trần dynasties as exceptions).
Numerous individuals who did not rule as monarch during their lifetime were posthumously elevated to the position of monarch by their descendants and honored with temple names. For example,
Cao Cao
Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...
was posthumously honored as an emperor and given the temple name ''Taizu'' by
Cao Pi
Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...
of the
Cao Wei dynasty. Meanwhile, several individuals who were initially assigned temple names had their titles revoked, as was the case for
Emperor Huan, whose temple name, ''Weizong'', was abolished by
Emperor Xian of the
Eastern Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
. In other cases, numerous individuals were honored with more than one temple name by intentional changes or being accorded different titles by different individuals. For instance, the
Yongle Emperor
The Yongle Emperor (2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Chengzu of Ming, personal name Zhu Di, was the third List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 142 ...
of the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
was originally honored as ''Taizong'' by the
Hongxi Emperor, but his temple name was later amended to ''Chengzu'' by the
Jiajing Emperor
The Jiajing Emperor (16September 150723January 1567), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizong of Ming, personal name Zhu Houcong, art name, art names Yaozhai, Leixuan, and Tianchi Diaosou, was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming ...
. There were also instances of individuals ruling as the sovereign of a particular realm but being accorded a temple name by another realm, as was the case for
Möngke of the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...
, who was later honored as ''Xianzong'' by
Emperor Shizu of the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...
.
Etymology
The "temple" in "temple name" (廟號) refers to the grand temples (太廟) built by each dynasty for the purpose of ancestor worship. The temple name of each monarch was recorded on their respective ancestral tablet placed within the grand temple.
History
Temple names trace their origins to the Shang dynasty of China. In earlier times, temple names were exclusively assigned to competent rulers after their death.
The temple name system established during the Shang period utilized only four adjectives:
* 太 (''tài''; "grand"): honored to dynastic founders;
* 高 (''gāo''; "high"): honored to monarchs with great achievements;
* 世 (''shì''; "eternal"): honored to rulers deemed worthy of eternal remembrance; and
* 中 (''zhōng''; "resurgent"): honored to sovereigns who revitalized their realm following a period of decline.
Chinese monarchs of the
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...
were given posthumous names but not temple names. During the
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...
, the practices both of assigning temple names and posthumous names was abandoned. The
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
reintroduced both titles, although temple names were assigned sporadically and remained more exclusive than posthumous names. It was also during the Han era that other adjectives aside from the four listed above began appearing in temple names. Numerous Han emperors had their temple names removed by Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, in AD 190.
Initially, in deciding whether a monarch should be honored as "祖" (''zǔ''; "progenitor") or "宗" (''zōng''; "ancestor"), a principle was strictly adhered to: "祖" was to be given to accomplished rulers while "宗" was to be assigned to virtuous rulers. However, this principle was effectively abandoned during the
Sixteen Kingdoms
The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded b ...
era with the ubiquitous usage of "祖" by various non-
Han regimes.
Temple names became widespread from the Tang dynasty onwards. Apart from the final ruler of a dynasty, monarchs who died prematurely, or monarchs who were deposed, most Chinese monarchs were given temple names by their descendants.
The practice of honoring rulers with temple names had since been adopted by other dynastic regimes within the East Asian cultural sphere, Sinosphere, including those based on the Korean Peninsula and in Vietnam. Japan, while having adopted both posthumous names and
era names from China, did not assign temple names to its monarchs.
Structure
Most temple names consist of two Chinese characters, unlike the more elaborate posthumous names. In extremely rare cases, temple names could consist of three characters.
The first character is an adjective, chosen to reflect the circumstances of the monarch's reign. The vocabulary may overlap with that of the posthumous names' adjectives; however, for one sovereign, the temple name's adjective character usually does not repeat as one of the many adjective characters in his posthumous name.
The last character is either "祖" or "宗":
* 祖 (''zǔ''; "progenitor"): typically used for founders, either of a dynasty or a new line within an existing one. Temple names bearing this character were also accorded to monarchs with great accomplishments. The equivalent in Korean is ''jo'' (), and ''tổ'' in Vietnamese.
* 宗 (''zōng''; "ancestor"): used for all other monarchs. It is rendered as ''jong'' () in Korean, and ''tông'' in Vietnamese.
See also
*
List of Chinese monarchs
The Chinese sovereign, Chinese monarchs were the rulers of History of China, China during History of China#Ancient China, Ancient and History of China#Imperial China, Imperial periods. The earliest rulers in traditional Chinese historiography a ...
*
List of monarchs of Korea
*
List of monarchs of Vietnam
*
Regnal name
*
Chinese era name
Chinese era names, also known as reign mottos, were titles used by various Dynasties of China, Chinese dynasties and regimes in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China for the purpose of regnal year, year identification and numbering. Th ...
*
List of Chinese era names
*
Japanese era name
*
Korean era name
Korean era names were titles adopted in historical Korea for the purpose of year identification and numbering. Era names were used during the period of Silla, Goguryeo, Balhae, Taebong, Goryeo, Joseon, and the Korean Empire. Various Korean regime ...
*
Vietnamese era name
*
Posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...
References
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
Titles
Posthumous recognitions
Confucian royal ancestral shrines
Ancient institutions in East Asia
Ancient Chinese institutions
Ancient Korean institutions
Chinese monarchs
Chinese names
Korean monarchs
Korean names
Culture of Korea
Vietnamese monarchs
Vietnamese names
Culture of Vietnam