What are reign names, temple names, and posthumous titles? What are the differences between the three?

Reign name: The reign name is the name used by feudal emperors to commemorate the year. It was first created by Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. His first reign name was "Jianyuan". In the future, every new king of every dynasty who ascends the throne must change the reign name, which is called Gaiyuan. ?

Temple name: Temple name began in the Western Han Dynasty and ended in the Qing Dynasty. It was the name given to the feudal emperor after his death when he established a house in the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship. Since the Han Dynasty, the first emperor of each dynasty is generally called Taizu, Gaozu or Shizu, and subsequent successors are called Taizong, Shizong, etc.

Posthumous title: The so-called posthumous title, also known as posthumous title, is the title given to emperors, ministers, and scholar-bureaucrats after their death by the court based on their deeds during their lifetime. The emperor's posthumous title (including temple title) was mostly added by the emperor of the subsequent generation. However, there are also cases where gifts are given posthumously from one generation to the next or from several subsequent generations.

The main difference between the three is: the reign name is the name of the emperor when he ascends the throne, while the temple name and posthumous title are both the names after his death. Among them, the temple name is only for the emperor, while the posthumous title is for the emperor. Foreigners can also have it. When addressing someone, the temple name is often placed before the posthumous title, and together with the posthumous title, they form the full title of the deceased emperor. For example, the full title of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was Emperor Taizong Xiaowu, and the full title of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was Emperor Gaozuwen.

Extended information:

The third number behind the emperor: in addition to the temple name and posthumous title, there is also the mausoleum number

Generally speaking, posthumous titles are not unique to kings , there are high-ranking ministers and high-ranking wives, but the emperor's posthumous title must have the word "emperor" in it. The names of temples and mausoleums are exclusive to the emperor, and are part of royal ancestor worship and funeral rituals.

The king who lost his country has become a minister in the new dynasty, so there are no temple names or mausoleum names. Even if there is a posthumous title, it is only the posthumous title of the minister. Officials and ministers also went to the Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices and were buried with the imperial mausoleum, but they were all sacrificed and buried with them, and they did not have independent temple names and mausoleum names.

The famous mausoleum names include the Qianling Mausoleum of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (Wu Zetian was also buried in the Qianling Mausoleum, but because she abdicated the throne in her later years and died as the Empress of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, she did not have her own mausoleum name and was buried according to the empress' funeral), The Ming Tombs and the Eastern and Western Tombs of the Qing Dynasty.

In the customary address, before the Tang Dynasty, the deceased emperor was referred to as a posthumous title instead of a temple name; after the Tang Dynasty, due to the emergence of honorific titles, the honorific title and posthumous title together were very long, making it inconvenient to call them. Renamed the temple name. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, because each emperor had only one reign name (except Ming Yingzong), it was customary for the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to refer to their reign names.

Emperors named by their reign names can also be called emperors when they were alive. Therefore, if Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong were called "Emperor Kangxi" and "Master Qianlong" when they were alive, it cannot be said to be wrong, but if they are called They are called "Holy Ancestor" (the name of the Kangxi Temple) and "Gaozong" (the name of the Qianlong Temple), which is wrong.

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