Posthumous name: Encyclopedia II - Posthumous name - Chinese emperors

Posthumous name - Chinese emperors

All Chinese posthumous names for rulers end in one or two of the characters for "emperor", huangdi (皇帝), which can be shortened to di; except about a dozen or so less recognized ones who have had only di and no huang.

Starting with Emperor Xiaowen of Han China (more commonly "Emperor Wen"), every single Han emperor, except the final one of the Eastern Han, has the character of "filial" (孝 xiào) at the beginning of his posthumous names. "Filial" is also used in the full posthumous names of virtually all emperors of Tang, Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties. For Qing emperors, 孝 xiào is placed in various position in the string of characters, while those Qing empresses who were given posthumous names, 孝 xiào is always initial.

The number of characters in posthumous increased slowly. The emperors of the Tang Dynasty have names in between seven to eighteen characters. Those in the Qing Dynasty have over twenty characters, for example, Shunzhi's name is The Emperors of Order who Observes the Heavenly Rituals with a Solemn Fate, Destined to Unify, Establishes with Extreme Talented Insights, Admires the Arts, Manifests the Might, with Great Virtue and Vast Achievement, Reaches Humanity, Purely Filial" (禮天隆運定統建極英睿欽文顯武大德宏功至仁純孝章皇帝 lǐ tiān lóng yǔn dìng tǒng jiàn jí yīng ruì qīn wén xiǎn wǔ dà dé hóng gōng zhì rén chún xiào zhāng huáng dì).

The woman with the longest posthumous name is Empress Cixi, who is "The Empress who is Admirably Filial, Initiates Kindness, with Blessed Health, Manifests Much Contentment, Solemn Sincerity, with Longevity, Provides Admiration Prosperously, Reveal Adoration, Prosperous with a Merry Heaven, with a Holy Appearance" (孝欽慈禧端佑康頤昭豫莊誠壽恭欽獻崇熙配天興聖顯皇后 xiào qīn cí xī duān yǒu kāng yí zhāo yù zhuāng chéng shào gōng qīn xiàn chóng xī bèi tiān xìn shèng yán xiǎn huáng hòu).

Posthumous names can be praises (褒字) or depreciations (貶字). There are more praises than depreciations, so posthumous names are also commonly called respectful name (尊號 zūn hào) in Chinese. Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian outlines extensively the rules behind choosing the names. Some of those guidelines:

• Praises
  • Those having a persistent and reasonable governance(剛強直理) are called "Martial" (武 wǔ). (This is one of the most honourable names.)
  • Those who sympathize with the people and recognize their needs (憫民會椅) are called "Civil" (文 wén). (This is one of the most honourable names.)
  • Those who respect the talented and value righteousness (尊賢貴義) are called "Reverent" (恭 gòng).
  • Those who are kind and benevolent in nature(溫柔賢善) are called "Benign" (懿 yì).
  • Those who aid the people out of righteousness(由義而濟) are called "Admirable" (景 jǐng).
  • Those who treat the people compassionately with a gentle quality (柔質慈民) are called "Compassionate" (惠 huì).
  • Those who eliminate destructions and purge cruelty (除殘去虐) are called "Tang" (湯 tāng). (Possibly named after the revered ruler Chengtang (成湯), the founder of the Shang Dynasty.)
  • Those who make the people feel satisfied with their policies (安民立政) are called "Constructive" (成 chéng). (Again, possibly named after Chengtang.)
  • Those who are considerate and far-sighted (果慮果遠) are called "Brilliant" (明 míng).
  • Those who preach their virtue and righteousness to the people(布德執義) are called "Majestic" (穆 mù).
  • Those who are aggressive to expand their realm(辟土服遠) are called "Exploratory" (桓 huán).
  • "High(ly respected)" (高 gāo) is particularly reserved for the founders of dynasties.

• Depreciations
  • Those who lived short lives without much accomplishment (短折不成) are called "Passed Away Prematurely" (殤 shāng).
  • Those who have a constant twinge of depression (often due to political plights) during their governance (在國遭憂) are called "Pitiful" (愍 mǐn).
  • Those who lose their spouses and pass away at their early age (蚤孤短折) are called "Lamentable" (哀 āi).
  • Those who are obliged to make sacrifices to their ancestors (肆行勞祀) are called "Mournful" (悼 dào).

However, most of these qualifications are subjective, repetitive, and highly stereotypical; hence the names are chosen somewhat arbitrarily. Such names are usually given by court historians, according to their good deeds or the bad ones.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Chinese emperors", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki