Taizu has the highest status among temple names. Every dynasty has its own ancestors, and their contributions are also great. But strictly speaking, not all Taizu are qualified to be called Taizu. Let's take a look at who the Taizus of the past dynasties are. It can be said that except for these three, the others do not meet the standards of Taizu.
Taizu is one of the temple names. The name of the temple originated from the Shang Dynasty . People in the Shang Dynasty valued their ancestors and ghosts, and they would enshrine monarchs who had made contributions to the country in their temples. Since worshipers cannot directly call their ancestors by their names, a name was given to them. This name is the temple name. There are two types of temple names. The first one ends with ancestor, and the second one ends with zong. This is the origin of ancestor.
The so-called "ancestors have merit and virtue" means that "ancestors" have made great contributions, and generally refer to people who founded political power from scratch. And "Zong" refers to the monarch who is in charge, that is, the monarch who has done relatively well during his reign. The word "Tai" had the greatest meaning in ancient times, so "Taizu" was also the greatest ancestor. In the same way, "Taizong" is also the largest sect. In the beginning, only seven monarchs in a dynasty could have temple names. However, after the Tang Dynasty , all emperors basically had temple names without any restrictions. Although the temple name has become worthless, the title of Taizu is very valuable.
As mentioned above, "Taizu" is the highest-status temple name among temple names. Because only those who founded the political power from scratch are qualified to have this temple title. Because of this, the founding emperor of some dynasties was Taizu, while the founder of some dynasties was Gaozu. However, Taizu's status was obviously higher than that of Gaozu. Of course, even if the founding king of a dynasty is Emperor Gaozu, it will definitely have the temple name of Taizu. Although these people were not the founding kings, they still had a great influence on the establishment of the dynasty. Let us now take a look at the general situation of Taizu in the past dynasties.
Han Dynasty: Taizu Liu Bang
Liu Bang was the founding king of the Han Dynasty. Many people think that he was called Han Gaozu Liu Bang, not Taizu. In fact, Liu Bang's temple name was Taizu and his posthumous title was Gao, so he was also called Han Taizu Emperor Gao. Over time, he gradually evolved into Han Gaozu. Liu Bang was definitely a self-made monarch. He was just a pavilion chief at first, which was not an official in the Qin Dynasty . After that, he started an uprising in Mangdang Mountain. After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, he fought with Xiang Yu in the Chu-Han conflict, and finally defeated Xiang Yu to unify the world. No matter from which aspect, Liu Bang fully complied with Taizu's regulations. Among the later dynasties, the only ones like Liu Bang who started from scratch and could establish a unified dynasty were Zhu Yuanzhang . He was also the first emperor to be both the founding emperor and the Taizu.
Jin Dynasty : Taizu Sima Zhao
The founding king of the Jin Dynasty was Sima Yan. In 266, Sima Yan usurped the throne and established the Jin Dynasty. However, although Sima Yan was the founding king, his temple title was Shizu, not Taizu. The Taizu of the Jin Dynasty was Sima Zhao, who was Sima Yan's father. It can be said that what the Jin Dynasty did was very excessive, because no matter from any aspect, Sima Zhao should not be the Taizu. Sima Yan's rights were inherited from his father Sima Zhao, Sima Zhao's rights were inherited from his elder brother Sima Shi, and Sima Shi's rights were inherited from his father Sima Yi. Sima Yi's power came from launching a coup, and he relied entirely on himself. If you calculate it this way, even if the Jin Dynasty looked for Taizu, it should be Sima Yi.
However, after Sima Yi died, he entered Cao Cao's Taimiao. From this, it can be seen that he was not willing to be Taizu. Even so, there is still Sima Shi behind him, and after Sima Shi there is Sima Zhao. The reason why Sima Yan did this was definitely because he had a strong desire to give up. If Sima Master is Taizu, Sima Zhao can only be Taizong at most, and Sima Yan's status will be even lower. However, no matter who the Jin Dynasty established as Taizu, it would not meet the standards. After all, the Jin Dynasty was built through the efforts of several generations, and the credit cannot be given to one person.
Sui Dynasty : Taizu Yang Zhong
The founding king of the Sui Dynasty was Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian, who established the Sui Dynasty in 581. However, Yang Jian's temple name is not Taizu, but Gaozu. It is easy to understand why Yang Jian is not the great ancestor. After all, he did not start from scratch. A large part of his power is inherited from his father Yang Zhong. Yang Zhong was one of the twelve generals in the Western Wei Dynasty and a famous general in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Yang Zhong's family is still relatively good, but he was captured and entered the army when he was traveling in his early years, and then began his military career. After that, he repeatedly made military exploits and gained more and more power. In other words, Yang Zhong's status depends entirely on his own political power. It is easy to understand that he is the ancestor of the Sui Dynasty, but it is a bit forced to say that he is the ancestor of the Sui Dynasty. After all, holding great power and establishing a new regime are completely different things. Looking at it this way, it is a bit unreasonable for the Sui Dynasty to choose who is Taizu. However, Yang Jian's contribution is still very great.
Tang Dynasty: Taizu Li Hu
The founding king of the Tang Dynasty was Li Yuan, but Li Yuan's temple name was Gaozu. The Taizu of the Sui Dynasty was Li Yuan's grandfather, Li Hu. In fact, the temple names of the Tang Dynasty are very similar to those of the Sui Dynasty. Li Hu's ancestors were the founders of Xiliang. Although Xiliang was destroyed, Li Hu's family has been in the army for generations, and Li Hu also started his military career at a young age. However, although Li Hu's family was a soldier in the Northern Wei Dynasty, their status was not very high and they did not hold great power. After Li Hu joined the army, due to his continuous military exploits, he was named the Prince of the Three Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty. He was one of the Eight Pillar States of the Western Wei Dynasty and held a high position. In other words, the Li family began to rise from Li Hu. It should be noted that Li Hu and Yang Zhong are almost at the same level, and their two families are also relatives. After Li Hu's death, his son Li Bing inherited his title. After Li Bing's death, Li Yuan inherited it. From this point of view, Li Yuan also established the Tang Dynasty on the shoulders of his predecessors. Li Yuan's title of Emperor Gaozu is still appropriate, but Li Hu's title of Taizu is still a bit exaggerated.
Song Dynasty : Taizu Zhao Kuangyin
Zhao Kuangyin was the founding king of the Song Dynasty. The founding kings had the temple name of Taizu, and Zhao Kuangyin was one of them. The Song Dynasty established by Zhao Kuangyin, although he did not unify the country during his reign, he was still the founding king anyway. However, it is still a bit far-fetched to say that Zhao Kuangyin started from scratch. Zhao Kuangyin came from a military family. His father, Zhao Hongyin, once rescued Emperor Zhuangzong of the Tang Dynasty. In the later Zhou Dynasty, he also served as the leader of the Forbidden Army and also held great power. Although Zhao Kuangyin's status was obtained by himself later in the army, it cannot be said that he has no relationship with his family at all. But in general, it is normal for his temple name to be Taizu. After all, he earned a lot of his status by himself.
However, the gold content of his Taizu is far less than that of Liu Bang. After all, Liu Bang completely tried to establish a unified regime on his own. Zhao Kuangyin relied more or less on his own family, and what he established was not a unified regime.
Yuan Dynasty : Taizu Bor Jijin·Temujin
Temujin Needless to say, everyone is familiar with this man. He was indeed the founding king of the country, but he was not the founding king of the Yuan Dynasty. Temujin established the Great Mongolia in 1206. He was the founding king of the Great Mongolia. The Great Mongolia fell into civil war after the death of Mengge Khan. In the end, Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan , obtained the position of Great Khan, but the Great Mongolia also began to split. Later, Kublai Khan proclaimed himself emperor in 1271 and established the Yuan Dynasty. That is to say, the Yuan Dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, but Kublai Khan did not build it from scratch. His power was based on the foundation of his predecessors. The source of all this was Temujin. However, it is more appropriate to say that Temujin was the Taizu of the Great Mongol Kingdom, but it is not appropriate to say that he was the Taizu of the Yuan Dynasty. After all, the gap between the Great Mongolia and the Yuan Dynasty is still huge. However, Kublai Khan was embarrassed to say that he was Taizu, so his temple name was Shizu.
Ming Dynasty : Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang
Zhu Yuanzhang was the founding king of the Ming Dynasty. He is definitely worthy of his name as Taizu, and his contribution is no less than that of Liu Bang.Zhu Yuanzhang's background was not as good as that of Liu Bang. Although Liu Bang was a civilian, he worked in the government anyway. Zhu Yuanzhang has been a farmer for generations. By the time of Zhu Yuanzhang's father's generation, most people were starving to death, and Zhu Yuanzhang was forced to become a monk. Later, during the peasant uprising, Zhu Yuanzhang joined the rebel army and eventually won. That is to say, he was of lower origin than Liu Bang, but he also established a unified dynasty. It can be said that he completely fits the temple title of Taizu.
Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang established a Han government after ethnic minorities ruled the Central Plains for nearly a hundred years. This is very beautiful at any time.
Qing Dynasty : Taizu Aixinjueluo Nurhaci
Taizu of the Qing Dynasty is the same as Taizu of the Yuan Dynasty. Although they are both founding kings, they are completely different from country to country. Nurhaci is Jinguo established from scratch, also called Houjin . After his son Huang Taiji came to the throne, he changed the name of the country to Qing. Before the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, it was very appropriate to say that Nurhachi was Taizu. After all, the disparity in all aspects was not big. After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, great changes occurred in terms of the ruling class, area, political system, culture and other aspects. The Qing Dynasty at this time was no longer the Qing Dynasty before. And Shunzhi was the first monarch after entering the customs. However, since Shunzhi's rights were inherited, it is appropriate that he is called Shizu. However, it is somewhat inappropriate to say that Nurhachi is Taizu.
This is the situation of Taizu in all dynasties. If you take a closer look, you will find that although there are many Taizus, there are not many that really fit the bill. However, there are many Taizus in history, and almost every political power has its own Taizu. In addition to Liu Bang, Zhao Kuangyin, and Zhu Yuanzhang who meet the requirements of Taizu, Taizu of Liao Yelu Abaoji, Taizu of Jin Wanyan Aguda all fully meet this requirement.
No matter what, being able to obtain the temple title of Taizu is the greatest affirmation for them by future generations.
Reference materials:
"Historical Records", "Tang Shu", "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", "Qing History Manuscript"
