If you have the most superficial understanding of Chinese history, you will find that when it comes to emperors, the popular titles in different eras are different.
The emperor of the Han Dynasty is generally called a certain emperor, such as Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty.
Emperors after the Tang and Song Dynasties are generally called a certain ancestor, such as Tang Gaozu, Tang Taizong, Song Renzong, Ming Taizu.
Then a piece of knowledge will be popularized: the former type is called a posthumous name, and the latter type is called a temple name.
A posthumous title refers to the words that are given by descendants after a person's death based on their life deeds. Posthumous titles are relatively common and can be owned by ordinary successful people. Being an emperor is a huge success, so naturally most emperors have posthumous titles. The temple number
is exclusive to emperors, and it is said that ordinary emperors are not eligible to get it. You must have great merit and establish a house to worship in the Ancestral Temple before you can honor a temple name.
That is to say, the posthumous title evaluates deeds and is used for daily titles; the temple title commends merit and is used for ancestral temple sacrifices. The division of labor is still very clear. The emperor's deeds may be good or bad, and accordingly, the posthumous titles are also divided into good ones, ordinary ones and bad ones. For example, killing innocent people is called "Li", making sacrifices to chaos is called "You", being fond of internal affairs and neglecting government is called "Yang"... all are bad posthumous titles. The name of the temple is to praise virtues, only good and better, not bad.
The above is a general discussion, but upon closer inspection, it is a bit complicated.
The temple name and posthumous title on the Qianlong Yuling Shinto Stele. "Gaozong" is the temple name, and the posthumous title is abbreviated as "Great Qingchun Emperor". Photography/Handsome Guy V Won the Prize, Source/Tu Chong Creative
The temple number is said to have existed in the Shang Dynasty, but the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty did not have a temple number. There is much debate about when the posthumous title
appeared. Some people trace it back to the Yellow Emperor (such as Ban Gu) . Some people think that the posthumous method came into being in the Warring States Period (such as Guo Moruo) . The most influential view is that it originated in the Western Zhou (there are also debates in the early Western Zhou Dynasty and the middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty). ) .
After the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang abandoned the posthumous title because he disliked the posthumous title for being a son's comment on his father and his ministers' judgment on the monarch, which was detrimental to the imperial power.
The posthumous title was restored in the Han Dynasty, but perhaps it was due to the fire of Qin that a cultural rupture occurred, or perhaps the ancient tradition claimed by the Han people did not exist. In short, when Sima Qian wrote " Historical Records ", he had in his mind, It seems that there is no clear distinction between posthumous titles and temple titles as we have today. After the death of Liu Bang:
All the officials said: "Gaozu rose up in subtle ways, brought order to the troubled times, and pacified the world. He was the Taizu of the Han Dynasty and had the highest achievement." The title of the emperor is Emperor Gao. The prince assumed the title of emperor, which was also the filial piety of the emperor. The princes of the prefectures and states were ordered to erect temples to their ancestors to commemorate him during the year. ("Historical Records·The Chronicles of Emperor Gaozu")
In this expression, it seems that Gaozu and Emperor Gao can be used interchangeably. Even when Ban Gu later wrote the "Book of Han", he still maintained the habit of mixing them. Putting the two titles "Historical Records: The Benji of Gaozu" and "Hanshu: Chronicles of Emperor Gao" together, it seems that "Gao" can be both a temple name and a posthumous title.
This paragraph also mentions the "honorable title", which obviously means "noble title", and refers to the posthumous title, which is different from the honorific titles used by later emperors during their lifetimes; the so-called Liu Bang "is the Taizu of the Han Dynasty" means Liu Bang was the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, not a temple title.
After Liu Bang, the emperor was Emperor Hui of Han with a very weak sense of existence. After that, after Empress Lu period, he became Emperor Wen of Han with extremely high historical evaluation. When Emperor Wen passed away, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty who came to the throne issued an edict saying that in ancient times, "the ancestors have merit and the clan has virtue." When offering sacrifices in the ancestral temple, songs were sung to praise virtue and dancing was performed to reflect merit. The Gao Temple worships my grandfather and performs three music and dances of "Wude", "Wen Shi" and "Five Elements"; the Huidi Temple worships my uncle and only performs two music and dances of "Wen Shi" and "Five Elements". Now that my father is so great, he should be added One "Zhao De" also played three music and dances.
The emperor spoke, and the ministers had no different opinions. The result of the discussion was:
Emperor Gao’s temple should be the temple of Emperor Taizu, and Emperor Xiaowen’s temple should be the temple of Emperor Taizong. The emperor should dedicate the temple to his ancestors from generation to generation.
It is worth noting that the focus of this discussion is the number of temple music. Although the terms "Taizu" and "Taizong" appear, the concept of "temple number" still does not appear.
Also, these two temples together are called the "Ancestral Temple", and it seems that there is no plan to launch a second "ancestor". It is said that there was such a rule in ancient times: "The ancestor of the Yu family was Zhuanxu, who was the ancestor of Yao, the Xiahou family was the ancestor of Zhuanxu, the ancestor of the Yin people was Qi, and the ancestor of the Zhou people was the ancestor of King Wu, and the ancestor of the Zhou people was the ancestor of King Wu." ( "Confucius Family Language·Temple System") , A dynasty is one ancestor.
Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty was the emperor as the acting king, so the legality is somewhat questionable. Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty devalued the status of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty and exalted his father in order to strengthen the legal authority of his clan.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to the throne. Although he made various creations based on Confucian classics, he did not make a fuss about temple music. This continued to be the case after Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty came to the throne. Until another emperor with controversial legitimacy appeared, that is, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.
The grandfather of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty was Prince Wei who was deposed by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. After many twists and turns, the general Huo Guang, who held the power of the imperial court, couldn't find a suitable candidate for emperor, so he fell in love with him.
From the perspective of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, it is best to highlight that he is the direct great-grandson of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, so he wants to elevate the status of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
Emperor Xuan of Han Dynasty improved the status of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. Source/Screenshot of the TV series "Zhaojun Leaving the Fortress"
So he adopted the same method as Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty and issued an edict saying that Xiaowu The emperor was very virtuous and "the temple music was not praised." In other words, the current situation is that Han Gaozu and Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty have three temple music branches, and the other emperors have two. However, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty felt that one should be added to the Xiaowu Temple.
This incident aroused fierce opposition from individual Confucian scholars. Some people say that a sect must be virtuous. Although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty expanded the territory, he spent a huge amount of money and killed countless people.
Of course, the arm could not twist the thigh. In the end, Emperor Xiaowu Temple was still revered as "Sejong Temple", and the temple music added a "Dance of Virtue". In this way, the Han Dynasty had one ancestor and two sects.
The value of the word "Zong" began to plummet when Wang Mang:
Anhang Gong memorialized Li Mingtang and Piyong. Respect Xiaoxuan Temple as Zhongzong, Xiaoyuan Temple as Gaozong, and the emperor has offered sacrifices for generations. ("Book of Han·Chronicles of Emperor Ping")
Zun Xiaocheng Temple is called Tongzong, and Xiaoping Temple is called Yuanzong. ("Book of Han·Biography of Wang Mang")
Except for Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty, who had a deep hatred for Wang Mang, , starting from Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, all emperors became emperors. The Wang family gained power because Wang Mang's aunt Wang Zhengjun was the queen of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Emperor Yuan was Gaozong and had the highest reputation.
When was established in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the four temple names of Wang Mangtian were not recognized at first. They still recognized one ancestor and two sects, but later their attitude gradually changed.
Source/Tian Feng: ""Filial Piety Complex" and the Politics of the Eastern Han Dynasty", master's thesis of East China Normal University, 2020
Emperor Guangwu of Han Liu Xiu is the ninth grandson of Liu Bang. In terms of seniority, he is the same generation as Emperor Cheng of Han , and had a higher seniority than Emperor Ai and Emperor Ping. Therefore, in order to show that he succeeded to the throne after the Xuan and Yuan Dynasties, Emperor Guangwu wanted to re-establish the ancestral temple sacrificial system, abandon his biological parents, and respect Emperor Xuan as his grandfather and Emperor Yuan as his father.He also felt that the policies of Emperor Xuan's era were worthy of high praise, so he was given the title Zhongzong. As for Emperor Yuan's Gaozong, his standards were too high. Wang Mang's incident was traced back to his origins, so it is not Gave it to him.
The more important change is actually not whether to give a temple a name, but the system of establishing a temple has changed.
The emperors of the Western Han Dynasty all had their own temples, and only places where emperors were worshiped could be called temples. If someone is respected as an ancestor or clan, then all the countries will build temples to worship him.
After experiencing the great chaos during the Han Dynasty, everything was greatly simplified.
When Liu Xiu established the capital Luoyang , he changed the original temple in Luoyang to worship Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty into a high temple, placed Liu Bang's deity in the middle, and worshiped the four emperors Wen, Wu, Xuan and Yuan. The three emperors Cheng, Ai, and Ping stayed in the original high temple in Chang'an , while Liu Xiu's biological ancestors received sacrifices in the temple in the cemetery. ——The latter two temples are not of great importance.
When Liu Xiu established his capital in Luoyang, he changed the original temple in Luoyang to worship Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty into a high temple and worshiped the four emperors Wen, Wu, Xuan and Yuan. Source/TV series Changgexing
Liu Xiu passed away. His son Emperor Han Ming honored him as the ancestor of the world and built a new temple.
Later Emperor Ming passed away and left an edict saying, "There is no need to build a temple for me. Just put my god card in the toilet hall of my father's temple." He also said harsh words, if anyone dares to violate it, then The punishment is to abandon the market.
This brings about a result. Emperor Ming of Han Dynasty Although he got a temple name "Xianzong", he did not have his own independent temple.
He started this and it became a system. After that, Emperor Zhang was Suzong, Emperor He was Mu Zong, Emperor An was Gongzong, Emperor Shun was Jingzong, Emperor Huan was the Weizong, the emperors who lived to adulthood before Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty all had They have their own temple names, but they don’t have their own independent temples. Everyone’s tablets are in the Shizu Temple, so-called “same hall but different room”.
Temple names in the Eastern Han Dynasty have become cheap. In fact, this is the important reason: in the Western Han Dynasty, if a temple was given a temple name, many temples would be built around the world, with corresponding sacrificial specifications, and the temples without temple names would be demolished after "five generations of relatives" Differently, these temples will not be demolished as long as they last... In short, the cost of adding a temple name is very high. Now it's a bit like giving nothing for nothing.
However, there are still people who advocate giving nothing but not giving it. Why didn’t Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty have a temple name? After his death, Dong Zhuo came to Beijing and hired a group of intellectuals. Therefore, the great scholar Cai Yong proposed that according to the great ancient tradition, only emperors with moral merits can be called ancestors. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was so powerful that if he wanted to be called a ancestral emperor, upright ministers fiercely opposed it. Since Dongdu , Emperor Guangwu, Emperor Ming, and Emperor Zhang are the ancestors, Xianzong, and Suzong, which is in line with the standards. The other elders have nothing to say about their advantages, and their shortcomings cannot be avoided, so forget it.
Cai Yong proposed that according to the great ancient tradition, only emperors with moral merits can be called ancestors. Source/Network
This opinion is widely accepted. Temple names are easy to give and easy to remove, and there is no need to demolish them all over the world. As a result, the other emperors were dismissed from their clans, and Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, who had just died, simply did not gain a clan.
It is worth noting that until this time, although the reality of "temple name" had already existed, the term temple name seemed to have not yet appeared, at least Cai Yong did not use it.
Another related fact is that in the Eastern Han Dynasty, not only the temple name devalued over a long period of time, but the concept of temple also depreciated. In the Western Han Dynasty, the place where the emperor was worshiped was a temple, and other places of worship were ancestral halls. There was a clear distinction. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were no local temples to worship the emperor, but the elders vaguely remembered that there seemed to have been an important place for worship in the local area called "temple", so the word temple was used casually. This was considered as a reason for this. The word was later used as a basis for Buddhism.
Cai Yong’s suggestion was a small countercurrent. After that, the temple name was on the road to depreciation.
First, there are more and more emperors with temple names; secondly, although there are many clans in the Han Dynasty, there are only two ancestors. Even the emperors who founded the Han Dynasty have more ancestors in later generations.
Cao Cao did not become the emperor, but his children and grandchildren followed him, and he had a full set of the emperor's posthumous and temple names. Cao Cao was Emperor Wu of Wei Taizu; his son Cao Pi was Emperor Gaozu Wen of Wei, and his grandson Cao Rui was Emperor Liezu Ming of Wei. ——When this matter was settled, Emperor Wei Ming was not dead yet. He was one of the few emperors who knew his temple name during his lifetime.
The Sima family replaced Cao Wei , and the Cao Wei Dynasty replaced the Han Dynasty step by step, so people who were not emperors also had to add temple names: So there were Emperor Gaozu Xuan Sima Yi , Emperor Shizong Jing Sima Shi , Taizu Wen Emperor Sima Zhao .
There is a small detail worth mentioning: Sima Shi is the sect and Sima Zhao is the ancestor. However, if the Sima family can successfully usurp the throne, Sima Shi's achievements are far greater than Sima Zhao. The problem was that Master Sima had no son, so Sima Zhao adopted his son Sima You to him, and always claimed that the world would belong to Sima You in the future. But later, Sima Zhao still passed the throne to his eldest son Sima Yan. The reason was that Sima Zhao may have considered his own historical evaluation issues: if he passed the throne to his elder brother's son in the patriarchal clan, he would be regarded as As a transitional figure in the history of family entrepreneurship, who is the ancestor and who is the ancestor may have to change.
Although people who did not become emperors were given temple titles, the proportion of those who actually became emperors in the Wei and Jin Dynasties had temple titles was not very high. Because this was an era when the imperial power was weak and the powerful family members were in the limelight, they did not want to make the emperor too embarrassed. The emperors of Cao Wei, such as Qi Wangfang and Gaogui Township Duke Cao Mao, could not even keep their throne or even their lives, and of course they could not have a temple title. Starting from Emperor Shizuwu Sima Yan of the Jin Dynasty, there were a total of fifteen emperors in and in the Jin Dynasty, only six of them had temple names.
But in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, whether it was an emperor from Han people in the Southern Dynasties or an emperor from a minority regime in the north, adding a temple title was as easy as getting a degree as advertised online. It is also easy to understand that the lower class of society learns from the upper class of society, and the backward ethnic groups learn from the advanced ethnic groups. It is to learn these formalistic things, which are the easiest to get started. Seeing how many Chinese people are not interested in how Europe gave birth to modern civilization, but only pay attention to its "aristocratic tradition", you will feel that everything is easy to understand.
So, by the Tang Dynasty, "no emperor, no sect" became a matter of course. At the same time, posthumous names became increasingly difficult to remember, so the popularity of temple names far exceeded that of posthumous names.
After the Tang and Song Dynasties, the development trend of posthumous names was getting longer and longer. The posthumous names of emperors in the Song Dynasty were generally sixteen characters long. For example, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin’s posthumous name was:
Qi Yun Li Ji Ying Wu Rui Wen Shen De Holy Gong Zhiming Da Xiao
Portrait of Taizu of the Song Dynasty. Source/Internet
Except for Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, the posthumous name is the longest. It has sixteen characters plus a temple posthumous title, which is seventeen characters. For example, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di's posthumous name is:
Qitian Hongdao Gaoming Zhaoyun Shengwushengong, pure benevolence and filial piety.
Portrait of Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty. Source/Internet
Wen is the posthumous title of the temple. If you don’t want to say Guankou, you can just call him Emperor Chengzuwen.
The emperor of the Qing Dynasty learned the Ming Dynasty but wanted to be better than the Ming Dynasty, so the posthumous title added six more characters, and the twenty-two characters were added to the temple posthumous title. For example, Emperor Gaozong Hongli of the Qing Dynasty, who is generally known as Emperor Qianlong, is:
Fatian Longyun Zhicheng Xianjue Tiyuan Liji Fuwen Fenwu Qinming Xiaoci Shengchun
Chun is the posthumous title of the temple, Qianlong is the stalk of the Qingchun Emperor, that's how it came about.
According to the format of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Qianlong was the "pure emperor". Source/Network
is too long and makes people miss the point. According to the posthumous law, each word of the posthumous title has rich connotations. One word is equivalent to one or several keywords (because some words have several meanings) . If an article has more than ten or twenty keywords, it means there are no keywords. Similarly, if an emperor has a posthumous title of more than ten words, it will not reflect his characteristics. The reason why the Ming and Qing Dynasties wanted to create a temple posthumous title was to show that the weight of this character was different, but in the end the effect was not very good.
Therefore, when people refer to emperors, it is much more popular to call them by their temple names than by their posthumous names.
Since ancestry is no longer rare, then to appear extra decent, one must call one’s ancestors.
However, the so-called "the one who first conquered the world is called the ancestor". In addition to the founding emperor being called the ancestor, why did the subsequent emperors also claim to be the ancestor?
Some of the short-lived dynasties in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties may have produced several ancestors, but since they were all short-lived, it can be seen that they are not enough examples.
But as long as there is demand, there is no limit to human creativity when it comes to providing explanations.
Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty who ascended to the throne of emperor through the Jingnan Campaign, originally had the temple name Taizong. Comparing previous history, Emperor Taizong of the Han Dynasty became emperor because of the Zhulu Rebellion, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty became emperor because of the Xuanwumen Incident, and Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty became emperor because of the legend of candlelight and ax shadow... It can be said that a The emperor's title of Taizong not only indicated his high level of governance, but also suggested that he had overcome great political obstacles to become emperor. It was a double entendre. Accordingly, Zhu Di was called Ming Taizong, which couldn't be more appropriate according to tradition.
How did Ming Taizong become Ming Chengzu? Because the temple name Taizong had been used for nearly a hundred years, Ming Wuzong had no sons when he died, and Zhu Houcong succeeded to the throne as a collateral member of the clan, that is, Shizong Emperor Jiajing. Jiajing not only wanted to make his father the emperor, but also wanted him to enter the Ancestral Temple to accept worship.
After overcoming huge resistance, the former goal was achieved in the third year of Jiajing, while the latter goal was delayed until the seventeenth year of Jiajing: because of the temple sacrifice system of the Ming Dynasty, nine tablets were enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple's dormitory hall, excluding Zhu Yuanzhang's tablet. Except for the central one, whichever one has the furthest blood relationship with the current emperor, the tablet will be moved, and in temple ritual terms, it will be called a memorial tablet. Jiajing wanted to add his father to the memorial tablet, so he had to ask for the memorial tablet of a late emperor. According to calculations, it happened to be Taizong Zhu Di.
From Emperor Renzong to Hongxi, they were all descendants of Zhu Di. In order to make room for his father, Zhu Di was asked to leave the dormitory in advance. Jiajing thought about it and felt it was serious. If he respected Zhu Di as his ancestor, he would become the "unruly ancestor". , it can be kept in the dormitory without being affected.
Jiajing changed Zhu Di's temple name from "Ming Taizong" to "Ming Chengzu". Source/Internet
As for the three ancestors in the Qing Dynasty, the special thing is Kangxi, the holy ancestor.
Nurhaci started his own business and was Taizu; Emperor Shunzhi entered Guan Dingding and was Shizu. This is the same as the Yuan Dynasty using Genghis Khan as the ancestor and Kublai Khan as the ancestor. It can be said that there is historical precedent to follow.
Emperor Kangxi's temple name was originally intended to be called Zong by the ministers, but Yongzheng issued an edict, praising Kangxi's achievements, and concluded: "Our emperor's examination... In terms of succession, it is Shoucheng. , in terms of meritorious deeds, it is a pioneer", so he should be called an ancestor. The minister then drafted the temple name of the Holy Ancestor. So Yongzheng pricked his finger and circled the word "Holy Ancestor" in the memorial with blood.
From this point of view, Kangxi was able to obtain the temple title of the Holy Ancestor, not only because of his own merits, but also because of his son's filial piety. There are many rumors about why Yongzheng became emperor, and Yongzheng's actions were more or less intended to refute the rumors.
Saint is of course an excellent word, but if it is too good, it will easily make people feel yin and yang. For example, both the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty had "Shen Zong". Gods are of course good, but "people cannot name gods" seems to be translated into: What should I say about you?
Taimiao Temple is the ancestral temple of the ancient Chinese emperors. Photography/Molostock, Source/Tu Chong Creative
The temple name Holy Ancestor has been used at least three times before. The two times are actually used for gods: the emperor of the Tang Dynasty claimed that he was a descendant of Laozi, Tang Xuanzong respected Laozi as the great sage ancestor Emperor Xuanyuan; the Song Dynasty respected Zhao Xuanlang (that is, Zhao Gongming, first the god of plague, and later Is the God of Wealth) is the Holy Ancestor. There is actually only one living person who has ever been called emperor and is called Shengzu: a short-lived separatist regime in the late Tang Dynasty, a man named Zheng Maisi, who destroyed Nanzhao and established the Dachanghe Kingdom. His temple name was Shengzu.
In this way, the temple name Holy Ancestor can easily cause strange associations. However, Emperor Yongzheng said, "This is the kind of man I am." He felt that it was natural for him to do well.
Source: National Humanities and History
Author: Liu Bo
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The emperor spoke, and the ministers had no different opinions. The result of the discussion was:
Emperor Gao’s temple should be the temple of Emperor Taizu, and Emperor Xiaowen’s temple should be the temple of Emperor Taizong. The emperor should dedicate the temple to his ancestors from generation to generation.
It is worth noting that the focus of this discussion is the number of temple music. Although the terms "Taizu" and "Taizong" appear, the concept of "temple number" still does not appear.
Also, these two temples together are called the "Ancestral Temple", and it seems that there is no plan to launch a second "ancestor". It is said that there was such a rule in ancient times: "The ancestor of the Yu family was Zhuanxu, who was the ancestor of Yao, the Xiahou family was the ancestor of Zhuanxu, the ancestor of the Yin people was Qi, and the ancestor of the Zhou people was the ancestor of King Wu, and the ancestor of the Zhou people was the ancestor of King Wu." ( "Confucius Family Language·Temple System") , A dynasty is one ancestor.
Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty was the emperor as the acting king, so the legality is somewhat questionable. Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty devalued the status of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty and exalted his father in order to strengthen the legal authority of his clan.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to the throne. Although he made various creations based on Confucian classics, he did not make a fuss about temple music. This continued to be the case after Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty came to the throne. Until another emperor with controversial legitimacy appeared, that is, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.
The grandfather of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty was Prince Wei who was deposed by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. After many twists and turns, the general Huo Guang, who held the power of the imperial court, couldn't find a suitable candidate for emperor, so he fell in love with him.
From the perspective of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, it is best to highlight that he is the direct great-grandson of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, so he wants to elevate the status of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
Emperor Xuan of Han Dynasty improved the status of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. Source/Screenshot of the TV series "Zhaojun Leaving the Fortress"
So he adopted the same method as Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty and issued an edict saying that Xiaowu The emperor was very virtuous and "the temple music was not praised." In other words, the current situation is that Han Gaozu and Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty have three temple music branches, and the other emperors have two. However, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty felt that one should be added to the Xiaowu Temple.
This incident aroused fierce opposition from individual Confucian scholars. Some people say that a sect must be virtuous. Although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty expanded the territory, he spent a huge amount of money and killed countless people.
Of course, the arm could not twist the thigh. In the end, Emperor Xiaowu Temple was still revered as "Sejong Temple", and the temple music added a "Dance of Virtue". In this way, the Han Dynasty had one ancestor and two sects.
The value of the word "Zong" began to plummet when Wang Mang:
Anhang Gong memorialized Li Mingtang and Piyong. Respect Xiaoxuan Temple as Zhongzong, Xiaoyuan Temple as Gaozong, and the emperor has offered sacrifices for generations. ("Book of Han·Chronicles of Emperor Ping")
Zun Xiaocheng Temple is called Tongzong, and Xiaoping Temple is called Yuanzong. ("Book of Han·Biography of Wang Mang")
Except for Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty, who had a deep hatred for Wang Mang, , starting from Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, all emperors became emperors. The Wang family gained power because Wang Mang's aunt Wang Zhengjun was the queen of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Emperor Yuan was Gaozong and had the highest reputation.
When was established in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the four temple names of Wang Mangtian were not recognized at first. They still recognized one ancestor and two sects, but later their attitude gradually changed.
Source/Tian Feng: ""Filial Piety Complex" and the Politics of the Eastern Han Dynasty", master's thesis of East China Normal University, 2020
Emperor Guangwu of Han Liu Xiu is the ninth grandson of Liu Bang. In terms of seniority, he is the same generation as Emperor Cheng of Han , and had a higher seniority than Emperor Ai and Emperor Ping. Therefore, in order to show that he succeeded to the throne after the Xuan and Yuan Dynasties, Emperor Guangwu wanted to re-establish the ancestral temple sacrificial system, abandon his biological parents, and respect Emperor Xuan as his grandfather and Emperor Yuan as his father.He also felt that the policies of Emperor Xuan's era were worthy of high praise, so he was given the title Zhongzong. As for Emperor Yuan's Gaozong, his standards were too high. Wang Mang's incident was traced back to his origins, so it is not Gave it to him.
The more important change is actually not whether to give a temple a name, but the system of establishing a temple has changed.
The emperors of the Western Han Dynasty all had their own temples, and only places where emperors were worshiped could be called temples. If someone is respected as an ancestor or clan, then all the countries will build temples to worship him.
After experiencing the great chaos during the Han Dynasty, everything was greatly simplified.
When Liu Xiu established the capital Luoyang , he changed the original temple in Luoyang to worship Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty into a high temple, placed Liu Bang's deity in the middle, and worshiped the four emperors Wen, Wu, Xuan and Yuan. The three emperors Cheng, Ai, and Ping stayed in the original high temple in Chang'an , while Liu Xiu's biological ancestors received sacrifices in the temple in the cemetery. ——The latter two temples are not of great importance.
When Liu Xiu established his capital in Luoyang, he changed the original temple in Luoyang to worship Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty into a high temple and worshiped the four emperors Wen, Wu, Xuan and Yuan. Source/TV series Changgexing
Liu Xiu passed away. His son Emperor Han Ming honored him as the ancestor of the world and built a new temple.
Later Emperor Ming passed away and left an edict saying, "There is no need to build a temple for me. Just put my god card in the toilet hall of my father's temple." He also said harsh words, if anyone dares to violate it, then The punishment is to abandon the market.
This brings about a result. Emperor Ming of Han Dynasty Although he got a temple name "Xianzong", he did not have his own independent temple.
He started this and it became a system. After that, Emperor Zhang was Suzong, Emperor He was Mu Zong, Emperor An was Gongzong, Emperor Shun was Jingzong, Emperor Huan was the Weizong, the emperors who lived to adulthood before Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty all had They have their own temple names, but they don’t have their own independent temples. Everyone’s tablets are in the Shizu Temple, so-called “same hall but different room”.
Temple names in the Eastern Han Dynasty have become cheap. In fact, this is the important reason: in the Western Han Dynasty, if a temple was given a temple name, many temples would be built around the world, with corresponding sacrificial specifications, and the temples without temple names would be demolished after "five generations of relatives" Differently, these temples will not be demolished as long as they last... In short, the cost of adding a temple name is very high. Now it's a bit like giving nothing for nothing.
However, there are still people who advocate giving nothing but not giving it. Why didn’t Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty have a temple name? After his death, Dong Zhuo came to Beijing and hired a group of intellectuals. Therefore, the great scholar Cai Yong proposed that according to the great ancient tradition, only emperors with moral merits can be called ancestors. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was so powerful that if he wanted to be called a ancestral emperor, upright ministers fiercely opposed it. Since Dongdu , Emperor Guangwu, Emperor Ming, and Emperor Zhang are the ancestors, Xianzong, and Suzong, which is in line with the standards. The other elders have nothing to say about their advantages, and their shortcomings cannot be avoided, so forget it.
Cai Yong proposed that according to the great ancient tradition, only emperors with moral merits can be called ancestors. Source/Network
This opinion is widely accepted. Temple names are easy to give and easy to remove, and there is no need to demolish them all over the world. As a result, the other emperors were dismissed from their clans, and Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, who had just died, simply did not gain a clan.
It is worth noting that until this time, although the reality of "temple name" had already existed, the term temple name seemed to have not yet appeared, at least Cai Yong did not use it.
Another related fact is that in the Eastern Han Dynasty, not only the temple name devalued over a long period of time, but the concept of temple also depreciated. In the Western Han Dynasty, the place where the emperor was worshiped was a temple, and other places of worship were ancestral halls. There was a clear distinction. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were no local temples to worship the emperor, but the elders vaguely remembered that there seemed to have been an important place for worship in the local area called "temple", so the word temple was used casually. This was considered as a reason for this. The word was later used as a basis for Buddhism.
Cai Yong’s suggestion was a small countercurrent. After that, the temple name was on the road to depreciation.
First, there are more and more emperors with temple names; secondly, although there are many clans in the Han Dynasty, there are only two ancestors. Even the emperors who founded the Han Dynasty have more ancestors in later generations.
Cao Cao did not become the emperor, but his children and grandchildren followed him, and he had a full set of the emperor's posthumous and temple names. Cao Cao was Emperor Wu of Wei Taizu; his son Cao Pi was Emperor Gaozu Wen of Wei, and his grandson Cao Rui was Emperor Liezu Ming of Wei. ——When this matter was settled, Emperor Wei Ming was not dead yet. He was one of the few emperors who knew his temple name during his lifetime.
The Sima family replaced Cao Wei , and the Cao Wei Dynasty replaced the Han Dynasty step by step, so people who were not emperors also had to add temple names: So there were Emperor Gaozu Xuan Sima Yi , Emperor Shizong Jing Sima Shi , Taizu Wen Emperor Sima Zhao .
There is a small detail worth mentioning: Sima Shi is the sect and Sima Zhao is the ancestor. However, if the Sima family can successfully usurp the throne, Sima Shi's achievements are far greater than Sima Zhao. The problem was that Master Sima had no son, so Sima Zhao adopted his son Sima You to him, and always claimed that the world would belong to Sima You in the future. But later, Sima Zhao still passed the throne to his eldest son Sima Yan. The reason was that Sima Zhao may have considered his own historical evaluation issues: if he passed the throne to his elder brother's son in the patriarchal clan, he would be regarded as As a transitional figure in the history of family entrepreneurship, who is the ancestor and who is the ancestor may have to change.
Although people who did not become emperors were given temple titles, the proportion of those who actually became emperors in the Wei and Jin Dynasties had temple titles was not very high. Because this was an era when the imperial power was weak and the powerful family members were in the limelight, they did not want to make the emperor too embarrassed. The emperors of Cao Wei, such as Qi Wangfang and Gaogui Township Duke Cao Mao, could not even keep their throne or even their lives, and of course they could not have a temple title. Starting from Emperor Shizuwu Sima Yan of the Jin Dynasty, there were a total of fifteen emperors in and in the Jin Dynasty, only six of them had temple names.
But in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, whether it was an emperor from Han people in the Southern Dynasties or an emperor from a minority regime in the north, adding a temple title was as easy as getting a degree as advertised online. It is also easy to understand that the lower class of society learns from the upper class of society, and the backward ethnic groups learn from the advanced ethnic groups. It is to learn these formalistic things, which are the easiest to get started. Seeing how many Chinese people are not interested in how Europe gave birth to modern civilization, but only pay attention to its "aristocratic tradition", you will feel that everything is easy to understand.
So, by the Tang Dynasty, "no emperor, no sect" became a matter of course. At the same time, posthumous names became increasingly difficult to remember, so the popularity of temple names far exceeded that of posthumous names.
After the Tang and Song Dynasties, the development trend of posthumous names was getting longer and longer. The posthumous names of emperors in the Song Dynasty were generally sixteen characters long. For example, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin’s posthumous name was:
Qi Yun Li Ji Ying Wu Rui Wen Shen De Holy Gong Zhiming Da Xiao
Portrait of Taizu of the Song Dynasty. Source/Internet
Except for Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, the posthumous name is the longest. It has sixteen characters plus a temple posthumous title, which is seventeen characters. For example, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di's posthumous name is:
Qitian Hongdao Gaoming Zhaoyun Shengwushengong, pure benevolence and filial piety.
Portrait of Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty. Source/Internet
Wen is the posthumous title of the temple. If you don’t want to say Guankou, you can just call him Emperor Chengzuwen.
The emperor of the Qing Dynasty learned the Ming Dynasty but wanted to be better than the Ming Dynasty, so the posthumous title added six more characters, and the twenty-two characters were added to the temple posthumous title. For example, Emperor Gaozong Hongli of the Qing Dynasty, who is generally known as Emperor Qianlong, is:
Fatian Longyun Zhicheng Xianjue Tiyuan Liji Fuwen Fenwu Qinming Xiaoci Shengchun
Chun is the posthumous title of the temple, Qianlong is the stalk of the Qingchun Emperor, that's how it came about.
According to the format of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Qianlong was the "pure emperor". Source/Network
is too long and makes people miss the point. According to the posthumous law, each word of the posthumous title has rich connotations. One word is equivalent to one or several keywords (because some words have several meanings) . If an article has more than ten or twenty keywords, it means there are no keywords. Similarly, if an emperor has a posthumous title of more than ten words, it will not reflect his characteristics. The reason why the Ming and Qing Dynasties wanted to create a temple posthumous title was to show that the weight of this character was different, but in the end the effect was not very good.
Therefore, when people refer to emperors, it is much more popular to call them by their temple names than by their posthumous names.
Since ancestry is no longer rare, then to appear extra decent, one must call one’s ancestors.
However, the so-called "the one who first conquered the world is called the ancestor". In addition to the founding emperor being called the ancestor, why did the subsequent emperors also claim to be the ancestor?
Some of the short-lived dynasties in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties may have produced several ancestors, but since they were all short-lived, it can be seen that they are not enough examples.
But as long as there is demand, there is no limit to human creativity when it comes to providing explanations.
Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty who ascended to the throne of emperor through the Jingnan Campaign, originally had the temple name Taizong. Comparing previous history, Emperor Taizong of the Han Dynasty became emperor because of the Zhulu Rebellion, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty became emperor because of the Xuanwumen Incident, and Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty became emperor because of the legend of candlelight and ax shadow... It can be said that a The emperor's title of Taizong not only indicated his high level of governance, but also suggested that he had overcome great political obstacles to become emperor. It was a double entendre. Accordingly, Zhu Di was called Ming Taizong, which couldn't be more appropriate according to tradition.
How did Ming Taizong become Ming Chengzu? Because the temple name Taizong had been used for nearly a hundred years, Ming Wuzong had no sons when he died, and Zhu Houcong succeeded to the throne as a collateral member of the clan, that is, Shizong Emperor Jiajing. Jiajing not only wanted to make his father the emperor, but also wanted him to enter the Ancestral Temple to accept worship.
After overcoming huge resistance, the former goal was achieved in the third year of Jiajing, while the latter goal was delayed until the seventeenth year of Jiajing: because of the temple sacrifice system of the Ming Dynasty, nine tablets were enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple's dormitory hall, excluding Zhu Yuanzhang's tablet. Except for the central one, whichever one has the furthest blood relationship with the current emperor, the tablet will be moved, and in temple ritual terms, it will be called a memorial tablet. Jiajing wanted to add his father to the memorial tablet, so he had to ask for the memorial tablet of a late emperor. According to calculations, it happened to be Taizong Zhu Di.
From Emperor Renzong to Hongxi, they were all descendants of Zhu Di. In order to make room for his father, Zhu Di was asked to leave the dormitory in advance. Jiajing thought about it and felt it was serious. If he respected Zhu Di as his ancestor, he would become the "unruly ancestor". , it can be kept in the dormitory without being affected.
Jiajing changed Zhu Di's temple name from "Ming Taizong" to "Ming Chengzu". Source/Internet
As for the three ancestors in the Qing Dynasty, the special thing is Kangxi, the holy ancestor.
Nurhaci started his own business and was Taizu; Emperor Shunzhi entered Guan Dingding and was Shizu. This is the same as the Yuan Dynasty using Genghis Khan as the ancestor and Kublai Khan as the ancestor. It can be said that there is historical precedent to follow.
Emperor Kangxi's temple name was originally intended to be called Zong by the ministers, but Yongzheng issued an edict, praising Kangxi's achievements, and concluded: "Our emperor's examination... In terms of succession, it is Shoucheng. , in terms of meritorious deeds, it is a pioneer", so he should be called an ancestor. The minister then drafted the temple name of the Holy Ancestor. So Yongzheng pricked his finger and circled the word "Holy Ancestor" in the memorial with blood.
From this point of view, Kangxi was able to obtain the temple title of the Holy Ancestor, not only because of his own merits, but also because of his son's filial piety. There are many rumors about why Yongzheng became emperor, and Yongzheng's actions were more or less intended to refute the rumors.
Saint is of course an excellent word, but if it is too good, it will easily make people feel yin and yang. For example, both the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty had "Shen Zong". Gods are of course good, but "people cannot name gods" seems to be translated into: What should I say about you?
Taimiao Temple is the ancestral temple of the ancient Chinese emperors. Photography/Molostock, Source/Tu Chong Creative
The temple name Holy Ancestor has been used at least three times before. The two times are actually used for gods: the emperor of the Tang Dynasty claimed that he was a descendant of Laozi, Tang Xuanzong respected Laozi as the great sage ancestor Emperor Xuanyuan; the Song Dynasty respected Zhao Xuanlang (that is, Zhao Gongming, first the god of plague, and later Is the God of Wealth) is the Holy Ancestor. There is actually only one living person who has ever been called emperor and is called Shengzu: a short-lived separatist regime in the late Tang Dynasty, a man named Zheng Maisi, who destroyed Nanzhao and established the Dachanghe Kingdom. His temple name was Shengzu.
In this way, the temple name Holy Ancestor can easily cause strange associations. However, Emperor Yongzheng said, "This is the kind of man I am." He felt that it was natural for him to do well.
Source: National Humanities and History
Author: Liu Bo
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