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A Chinese era name (traditional Chinese: 年號; simplified Chinese: 年号; pinyin: niánhào) is the era name, reign period, or regnal title used when traditionally numbering years in an emperor's reign and naming certain Chinese rulers (see the conventions). Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use The Emperor of China ( refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning since the founding of the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC until the fall of Some emperors have several era names, one after another, where each beginning of a new era resets the numbering of the year back to year one or yuán (元). The numbering of the year increases on the first day of the Chinese calendar each year. Chinese New Year is the most important of the Traditional Chinese holidays. The era name originated as a motto or slogan chosen by an emperor. A motto (from the Italian word motto, meaning witticism sentence is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group A slogan is a memorable Motto or Phrase used in a Political, commercial, Religious and other context as a repetitive expression of

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How the Era System worked

Emperor Wu of Han (Han Wudi) was conventionally regarded as the first emperor to declare an era name; however he was only the first to use an era name in every year of his reign. Background birth and years as crown prince Emperor Wu was the tenth child of Emperor Jing, and was born to one of Emperor Jing's favorite Concubines, His grandfather and father also employed era names, though not continuously. Emperor Wen of Han (202 BC&ndash157 BC was an emperor of the Han Dynasty in China. Early life and career as crown prince Emperor Jing was born to Emperor Wen, then Prince of Dai, and Consort Dou, one of his favorite consorts in Han Wudi changed period titles every five years or so, going through a total of eleven reigning slogans during his reign from 140 BC to 87 BC. Year 87 BC was a year of the pre-Julian calendar. Events By place Rome Lucius Cornelius Cinna is elected Consul

Each era name has a literary meaning. For instance, the first era name of Han Wudi was Jianyuan (建元 in pinyin: jiàn yuán), literally meaning "establishing the First". Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Era names also reflected characteristics of political and other landscapes at the time. Jianzhongjingguo (建中靖國 jiàn zhōng jìng guó), the first era name of Emperor Huizong of Song China, means "establishing a happy medium and cleansing the country", reflecting his idealism towards moderating the rivalry among the conservative and progressive parties on political and social reformation. Emperor Huizong ( November 2, 1082 – June 4, 1135) was the eighth and one of the most famous emperors of the Song Dynasty of Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Progressivism is a term that refers to a broad school of international social and political philosophies. A party is a Social gathering for Celebration and Recreation. The very first era name of the Qing was significant because it means "[the Manchus possess] the Mandate of Heaven". Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China The Mandate of Heaven (天命 Pīnyīn: Tiānmìng is a traditional Chinese philosophical concept concerning the legitimacy of rulers

The process of era name declaration was referred to in traditional Chinese history texts as jianyuan. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Declaring a new era name to replace an old one during an emperor's reign was referred to as gaiyuan (改元 gǎi yuán), literally meaning "change the First".

To name a year using an era name only requires counting years from the first year of the era. For example 138 BC was the third year of Jianyuan (建元), since 140 BC was the first year. When more than one monarch used the same motto, the name of the specific monarch or dynasty has to be mentioned. A name ( Etymology: from OE nama akin to OHG namo, Latin Nomen, and Greek όνομα ( For instance both Han Wudi and Jin Kangdi picked Jianyuan as their motto. Prior to reign Sima Yue was born in 322 as the second son of Emperor Ming, by his wife Empress Yu Wenjun. Thus 344 AD was the second year of Jianyuan of the Jin Dynasty (or of Jin Kangdi) whereas 139 BC was the second year of Jianyuan of the Han Dynasty (or of Han Wudi). Events By Place Roman Empire Battle of Singara: The Roman Army of Constantius II is barely defeated by the Persian Army of In traditional literature, one can therefore find references like "the first month of the thirteenth year of Jianyuan" (建元十三年元月).

Almost all era names have exactly two characters. A Chinese character, also known as a Han character ( is a Logogram used in writing Chinese (hanzi Japanese ( Notable exceptions are from the non-Han Chinese Western Xia Dynasty (1032 - 1227). Han Chinese ( are an Ethnic group native to China and by most modern definitions the largest single Ethnic group in the world. Xi Xia redirects here For a Chinese general whose name may be transliterated as Xi Xia see Xi Qia The Western Xia Dynasty ( or Of the 33 Western Xia era names, seven have more than three characters. For example,

Before the Ming dynasty, an emperor often changed his era name as often as he liked. Heaven may refer to the physical heavens the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the Universe beyond Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led The numbering of the year still increases on the first day of the Chinese calendar each year, regardless of the month in which the era name change took place. For example, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang change his era name, Xiantian (先天, pinyin: xiān tiān) to Kaiyuan (开元, pinyin: kāi yuán) in the twelfth (i. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ( ( September 8, 685 Background Li Longji was born at the Tang Dynasty eastern capital Luoyang Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use e. last) month of the Chinese calendar. The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, incorporating elements of a Lunar calendar with those of a Solar calendar. The second year of Kaiyuan (开元二年) began on the first day of the next month (i. e. Chinese New Year's Day; January); this made the first year of Kaiyuan (开元元年) consisted of the last few days in the twelfth month following the name change.

Ming and Qing emperors generally used only one era name during their reign, and it is customary to refer to Ming and Qing emperors by their era names. The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China When an emperor died, his successor would adopted a new era name but the numbering of the new era name would only begin on the next New Year's Day. For example, when the Kangxi Emperor of Qing acceded the throne in 1661, it was a few days after Chinese New Year's Day, so the Shunzhi era continued for the rest of the year, and the first year of Kangxi (康熙元年) would only start on Chinese New Year's Day the following year, in 1662. The Kangxi Emperor ( Mongolian Enkh Amgalan Khaan, May 4, 1654 &ndash December 20, 1722) was the third Emperor of The Shunzhi Emperor ( March 15, 1638 &ndash February 5, 1661) was the second emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty Exceptions to this are the Taichang Emperor of Ming (being dead after reigning for only one month), Zhengtong Emperor of Ming and Hung Taiji of Qing (both used two era names). Taichang Emperor ( Zh: 泰昌 Pinyin: Táichàng August 28, 1582 - September 26, 1620) was the fourteenth Emperor First Reign Zhu Qizhen was the son of the Xuande Emperor Zhu Zhanji and his Empress Sun Huang Taiji ( November 28 1592 &ndash September 21 1643; reigned 1626 &ndash 1643 also transliterated as Hung Taiji

An era name was a symbol of imperial power. Declaration of another era name when one was already in use was regarded as a challenge to the current emperor. The existence of more than one era name at a time often reflected political unrest. In addition, using a particular era name was a political act implying recognition of a sovereign's right to rule, and one issue that traditional Chinese historians faced was which set of era names to use when dating a historical event. For example, when the Yongle Emperor of Ming usurped his nephew, the Jianwen Emperor's throne in 1402, he ordered all records of the four-year-reign of Jianwen Emperor to be dated as year 32 through year 35 of the Hongwu Emperor (the emperor preceding Jianwen Emperor), in order to establish himself as the legitimate successor of the Hongwu Emperor. The Yongle Emperor ( Wade-Giles: Yung-lo May 2, 1360 &ndash August 12, 1424) born Zhu Di ( Chu Ti The Jianwen Emperor ( December 5, 1377 &ndash July 13, 1402) with the personal name Zhu Yunwen, reigned as the second Early life Zhu Yuanzhang was born in 1328 in Pei County Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province as the youngest of four sons

Era names were also employed (under different naming conventions) in other East Asian countries such as Korea, Japan and Vietnam, mostly because of China's cultural influence. Korean Era names were used during the period of Silla, Goguryeo, Balhae, Taebong, Goryeo, Joseon, and The Japanese era calendar scheme is a common Calendar scheme used in Japan, which identifies a year by the combination of the and the year number within the era Below is a list of Vietnamese monarchs. Some declared themselves kings ( vua / vương) or emperors ( hoàng đế) They are still used in Japan. The Republic of China Era, used in China from 1912-1949, and still used in Taiwan, marks years as Minguo (i. The Republic of China calendar (民國紀元 is the method of numbering years currently used in the Republic of China ( Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen e. the Republic), which is usually regarded as an era name. On the mainland, era names were abolished with the adoption of the Common Era at the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES

The Republic of China Era

An era name could only be declared by the emperor before the Republic of China was established. REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES The Republic of China retains the era system, and uses the name "Republic" (民國) for its official dating. The 1st year of the "Republic Era" was 1912. Therefore, 2006 is "the 95th year of the Republic Era" (民國95年).

Era System vs Western Era System

While the era system is a more traditional system of dating that preserves Chinese and Japanese culture, it presents a problem for the more globalized Asian society and for everyday life.

For example, even though within the nation people will know what era they are in, it is relatively meaningless for other nations. In addition, while the Government of Japan and the Government of the Republic of China only recognize documents dated in the Era System, their treaties with other countries are in the AD (or CE) system.

In the domestic arena, the Era system presents difficult dilemmas, too. For example, in Japan, it is difficult to keep track of the age of people who were born in the previous era. Also, since the ROC and Japan have adopted the Gregorian calendar, it is difficult to track down the February 29 leap year, more difficult than its internationalized counterparts. The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used Calendar in the world today Leap years Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours A leap year (or intercalary year) is a year containing one or more extra days (or in the case of Lunisolar calendars an extra month in order to keep the

Furthermore, with the exception of the ROC, it is difficult to mention future dates since it is sometimes difficult to tell whether the current emperor will live long enough for its citizens to use that era name.

On the other hand, others suggest that the AD system has too much Christian connotation behind it and it is cultural imperialism that a European system is forced upon other civilizations. However, with globalization, there is a trend with Japan and the ROC being more acceptable to the AD system.

Modern history researchers do not care about era names except for supporting other arguments, such as figuring out the biases and attitudes of a particular historian; however such mottos are useful for dating events that were unique in Chinese history. Most Chinese dictionaries have a comprehensive list of era names, while booklets of more detailed and often searchable lists can be found in libraries. Chinese dictionaries date back over two millennia to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, which is a significantly longer Lexicographical history than any other language A library is a collection of information sources resources and services and the structure in which it is housed it is organized for use and maintained by a public body an institution

See also

External links

The Emperor of China ( refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning since the founding of the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC until the fall of The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, incorporating elements of a Lunar calendar with those of a Solar calendar. The following list of Chinese monarchs is in no way inclusive The Japanese era calendar scheme is a common Calendar scheme used in Japan, which identifies a year by the combination of the and the year number within the era Korean Era names were used during the period of Silla, Goguryeo, Balhae, Taebong, Goryeo, Joseon, and
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