Government currency
The government motto (年號), more rarely referred to as the "Äraname", was proclaimed during the feudal period in China , Korea , Japan and Vietnam when a new ruler ascended the throne. It was intended to serve as a motto or guideline for the upcoming period of rule and was also used as the basis for the year count. The Chinese emperors used this system for around 2000 years from the Han dynasty to the end of the imperial era, and it is still in use in Japan.
In China it often happened at first that a ruler proclaimed a new government motto after a few years, for example to announce a change of policy. Since the Ming Dynasty , the emperor usually kept the originally chosen motto until the end of his reign, i.e. usually until his death. This is one reason why the government currencies of the later imperial era such as Yongle or Qianlong are often incorrectly used in Western literature as proper names.
Era names in China
The Chinese era name ( 年號 / 年号 , Niánhào ) indicates the year in the government of a ruler as a period of reign or title of rule and is also used to name certain Chinese emperors ( Ming and Qing dynasties ). Some emperors proclaimed several eras, others only one. Each new era began with the year 1 ( 元 , Yuán ). The era name was originally a government motto proclaimed by the emperor.
History and application
When the emperor ascended the throne, he chose a throne name (similar to the papal name ). The period from the time of accession to the throne to the end of the calendar year (after the moon or the sun) was considered the first year of his reign. Basically, the era ended with the death or abdication of the emperor, and a new era began with his successor.
Emperor Wu von Han was the first emperor to actually proclaim era names. He was the first to use era names during all of his years in reign. His predecessors Wen and Jing had also used era names, but not consistently. Emperor Wu proclaimed a new era about every five years and died in his eleventh era in 87 BC. Chr.
Each era name has a certain programmatic meaning. The first era of Emperor Wu, for example, was called Jiànyuán ( 建元 ; roughly: "to set up the first"). Most of the time, the era names should reflect the political, military or economic direction. After his accession to the throne, Emperor Huizong von Song proclaimed the era of Jiànzhōngjìngguó ( 建中 etwa etwa / 建中 靖 etwa ; about "to set up a fortunate means and clean up the country"), which led to his endeavors to moderate the reforms of the conservative and progressive parties at court, Should give expression. The first era name of the Qing dynasty was intended to demonstrate the legitimacy of the succession: "The Manchu have the mandate of heaven ."
In traditional Chinese historiography, the proclamation of the first era name is called Jiànyuán . When an emperor proclaimed a new era that replaced an old one, it was called Gǎiyuán ( 改元 ), "to change the first".
To determine a year from the era names, one only needs to count the years since the era was proclaimed. The third year of the Jiànyuán era is our year 138 BC. BC , the first year of our year 140 BC Chr. Was used one era name of different rulers and dynasties, the name of the sovereign or the dynasty had to be mentioned too. Both Emperor Wu von Han and Emperor Kang von Jin proclaimed the Jiànyuán era . Jiànyuán 2 of the Jin Dynasty is our year 344 AD, Jiànyuán 2 of the Han Dynasty is our year 139 BC Chr.
Almost all era names consisted of two characters. An exception are the era names of the Western Xia , one fifth of which consists of more than three characters. Due to China's great cultural influence in East Asia, the use of era names also spread in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
The era name was a symbol of imperial power. The emperor saw the era name as an expression of his conviction that he was the rightful ruler. The proclamation of a new era during an emperor's reign was viewed as evidence of great willpower. Conversely, if more than one era was going on at the same time, it was a sign of political unrest. This sometimes complicated the work of historians.
Before the Chinese Republic, an era could only be proclaimed by the emperor. The Republic of China is considered the era with 1912 as the first year and is still valid in Taiwan today. The People's Republic of China abolished the use of the era names and introduced the Christian year counting when it was founded in 1949 .
Lists of government currencies
→ For a table of lists of rulers with the names of the ages see the Chinese Empire
Today's view
Today, in the age of globalization, the Chinese era system comes into conflict with the “western world” as part of Chinese culture in society and in everyday life in the Republic of China. While the people of the Republic of China (and Japan) use the common era names and these are the only ones recognized by the government, the government associates with foreign nations in the Christian era.
But problems also arise in non-foreign affairs. Apart from the complicated classification of those Japanese who were born in an earlier era, the leap day on February 29 can only be traced back with difficulty, and errors in the reconversion cannot be ruled out. Even the designation of future years is difficult because, for example, the death of the Japanese Tennō and thus the change of the era in Japan cannot be calculated.
The accusation of European cultural imperialism also plays a role here, since the Christian calendar is not religiously compatible with East Asian culture. However, as globalization progresses, this concern is increasingly being ignored.
Classical Chinese dictionaries in particular often contain detailed lists of historical government currencies in addition to a dynasty table.
Era names in Japan
Main article: Nengō
The Japanese era name ( Japanese元 号, gengō / 年号 , nengō ; "year name") is the calendar scheme common in Japan, which despite its origin in China is largely independent of the Chinese calendar. It is the only system of era names (apart from the Republic of China) that is still in use. It is considered binding by the Japanese authorities before the Christian era. The not officially used short form of the year determination consists of the first letter of the Rōmaji spelling and the year.
The Japanese era names are based on the Chinese and were introduced in 645 AD under Tennō Kōtoku ( 孝 徳 天皇 ). The first era name was Taika ( 大化 ) and was dedicated to the Taika reforms that radically changed the political scene at the time. Although the use of the nengō was interrupted in the second half of the 7th century, it was resumed in 701 and has continued ever since. The current Nengō has been Reiwa ( 令 和 ) since 2019 .
Era names in Korea
| Korean spelling | |
|---|---|
| Korean alphabet : | 연호 |
| Hanja : | 年號 |
| Revised Romanization : | Yeonho |
| McCune-Reischauer : | Yŏnho |
The Korean era names were used by the kingdoms of Silla , Goguryeo , Balhae , Taebong , Goryeo and Joseon and by Greater Korea . The first era name Dan-gi is also used literally in Korea for the ancient civilization in Korea.
| Surname | Period | Rulers, remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Gojoseon | ||
| Dan-gi ( 단기 ) | 2333 BC Chr. | The official calendar began in South Korea from 1952 to 1961 . |
| Goguryeo | ||
| There were four other era names of the kings of Goguryeo, but they were probably reused. | ||
| Yeonsu ( 延壽 / 연수 ) | 270-290 | King Seocheon |
| Yeon-ga ( 延 嘉 / 연가 ) | 292-300 | King Bongsang |
| Yeonsu ( 延壽 / 연수 ) | 331-371 | King Gogugwon |
| Yeongnak ( 永樂 / 영락 ) | 391-413 | King Gwanggaeto the Great |
| Approach ( 建興 / 건흥 ) | 413-491 | King Jangsu the Great |
| Yeon-ga ( 延 嘉 / 연가 ) | 531-545 | King Anwon |
| Yeonggang ( 永 康 / 영강 ) | 545-559 | King Yangwon |
| Hamtong ( 咸通 / 함통 ) | 618-642 | King Yeongnyu |
| Silla | ||
| Geonwon ( 건원 / 建元 ) | 536-551 | Kings Beopheung and Jinheung |
| Gaeguk ( 개국 / 開國 ) | 551-568 | King Jinheung |
| Daechang ( 대창 / 大 昌 ) | 568-572 | King Jinheung |
| Hongje ( 홍제 / 鴻 濟 ) | 572-584 | Kings Jinheung, Jinji and Jinpyeong |
| Geonbok ( 건복 / 建 福 ) | 584-634 | King Jinpyeong and Queen Seondeok |
| Inpyeong ( 인평 / 仁 平 ) | 634-648 | Queens Seondok and Jindeok |
| Taehwa ( 태화 / 太和 ) | 648-650 | Queen Jindeok |
| In 650, Silla took over the name of the Tang Dynasty in China. | ||
| Balhae | ||
| The posthumous titles of Kings Dae Ijin and Dae Geonhwang are unknown. That is why they are listed here under their maiden name. | ||
| Cheontong ( 天 統 / 천통 ) | 699-718 | King Go |
| Inan ( 仁 安 / 인안 ) | 719-736 | King Mu |
| Daeheung ( 大興 / 대흥 ) | 737-792 | King Mun |
| Jungheung ( 中興 / 중흥 ) | 794 | King Seong |
| Jeongnyeok ( 正 曆 / 정력 ) | 795-808 | King gear |
| Yeongdeok ( 永德 / 영덕 ) | 809-812 | King Jeong |
| Jujak ( 朱雀 / 주작 ) | 813-817 | King Hui |
| Taesi ( 太 始 / 태시 ) | 817-818 | King Gan |
| Approach ( 建興 / 건흥 ) | 818-820 | King Seon |
| Hamhwa ( 咸 和 / 함화 ) | 830-858 | King Dae Ijin |
| Geonhwang ( 虔 晃 / 건황 ) | 858-926 | King Dae Geonhwang |
| Taebong | ||
| The era names of this time come from the reign of King Gung-ye (901–918). | ||
| Mutae ( 武 泰 / 무태 ) | 904-905 | |
| Seongchaek ( 聖 冊 / 성책 ) | 905-910 | |
| Sudeok Manse ( 水 德 萬歲 / 수덕 만세 ) | 911-914 | |
| Jeonggae ( 政 開 / 정개 ) | 914-918 | |
| Goreyo | ||
| Cheonsu ( 天授 / 천수 ) | 918-933 | King Taejo |
| Gwangdeok ( 光 德 / 광덕 ) | 950-951 | King Gwangjong |
| Junpung ( 峻 豊 / 준풍 ) | 960-963 | King Gwangjong |
| Joseon | ||
| Gaeguk ( 開國 / 개국 ) | 1894-1897 | King Gojong |
| Geonyang ( 建 陽 / 건양 ) | 1895-1896 | King Gojong |
| Greater Korea | ||
| Gwangmu ( 광무 / 光武 ) | 1897-1907 | Emperor Gojong |
| Yunghui ( 융희 / 隆 熙 ) | 1907-1910 | Emperor Sunjong |