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Posthumous name
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A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in some cultures after the person's death. The posthumous name is commonly used when naming royalty of China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan.
Posthumous names in China and Vietnam were also given to honor lifetime accomplishments of many people who did not have hereditary titles, for example to successful courtiers.
In the Japanese tradition, an emperor is now regularly given a posthumous name that corresponds to the name of his reign. A non-royal deceased may be given a posthumous Buddhist name known as kaimyo, but is in practice still referred to by the living name.
A posthumous name should not be confused with the era name and temple name.
History Having their origins in the Chinese Zhou Dynasty, posthumous names were used 800 years earlier than temple names.
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1 Confucius is given his first royal title (posthumous name) of Lord Baochengxun Ni.
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Encyclopedia
A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in some cultures after the person's death. The posthumous name is commonly used when naming royalty of China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan.
Posthumous names in China and Vietnam were also given to honor lifetime accomplishments of many people who did not have hereditary titles, for example to successful courtiers.
In the Japanese tradition, an emperor is now regularly given a posthumous name that corresponds to the name of his reign. A non-royal deceased may be given a posthumous Buddhist name known as kaimyo, but is in practice still referred to by the living name.
A posthumous name should not be confused with the era name and temple name.
History Having their origins in the Chinese Zhou Dynasty, posthumous names were used 800 years earlier than temple names. The first person named posthumously was Ji Chang, named by his son Ji Fa of Zhou, as the "Civil King". The use of posthumous names was stopped in the Qin Dynasty, because Qin Shi Huang proclaimed that it is disrespectful for the descendants, or "later emperors" to judge their elders, or the "prior emperors" (??). The practice was revived in the Han Dynasty after the demise of the Qin Empire.
Chinese emperorsAll Chinese posthumous names for rulers end in one or two of the characters for "emperor", Huángdì (??, i.e. emperor), which can be shortened to Dì; except about a dozen or so less recognized ones who have had only Dì and no Huáng.
Starting with Emperor Xiaowen of Han China (more commonly "Emperor Wen"), every single Han emperor, except the first one of the Eastern Han Dynasty, has the character of "filial" (? xiào) at the beginning of his posthumous names. "Filial" is also used in the full posthumous names of virtually all emperors of the Tang, Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties. For Qing emperors, ? xiào is placed in various position in the string of characters, while those Qing empresses who were given posthumous names, ? xiào is always initial.
The number of characters in posthumous names was increasing. The emperors of the Tang Dynasty have names in between seven to eighteen characters. Those in the Qing Dynasty have twenty-one characters. For instance, that of the Shunzhi Emperor was "The Emperor 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" (?????????????????????????,
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" (????????????????????????? xiào qin cí xi duan yòu kang yí zhao yù zhuang chéng shòu gong qin xiàn chóng xi pèi tian xing shèng xian huáng hòu).
Posthumous names can be praises (??) or deprecations (??). There are more praises than depreciations, so posthumous names are also commonly called respectful name (?? zun 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(????) are called "Martial" (? wu). (This is one of the most honourable names.)
- Those who sympathize with the people and recognize their needs (????) are called "Civil" (? wén). (This is one of the most honourable names.)
- Those who respect the talented and value righteousness (????) are called "Reverent" (? gòng).
- Those who are kind and benevolent in nature(????) are called "Benign" (? yì).
- Those who aid the people out of righteousness(????) are called "Admirable" (? jing).
- Those who treat the people compassionately with a gentle quality (????) are called "Compassionate" (? huì).
- Those who eliminate destructions and purge cruelty (????) are called "Tang" (? tang). (Possibly named after the revered ruler Cheng Tang (??), the founder of the Shang Dynasty.)
- Those who make the people feel satisfied with their policies (????) are called "Constructive" (? chéng). (Again, possibly named after Chengtang.)
- Those who are considerate and far-sighted (????) are called "Brilliant" (? míng).
- Those who preach their virtue and righteousness to the people(????) are called "Majestic" (? mù).
- Those who are aggressive to expand their realm(????) are called "Exploratory" (? huán).
- "High(ly respected)" (? gao) is particularly reserved for the founders of dynasties.
- Deprecations
- Those who lived short lives without much accomplishment (????) are called "Passed Away Prematurely" (? shang).
- Those who have a constant twinge of depression (often due to political plights) during their governance (????) are called "Pitiful" (? min).
- Those who lose their spouses and pass away at their early age (????) are called "Lamentable" (? ai).
- Those who are obliged to make sacrifices to their ancestors (????) are called "Mournful" (? 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.
Japanese emperors The posthumous names of Japanese emperors are called teigo (??, lit. emperor names). In addition to the appellation Ten'no (??, lit. heavenly sovereign, usually translated as Emperor) that is a part of all Japanese emperors' posthumous name, most consist of two kanji characters, although a few consist of three. Some names are given several generations later—this is the case for Emperor Jimmu and Emperor Antoku, for example. Others are given immediately after death, like that of Emperor Mommu.
Many have Chinese-style names, for example:
Some have Japanese-style names. For example:
- those who were named after the place where the emperor was born, lived or frequented:
- those who were named after an emperor whose admirable characteristics resemble those of an earlier one by adding Go (?, lit. latter) as a prefix to the earlier emperor's name:
- those who were named by combining the characters from two previous emperors' names:
Since the death of Emperor Meiji (???? Meiji Ten'no) in 1912, the posthumous name of an emperor has always been the name of his era. For example, after his death Hirohito (by which he is usually called outside Japan) was formally renamed Emperor Showa (???? Showa Ten'no) after his era; Japanese now refer to him by only that name. Hirohito was his given name, but most Japanese never refer to their emperors by their given names, as it is considered derogatory in etiquette.
Korean emperors and kingsAlthough Korean emperors and kings had elaborate posthumous names, they are usually referred to by their temple names today.
Before the GOREYO dynasty the koreans used the title wang or daewang. Gogueyo leaders used the title taewang which means great king. Gojoeson used the title gun which mean Emperor but Gojoeson's first Emperor Dangun may have used the title '????(????)' which means king of the sky.
koreans also used the title emperor at the time of the korean empire.
OfficialsIt was also common for persons with no hereditary titles, especially accomplished scholar-officials or ministers, to be given posthumous names by the imperial court. The characters used are mostly the same ones used for emperors, with the same denotations as described above. The length, however, was restricted to one or two characters. See List of Posthumous Names for examples.
Confucius has been given long posthumous names in almost every major dynasty. One of the most commonly used was Zhìshèngxianshi ????.
Sometimes a person is given a posthumous name not by the court, but by his own family or disciples. Such names are private posthumous names (Sishì, ??). For example, Tao Qian was given Sishi Jìngjié ??.
MiscellaneousTo combine an emperor's temple name and posthumous name, place temple first.
A fuller description of this naming convention for royalty appears in the Chinese sovereign entry.
See also
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