Editing Chinese sovereign (section)

===Era name===
{{Main|Chinese era name}}
{{See also|List of Chinese era names}}

Era names ({{lang|zh-Hant|年號}}; {{transliteration|zh|nián hào}}) were proclaimed by Chinese sovereigns for the purpose of identifying and numbering years since 140 BC, during the reign of the [[Emperor Wu of Han]].<ref name="EraName1">{{cite book|last1=Lü|first1=Zongli|title=Power of the words: Chen prophecy in Chinese politics, AD 265-618|year=2003|publisher=Peter Lang |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvYvAQAAIAAJ&q=era+name+nian+hao+origin|isbn=9783906769561}}</ref><ref name="EraName2">{{cite book|last1=Sogner|first1=Sølvi|title=Making Sense of Global History: The 19th International Congress of the Historical Sciences, Oslo 2000, Commemorative Volume|year=2001|publisher=Universitetsforlaget |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7nsWAQAAIAAJ&q=era+name+china+Korea+Japan+vietnam+making+sense+of+global+history|isbn=9788215001067}}</ref> Strictly speaking, era names were not personal titles of Chinese monarchs per se. However, as most rulers of the [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] and [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] dynasties adopted only one era name throughout the entirety of their reigns, era names have come to be closely associated with Ming and Qing monarchs, to the extent that they are frequently referenced using their respective era names by historians.

Although a specific era name could be used by one monarch only, there were also many instances in which an era name was used by multiple monarchs, or a monarch could proclaim numerous era names throughout his/her reign. For this reason, it would be tedious for Chinese monarchs before the Ming dynasty to be referred to by their era names.

{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples of era names
|-
!Personal name<br/>{{small|(Surname + given name)}}
!Era name(s)
!Dynasty
|-
|[[Cao Pi]]<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|曹丕}}
|Huangchu<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|黃初}}
|[[Cao Wei]]
|-
|[[Fu Jian (337–385)|Fu Jian]]<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|苻堅}}
|Yongxing<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|永興}}<hr/>Ganlu<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|甘露}}<hr/>Jianyuan<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|建元}}
|[[Former Qin]]
|-
|[[Emperor Jing of Liang|Xiao Fangzhi]]<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|蕭方智}}
|Shaotai<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|紹泰}}<hr/>Taiping<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|太平}}
|[[Liang dynasty|Liang]]
|-
|[[Liu Yan (emperor)|Liu Yan]]<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|劉龑}}
|Qianheng<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|乾亨}}<hr/>Bailong<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|白龍}}<hr/>Dayou<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|大有}}
|[[Southern Han]]
|-
|[[Emperor Yizong of Western Xia|Li Liangzuo]]<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|李諒祚}}
|Yansiningguo<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|延嗣寧國}}<hr/>Tianyouchuisheng<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|天祐垂聖}}<hr/>Fushengchengdao<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|福聖承道}}<hr/>Duodu<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|奲都}}<hr/>Gonghua<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|拱化}}
|[[Western Xia]]
|-
|[[Xuande Emperor|Zhu Zhanji]]<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|朱瞻基}}
|Xuande<br/>{{lang|zh-Hant|宣德}}
|[[Ming dynasty|Ming]]
|}