Editing Temple name

{{Short description|Posthumous titles granted to Sinosphere monarchs for ancestral worship}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Original research|date=May 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2024}}
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{{Infobox Chinese
|t={{linktext|廟號}}
|s={{linktext|庙号}}
|p=miào hào
|j=miu2hou3
|poj=biō-hō
|ci={{IPA|yue|mǐːuhōu|}}
|hangul=묘호
|hanja=廟號
|rr=myoho
|mr=myoho
|qn={{linktext|miếu hiệu}}
|chuhan=廟號
|mon=
}}

'''Temple names''' are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the [[East Asian cultural sphere|Sinosphere]] for the purpose of [[Ancestor veneration in China|ancestor worship]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keightley |first=David N. |date=1996 |title=Art, Ancestors, and the Origins of Writing in China |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2928708 |journal=Representations |issue=56 |pages=68–95 |doi=10.2307/2928708 |jstor=2928708 |issn=0734-6018 |quote=Once a Shang king died he was awarded a posthumous "temple-name" employing one of the ten "heavenly stems" (tian gan, a later term) that were also used to name the ten days of the Shang week. Thus, we find ancestors being worshipped as Dajia (jia being the name of the first day of the week), Da Yi (yi being the name of the second day of the week), and Wai Bing (bing being the third day of the week).}}</ref> The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the [[Shang dynasty]] in China and had since been adopted by other [[Dynasty|dynastic regimes]] in the Sinosphere, with the notable exception of Japan. Temple names should not be confused with [[Chinese era name|era name]]s (年號), [[Regnal name#Sinosphere|regnal names]] (尊號) or [[posthumous name]]s (謚號).

Modern academia usually refers to the following rulers by their temple names: [[Chinese sovereign|Chinese monarchs]] from the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] to the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] dynasties, [[List of monarchs of Korea|Korean rulers]] of the [[Goryeo]] (until AD 1274) and [[Joseon]] dynasties, and [[List of monarchs of Vietnam|Vietnamese rulers]] of the [[Lý dynasty|Lý]], [[Trần dynasty|Trần]], and [[Lê dynasty|Later Lê]] dynasties (with the [[Hồ dynasty|Hồ]] and [[Later Trần dynasty|Later Trần]] dynasties as exceptions).

Numerous individuals who did not rule as monarch during their lifetime were posthumously elevated to the position of monarch by their descendants and honored with temple names. For example, [[Cao Cao]] was posthumously honored as an emperor and given the temple name ''Taizu'' by [[Cao Pi]] of the [[Cao Wei|Cao Wei dynasty]]. Meanwhile, several individuals who were initially assigned temple names had their titles revoked, as was the case for [[Emperor Huan of Han|Emperor Huan]], whose temple name, ''Weizong'', was abolished by [[Emperor Xian of Han|Emperor Xian]] of the [[Han dynasty#Eastern Han|Eastern Han dynasty]]. In other cases, numerous individuals were honored with more than one temple name by intentional changes or being accorded different titles by different individuals. For instance, the [[Yongle Emperor]] of the [[Ming dynasty]] was originally honored as ''Taizong'' by the [[Hongxi Emperor]], but his temple name was later amended to ''Chengzu'' by the [[Jiajing Emperor]]. There were also instances of individuals ruling as the sovereign of a particular realm but being accorded a temple name by another realm, as was the case for [[Möngke Khan|Möngke]] of the [[Mongol Empire]], who was later honored as ''Xianzong'' by [[Kublai Khan|Emperor Shizu]] of the [[Yuan dynasty]].

==Etymology==
The "temple" in "temple name" (廟號) refers to the grand temples (太廟) built by each dynasty for the purpose of ancestor worship. The temple name of each monarch was recorded on their respective ancestral tablet placed within the grand temple.

==History==
Temple names trace their origins to the Shang dynasty of China. In earlier times, temple names were exclusively assigned to competent rulers after their death.

The temple name system established during the Shang period utilized only four adjectives:
* 太 (''tài''; "grand"): honored to dynastic founders;
* 高 (''gāo''; "high"): honored to monarchs with great achievements;
* 世 (''shì''; "eternal"): honored to rulers deemed worthy of eternal remembrance; and
* 中 (''zhōng''; "resurgent"): honored to sovereigns who revitalized their realm following a period of decline.

Chinese monarchs of the [[Zhou dynasty]] were given posthumous names but not temple names. During the [[Qin dynasty]], the practices both of assigning temple names and posthumous names was abandoned. The [[Han dynasty]] reintroduced both titles, although temple names were assigned sporadically and remained more exclusive than posthumous names. It was also during the Han era that other adjectives aside from the four listed above began appearing in temple names. Numerous Han emperors had their temple names removed by Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, in AD 190.

Initially, in deciding whether a monarch should be honored as "祖" (''zǔ''; "progenitor") or "宗" (''zōng''; "ancestor"), a principle was strictly adhered to: "祖" was to be given to accomplished rulers while "宗" was to be assigned to virtuous rulers. However, this principle was effectively abandoned during the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] era with the ubiquitous usage of "祖" by various non-[[Han Chinese|Han]] regimes.

Temple names became widespread from the Tang dynasty onwards. Apart from the final ruler of a dynasty, monarchs who died prematurely, or monarchs who were deposed, most Chinese monarchs were given temple names by their descendants.

The practice of honoring rulers with temple names had since been adopted by other dynastic regimes within the East Asian cultural sphere|Sinosphere, including those based on the Korean Peninsula and in Vietnam. Japan, while having adopted both posthumous names and [[Japanese era name|era name]]s from China, did not assign temple names to its monarchs.

==Structure==
Most temple names consist of two Chinese characters, unlike the more elaborate posthumous names. In extremely rare cases, temple names could consist of three  characters.

The first character is an adjective, chosen to reflect the circumstances of the monarch's reign. The vocabulary may overlap with that of the posthumous names' adjectives; however, for one sovereign, the temple name's adjective character usually does not repeat as one of the many adjective characters in his posthumous name.

The last character is either "祖" or "宗":<ref>{{Citation |last=Knapp |first=Keith N. |title=Borrowing Legitimacy from the Dead: The Confucianization of Ancestral Worship |date=2009-01-01 |work=Early Chinese Religion, Part Two: The Period of Division (220-589 AD) (2 vols.) |pages=143–192 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789047429296/Bej.9789004175853.i-1564_004.xml |access-date=2024-09-30 |publisher=Brill |language=en |doi=10.1163/ej.9789004175853.i-1564.18 |isbn=978-90-474-2929-6 |quote=This was because nearly every emperor was given a posthumous temple name that either included the character ''zu'' 祖 or ''zong'' 宗, which were meritorious designations that entitled the bearer to receive offerings for the dynasty's duration (according to tradition, each dynasty was only supposed to have one ruler with the posthumous name of ''zu'' and two with that of ''zong'').}}</ref>
* 祖 (''zǔ''; "progenitor"): typically used for founders, either of a dynasty or a new line within an existing one. Temple names bearing this character were also accorded to monarchs with great accomplishments. The equivalent in Korean is ''jo'' ({{Korean|hangul=조|labels=no}}), and ''tổ'' in Vietnamese.
* 宗 (''zōng''; "ancestor"): used for all other monarchs. It is rendered as ''jong'' ({{Korean|hangul=종|labels=no}}) in Korean, and ''tông'' in Vietnamese.

==See also==
* [[List of Chinese monarchs]]
* [[List of monarchs of Korea]]
* [[List of monarchs of Vietnam]]
* [[Regnal name]]
* [[Chinese era name]]
* [[List of Chinese era names]]
* [[Japanese era name]]
* [[Korean era name]]
* [[Vietnamese era name]]
* [[Posthumous name]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite web|title=ChinaKnowledge.de — An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art|url=http://www.chinaknowledge.de/}}

{{Clear}}
{{Personal names}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Titles]]
[[Category:Posthumous recognitions]]
[[Category:Confucian royal ancestral shrines]]
[[Category:Ancient institutions in East Asia]]
[[Category:Ancient Chinese institutions]]
[[Category:Ancient Korean institutions]]
[[Category:Chinese monarchs]]
[[Category:Chinese names]]
[[Category:Korean monarchs]]
[[Category:Korean names]]
[[Category:Culture of Korea]]
[[Category:Vietnamese monarchs]]
[[Category:Vietnamese names]]
[[Category:Culture of Vietnam]]