Era Names
These "era names" are not true "era names", but are retrospective, in the sense that the era-name system, as instituted by Emperor Wen's grandson Emperor Wu, had not yet come into effect. Emperor Wen, in accordance to prior imperial calendrical systems, would have simply referred to the number of years in his reign. But he reset the calendar once at the persuasion of the sorcerer Xinyuan Ping (新垣平), thus historians need to refer to the eras before and after the resetting separately.
- Qianyuan (前元 qían yuán) 179 BC-164 BC
- Houyuan (後元 hòu yúan) 163 BC-157 BC
Read more about this topic: Emperor Wen Of Han
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