Posthumous Name - Guidelines

Guidelines

Posthumous names can be praises (褒字) or deprecations (貶字). There are more praises than depreciations, so posthumous names are also commonly called respectful name (尊號 zūn 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(剛強直理) are called "Martial" (武 wǔ). (This is one of the most honourable names.)
  • Those who sympathize with the people and recognize their needs (憫民會椅) are called "Civil" (文 wén). (This is one of the most honourable names.)
  • Those who respect the talented and value righteousness (尊賢貴義) are called "Reverent" (恭 gòng).
  • Those who are kind and benevolent in nature (溫柔賢善) are called "Benign" (懿 yì).
  • Those who aid the people out of righteousness (由義而濟) are called "Admirable" (景 jǐng).
  • Those who treat the people compassionately with a gentle quality (柔質慈民) are called "Compassionate" (惠 huì).
  • Those who eliminate destructions and purge cruelty (除殘去虐) are called "Tang" (湯 tāng). (Possibly named after the revered ruler Cheng Tang (成湯), the founder of the Shang Dynasty.)
  • Those who make the people feel satisfied with their policies (安民立政) are called "Constructive" (成 chéng). (Again, possibly named after Chengtang.)
  • Those who are considerate and far-sighted (果慮果遠) are called "Brilliant" (明 míng).
  • Those who preach their virtue and righteousness to the people (布德執義) are called "Majestic" (穆 mù).
  • Those who are aggressive to expand their realm (辟土服遠) are called "Exploratory" (桓 huán).
  • "Highly (respected)" (高 gāo) is particularly reserved for the founders of dynasties.

• Deprecations
  • Those who lived short lives without much accomplishment (短折不成) are called "Passed Away Prematurely" (殤 shāng).
  • Those who have a constant twinge of depression (often due to political plights) during their governance (在國遭憂) are called "Pitiful" (愍 mǐn).
  • Those who lose their spouses and pass away at their early age (蚤孤短折) are called "Lamentable" (哀 āi).
  • Those who are obliged to make sacrifices to their ancestors (肆行勞祀) are called "Mournful" (悼 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.

To combine an emperor's temple name and posthumous name, place temple first. For example, the Shunzhi Emperor whose full posthumous name is detailed below, would be 世祖章皇帝, combining the last 2 characters of his temple name and the last 3 of his posthumous name, which is the form most commonly seen in old documents. A fuller description of this naming convention for royalty appears in the Chinese sovereign entry. The posthumous names of some monarchs and royal members were long, for example Hongwu Emperor, Nurhaci, Crown Prince Hyomyeong, Sunjo of Joseon and Empress Dowager Cixi.

Some monarchs did not follow these guidelines. Some monarchs of Lü, Chu, and Qi used place names. Some monarchs of Yue (state) had Chinese transliterated posthumous names. Some monarchs of Goguryeo, Silla and Baekje had different style posthumous names. Some early Japan monarchs also had Japanese style posthumous names (和風諡号).