List of Ming dynasty era names

The Ming dynasty was the last unified dynasty founded by the Han ethnic group in Chinese history, lasting for 276 years. ^[1] The dynasty continued the tradition of using the emperor's era name, which began with Emperor Wu of Han, to record the year. In total, there were 17 era names used. The first era name, Hongwu, was inaugurated by Zhu Yuanzhang in 1368, while the last era name, Chongzhen, was suspended after the Chongzhen Emperor hanged himself in Meishan during the Jiashen Incident. The longest era name in use was Wanli, lasting approximately 47 years and 7 months, while the shortest was Taichang, which succeeded Wanli for only about 5 months. ^[2]

After the Jiashen Incident, the Ming imperial clan established the Southern Ming regimes in the Jiangnan area. However, these regimes were eventually eradicated after the capture and killing of Zhu Youlang. The Kingdom of Tungning, which supported the Ming dynasty's political legitimacy (奉正朔; fengzhengshuo), eventually surrendered to the Qing dynasty. ^[3] The Southern Ming used a total of three era names, ^[4] which are listed below.

Before the Ming dynasty, most emperors used multiple era names during their reigns. However, during the Hongwu Emperor's reign, a "one reign, one era name" (一世一元制) system was adopted, leading to the use of only one era name by later emperors. ^[5] This resulted in the era name being commonly used to refer to the emperor himself among the people. ^[6] There were some exceptions, such as Emperor Yingzong who used two era names. ^[2] The Ming dynasty era name remained relatively unchanged and was typically used for a longer period of time. ^[7] The change of era usually occurred in the year following a new emperor's ascension to the throne, but there were a few instances of special circumstances. For example, after Zhu Di's successful Jingnan campaign in 1402, the era name Jianwen was abolished and replaced with the era name Hongwu. ^{[8] [9] [10]} In 1457, after the Duomen Coup (奪門之變), Emperor Yongzong was restored to the throne and the era was changed to Tianshun that year. ^[11] There were also cases where two edicts to change the era were issued in the same year. For example, when the Wanli Emperor died in 1620, the Taichang Emperor ascended to the throne. It was planned to use the era name Taichang the following year (1621), but the Taichang Emperor also died in the same year. The newly enthroned Tianqi Emperor sought the opinions of his ministers and ultimately used the Taichang era name for that year, before changing it to the era name Tianqi the following year. ^[12] During the Ming dynasty, many of the era names were repeated from the previous dynasties, including era names used by peasant rebellion armies, ^[a] which became a source of jokes until the end of the dynasty. ^{[18] [19] [20]}

Even outer vassals like Joseon and the Ryukyu Kingdom adopted the Ming dynasty era name. However, after being forced to submit to the Qing dynasty in 1637, Joseon publicly used the Qing era name but secretly continued to use the era name Chongzhen as a way to show their respect for the Ming and opposition to the Qing. ^[21]

The interpretations of the Ming emperor's era names were not well-documented in official announcements, ^[22] but Feng Tianyu's (冯天瑜) interpretation in Ming Qing nianhao tanwei (明清年号探微) is referenced here. The period of use for each era name is based on the History of Ming , compiled by Zhang Tingyu, and Nanjiang yishi (南疆逸史), written by Wen Ruilin (溫睿臨).

List

Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

Era name	Start date	End date	Length of use	Emperor	Meaning	Derived from	Ref.
Hongwu 洪武	23 January 1368 Datong calendar 元年正月初四日 4th day of the 1st month of the 1st year	5 February 1399 Datong calendar 三十一年十二月二十九日 29th day of the 12th month of the 31st year	30 years, 12 months and 27 days	Hongwu Emperor	Vastly Martial	None	[23] [24] [22] [25]
Jianwen 建文	6 February 1399 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	17 July 1402 Datong calendar 四年六月十七日 17th day of the 6th month of the 4th year	3 years, 5 months and 17 days	Jianwen Emperor	Establishing Civility		[23] [24] [22] [26] [9]
Hongwu	18 July 1402 Datong calendar 三十五年六月十八日 18th day of the 6th month of the 35th year	22 January 1403 Datong calendar 三十五年十二月二十九日 29th day of the 12th month of the 35th year	6 months and 12 days	Hongwu Emperor (Yongle Emperor)	(Ibid.)		[22] [8] [9]
Yongle 永樂	23 January 1403 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	19 January 1425 Datong calendar 二十二年十二月三十日 30th day of the 12th month of the 22nd year	22 years	Yongle Emperor	Perpetual Happiness		[27] [24] [22] [28] [9]
Hongxi 洪熙	20 January 1425 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	7 February 1426 Datong calendar 元年十二月三十日 30th day of the 12th month of the 1st year	1 year	Hongxi Emperor	Vastly Bright		[27] [24] [22] [29]
Xuande 宣德	8 February 1426 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	17 January 1436 Datong calendar 十年十二月二十九日 29th day of the 12th month of the 10th year	10 years	Xuande Emperor	Proclamation of Virtue		[27] [30] [22] [31]
Zhengtong 正統	18 January 1436 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	13 January 1450 Datong calendar 十四年十二月三十日 30th day of the 12th month of the 14th year	14 years	Emperor Yingzong	Right Governance		[27] [30] [4] [32]
Jingtai 景泰	14 January 1450 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	14 February 1457 Datong calendar 八年正月二十日 20th day of the 1st month of the 8th year	7 years and 20 days	Jingtai Emperor	Exalted View		[27] [30] [4] [33]
Tianshun 天順	15 February 1457 Datong calendar 元年正月二十一日 21st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	26 January 1465 Datong calendar 八年十二月二十九日 29th day of the 12th month of the 8th year	7 years, 11 months and 9 days	Emperor Yingzong	Obedience to Heaven		[34] [30] [4] [35]
Chenghua 成化	27 January 1465 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	13 January 1488 Datong calendar 二十三年十二月三十日 30th day of the 12th month of the 23rd year	23 years	Chenghua Emperor	Accomplished Change	Origin text: Wenzi Passage (Chinese): 大常之道，生物而不有，成化而不宰 [36]	[34] [30] [4] [37]
Hongzhi 弘治	14 January 1488 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	23 January 1506 Datong calendar 十八年十二月三十日 30th day of the 12th month of the 18th year	18 years	Hongzhi Emperor	Great Governance	None	[34] [30] [4] [38]
Zhengde 正德	24 January 1506 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	27 January 1522 Datong calendar 十六年十二月三十日 30th day of the 12th month of the 16th year	16 years	Zhengde Emperor	Right Virtue, or Rectification of Virtue	The era name Zhengde has two origin texts Origin text: Book of Documents Passage (Chinese): 禹曰：……正德、利用、厚生、惟和 [39] English translation: Yu said, ......there are the rectification of (the people's) virtue, (the tools and other things) that supply the conveniences of life, and the securing abundant means of sustentation - these must be harmoniously attended to.) [40] Origin text: Correct Interpretation of the Book of Documents Passage (Chinese): 正德者，自正其德，居上位者正己以治民 [41]	[34] [30] [4] [42]
Jiajing 嘉靖	28 January 1522 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	8 February 1567 Datong calendar 四十五年十二月三十日 30th day of the 12th month of the 45th year	45 years	Jiajing Emperor	Admirable Tranquility	Origin text: Book of Documents Passage (Chinese): 周公曰：......不敢荒寧，嘉靖殷邦 [43] English translation: The duke of Zhou said, ...He did not dare to indulge in useless ease, but admirably and tranquilly presided over the regions of Yin, ... [44]	[34] [30] [4] [45]
Longqing 隆慶	9 February 1567 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	1 February 1573 Datong calendar 六年十二月二十九日 29th day of the 12th month of the 6th year	6 years	Longqing Emperor	Great Celebration	None	[46] [30] [4] [47]
Wanli 萬曆	2 February 1573 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	27 August 1620 Datong calendar 四十八年七月三十日 30th day of the 7th month of the 48th year	47 years and 7 months	Wanli Emperor	Ten Thousand Calendars		[46] [30] [4] [48]
Taichang 泰昌	28 August 1620 Datong calendar 元年八月初一日 1st day of the 8th month of the 1st year	21 January 1621 Datong calendar 元年十二月二十九日 29th day of the 12th month of the 1st year	5 months	Taichang Emperor (Tianqi Emperor)	Grand Prosperity		[46] [30] [4] [49]
Tianqi 天啓	22 January 1621 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	4 February 1628 Datong calendar 七年十二月二十九日 29th day of the 12th month of the 7th year	7 years	Tianqi Emperor	Heavenly Opening	Origin text: Zuo Zhuan Passage (Chinese): 卜偃曰：……以是始賞，天啟之矣 [50] English translation: The diviner Yen said, ...That his rewards should commence with this Wei is a proof that Heaven is opening up his way. [51]	[46] [30] [4] [52] [53]
Chongzhen 崇禎	5 February 1628 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	25 April 1644 Datong calendar 十七年三月十九日 19th day of the 3rd month of the 17th year	16 years, 2 months and 19 days	Chongzhen Emperor	Honorable and Auspicious	None	[46] [30] [4] [54]

Southern Ming (1644–1662)

Era name	Start date	End date	Length of use	Emperor	Meaning	Ref.
Chongzhen	19 June 1644 Datong calendar 十七年五月十五日 15th day of the 5th month of the 17th year	27 January 1645 Datong calendar 十七年十二月三十日 30th day of the 12th month of the 17th year	7 months and 15 days	Chongzhen Emperor (Hongguang Emperor)	(Ibid.)	[4] [55]
Hongguang 弘光	28 January 1645 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	17 August 1645 [b] Datong calendar 元年閏六月二十六日 26th day of the leap 6th month of the 1st year	6 months and 26 days	Hongguang Emperor	Great Light	[57] [4] [58] [59] [60] [61]
Longwu 隆武	18 August 1645 Datong calendar 元年閏六月二十七日 [c] 27th day of the leap 6th month of the 1st year	4 February 1647 Datong calendar 二年十二月三十日 30th day of the 12th month of the 2nd year	1 year, 6 months and 3 days	Longwu Emperor	Plentiful and Martial	[57] [4] [63] [59] [64] [61]
Yongli 永曆	5 February 1647 Datong calendar 元年正月初一日 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st year	1 June 1662 [d] Datong calendar 十六年四月十五日 [d] 15th day of the 4th month of the 16th year	15 years, 3 months and 15 days [d]	Yongli Emperor	Perpetual Calendar	[57] [4] [66] [67]

Notes

1. For example, the era name Yongle was used by both Zhang Yuxian during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period ^[13] and Fang La during the late Northern Song dynasty. ^[14] Similarly, the era name Tianshun was used by both the Red Coat Army (紅襖軍) during the late Jin dynasty ^[15] and the Tianshun Emperor of the Yuan dynasty, ^[16] and the era name Zhengde was used by the Western Xia dynasty, ^[17] etc.
2. The Prince of Lu (魯) regime maintained the use of the era name Hongguang until 15 February 1646 (弘光元年十二月三十日; 30th day of the 12th month of the 1st year of the Hongguang era). ^[56]
3. The date of the Longwu era's inauguration is determined by two sources: Nanming yishi and Nan Ming Shi. ^{[59] [62] [60] [61]} Li Chongzhi states that the inauguration occurred in the leap 6th month (閏六月), ^[57] while both the History of Ming and Nanjiang yishi state that it took place in the dingwei day (26th day) of the leap 6th month (閏六月丁未 (二十六日)). ^{[59] [62] [60] [61]}
4. The Kingdom of Tungning used the era name Yongli until 15 September 1683 (康熙二十二年／永曆三十七年七月二十五日; 25th day of the 7th month of the 37th year of the Yongli era/22nd year of the Kangxi era), when it surrendered to Shi Lang after being defeated at the Battle of Penghu. This means that the era name Yongli was in use for a total of 36 years, 7 months, and 25 days. ^[65]

References

Citations

1. Xu (2000), pp. 298–300.
2. Feng (2016), pp. 25–26.
3. Nan & Tang (2014), pp. 1201–1314.
4. Feng (2016), p. 26.
5. Jinyan, vol. 1.
6. Wang (2016), p. 115.
7. Wang (2016), p. 116.
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11. Zhang (1739), vol. 12.
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13. Li (2004), p. 153.
14. Li (2004), p. 165.
15. Li (2004), p. 190.
16. Li (2004), p. 195.
17. Li (2004), p. 183.
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19. Jishi jiwen, vol. 1.
20. Zhuozhong zhi, vol. 22.
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22. Feng (2016), p. 25.
23. Li (2004), p. 205.
24. Liu (2014), p. 94.
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27. Li (2004), p. 206.
28. Zhang (1739), vols. 5, 8.
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30. Liu (2014), p. 95.
31. Zhang (1739), vols. 9, 10.
32. Zhang (1739), vols. 10, 11.
33. Zhang (1739), vols. 11, 12.
34. Li (2004), p. 207.
35. Zhang (1739), vols. 12, 13.
36. Wenzi, vol. 1, Daoyuan.
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39. Book of Documents, Counsels of Great Yu.
40. Legge (1879), pp. 46–47.
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42. Zhang (1739), vols. 16, 17.
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44. Legge (1879), p. 202.
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47. Zhang (1739), vols. 19, 20.
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50. Chunqiu Zuozhuan zhengyi, vol 10, Duke Min.
51. Legge (1872), p. 125.
52. Mote & Twitchett (1988), p. 595.
53. Zhang (1739), vols. 22, 23.
54. Zhang (1739), vols. 23, 24.
55. Nanjiang yishi, vol. 1.
56. Nanming yeshi, Appendix.
57. Li (2004), p. 209.
58. Nanjiang yishi, vols. 1, 3.
59. Zhang (1739), vol. 6.
60. Nanming yeshi, vol. 2.
61. Qian (2016), vol. 2.
62. Nanjiang yishi, vol. 3.
63. Nanjiang yishi, vols. 3, 4.
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65. Nanjiang yishi (1830), vol. 10.
66. Nanjiang yishi, vols. 4, 5.
67. Nanming yeshi, vol. 3.

Sources

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External links

• Liu, Yuk Tung. Chinese Calendar – Western Calendar Conversion Table (1368 – 1644, 1645 – 1683). Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.