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).
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
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]
^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.
^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]
^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]
^ abcThe 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]
^Wang, Xiaohu (April 2002). 大明泰昌元年大统历考(PDF). Shanghai: Journal of Shanghai Jiaotong University. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
^Sun, Weiguo. 從正朔看朝鮮王朝尊明反清的正統意識 [Pro-Ming/Anti-Qing Sentiment and the Question of Legitimacy: Choson Korea's Use of Ming Reign Titles]. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
