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A Chinese era name () is the regnal year, reign period, or regnal title used when traditionally numbering years in an emperor's reign and naming certain Chinese rulers (see the imperial naming conventions). Some emperors have several era names, one after another, where each beginning of a new era resets the numbering of the year back to year one or ''yuán'' (元). The numbering of the year increases on the first day of the Chinese calendar each year. The era name originated as a motto or slogan chosen by an emperor. ==Function== Emperor Wu of Han (Han Wudi) was conventionally regarded as the first emperor to declare an era name; however he was only the first to use an era name in every year of his reign. His grandfather and father also employed era names, though not continuously. Han Wudi changed period titles every five years or so, going through a total of eleven reigning slogans during his reign from 140 BC to 87 BC. Each era name has a literary meaning. For instance, the first era name of Han Wudi was ''Jianyuan'' (建元 in pinyin: jiàn yuán), literally meaning "establishing the First". Era names also reflected characteristics of political and other landscapes at the time. ''Jianzhongjingguo'' (建中靖國 jiàn zhōng jìng guó), the first era name of Emperor Huizong of Song China, means "establishing middle, peaceful country", reflecting his idealism towards moderating the rivalry among the conservative and progressive parties on political and social reformation. The very first era name of the Qing was significant because it means "(Manchus possess ) the Mandate of Heaven". The process of era name declaration was referred to in traditional Chinese history texts as ''jianyuan''. Declaring a new era name to replace an old one during an emperor's reign was referred to as ''gaiyuan'' (改元 gǎi yuán), literally meaning "change the First". To name a year using an era name only requires counting years from the first year of the era. For example, 138 BC was the third year of ''Jianyuan'' (建元), since 140 BC was the first year. When more than one monarch used the same motto, the name of the specific monarch or dynasty has to be mentioned. For instance both Han Wudi and Jin Kangdi picked ''Jianyuan'' as their motto. Thus 344 AD was the second year of Jianyuan of the Jin Dynasty (or of Jin Kangdi) whereas 139 BC was the second year of Jianyuan of the Han Dynasty (or of Han Wudi). In traditional literature, one can therefore find references like "the first month of the thirteenth year of Jianyuan" (建元十三年元月). Almost all era names have exactly two characters. Notable exceptions are from the non-Han Chinese Western Xia Dynasty (1032–1227). Of the 33 Western Xia era names, seven have more than three characters. For example: * Tiancilishengguoqing (天賜禮盛國慶 tiān cì lǐ shèng guó qìng) (1070) "Heaven-given ritualistic richness, nationally celebrated" * Tianshoulifayanzuo (天授禮法延祚 tiān shòu lǐ fǎ yán zuò) (1038) "Heaven-instructed rituals and laws, perpetually blessed" Before the Ming dynasty, an emperor often changed his era name as often as he liked. The numbering of the year still increases on the first day of the Chinese calendar each year, regardless of the month in which the era name change took place. For example, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang changed his era name, Xiantian (先天, pinyin: xiān tiān) to Kaiyuan (開元, pinyin: kāi yuán) in the twelfth (i.e. last) month of the Chinese calendar. The second year of Kaiyuan (開元二年) began on the first day of the next month (i.e. Chinese New Year's Day); this made the first year of Kaiyuan (開元元年) consist of only the last few days in the twelfth month following the name change. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chinese era name」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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