Chinese Emperors "Posthumous" and "Temple" Names

by Flaczki
  1. What are differences between posthumous name and temple name?

  2. What are Chinese Emperors posthumous/temple names origins? In other words: What are they mean?

[deleted]

1: Posthumous names can be given by a monarch to anybody considered worthy of it. Emperors, Empresses, high ministers, eunuchs, generals, etc can be awarded posthumous names. Temple names are reserved exclusively for men who were monarchs, in reality or just posthumously. Temple names are also given posthumously. In certain cases, men who never ruled can also be given temple names, in addition to posthumous names. At first, temple names were an honor for only certain emperors. In the Han Dynasty, temple names given to insufficiently impressive monarchs were even taken back. Later every Chinese monarch got a temple name. Originally every temple name had a connection to a real temple where the monarch was worshiped. However, temple names are still used in history even if the original temple no longer exists.

2: Posthumous names come with a variety of titles. They can combine as many words as one would like, but usually not more than two characters. Temples names are always two characters, and the last character is either zu (祖) or zong (宗). These are generally translated as "Founder" and "Ancestor" though other translations exist. Zu is a loftier title for monarchs who actually reigned, but can be given to ancestors who never ruled. Zong is for everybody else. The meanings just come from what the words mean: Wen wang (文王), usually seen as King Wen, would mean the Cultured King, since wen (文) means cultured and wang (王) means king. Wenzong (文宗), one word for reasons I don't know, would be the Cultured Ancestor. There are many varieties of posthumous names and temple names.