List of Posthumous Names
Encyclopedia
In China
, posthumous name
s 諡 were conferred upon Emperors, Empresses, and notable officials by the imperial court up until the fall of Qing Dynasty
in 1911. The following list is limited to officials. For posthumous names of Emperors, see List of Chinese monarchs. The name is most often used in the combination surname + posthumous name + "gong 公," as appears in all formal references.
During Ming
and Qing
dynasties, posthumous names of officials were formalized and fixed at two characters. The first character Wen 文 was typically only given to those who had obtained Jinshi degree and served in the Hanlin Academy
. Among all posthumous names, Wenzheng 文正 was considered the most prestigious, followed by Wenzhong 文忠, etc.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, posthumous name
Posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life...
s 諡 were conferred upon Emperors, Empresses, and notable officials by the imperial court up until the fall of Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
in 1911. The following list is limited to officials. For posthumous names of Emperors, see List of Chinese monarchs. The name is most often used in the combination surname + posthumous name + "gong 公," as appears in all formal references.
During Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
dynasties, posthumous names of officials were formalized and fixed at two characters. The first character Wen 文 was typically only given to those who had obtained Jinshi degree and served in the Hanlin Academy
Hanlin Academy
The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution founded in the eighth century Tang dynasty China by Emperor Xuanzong.Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court. One of its main duties was to...
. Among all posthumous names, Wenzheng 文正 was considered the most prestigious, followed by Wenzhong 文忠, etc.
Wen 文
- Wen 文
- Han YuHan YuHan Yu , born in Nanyang, Henan, China, was a precursor of Neo-Confucianism as well as an essayist and poet, during the Tang dynasty. The Indiana Companion calls him "comparable in stature to Dante, Shakespeare or Goethe" for his influence on the Chinese literary tradition . He stood for strong...
韓愈 - Bai Juyi 白居易
- Wang AnshiWang AnshiWang Anshi was a Chinese economist, statesman, chancellor and poet of the Song Dynasty who attempted controversial, major socioeconomic reforms...
王安石 - Zhu XiZhu XiZhū Xī or Chu Hsi was a Song Dynasty Confucian scholar who became the leading figure of the School of Principle and the most influential rationalist Neo-Confucian in China...
朱熹
- Han Yu
- Wencheng 文成
- Liu Ji 劉基
- Wang YangmingWang YangmingWang Yangming was a Ming Chinese idealist Neo-Confucian philosopher, official, educationist, calligraphist and general. After Zhu Xi, he is commonly regarded as the most important Neo-Confucian thinker, with interpretations of Confucianism that denied the rationalist dualism of the orthodox...
王阳明
- Wending 文定
- Liu KezhuangLiu KezhuangLiu Kezhuang , was a Song Dynasty Chinese poet and literary critic.He is credited with selecting the first version of the anthology "Poems by a Thousand Masters"...
劉克莊 - Shen Shixing 申時行
- Xu GuangqiXu GuangqiXu Guangqi , was a Chinese scholar-bureaucrat, agricultural scientist, astronomer, and mathematician in the Ming Dynasty. Xu was a colleague and collaborator of the Italian Jesuits Matteo Ricci and Sabatino de Ursis and they translated several classic Western texts into Chinese, including part of...
徐光啟
- Liu Kezhuang
- Wenhe 文和
- Zhang TingyuZhang TingyuZhang Tingyu was a Han Chinese politician and historian during the Qing Dynasty.Zhang Tingyu was born in Tongcheng in Anhui province. In 1700, he was awarded the highest degree in the imperial examinations and shortly afterwards he was appointed to the Hanlin Academy...
張廷玉
- Zhang Tingyu
- Wenmin 文敏
- Zhao MengfuZhao MengfuZhao Mengfu courtesy name Ziang , pseudonyms Songxue , Oubo , and Shuijing-gong Dao-ren , was a prince and descendant of the Song Dynasty, and a Chinese scholar, painter and calligrapher during the Yuan Dynasty.He was recommended by the Censor-in-chief Cheng Jufu to pay an audience...
趙孟頫 - Dong QichangDong QichangDong Qichang , courtesy name Xuanzai , was a Chinese painter, scholar, calligrapher, and art theorist of the later period of the Ming Dynasty.-Painter:...
董其昌
- Zhao Mengfu
- Wenxiang 文襄
- Zuo ZongtangZuo ZongtangZuo Zongtang , spelled Tso Tsung-t'ang in Wade-Giles and known simply as General Tso in the West, was a Chinese statesman and military leader in the late Qing Dynasty....
左宗棠 - Zhang ZhidongZhang ZhidongZhang Zhidong ; Pseudonyms: Xiāngtāo , Xiāngyán , Yīgōng , Wújìng-Jūshì , later Bàobīng ; Posthumous name: Wénxiāng ) was an eminent Chinese politician during the late Qing Dynasty who advocated for controlled reform...
張之洞
- Zuo Zongtang
- Wenzhen 文貞
- Wei ZhengWei ZhengWei Zheng , courtesy name Xuancheng , formally Duke Wenzhen of Zheng , was a Chinese politician and the lead editor of the Book of Sui, composed in 636...
魏徵 - Xu Jie 徐階
- Wei Zheng
- Wenzheng 文正
- Fan ZhongyanFan ZhongyanFan Zhongyan , born in Wuxian , Suzhou , was a prominent politician and literary figure in Song dynasty China. He was also a strategist and educator...
范仲淹 - Sima GuangSima GuangSīmǎ Guāng was a Chinese historian, scholar, and high chancellor of the Song Dynasty, jinshi 1038.-Life, profession, and works:...
司馬光 - Xu HengXu HengXu Heng was a Confucianist and educator of the Yuan Dynasty in China.Xu Heng was born in present-day Xinyang of Henan Province, which was then governed by the Jin Dynasty. At the age of 16, he studied Confucian Classics and became enamoured of it. In early 1230s, when the Jin Dynasty was...
許衡 - Wu ChengWu ChengWú Chéng , zì Yòuqīng , also zì Bóqīng , hào Yīwúshānrén , also known as "草廬先生", was a scholar, educator, poet in Yuan Dynasty....
吳澄 - Li DongyangLi DongyangLi Dongyang was a Ming Dynasty scholar born in Chaling city, Hunan Province.He served as an official under four emperors for over 50 years, including the roles of "Grand Historian" and the "Minister of Rites". He is also known for his distinctive poetry...
李東陽 - Xie Qian 謝遷
- Zeng GuofanZeng GuofanZeng Guofan was an eminent Han Chinese official, military general, and devout Confucian scholar of the late Qing Dynasty in China....
曾國藩
- Fan Zhongyan
- Wenzhong 文忠
- Ouyang XiuOuyang XiuOuyang Xiu was a Chinese statesman, historian, essayist and poet of the Song Dynasty. He is also known by his courtesy name of Yongshu, and was also self nicknamed The Old Drunkard 醉翁, or Householder of the One of Six 六一居士 in his old age...
歐陽修 - Su ShiSu ShiSu Shi , was a writer, poet, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, gastronome, and statesman of the Song Dynasty, and one of the major poets of the Song era. His courtesy name was Zizhan and his pseudonym was Dongpo Jushi , and he is often referred to as Su Dongpo...
蘇軾 - Zhang JuzhengZhang JuzhengZhang Juzheng , courtesy name: Shuda , pseudonym: Taiyue , was a powerful Grand Secretary in the Ming Dynasty under the Longqing and Wanli emperors. Zhang was born in Jiangling, Hubei province, China and died in Beijing....
張居正 - Lin ZexuLin ZexuLín Zéxú ; 30 August 1785 – 22 November 1850) was a Chinese scholar and official during the Qing Dynasty.He is most recognized for his conduct and his constant position on the "high moral ground" in his fight, as a "shepherd" of his people, against the opium trade in Guangzhou...
林則徐 - Li HongzhangLi HongzhangLi Hongzhang or Li Hung-chang , Marquis Suyi of the First Class , GCVO, was a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire...
李鴻章
- Ouyang Xiu
Others
- Zhongsu 忠肅
- Yu QianYu QianYu Qian , a native of Qiantang , was a Chinese Defence Minister during the Ming dynasty.- Biography :...
于謙
- Yu Qian
- Zhongwu 忠武
- Zhuge LiangZhuge LiangZhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....
諸葛亮 - Han ShizhongHan ShizhongHan Shizhong was a Chinese general of the late Northern Song Dynasty and the early Southern Song Dynasty. He dedicated his whole life to serving the Song Dynasty, and performed many legendary deeds. It is said that he had scars all over his body and, by the time he retired, there were only four...
韓世忠 - Chang YuchunChang YuchunChang Yuchun , style name Boren and pseudonym Yanheng , was a Chinese Muslim military general. He was a follower of the Ming Dynasty's founder, Zhu Yuanzhang, and contributed greatly to the founding of the dynasty...
常遇春 - Yi Sun-sinYi Sun-sinYi Sun-shin was a Korean naval commander, famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty, and is well-respected for his exemplary conduct on and off the battlefield not only by Koreans, but by Japanese Admirals as well...
李舜臣
- Zhuge Liang
- Zhongzheng 忠正
- Shi KefaShi KefaShi Kefa , style names Xianzhi and Daolin , was a government official and calligrapher of the late Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. Shi Kefa was born in Xiangfu and claimed ancestry from Daxing County, Shuntianfu . He was mentored by Zuo Guangdou...
史可法
- Shi Kefa