Chinese Era Names

Abstract

Broadcast Transcript: As if keeping track of the more than 20 Chinese dynasties weren't hard enough, scholars of Chinese history also have to keep track of "era titles," arbitrarily assigned names given to a set of years by the dynastic ruler of the time. Era titles were a kind of Ancient Chinese spin technique used to affirm a ruler's sovereignty and manipulate the masses into having positive feelings about a particular time regardless of what was actually going on. Emperors could change these era titles... well, whenever: to mark a new beginning or to commemorate a successful military campaign or because the stars were aligned just so. Wu Zetian, the one woman supreme ruler, referred to two of her eras as Heavenly Granted and Perfect Satisfaction. I know, right? There were over 500 rulers in dynastic China. Do the math and be glad that this practice was discontinued. #ceas #hacker #china