Over 5000 years of history, China’s dynasties have been born and perished one after another. Each dynasty born has a distinct name. The ancient language said: “The name is not correct, the language is not favorable”, so the establishment of the name is always carried out as soon as the dynasty is established, and is considered the main name.
So the name of each dynasty is determined by what factors? Mainly due to 5 reasons:
1. Xia Dynasty: According to legend, King Vu was once ordained in Ha Ba, so he called his government “Ha”. Another legend is that according to historian Pham Van Lan, after King Vu’s son Khai moved to Dai Ha (Fin Quai area, south of Son Tay), he called himself “Ha”.
2. Shang Dynasty: Legend has it that the ancestor of the Shang Dynasty, Mr. Khe, had merit in helping King Vu rule the water, so he was ordained in the land of Thuong, so he later took “Thuong” to call his tribe. King Thang, after destroying the Xia Dynasty, took “Thuong” as his national name. Later, Banh Canh moved to An land, so it was also called “An” or “An Thuong”.
3. Zhou Dynasty: The Chu tribe moved to the land of Chu during the time of Co Cong Dan Phu. Vu Vuong, after destroying the An dynasty, took ” Chu” as the name of the dynasty. In the early Zhou Dynasty, the capital was built in Hao. At the time of Binh Vuong, the capital was moved to the east to be Lac Ap, because in the east of Hao, the Zhou Dynasty was called “Western Chu” and “Eastern Chu”.
When Qin Shi Huang unified the 6 countries, the construction of the Qin state began. (Picture via Pinterest).
4. The Qin Dynasty: According to records in the book “History” , the Qin was originally an ancient tribe. The leader of Phi Tu, because he was credited with raising horses for Chu Hieu Vuong, was given a land by Chu Hieu Vuong . Later, he again saved the Zhou Dynasty, so he was made a vassal. When Qin Shi Huang unified the 6 countries, the construction of the Qin state began.
5. Han Dynasty: Xiang Yu made Liu Bang the King of Han. After Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu, unified China, he gave the country the title “Han”. In the early period, the Han Dynasty based its capital in Chang’an, and later in Luoyang, so if you consider the capital city, there will be “Western Han” and “Eastern Han” , if in terms of time, there is “Money” Han” and “Later Han”.
6. Wei Dynasty: Emperor Han Hien once named Cao Cao as Wei Cong and Wei Vuong. After Cao Phi replaced the Han Dynasty, he called himself “Wei”. Because of the Cao family, it is also called “Cao Wei” in history.
7. Thuc Dynasty: Liu Bei took Sichuan as an area of operation, Shu was only Sichuan, so this government was called “Shu”. Historically also known as “Shu Han”. “Han” here refers to the successor to the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Shu refers to Sichuan, so this government is called “Shu”. (Illustration: Via kknews.cc)
8. Ngo Dynasty: Ton Quyen operated in the lower Truong Giang area, in the history of this place there was a country of Ngo, Cao Wei once named Ton Quyen “Ngo Vuong” , so it was called “Ton Ngo”. , also because it is in the east, so it is also called “Dong Ngo”.
9. Jin Dynasty: Sima Chieu forced Emperor Wei to name himself “Attack” . After the destruction of the Thuc dynasty, he was named “Tan Vuong”. Later, his son Sima Viem inherited the title, forced Emperor Wei to abdicate, established himself as an emperor and named the country “Jin”.
10. Sui Dynasty: Duong Kien’s father, Duong Trung, was once named “Tui Quoc Cong” by the Northern Chu dynasty. Sui Van De succeeded before that, so it was called “Tui dynasty”. He said that this word means to follow, the implication is not good, so he changed it to “Sui”.
11. Tang Dynasty: The grandfather of Cao To Ly Uyen was Ly Ho, because of his merit in helping the Zhou Dynasty, he was given the title Duong Quoc Cong, the title passed to Ly Uyen. After starting an army in Thai Nguyen, Ly Uyen called himself “Duong Vuong” , after deposing Duong Huu, he founded the Tang dynasty.
After starting the army in Thai Nguyen, Ly Uyen called himself “Duong Vuong”, founded the Tang Dynasty. (Image: Via Bldaily.com).
12. Lieu Dynasty: Lieu originally called Khiet Dan, later changed to “Lieu” because he lived in the upper reaches of the Lieu River.
13. Song Dynasty: After the succession of Emperor Gong of the late Zhou Dynasty, he sent Trieu Khuong Lead as a military governor in Quy Duc. Quy Duc’s army was stationed at Tong Chau Trieu Khuong Led as the military governor of Song Chau. After the Tran Kieu mutiny, due to the discovery in Tong Chau, the country was named “Tong”.
14. Tay Ha Dynasty: Tu Cung Tu Cung occupied Ha Chau, so when he founded the country, he took Ha Chau as his name and called it “Dai Ha”. Because it is in the West, the Song people call it “Western Xia”.
15. Kim Dynasty: The capital of the Kim dynasty was Hoi Ninh, on the An Xuat Ho river. Legend has it that this river produces gold (needle), the word “needle” reads in the Jurchen language as “Kan Xuethu”.
16. Yuan Dynasty: According to the record in “Nguyen History” , the name “Nguyen” was given by Kublai Khan to Yuan Shi. He took from the word “Nguyen” in the sentence “Dai Tai Can Nguyen” in the I Ching, which means big, first. But there are also people who think that the birth of this name is related to the customs and totem (things considered as national symbols) of the Mongols, there are also people who think it is related to Buddhism.
After taking power, Chu Nguyen Chuong named the country “Minh”. (Picture via Pinterest)
17. Ming Dynasty: Chu Nguyen Chuong was one of the uprising forces at the end of the Nguyen Dynasty, he was the successor of Quach Tu Hung and developed. Quach Tu Hung of the Bach Lien sect, the White Lotus sect declared: “Darkness means the future of the past, light is weak in the future”. ruled by the Nguyen Dynasty, so it is also known as “Quang Minh Dao”.
The leader of the White Lotus Church, Han Son Dong, called himself “Minh Vuong”. Chu Nguyen Chuong not only once devoutly believed in the White Lotus Sect, but also admitted that he was one of the insurgents of the White Lotus sect. Therefore, after winning power, Chu Nguyen Chuong named the country “Minh”.
18. Qing Dynasty : Manchu is a branch of the Nu Chan tribe. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jurchen tribe built the Kim state. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the power of the powerful Jurchen clan returned, rebuilding the Kim (Later Kim) country. In order to expand outward and cut off the relationship with the Ming dynasty, Thanh Thai To Hoang Thai Chi changed “Nu Chan” to “Manchuria” , and changed “Kim” to “Thanh”.
During the Song Dynasty, the Jurchens were under the control of the Khitan, and the word “Liao” in Khitan means “Iron” so the country was named “Kim” (gold) to signify the meaning. “needle” is harder than “iron” , able to suppress “Lieu” . As for the reason for changing from “Kim” to “Thanh”, historians have different opinions. Some people think that because Hoang Thai Chi wanted to avoid causing a serious conflict, he changed it like that.