Jianwen (Chinese: 建文; pinyin: Jiànwén; Wade–Giles: Chien-wen; lit. 'establishing civility'; 6 February 1399 – 29 July 1402) was the era name (nianhao) of the Jianwen Emperor (reigned 1398–1402), the second emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). It was used for a total of four years. The Yongle Emperor did not recognize the Jianwen era name after the success of the Jingnan campaign and changed Jianwen 4 to Hongwu 35.^[1] The Wanli Emperor issued an edict in 1595 (Wanli 23) to restore the Jianwen era name.^[2]

It is worth noting that the Yongle Emperor never announced the abolition of the Jianwen era name. Some scholars believe that the abolition of the era name was not Yongle's original intention, but rather the actions of his subordinates. Some people also believe that the Yongle Emperor recklessly tampered with the history of the Jianwen era by re-editing Taizu Shilu (太祖實錄) and Fengtian Jingnan Ji (奉天靖難記), which is equivalent to abolishing the Jianwen era name, but he was unwilling to personally implement it publicly and bear the historical responsibility.^[3]

Comparison table

Contemporaneous eras

• Vietnam
  • Kiến Tân (建新, 1398–1400): Trần dynasty — era name of Trần Thiếu Đế
  • Thánh Nguyên (聖元, 1400): Hồ dynasty — era name of Hồ Quý Ly
  • Thiệu Thành (紹成, 1401–1403): Hồ dynasty — era name of Hồ Hán Thương
• Japan
  • Ōei (応永, 1394–1428): Japan — era name of Emperor Go-Komatsu and Emperor Shōkō

See also

• List of Chinese era names
• List of Ming dynasty era names

References

Bibliography

• Li Chongzhi (2004), 《中國歷代年號考》 [Zhongguo Lidai Nianhao Kao] (in Chinese), Beijing: Zhonghua Book Co., ISBN 7101025129
• Deng Hongbo (2005), 《東亞歷史年表》 [Chronology of East Asian History] (in Chinese), Taipei: National Taiwan University Program for East Asian Classics and Cultures, ISBN 9789860005189.