There is a basic rule in ancient Chinese history that the temple name of the founding emperor is usually Zu, and the temple name of the successor is Zong. However, there are also cases where the temple name of some founding emperors is zong instead of ancestor. Let's introduce some of these founding emperors in chronological order. First of all, Li Xiong, the founding emperor of the Cheng Han Dynasty, was honored as Taizong. Although Li Xiong was the founding emperor, the foundation of the Cheng Han regime was mainly laid by Li Xiong's father, Li Te. Li Te, a native of the Di tribe, entered Bashu with the displaced people in the war-torn land of the Western Jin Dynasty, and then came up with the idea of separating Bashu. Although Li Teh did not claim the title of emperor to establish the state, Bashu has actually become Li Te's independent kingdom. Therefore, in the eyes of the Cheng Han people, the real founder of the Cheng Han regime was not Li Xiong but Li Te.
Therefore, the temple name of Li Xiong who is revered as the master of the inheritance is Taizong, and the temple name of Li Teh is the ancestor. Another example is Murong De, the founding emperor of Southern Yan, who is revered as Sejong. In Nanyan's view, there were other ancestors, they were Murong De's father, Murong Hao Taizu, and Murong De's elder brother Murong Chui Shizu. Although the former Yan, the latter Yan, and the southern Yan are now clearly divided, in the eyes of the Murong family at that time, there was no distinction between the former Yan and the latter Yan and the Southern Yan, and there was only one Yan regime established by the Murong family. Therefore, although Murong De established Nanyan, he was only a sect, not an ancestor who founded the foundation. Next was Gao Yang, the founding emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Gao Yang, the founding emperor of the Northern Qi regime, originally named the temple as Weizong, and later changed to Xianzu.
In February of the first year of the Qianming Dynasty, he was buried in Wuning Mausoleum, and his nickname was Emperor Wenxuan, and the temple name was still Weizong. However, in the eyes of the Northern Qi people, Gao Yang was not originally regarded as an ancestor, and he was only honored as Weizong. This temple name was not popular, as the previous Weizong referred to Emperor Huan of Han (who was later deposed) of the Han Weizong, which caused Zhuge Liang's lamentation and resentment. In the minds of the people of Northern Qi, the real founding emperor should be Gao Yang's father Gao Huan. Gao Huan is honored as Emperor Xianwu, the temple number is Taizu, and the mausoleum name is Yiping. In the first year of Tiantong, Gao Huan's nickname was changed to Emperor Shenwu, and the temple name was Gaozu. As the de facto ruler of the Eastern Wei regime, Gao Huan never usurped the throne in his life, and his official position was the Great Prime Minister and the King of Bohai, while Gao Cheng was named the King of Qi. Despite this, Gao Huan is still considered the true founder of the Northern Qi Dynasty.
Therefore, Gao Huan was posthumously named Taizu, and then renamed Gaozu. The founding emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty, Li Cunxuan, had a temple name of Zhuangzong. In July of the first year of Tiancheng, he was posthumously named Emperor Min Xiao, the holy god of light, and the temple number was still Zhuangzong. Similar to before, Li Cunqiao was called Zong because someone was regarded as the real founder of the regime, and he was Li Keyong, Li Cunqing's father. Li Ke started with the quelling of the Huangchao Uprising and was named King of Jin by the Tang Dynasty. Li Cunmiao's actions in the Tang Dynasty after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty were also based on Li Keyong's Jin Kingdom, so after Li Cunmiao ascended the throne, he posthumously named Li Keyong as Taizu. After Zhuangzong ascended the throne, he was posthumously named Emperor Wu, the temple number was Taizu, and the mausoleum was located in Yanmen.
However, unlike the previous ones, despite Li Ke's presence, Li Cunmiao destroyed Liang Jiantang, rejected the Khitan in the north, and swallowed Qianshu in the south, and made outstanding achievements, so it is definitely not too much to add the honorific title of ancestor to him. However, in the end, Li Cunmiao's temple name is still Zhuangzong, and there are special reasons for this. Li Cunmiao died after the Xingjiaomen Rebellion, and his successor was Li Keyong's adopted son Li Siyuan. As Li Keyong's adopted son, if Li Siyuan wants to stabilize the position of the Later Tang Emperor, he must strengthen Li Keyong's position and dilute Li Cunmiao's status. Otherwise, the legitimacy of Li Siyuan's succession will be questioned. Therefore, Li Cunmiao was revered as Zhuangzong and the temple name was the result of a series of political considerations. Li Yuanhao, the founding emperor of the Western Xia regime, had a temple name of Jingzong.
Posthumously for Emperor Wulie, the temple number is still Jingzong, and the mausoleum is called Tailing. Similar to before, the real founder of the Western Xia regime was actually Li Yuanhao's grandfather, Li Jiqian. Li Jiqian rebelled against the Song Dynasty, proclaimed himself King of Xia, and seized the northwestern lands of the Northern Song Dynasty, including Lingzhou, laying a solid foundation for the founding of the Western Xia. After Yuan Hao became emperor, he posthumously named Li Jiqian as Emperor Taizu, and gave him the nickname "Shenwu", the temple name "Taizu", and the tomb name "Yuling". The founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji, the temple number is Taizong, and he is honored as "Emperor Yingtianxingguo, Hongde, Zhangwukuan, Wenren, Shengrui, and Xiaowen". He changed the political landscape, strengthened the centralization of power, unified the Guanwai region, conquered Monan Mongolia, and incorporated Korea into his vassal state. In 1636, he was officially proclaimed emperor and renamed the Great Qing Dynasty.
Unfortunately, however, Huang Taiji died suddenly a few months before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, and the credit fell to his son, Shunzhi Emperor Fulin. In the historical context of that time, the Qing Dynasty needed to be compared with the Ming Dynasty in the area outside the Guan, so Nurhachi's status was naturally elevated. After Nurhachi established Jin, he was the founder of the Qing Dynasty, so the temple name "Taizu" became Nurhachi's. At first, he was Emperor Wu, the temple name was Taizu, and later he was called Emperor Gao. The temple names of the above six founding emperors are all "Zong" rather than "Zu", because they are not the actual founders of the regime.
The founder of the Southern Yan regime was Murong Hao, the father of the former Yan monarch Murong De, the founder of the Northern Qi Dynasty was Emperor Shenwu Emperor Gao Huan, the founder of the Later Tang Dynasty was Li Keyong, the father of the Jin Dynasty, Li Keyong, the founder of the Western Xia Dynasty was Li Jiqian, the grandfather of Yuan Hao, and the founder of the Qing Dynasty was Nurhachi, the father of Huang Taiji. The mystery of the temple name of Yuwenjue, the founding emperor of the Northern Zhou DynastyIn Chinese history, although some founding emperors were not the real founders of the regime, they were honored as ancestors, such as Cao Pi, Gaozu of Wei, Sun Quan, Taizu of Wu, etc. However, there was one founding emperor who didn't even have a temple number! This is Yuwenjue, the founding emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Despite his title of Heavenly King, he was the rightful founding monarch. However, at the age of sixteen, he was deposed and killed by his cousin Ubungo.
Emperor Wu of Zhou, Yuwen Yong, posthumously crowned Yuwen Jue as Emperor Xiaomin after Yuwen Hu was killed, but did not give him the temple name. Some of the other founding emperors did not have temple numbers, but their presence was higher than that of the Nine Heavens, including Qin Shi Huang!! Therefore, it is a pity that Li Cunqiao was honored as Zhuangzong instead of Zu, and Huang Taiji was called Taizong instead of Zu. However, the founding emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwen Jue, as a founding monarch, did not have a temple number, which is really a puzzling mystery.