圣祖 (shèngzǔ): Shengzu, temple name of the Kan…

Meanings

1 Shengzu, temple name of the Kangxi Emperor (1654-1722)
2 (general) divine ancestor / patron saint

Characters

圣

Examples

清圣祖康熙在位六十一年。

Qīng Shèngzǔ Kāngxī zàiwèi liùshíyī nián.

Shengzu of the Qing — the Kangxi Emperor — reigned for sixty-one years.

他被尊为本派的圣祖。

Tā bèi zūn wéi běn pài de shèngzǔ.

He is revered as the divine ancestor of this school.

Tips

history

In imperial China, 庙号 (miàohào, temple names) followed conventions: 太祖 / 高祖 for founders, 太宗 for second emperors. Kangxi was actually the second Qing emperor, but his unprecedented 61-year reign and consolidation of empire earned him the elevated title 圣祖, normally reserved for sages.

In Pop Culture

康熙 Kāngxī

Kangxi Emperor

Second emperor of the Qing dynasty (r. 1661-1722). His posthumous temple name 圣祖 ('sage ancestor') is unusual — most emperors get 太祖 or 高祖 — and reflects the Qing court's view of his exceptional reign.