Wesleyan University
Comparative Ideas of Chronology
Author(s): Masayuki Sato
Source: History and Theory, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Oct., 1991), pp. 275-301
Published by: Wiley for Wesleyan University
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COMPARATIVEIDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
MASAYUKISATO
I. INTRODUCTION
The reckoningof yearsis not a mereassignmentof numbersin order,itself an
advancedintellectualexercisepeculiarto the humanspecies.IIt is also a political,
social, and culturalact of humanintelligence.
1582A.D., the year Pope GregoryXIII introducedthe new calendar,was
reckoneddifferentlyin East Asia: In China and Koreait was Wan-li10 nien
jen-wu (thetenthyearof the Wan-li[MyriadLongevity]era,jen-wu [thenineteenth year of the sexagesimalcycle]);the Japanesecounted it as Tenshi 10
nen jingo (the tenth year of the Tensh-0[HeavenlyJustice],jingo [Japanese
pronunciationof the Chineseideographsjen-wu]);andin Vietnamit was Quang
hung5 namnhamngo (thefifthyearof the Quanghung [GloriousAscendancy]
era, nhamngo [Vietnamesepronunciationofjen-wu]). Eachof theseis a combiand
nationof an era nameand a cycle name. The expressionsWan-li,Tensho6,
Quanghung are era names (Chinesenien-hao), and all reflectthe same basic
idea of reckoningyears. Jen-wu,jingo, and nham ngo are cyclicalnames derivingfromthe sexagesimalcyclicalsystem(Chinesekan-chih),a chronological
expressioncommonto East Asian countries.Thesetwo chronologicalsystems
(the era nameand the cyclical)have been employedin East Asia, to the virtual
exclusionof all other modes of reckoning,for more than two thousandyears
until the middleof the twentiethcentury.
This paperoriginatesin the followingissue regardingchronologywhichhas
puzzledme for years:Mostliteratesocietieswhichhaveintroduceda chronology
take a fixed point in time, based on a pivotal religiousevent, from which it
reckonsa seriesof years.Amongthesearethe Christianera,the Muslimera, and
the Jewishera. Whyhas not a "Buddhistera"prevailedas a unitaryera-countin
East Asia, whereBuddhismwas a pervasiveinfluence?
Buddhism,though originatingin India aroundthe fifth centuryB.C., was
broughtinto Chinaby the earlyfirst century,took firmroot there duringthe
succeedingfew centuries,and spreadover Korea, Japan, and Vietnamby the
seventhcentury.It attracteda vast followingamongEastAsians,just as Christianity, though Near Easternin origin, claimed a nearly universalfollowing
1. Georges Ifrah, Histoire universelle des chiffres (Paris, 1981), 9-11, 30-34.
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MASAYUKI SATO
276
among Europeans.Though Buddhismsometimesestablisheditself as a state
religionin East Asian countries,a Buddhistchronologyhas neverbeen usedin
East Asia, unlike some South and SoutheastAsian countrieswhich officially
of suchrelatedsciences
introducedit.2Thisis not dueto anyunderdevelopment
as astronomyand the calendar;China,indeed, was one of the most developed
countriesin the astronomicaland calendricalsciencesbeforethe Christianera.3
Why did East Asia retaina chronologyfor two thousandyears differentin
manyaspectsfromthat of the othermajorculturalareasof the world?To deal
withthisknottyissueof EastAsianideasof chronology,I shouldliketo examine
in the discussionthat follows: (a) the rationaleof the combinedsystemof era
namesand the sexagesimalcycle;(b) the historicaldevelopmentof chronology
in the East Asian countries;(c) some theoretical,political, and sociocultural
interpretationsof chronology;and (d) the relationof chronologyto EastAsian
historiography.Onthis basis, I shallconcludeby offeringsomeanswersto these
puzzling issues.
I should note that one of the explanatorymethodsadoptedin this paperis
to compareaspects of East Asian chronologywith other, mainly Christian,
chronologies.As a result, I shall point out some featuresof the Christianera
systemoverlookedby scholarsof Westerntraditions.
Before proceedingto the main issue, it will be useful to give a generalidea of
suchtermsas "EastAsia"and "chronology."East Asia, as an historio-cultural
concept,4comprisesthe presentChina, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. In East
Asia historyhas developedcenteringaroundChinawithits overwhelmingphysical sizeandpoliticalandculturalascendancyoverits periphery,unlikeEurope,
wherehistory has been figuredby relativelysimilar-sizedstates. The historic
2. The Buddhist era is correctly described as a system of reckoning years from the death of
Gautama Siddhdrtha, the founder of Buddhism. Several Buddhist sects adopted different dates for
the death of the Buddha: Thailand and Cambodia adopt 543 B.C. as the first year of the Buddhist
era. In Burma, the first year of the era is the year when Buddhism was first introduced there, 638
A.D. See F. K. Ginzel, Handbuch der Mathematischen und Technischen Chronologie, 3 vols.
(1906-1914), I, 310-448.
3. On the remarkable advancements in astronomy and the calendar in ancient East Asia, see
Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China (Cambridge, 1959), III, 171-461. In Japanese,
see, Shinjo Shinzo, Tdy tenmongakushi kenkyu- [Studies of the History of Astronomy in East
Asia] (Tokyo, 1929) and Yabuuchi Kiyoshi, Chfigoku no tenmon rekihi [Chinese Astronomy and
Calendar] (Tokyo, 1969).
4. "East Asia" is the term now preferred among Western scholars, rather than the Eurocentric
"Far East" used until World War II. Before then, the term had already been used by Japanese
scholars since the latter half of the nineteenth century. See, for example, in historiography, the title
of the first chapter of S. Tanaka's A Method of History (unpublished lecture note, 1910-1923), "A
History of East Asian Historiography." He introduced the term as a natural consequence of his
discussion of comprehensive historiography written with Chinese ideographs. It is important to
note here the interesting coincidence that the term was born not from within but from without:
Tanaka's use of this terminology had close connection with his few years' study experience in
Europe: see my "Datsua-ron to rekishi kenky-u,"[De-asianism and the Study of History], Shigaku
48 (1977), 13-21. It is indispensable in examining this issue to refer to Peter Burke, "Did Europe
Exist before 1700?," History of European Ideas 1 (1980), 21-29.
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COMPARATIVE IDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
277
East Asia hasbeentermed"theChineseworldorder,"a systemof international
relations with China at the center.5Chinese dynastiesemployed a so-called
feudalsystem,bestowingtitlesandfiefson domesticnoblesandvassals,a system
laterappliedto otherEastAsiancountries,whoseleaderswereboundto China
as lord and vassals, by conferralof a seal and investiturefrom Chineseemperors.6This systemof internationalrelationsreachedKoreaand Vietnamin
the earlyHan period(202B.C.-9 A.D.), and Japanin the firstcentury.Acceptance, and occasionalrejection,of such relationsby peripheralstates formed
a majorhistoricalthemein East Asia. Relationswith Chinaplay a crucialrole
in the followingdiscussionof the political, social, and historicalmeaningsof
the East Asian idea of chronology.
Thissinocentricorderalso formedthe commonculturalheritageof EastAsia
originatingin China:the verticalwritingsystemwith Chinesecharacters,the
Confuciansocial and familialorder, BuddhismthroughChinesetranslations,
and the legal and administrativesystem. The East Asian world might also be
whereclassicalChinese,
aptlynamedthe "Chineseideographicculturesphere"7
being specificallyexcludedfrom vernacularChinese, was used as a common
language, which is, in some sense, comparablewith Latin in medievaland
earlymodernEurope.8The adoptionof Chineseideographslaterstimulatedthe
peripheralcountriesto create their own phonetic orthographiessuitable for
theirlanguages.9Borneabroadby Chinesewriting,Chinesecultureconstituted
the bassoostinatoof EastAsian cultureand formedthe common"cultivation"
in East Asia, though it was itself transformedin the process of acceptance.
ClassicalChineseas a writtenlanguagewas, until recently,used in East Asia
as the only languageof communication.10It is importantto point out herethat
the idea of East Asian chronologyis foundedon the very existenceof Chinese
characters.
maybe definedas "amethodusedin manydisciplinesto order
"Chronology"
timeandto placeeventsin the sequencein whichtheyoccurred.""In thispaper,
5. The Chinese World Order, ed. John K. Fairbank (Cambridge, Mass., 1968).
6. For details see Nishijima Sadao, Ch-agokukodaikokka to higashiAjiasekai [Ancient Chinese
States and the East Asian World] (Tokyo, 1983).
7. Thdo Akiho, Kanji to sono bunkaken [Chinese Characters and their Cultural Sphere], revised
ed. (Tokyo, 1979); Nishida Tatsuo, Kanji bunmeiken no shiki chizu [The Ideal-Map of the Civilization Sphere of Chinese Characters] (Kyoto, 1984); Leon Vandermeersch, Le nouveau monde sinise'
(Paris, 1986). Writing vertically is traditional in East Asia, but writing horizontally has become
much more common since World War II, even in China.
8. I recall here E. R. Curtius's laborious work: EuropaischeLiteratur und lateinischesMittelalter
(Bern, 1948). An East Asian analogue, to my regret, has not yet been published.
9. These are called hiragana and katakana in Japan, chu nom in Vietnam, han'gul in Korea.
They are'mutually independent orthographies. See T-odo Akiho, "Kanji bunkaken no keisei" [Rise
of the Cultural Sphere of Chinese Characters], in Iwanami koza sekai rekishi (Tokyo, 1979), VI,
83-124.
10. Classical Chinese was used exclusively for writing by intellectuals in traditional China,
Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. It may be interesting to point out the existence of the Japanese term
"hitsudan"(literally "pen talk"; conversation by writing classical Chinese). I remember a hitsudan
with my Vietnamese classmate who had not mastered Japanese yet, when he entered the University.
11. TheNew EncyclopaediaBritannica,Micropaedia(1974), II, 909.
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278
MASAYUKISATO
however,the focus is on "a systemof reckoninga seriesof years,"not on the
calendaras "a system of fixing a year,"except when necessary.A system of
fixinga yearmustproperlybe discussedseparatelyfroma methodof reckoning
the fixedyears, though they are closely connected.'2Chronologyas discussed
in this paperis thusdefinedas "adatingsystem,or a systemof reckoningyears,
in historyand historiography."It might be suitableto add, "withthe starting
point (year)of an era"to this definition:it is indispensableto specify years
theoreticallyin orderto reckonyears. This requirement,thoughtroublesome,
is satisfiedeven in datingby regnalyears, Olympicdating from 776 B.C., or
datingaccordingto magistraciesin ancientRome. If we namethese "absolute
chronology,"we haveto reserve"relativechronology"for the sexagesimalcycle,
whichwill be discussedin the next section."3
II. ERA NAMES AND THE SEXAGESIMAL CYCLE
Beforethe introductionof the era namessystem,Chinacountedyearsin terms
of dynastiesandreignsin ancienttimes, likemost ancientempiresandmedieval
(Springand Autumn Annals), the oldest
Europeancountries.14 Ch'un chMiU
extantChinesehistoriography,ascribedto Confucius(552/1-479 B.C.), covers
the historyof the duchyof Lu from 722 B.C. to 481 B.C., usingthe regnalyear
of the Dukes of Lu as its chronologicalframe.
The era names systemwas first introducedin 114 B.C. by Wu-ti (Emperor
Wu; 140-87 B.C.) of the Han dynasty (202 B.C.-9 A.D., 23-220 A.D.). It
originatesin the idea of conferringa significantnameto a certainseriesof years,
insteadof simplyreckoninga seriesof yearsby numberfrom a fixed point in
time. This form of reckoningis found in the schemesemployedby Wu-ti's
immediatepredecessors.Wen-ti (r. 180-157 B.C.), Wu-ti'sgrandfather,employed the regnalyear systemat first, but then renamedthe seventeenthyear
of his regnalyear "thelatterfirstyear"(hou-yuan-nien).Ching-ti(r. 157-144
B.C.), Wu-ti'sfather,dividedhisreigninto threeperiods:"thefirstyears"yuann
nien; 179-149B.C.), "themiddleyears"(chungyuan-nien;149-143B.C.), and
"thelatteryears"(hou yuan nien; 143-141 B.C.).
Wu-tioriginallynamedthe firstsix yearsof his reign"theinitialfirst"(chlu
yuan),thennamedthe succeedingeachsix years"thesecondfirst"(2yuan), "the
thirdfirst"(3 yuan), "the fourthfirst"(4 yuan) and "thefifth first"(5 yiian).'5
One of his officialsmemorializedhim, sayingthat:
12. In the EastAsiancontext,this distinctionplayedan importantrole, whichwill be discussed
below.
13. Theideaof chronologyby indiction(indictio)in earlyMedievalEuropeis also a noticeable
exceptionfromthe sexagesimalcycle,in whichyearsweregivenaccordingto theirplacein the cycle
of sixtyyears(the sexagesimalcycle)and fifteenyears (indictio),the numberof the sexagesimal
cycleand the indictioitself beingignored.
14. E. J. Bickerman,Chronologyof theAncientWorld,rev. ed. (London,1980),62-79;Denys
Hay, Annalists& Historians(London, 1977),63-86.
15. TheseexpressionsmayseemcomplicatedwhentranslatedintoEnglish,butarequitestraightforwardin Chinese.
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IDEASOFCHRONOLOGY
COMPARATIVE
279
Thefirstyear[of eachof thedividedsectionsof thereign]shouldnot simplybenumbered,
but shouldbe namedaccordingto a Heavenlygood omen:theinitialfirst[groupof years]
(Foundingthe First[era]).Thesecondfirst[groupof years]
shouldbe namedChien-yikan
should be named Yuan-kuang(The FirstLight), for a comet appeared.The thirdfirst
[groupof years]should be named Yaan-shou(The First Hunting),for a unicornwas
captured.16
Adopting this idea, Wu-ti introduced the era names system, and named that
very year (the third year from the fifth first year; 114 B.C.) yaan-ting 3 nien (the
third year of yuan-ting), and at the same time decreed era names retroactively
to his enthronement year. It is important to note here that the era names system
is thus a "metamorphosis" of the regnal year system.
Wu-ti was the emperor who created the first great, unified Chinese empire,
bringing parts of Manchuria, northern Korea, northern Vietnam, and central
Asia under his sway. Throughout the territory, he dispatched local administrators from the center and established Confucianism as the state ideology."7It is
not too much to say that the idea of chronology was devised to show the dignity
of the great emperor of the Han dynasty.
A new era name was proclaimed when a new emperor succeeded the throne,
to express his administrative ideal (for example, Yung-p'ing [Eternal Peace]),
and when a special occasion appeared during his reign (for example, Hsianghsing [Appearance of the Omen; as a result of the appearance of a yellow dragon
from the sea], or Shen-feng [Divine Phoenix]).18
The idea of chronology later rippled out in all directions toward the Chinese
peripheral countries; it was employed in Vietnam and Korea by the middle of
the sixth century, and in Japan by the middle of the seventh century at the latest.
The first documented use of an era name by a peripheral people was Yuan-hsi
(304-307) by Liu Yuan (r. 304-310) of Hsiung-nu (Hun) extraction, the founder
of the former Chao dynasty (304-329). 19Subsequent peripheral peoples created
their own era names when they founded their own independent states.
It should not go unnoticed that what these non-Chinese East Asian countries
introduced was not the particular Chinese era names themselves, but the very
idea of the era names system. It is important to distinguish clearly between the
16. Ssu-ma chi'en, Shih-chi [Records of the Grand Historian] (completed circa 91 B.C.), ed.
Takigawa Kametaro (Taipei, 1972), 207. The whole translation of Shih-chi into Western languages
is not published yet. See Edouard Chavannes, Les Meimoires historiques de Se-ma Ts'ien, 6 vols.
(Paris, 1895-1905); Burton Watson, Records of the Grand Historian of China, 2 vols. (New York,
1961).
17. For an English account of Wu-ti, see Michael Loewe, "The Former Han Dynasty," in
Cambridge History of China, ed. Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe (Cambridge, Eng., 1986),
I, 103-222.
18. For further particulars on Chinese era names themselves see Ichimura Sanjiro, "Nengo ni
arawaretarujidai shiso," [The thought of a period as revealed in Chinese era names], in his Shinashi
kenkyi- [Studies on Chinese History] (Tokyo, 1939), 405-419. It first appeared in Shigaku zasshi
39 (1928). For a review in English of Ichimura's work, see Arthur F. Wright and Edward Fagan,
"Era Names and Zeitgeist," Etudes asiatiques 5 (1951), 113-121.
19. Chuang Huang, Ou-ya chi-yuan hO-piao[Synchronized European and Asian Chronological
Tables] [1904] (Tokyo, 1968), 178.
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MASAYUKISATO
era namesand the era namessystemwhen we discussthe East Asian international environment.
When used in tandem with the era names system, the Chinese sexagesimal
cyclical system fulfilledits function as a method of reckoningyears in East
Asia. The sexagesimalcycle is expressedby the combinationof two Chinese
characters:the firstcharacterin the pairis from a seriesof ten characterscalled
kan ("stems"or "trunks":chia, i, ping, ting, wu, chi, keng, hsin,jen, kuei.)The
secondcharacteris a zodiacalsign from a seriesof twelvecharacterscalledchih
("branches":
tzu, ch'ou,yin, mao, ch'en,ssu, wu, wei, shen, yu, hsii, hai). The
cycle starts from chia-tzu, then i-ch'ou, so as to finish a cycle with kuei-hai,
after whichthe cycle startsagain.20
The ten kan originatedin ancientChinaas well, wherethey were firstused
as namesof the days of the ten-day"week"of the Shangdynasty(c. 1520-1030
B.C.).21 The applicationof the ten kan to countingyearsstartedafterthe Hsin
interregnum(9-23 A.D.), duringthe LaterHan dynasty,and had diffusedall
over the East Asian regionsby the middleof the seventhcenturyat the latest.
The cyclicalsystemwas used widelyamongthe East Asians, and it still is.22
Yet it falls shortof designatingspecificyearsbecauseof its natureas a relative
chronology,the numberof the cycle being ignored. It was thus used, in most
cases, in tandemwith the era names system, so as to ensurean accuratechronology (for example:Chelng-te2 nien jen-hsu [The second year of Chelng-te
(RighteousVirtue),jen-hsuof the sexagesimalcycle]to show 1507A.D.) Certain
felicitousera nameswereused repeatedlyin the East Asian countries:Ta-Pao
(GreatTreasure)was used six times in China, Vietnam, and Japan.23
III. THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONOLOGY IN EAST ASIA
A surveyof the historicaldevelopmentof chronologyin East Asian countries
is necessarybefore proceedingto discussthe reasonswhy such a uniquechronology was employedin East Asia.
The focus willbe on the era namessystem,becausethe sexagesimalcyclewas
the chronologicalsystemwidelysharedamongEast Asian countries.We must
also note brieflythat East Asians did proposevariouskindsof continuous-era
20. For details of the cycle in English, see Needham, 396-398.
21. Yabuuchi Kiyoshi, Rekishi wa itsu hajimattaka [When Did History Start?] (Tokyo, 1980),
88-93.
'22. The animals were associated with the twelve branches since at least the first century. (See
Wang Ch'ung, Lung-hMng[Critical Essays], 82-83 A.D.); tzu (rat), ch'ou (ox), yin (tiger), mao
(hare), ch'en (dragon), ssu (snake), wu (horse), wei (sheep), shen (monkey), yu (cock), hsu (dog),
hai (boar). These animals are used to refer to particular years, quite popular, in Japan at least, even
today. These were also used for indicating directions and hours until the mid-nineteenth century
in Japan.
23. For a list of East Asian era names, see Yamane Yukio, "Oa nengd sakuin," [Index of
European and Asian Era Names]; an appendix to the Tokyo reprint of Chuang Huang, 1-20.
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COMPARATIVE IDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
281
systems,includingthe Buddhistera. Yetideasof a singlecontinuous-erasystem
nevertook firmroot in EastAsia. Theseideasaregivenbelow, andtheirsignificance examinedin the following section.24
China
It willbe bestto startwiththe developmentof the eranamessystemafterWu-ti.
Era nameswerechangedless frequentlyas time passed,25thoughWu-tihimself
usedelevendifferentera namesduringhis fifty-four-yearreign.This increasing
durabilityof era namesresultedfrom the fact that the era name at the time of
a monarch'senthronementcameto be esteemedas a manifestationof the new
emperor'srulingideal. Consequently,rulerswere less likely to change an era
name simply for superstitiousreasons like the appearanceof good or bad
omens.26Chu Yuan-chang(1328-1398), the founding emperorof the Ming
dynasty(1368-1644), kepttheeranameHung-wu(GreatMilitaryAchievement)
throughhis entirethirty-oneyear reign, which initiatedthe practiceof using
one era name for an entirereign(the so-called"reignname"27).
This remained
the practiceuntil the abolitionof the era names systemin the earlytwentieth
century.It is of greatimportanceherethat the reignnamesystemis not a direct
transformationof the regnalyear system, but is ratheran outgrowthof the
era-namesystemin which an era becameco-terminouswith a reign. Chinese
emperorswere called by their reign names thereafter:Chu Yuan-changwas
widelyknownposthumouslyas Hung-wu-ti(theHung-wuEmperor,thatis, the
Emperorof the Hung-wuera). We could say that the reignname systemis the
ultimateform of the era names system.
Aside from the era names system, the Era of Confucius, a single era-count
beginningwith his birth in 551 B.C., was advocatedby K'angYu-wei (18581927)at the end of the Ch'ingdynasty(1644-1911),thoughit was neverwidely
used.28The era namessystemwas abolishedin 1911when the Ch'ingdynasty
was overthrownin the ChineseRevolution.29
As a substitutefor the era names
24. The author has no information available on Vietnamese chronological ideas of a continuous-era system.
25. Of course there are exceptions to the frequency: the era name was changed five times in 189
A.D., for the three emperors enthroned at successive intervals during the year. Tse-t'ien wu-hou
(the only female emperor in Chinese history) changed era names fourteen times during her fifteenyear reign (r. 690-705). See Chuang Huang, 158, 277, and 280.
26. Wada Hisanori, Sekaishi to jidai-ishiki [World History and Period-consciousness] (Tokyo,
1985), 20.
27. "Reign name," an English rephrasing of "one reign one era system" (J. Issei ichigen sei) for
avoiding the relatively confusing four-word phrase, must properly be understood as "a particular
sort of era name that is coterminous with the reign of an emperor." I am indebted to Prof. Ronald
P. Toby for this rephrasing. Also see, Herschel Webb, Research in Japanese Sources: A Guide
(New York, 1965), 20-22.
28. K'ang advocated a radical reform, though failed in the end, in which he located Confucius
as the uncrowned emperor who proposed the reformed institution for the upcoming new dynasty.
29. Attention should be given to the fact that the name of this revolution (Hsin-hai) is from the
sexagesimal cycle. This sort of naming of historical occurrences was not exceptional in East Asian
history.
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MASAYUKISATO
system,someproposedan Eraof Huang-ti(EmperorHuang),a singleera-count
beginningwith the enthronementof the mythicalfoundingemperorof China
in 2698 B.C., but this idea was not accepted.30Revolutionariesformed the
Republicof China (Chung-huamin-kuo), and decidedto introducethe very
nameof the countryas their new era name, declaring1911as the firstyear of
the Republicof China(Chung-huamin-kuo1 nien). The new systemstill shares
the idea of the era names system, though the source of the name itself was
differentin naturefrom that of the precedingera names. In 1949,the People's
Republicof Chinawas established,and introducedthe Christianera, together
with the Gregoriancalendar,as Kung-yuan(the public era; the international
era), though the Republicof China era is still in use in Taiwan.
Korea
The firstuse of an era nameby a Koreanpeopleis said to date backto the Silla
kingdom(c. 57 B.C.-935), whenP6p-huing,the twenty-thirdking (r. 514-539),
introducedthe eranameKbn-wbn(Foundingthe First[era])in the twenty-third
year of his reign(536).3'This was the time when Silla was winningmasteryof
the Koreanpeninsulaamongthe threekingdoms.In the followingcentury,six
It is interestingto note here that the changesof
era nameswereproclaimed.32
in
name
the
Silla
were
donenot at the enthronementof a newking,
era
kingdom
but in the middle of a reign. At the height of its prosperity(from the latter
seventhcenturyfor a centuryon) the Sillakingdomusedthe Chineseeranames
with the T'angdynastyinstead of proclaimingits own era names.33
The Kory6dynasty(918-1392)introducedits own era nameCh'6n-su(Heavenly Gift) at the year of its foundation in 918, but after acceptingimperial
appointmentfrom the Chinese Hou-t'angdynasty (923-935) in 933 as king,
Kory6used the Chineseera names from then on, except the two years interregnumof its own era nameKwang-t6k(GloriousVirtue)(950-951). Thejoint
use of the Chineseera names continuedduringthe ChineseSung (960-1279)
and Yuan (1260-1368)dynasties.
TheYi dynasty(1392-1910)was a trustedparticipantin the Sinocentricorder
of East Asia throughthe ChineseMing (1368-1644)and Ch'ing(1644-1911)
dynasties,and did not introduceits own era namefor five centuries.Onlyafter
Japan'ssuccessin the Sino-Japanesewar (1894-1895), did Koreansrepudiate
Chinesedependencyand proclaimthe GreatEmpireof Han when they intro-
30. It is natural for the Chinese to bring out the Huang-ti as a consequence of their successful
revolution to the dynasty run by a non-Chinese people. See Wada, 23.
31. Samguk sagi [History of the Three Kingdoms], [1145], 3rd rev. ed. (Keijo [now Seoul],
1941), 40.
32. Fujita Ryosaku, "Chosen no nengo to kinen" [Korean Era Names and Chronology], in his
Ch-osengakuronk-i [Studies on Korean Studies] (Nara, 1963), 238-334.
33. Samguk sagi reports that Silla's envoy to China was told by the T'ang emperor that it was
incomprehensible for Silla as a subject to introduce her own era names, and as a result of which
Silla started to share the Chinese era name instead of her own era name. See page 57.
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COMPARATIVE IDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
283
ducedtheirown eranamesin 1896as a symbolof independence.However,the
Koreanera names system ended when Koreawas annexedto Japan in 1910,
after Japan'svictoryin the Russo-Japanesewar (1904-1905).In all Koreadecreedonly twelve era namesof her own.34
Two ideas of a single era count systemwere proposedin Korea:the Sung
chbngera was proposedas a eulogy to EmperorWan-liof Ming China, who
sentreinforcementsto KoreawhenJapaninvadedin 1592and 1597.Afterbeing
conqueredby Ch'ing(Manchu)armiesin the earlyseventeenthcentury,Korea
was forcedto use Ch'ingera namesofficially,but many individualscontinued
The other
to use the Sung-chongera nameprivatelyfor morethan a century.35
in which
the
2333
year
B.C.,
systemis the Tangi(eraof Tangun),reckonedfrom
the legendaryfounderof Korea,Tangun,was saidto haveascendedthe throne.
In 1945,the era systemwas introducedby Koreaas a symbolof independence,
and endureduntil 1961.36
The Christianera systemis now used both in the Republicof Koreaand in
the DemocraticPeople's Republicof Korea.
Vietnam
Thefirstuseof eranamesbythe Vietnamesetracesbackto themid-sixthcentury:
Ly Bon (?-549), head of a powerful clan in Hanoi, founded the Van Xuan
kingdom,the firstVietnamesestate, by banishingthe Chinesegovernorin 541.
He enthronedhimself as Ly Nam De (EmperorLy Nam), and introducedhis
own era name Thienduc (HeavenlyVirtue)in 544. After Ly Nam De's death
in 549, the dynastyceasedemployingera names, and they wereoverthrownby
the ChineseSui dynasty(581-618) in 602.37
The Ngo dynasty(939-965) did not have its own era names, but the Dinh
dynasty(968-980)introducedthe era name Thaibinh (GrandTranquillity)in
970. It was regardedas a sign of independenceand as the veryfirstVietnamese
dynasty,with everythingearlierbeing regardedsimplyas the precedingage.38
34. KuboTsumeharuexplainstheKorean'stypicalattitudeto the eranameamongtheperipheral
countriesby notingthat Koreancountriesweretoo close to the centerof Chinesepowerto declare
independenteranames(exceptSillawhichdid not shareits boundarydirectlywith China);see his
Nihonshineng-5no kenkyu-[A Studyof JapaneseNon-OfficialEraNames](Tokyo, 1967),chapter
4: "Publicand Unjustified/PrivateEra Namesin the KoreanPeninsula,"46-48. It is also worth
thatKoreaemployedtheregnalyearsystemin suchauthoritativeKoreanhistoriographies
remarking
as Samguksagi[Historyof theThreeKingdoms,1145],Kory6sa[Historyof Kory6Dynasty,1451],
and Chos6n wangjosillok [AuthenticRecordsof the Yi Dynasty, 1392-1910].
35. Fujita, 327-331.
36. Ibid., 321-323.Ajia rekishijiten [Dictionaryof Asian History](Tokyo, 1959-1962),VI,
130.
37. It couldbe seenas a signof Vietnamesenationalismin the face of Chinesepowerthat they
kept their own leader, countryname, and era name, though only for a short time. See Wada,
36-42.
38. Dai VietSu Ky ToanThu[CompleteBook of the Recordsof Vietnam],ed. andcomp. Ngo
Si-Lien(1479).
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284
MASAYUKISATO
After the Dinh dynasty,the era names systemwas used continuouslyby sucIn the Nguyendynasty(1802-1945),Vietnam
ceedingVietnamesedynasties.39
institutedthe reign name system.40
Vietnamis a countrywhich consistentlyadheredto its own era names, but
it was repeatedlyruled by China, and was exposed often to Chinese ruling
intentions.41China sometimesused differentnames for Vietnamfrom those
Vietnamproclaimedfor itself, for Chinawould not admitVietnam'sindependence, and habituallyrejectedVietnam'sassertionsof equality.42
The Vietnameseknew how to use termsproperlyeven in era names;they
acceptedChineseeranamesand namesfor the Vietnamesestatein dealingwith
China, becausethey participatedin the Sinocentricorder, but they remained
faithful to their own era and national names domestically,and in dealings
with otherforeignstates. It representsthe complexVietnamesesituationin the
Chineseworld orderthat Vietnamhad to introduceChineseadvancedculture
andinstitutionsto enrichand strengthenitself, andin orderto keepits independence from repeatedChineseimperialdesigns.
Bythelatterhalf of thenineteenthcentury,Francehadbroadenedits influence
in Vietnam.The situationcreatedVietnam'sSino-FrenchWarof 1884-1885,a
militarycollision between China as suzerainstate, and Franceas a growing
power.The FrenchtriumphforcedChinato recognizethe Frenchprotectorate
overVietnam.The eranamessystem,though,continueduntilthe proclamation
of the Vietnameserepublicin 1945.The Christianera systemis now employed
in Vietnam.
Japan
The firstJapaneseeranamewas introducedin 645,43 as a resultof a coup d'etat
to eliminatethe influentialSoga familyandto placethe imperialhousein direct
control of Japan, and consequentpoliticalreforms.EmperorKotoku(r. 645654) succeededto the throneand assignedthe era name Taika(GreatReform),
to ensureadministrativereform.It is relevantto the followingdiscussionof the
39. The earlier L8 dynasty (980-1009), Ly dynasty (1009-1225), Tran dynasty (1225-1400), and
H6 dynasty (1400-1407). After a short interval of Chinese Ming dynasty rule (1407-1427), the later
L8 dynasty (1428-1789) restored the era names system. During the rise of the Tay Son dynasty
(1718-1802), two different era names coexisted in Vietnam, for the Tay Son also introduced its own
era names. There also coexisted two different era names in Vietnam during 1527-1677, when the
Mac clan, usurper of the later L8 dynasty, introduced its own era names system. See Wada, 39,
and Chuang Huang, 434-435.
40. Wada, 40-41.
41. Vietnam was ruled by China from 111 B.C.-543 A.D., 603-938 and 1407-1428, and was
exposed to Chinese ruling intentions in 980-981, 1076-1077, 1257, 1284-1285 and 1287-1288.
42. China termed the emperors of the Dinh dynasty district-kings of Cochin, and emperors of
the Ly dynasty kings of Annam (a Chinese name for Vietnam), even though Vietnam named herself
Dai Viet (literally, Great Viet) from c. 1054 on.
43. The era names system was already employed unofficially by the Japanese in 591. See Tokoro
Isao, Neng-o no rekishi [A History of Japanese Era Names] (Tokyo, 1988), 29-33.
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COMPARATIVE IDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
285
era names system that the era name chosen, Taika, was a Japaneseoriginal
without precedentin East Asian era names.
Japan is the only country in East Asia that still continuesthe era names
system.After two brief abeyances(654-686, 686-701), era nameshave been in
continuoususe. Duringthe periodof the Northernand Southerncourts(13321392), the only major dynasticschism in Japanesehistory, two lines of era
namescoexisted, for both courts claimedimperiallegitimacy.44
It is significantin the Japanesecontextthat the exclusiverightto changethe
eranameandproclaimthe calendarremainedin the emperor'shands,evenafter
secularpower passed into the hands of the militarycaste. Duringthe age of
militaryascendancy(1192-1868),the shoguns,thoughbeingat the helmof the
Stateandseenas the rulersof Japanby otherEastAsiancountriesas well, never
introducedtheirown eranamessystem.Shogunspaiddeeppublicregardto the
eranamewhichtheemperordesignated(thoughtheimperialcourtreallydecided
the era name at the suggestionof the shogun'sgovernment).45
TheJapaneseeranamewaschangedat frequentintervals,as in ancientChina,
until the middle of the nineteenthcentury. In 1868, as a result of the Meiji
Restoration,a formalreturnof politicalpowerfrom the Tokugawashogunate
to the emperor,andthe startingpointof Japan'scommitmentto modernization,
the emperorchosethe eranameMeiji (EnlightenedRule), and at the sametime
legislatedthe reign name system.46
As a result of the Restoration,a separatesystem of chronologywas also
introduced:the Kdki(the Imperialera), a single era-countbeginningwith the
enthronementof the mythicalfirstJapaneseemperor,Jinmu,in 660B.C. It was
used concurrentlywith the era namessystemuntil the end of WorldWar 1.J47
The era namessystemis still in use in Japanwith the Christianera systemas
the Seireki(the Westerncalendar).
It may be usefulto surveyhow an era namewas changed,takingthe case of
Japan.Thenamewas chosenexclusivelyfromChineseclassics.Mosteranames
consistof two Chinesecharacters.Suchcharactersas Ten(heaven),Ei (eternity),
Sei (correct),and so on, wereemployedrepeatedlyin the hope that all would
be rightwiththe world.Thelongestusederanamebeforethe reignnamesystem
was introducedwas Oei (thirty-threeyears, nine months); the shortest was
Ryakunin(two months).Of 179 era names, ten wereused for less than a year;
ten for one to threeyears;seventy-onefor threeto fiveyears;forty-fourfor five
to ten years;twenty-threeenduredfor ten to twenty years;eight lasted more
than twentyyears;and one was of uncertainlength. It could be said that the
44. See H. Paul Varley, Imperial Restoration in Medieval Japan (New York, 1971).
45. Japan's imperial institution is the oldest surviving hereditary monarchy in the world, without
any change of imperial dynasty, unlike the other East Asian dynasties, and the European dynasties.
The emperor has been regarded as the titular head of state, while every military governor (shogun),
at least in form, was entrusted by the emperor with the reins of government.
46. Imperial rescript of 8 September, in the first year of the Meiji era (1868).
47. Hirose Hideo, Koyomi [Calendar] (Tokyo, 1981), 106-107.
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MASAYUKISATO
286
lengthof time an era nameenduredwas in proportionto nationalstability.In
the stableTokugawaperiod(1603-1867),the averagedurationof an era name
was seven years, four months. Reasons for a change of era name included
imperialenthronements(seventy-eightera names);good omens (nineteenera
names);extraordinaryphenomenain the heavensor on earth, includingepidemic, earthquake,and flood damage(124 era names);Chinesetheoryof the
Shin-yu revolution (fifteen era names); and kiOshireformation(sixteen era
names).48
IV. THE THEORETICAL, POLITICAL, AND SOCIOCULTURAL
INTERPRETATIONS OF CHRONOLOGY
EastAsianchronologywastotallydominatedby eranamesandthe sexagesimal
cyclesystems.Theeranamessystemis premisedon theveryexistenceof Chinese
ideographiccharacters.The ideographsmadepossiblethe developmentof the
East Asian philosophyof chronologythat countingyears is an act not of assigningan ordinalnumberto a year, but of coating a year with a meaningful
name. It originatesin the Weltanschauung
inherentin the ideographsthat the
characterscannotbe freedfrom givinga meaningfulnameto the whole of this
world. The era namessystemis a consequence,and a sign of this worldview.49
It neveroccurredto non-EastAsiansto clothea yearwitha meaningfulname.50
The Christianera systemwas broughtto East Asia in the latter half of the
nineteenthcenturyas partof Westernculture,andreplacedthe eranamessystem
in the subsequentcentury.Japanis the only countrywhichstill employsthe era
namessystemofficially,thoughthe Christianera systemis widelyusedthereas
well. It could be said that era names and the sexagesimalcycle systemshave
alreadylost theirmonopolisticpositionin the chronologyof East Asia. In this
48. Kawaguchi Kenji & Ikeda Masahiro, Geng~ojiten[Dictionary of Era Names] (Tokyo, 1977).
Tokoro, 97-103, 108-115. The theory of Shin-yu revolution and Kiishi reformation comes from
the ancient Chinese prophecy [Ch'en-wei-shuo] that shin-yu (the 58th year of the sexagesimal cycle)
is the year when a revolution occurs. Koishi(the first year of the sexagesimal cycle) is the year when
a law changes. See Yabuuchi Kiyoshi, 129-131.
49. Japan was the first country in East Asia successfully to break away from the yoke of the
Chinese characters by inventing two kinds of phonetic symbols by the ninth century at the latest,
the fruit of which was demonstrated by her sagacious acceptance of Western culture and science
since the middle of the nineteenth century. See Sekai no naka no Nihonmoji [Japanese Letters in
the World], ed. Hashimoto Mantaro (Tokyo, 1980).
50. It should be remembered that an era name is a sort of code name for people who ordinarily
use Chinese characters, analogous to the names of the months or the days of the week for Western
people. The meanings of those names rarely come to their minds when they habitually use them.
A discussion among Western scholars on East Asia arose in the 1950s as to whether they should
translate era names into their own languages when they write papers on East Asia in Western
languages. It seems to me that translation is scarcely necessary except in a discussion of era names
themselves. See Edward H. Schafer, "Chinese Reign-Names-Words or Nonsense Syllables?"
Wennti, no. 3 (1952), 33-40, and also his "Non-translation and Functional Translation-Two
Sinological Maladies," Far Eastern Quarterly (1954), 251-260. Mary C. Wright, "What'sin a Reign
Name: The Uses of History and Philology," in Journal of Asian Studies 18 (1958), 103-106.
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COMPARATIVE IDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
287
section,I shouldliketo discussthe eraof the combinedsystemof eranamesand
the sexagesimalcycle from the theoretical,political, and socioculturalpoints
of view.
To demonstratethat the combinedsystemof era names and the sexagesimal
cyclecomparesquitewellwiththe systemof a singleera-count,it maybe enough
to introducethe East Asian attitudetowardthe Buddhisttheory of the latter
days of the Law (Mapp-6)whichhad a fundamentalinfluencein medievalEast
Asia."1
Mapp6is a Buddhisteschatologicalidea that the historyof the world, since
the Buddha'sdeath, is dividedinto three periods:the period of the true law
(Shobd)for fivehundredyears(a thousandyearsaccordingto anothertheory);
the periodof the imitativelaw (Zdbo6)for a thousandyears;and the periodof
the latterdaysof the law (Mappo)for ten thousandyears.Throughoutthe three
periodsBuddha'steachingsgraduallydecline;in the thirdperiod,peopledo not
live by Buddha'slaw, and the world is in a state of desolation.52
Thistheoryemergedin northwesternIndiaaroundthe sixthcentury,andwas
soon broughtto East Asia. It was a matterof primaryconcernfor medieval
East Asians to know when the periodof the latterdays of the law began, just
as MedievalEuropeansworriedaboutdoomsday.53It requireda calculationof
a continuoussequenceof years. The last stage of degenerationwas calculated
on the premisethat the Buddhahad died in the fifty-thirdyear of the reignof
KingMu of Chou (949 B.C.)54In China, the Mappo age was thoughtto have
begun in the third year of the T'ien-Pao era (552) accordingto the theory of
five-hundredyearsof the TrueLaw;in Japan,to havebegunin the seventhyear
of the Eisho era (1052)accordingto the theory that the era of the True Law
lasted one thousandyears."
In spiteof that, the ideaof a singleera-countas embodiedin the Buddhistera
systemdid not survivein East Asia. Eventhose who embracedthis pessimism,
includingBuddhistmonks, continuedto use the combinedsystemof eranames
andthe sexagesimalcycle.It is remarkablethat no historiographicaldescription
has yet come to light that employsthe Buddhistera system,even in the official
51. Kuno Akira, Rekishitetsugaku josetsu [Discourse on the Philosophy of History] (Tokyo,
1966), 99-114.
52. Tamura Encho, Asuka Bukkyoshi kenkyu [Studies on Buddhism in the Asuka period]
(Tokyo, 1969), 168-173.
53. Peter Burke, "Tradition and Experience: The Idea of Decline from Bruni to Gibbon,"
Daedalus 105 (1976), 137-152. In the case of Japan, toward the latter half of the eleventh century,
the society went through radical change and social unrest, which added support to the belief in the
immanent coming of the last law. It was against this background that Buddhist masters emerged
in the eleventh to the twelfth century to encourage people to depend on the saving grace of Buddha.
54. On the date of Buddha's death, see Kubo Tsuneharu, "Kinsekibun ni arawareta butsumetsu
nendai" [Years of Buddha's death found in Stone Monuments], Rissh-6Daigaku ronso- 9 (1943),
48-56.
55. Koen, Fuso- ryakki [Brief History of Japan] (c. 1094-1107) in Shintei Zoho Kokushi taikei
(Tokyo, 1965), XII, 292.
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288
MASAYUKI SATO
Buddhistcanonof texts in EastAsia.56Manyvolumesof annalsand chronicles
of JapaneseBuddhisttempleshave been writtenover the centuries,yet none
uses the Buddhistera system.
Thisdoes not meanthat the Buddhisterawas neverused in EastAsia. There
existsomeexamplesin Koreaand Japan,in additionto the systemof eranames
andthe sexagesimalcycle, of chronologicaldenotationwith the Buddhistera.57
A thought-provokingJapaneseexampleis found in Sangokuunsufugozu (A
SynchronizedChronologicalList of India, China and Japan) by Urabe Kanetomo(1435-151l).58It is a tableof the sexagesimalcycle, Chineseeranames,
the Buddhistera, and Japaneseera namesarrangedin parallel.However,the
fact that Urabe'schronologywas neverpublished,existingonly in manuscript,
The
suggestshow little needtherewas for a continuouscount of chronology.59
of
names
era
combined
system
abovediscussionpermitsthe conjecturethat the
fulfilledthe chronologicalfunction
andthesexagesimalcycle,interdependently,
more than we can imaginenow.60
The cyclicalchronologyof the sexagesimalsystemwas able to survivein use
to the presentday, we mightsuggest,becauseit is capable,whenusedin tandem
with the era name system, of providingadequatechronologicalprecision.
Let me startthe discussionby describingthe impulsebehindthe inventionof
the Christianera systemin the sixth century.6'It is a matterof importancefor
56. It is called the Daizokyo- [The Buddhist Canon of Texts as Translated into Chinese with
Additional Works on Buddhism Written in Chinese] in Japanese. For the best and the latest edition
of this canon of texts in the East Asian tradition, see Taishoishinshu daiztoky-o[The Buddhist Canon
of Texts: A Newly-Revised Edition of the Taisho Era], ed. Takakusu Junjiro and Watanabe
Kaikyoku, 100 volumes, (Tokyo, 1924-1934).
57. On examples of the Buddhist era in Korea, see Fujita Ryosaku, 325-327. In Japan, for
example, Teki hennenki [The Annals of (Japanese) Emperors] (written in the early fourteenth
century) employs the regnal year system, and the very years of the enthronements were supplemented
with the Buddhist era system, though the era names system is employed in most of the chronological
descriptions. See Shinteizouhokokushi taikei (Tokyo, 1965), XII. It is reported that there are found
at least ten examples of the combined system of era names and the sexagesimal cycle followed by
the Buddhist era in medieval Japanese stone monuments. See Kubo, 48-56.
58. The author's preface to one of the manuscripts kept in the Japanese National Archives says
that this is the first work to synchronize the three independent chronological denotations (with the
sexagesimal cycle system). See the National Archives Japanese Book Number 23134.
59. It is not due to the underdevelopment of printing: printing was known in Japan by the late
eighth century. The oldest datable printed documents in the world are Japanese. See David Chibbett,
The History of Japanese Printing and Book Illustration (1977).
60. Aoki Kon'yd (1698-1769), an early modern Japanese intellectual, was the first Japanese to
notice the Christian era system through contact with the Dutch, the only Europeans who were
permitted access to Japan between 1639-1854. He was amazed that the Dutch lacked an era names
system. See Aoki, Kon'y5 manroku [Kon'yo's Collected Works] (1763), in Nihon zuihitsu shusei
[Library of Japanese Essays], 1st ser., 20 (1977), 52. On the Christian era in early modern Japan,
see note 75.
61. It is important to note that the first year of a single era count is not the same as the year
when it was first used. The Christian era system was started in the sixth century, though the era
was not widely used until the eleventh century. In the papal chancery, it did not replace the indictio
until the time of John XIII (965-972). See The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1965), V, 728.
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COMPARATIVE IDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
289
the churchto reckonthe date of Easter,the principalfestivalof the Christian
year. Easteris a movablefestival, fallingon the firstSundayafter a full moon
on or afterthe vernalequinoxby the Alexandrianreckoningsincethe Council
of Nicaeain 325. Yearswerecounted,apartfromthe calendricalsystem,by the
Alexandrianeraof Diocletian,often as aeramartyrum.Cyrilof Alexandria(d.
444) calculatedEastertables, though he still employedthe Diocletianera. In
525, whenDionysiusExiguuscontinuedCyril'sEastertables, he discardedthe
Diocletianera, and chose the date of the Incarnation,on the groundsthat
"Wehave been unwillingto connect our cycle with the name of an impious
persecutor,but have chosen ratherto note the years from the incarnationof
our Lord JesusChrist."62
It was importantfor Christiansto have a systemof
chronologyotherthan the era of Diocletian. It is naturalthat they chose the
Christianera system,becausethe Incarnationwas such a momentouseventfor
them. If the emperorhad been tolerantof Christianity,it may be conjectured
thatthe incorporationof the systemof reckoningyearswiththe calendarsystem
would not have taken place.
In ancientChina,monthswerecountedby ordinalnumbers,and daysby the
sexagesimalcycle.63It was thereforequite withinthe bounds of possibilityfor
ancientChineseto have inventeda single era count system, analogousto the
days when the Christianera was introduced.It would have been quite simple
for China to have developedthe sexagesimalcycle system into an absolute
chronologicalsystem,simplyby givingordinalnumbersto the cycle,in the same
way as the Olympicdating system.
Chinain fact did developthe idea of an absolutechronologybased on the
sexagesimalcycle system:San-yuanchia-tzu(a theory of the three units of a
sexagesimalcycle).This was an idea of chronologywhichpostulateda sexagesimal cycle (sixtyyears)as one unit, and the threeunits (180 years), consisting
of the first,the second, andthe last, repeatthemselveswiththe ordinalnumber
given to the unit.64The very firstof the units was assumedto start from 2637
B.C., the sixty-firstregnalyear of the legendaryChineseemperorHuang-ti.
Accordingto this chronology,1984is reckonedas the firstyear(chia-tzu)of the
seventy-eighthunit of the sexagesimalcycle, or the twenty-sixthof the last
sexagesimalunit.65It was basedon a combinationof ancientChineseastrological theorywiththe sexagesimalcycle. The earlierreferencesto chronologyare
found in historiographiessince sixth-centuryChina, on tombstonessince the
earlyeleventhcenturyin Korea,andin Japanesehistoriographiessincethe early
62. Jack Finegan, Handbook of Biblical Chronology (Princeton, 1964), 132. R. L. Poole,
Chronicles and Annals (Oxford, 1926), 20-25.
63. The twelve branches of the sexagesimal cycle originally denoted the months of the year in
the kingdom of Yin (c. 1520-1030 B.C.), though months were named by ordinal numbers after the
kingdom. See Watanabe Toshio, Koyomi no subete [All about Calendars] (Tokyo, 1980), 150.
64. See Suzuki Keishin, Koyomi to meishin [Calendars and Superstition] (Tokyo, 1969),
120-127.
65. Chuang Huang, 23-24.
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MASAYUKI SATO
290
tenthcentury.66
Thissystemis nothinglessthanan absolutechronologycapable
of specifyingyearstheoreticallyand practically.But it has neveroccupiedthe
mainstream,nor even been an oft-used auxiliary,in East Asian chronology.
Two reasonsmay be proposedto explainwhy the Chinesedid not introduce
a single era count system, despitethe strong potentialthat existed. The first
reasonis that the combinedsystemof era names and the sexagesimalsystem
was sufficientlyendowedwithchronologicalfaculties.The secondreasonis that
the era names systemfulfilledan importantpolitical function.
We are now at the stage of discussinghow the combinedsystemof era names
andthe sexagesimalcyclefunctionedpoliticallyandinternationallyin EastAsia.
It is easyto imaginenow thatthe eranamessystemtook on a politicalcharacter
in itself: to changean era name was a symbolicact showingthe dignityof the
Chineseemperor,a dignityincreasedlaterby the introductionof the reignname
system. The Chineseidea that an era name was a sign of independenceand a
symbolof sovereigntyextendedto peripheralcountries,whichintroducedthe
idea in full measure.It was a symbol of an independentstate to have an era
name as well as a name for the country,both of which, it was thought, would
last as long as the countrysurvived.67
Whenpluralcountriescoexistedin China,
each proclaimedits era name. In 401, duringthe period of the so-called Six
Dynasties,whenChinawas at its most fragmented,therewereten differentera
namessimultaneouslywithinChina.68The idea that the era name reflectedthe
sovereigntyof the state that proclaimedit extendedto otherEast Asian countries. It becamenormalpracticein internationalrelationsthat a countryunder
the suzeraintyof another country should use the era name of the suzerain
country.This showsthat an eranamewas a mirrorreflectingthe realitiesthemselves, going beyond the sphereof symbol.
Thispervasivenessof eranamesis confirmedby the factthatotherEastAsian
countriesintroduced,not the Chineseeranamesthemselves,butthe verysystem
of reckoningyears.Thishas deepsignificancefor a discussionof the EastAsian
internationalenvironment:in EastAsia whereChinahad overwhelmingpower
and culturalsupremacy,it was a form of symbolicactiontowardits neighbors
for a countryto choose to introduceits own era name, or to use the era name
of the othercountry.In Korea,Vietnam,and Japan,the era nameplayedtwo
roles:displayingthe dignityof the monarchdomestically,whiledemonstrating
independencefrom Chinainternationally.In Koreaand Vietnam,whichwere
alwayssusceptibleto coercionfrom China, the attitudestowardthe era name
were in striking contrast: Korea had little regard for the era name, while
66. On China and Japan, see Kita Seiro, BaienNikki [Baien Miscellanies] (Edo, 1845), in Nihon
zuihitsush-Usei[Library of Japanese Essays], 3rd ser., 12 (1977), 147-149. On Korea, see Fujita,
314-317.
67. Wada, 40-41.
68. Chuang Huang, 198-203.
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COMPARATIVE IDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
291
Vietnam,on the other hand, attachedgreat importanceto the era name, in
additionto the nameof the country.To the bestof myjudgment,both attitudes,
thoughofferinga greatcontrast,can be seen as characteristicmanifestationsof
independencefrom China.69
It is importantto rememberthat the sexagesimalcycle system, though of
Chineseorigin,was receivedin East Asia as a politicallyneutralsystem,in the
sameway the Christianera systemin Europewas adoptedby this aggregateof
Christiancountries.It was a masterlydevicewell-adaptedto the realityof the
East Asian internationalenvironmentto use both the highly ideological era
name systemand the politicallyneutralsexagesimalcycle system. Diplomatic
correspondenceoften employedthe sexagesimalcyclealoneto denotethe date,
especiallywheninternationalrelationswerein flux. In the seventeenthcentury
whenJapanstartedto use its own eranamesin diplomaticdocuments,in rivalry
with MingChina,EastAsian diplomatsdebatedfuriouslybetweenthe Chinese
andthe Japaneseera namesand unadornedsexagesimalsigns.70The era names
systemplayedan importantpoliticalas well as chronologicalrole in the East
Asian internationalenvironment.
It is worthmentioningthat the calendarwas also used as a politicalweapon
in East Asian internationalrelations.71 The calendarwas often reformedin
China, unlikeEurope. First, ideology requiredthat a newly founded dynasty
revisethe calendar:a dynasticchange represented,accordingto the Chinese
the Mandateof Heaven,andthe calendarwas meantto indiWeltanschauung,
catethis. Second,sinceunexpectedsolareclipseswerebelievedto be evil omens,
it wasimportantto havethe astronomicalcapacityto forecasteclipses.Revision
of the calendarwas one of the firstdutiesof a new dynasty.By proclaiminga
new calendar,the new dynastyintendedto lead the thoughtof the peopleto an
entirelydifferentchannel,andconsequentlyto exertits authorityoverthe world.
The calendarwas reformedeight times in the T'ang dynasty (618-906), and
nineteentimesin the Sungdynasty(960-1279).72
It wasthoughtthatthe Chinese
Son
of Heaven, was the sole mediatorbetweenHeaven and
emperor,as the
Earth,andwasresponsiblefor renderingthe newmessageof Heaven.TheYuan
dynasty(1260-1368),however,restoredthe practiceof retainingone calendar
per dynasty.It provokesinterestto note that China has revisedthe calendar
fiftytimessince 104B.C., whenwe recallthat in Europe,sincethe introduction
69. The sequence of East Asian nations adopted in this paper -Korea, Vietnam, and Japan depends solely on their geographical distances from China. Ironically, it is the reverse of the mental
distance from era names: Japan, the only one of these countries separated by an ocean from China,
formed a permanent attachment to era names.
70. Ronald P. Toby, "Contesting the Centre: International Sources of Japanese National Identity," The International History Review 7 (1985), 347-363. Also see his State and Diplomacy in
Early Modern Japan: Asia in the Development of the Tokugawa Bakufu (Princeton, 1984),
90-97.
71. On Chinese calendrical astronomy, see Joseph Needham, 390-408.
72. Yabuuchi, 61-71.
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MASAYUKI SATO
of the Julian calendar in 47 B.C., there has been only one calendar reform, the
Gregorian calendar reform of 1582.73
The political role of the calendar is revealed when we refer to the Chinese
world order in East Asia. The crucial relationship in the "Chinese world order"
was that in which vassal states "receivedinvestiture" from, or "paid tribute"to,
China. This exchange of investiture for tribute was the mechanism by which
non-Chinese monarchs were brought into this "world order." In this context,
the significance of sovereignty over the calendar will be clear when we recognize
that this ritual exchange was also known as "receiving the calendar."74It could
be said that the calendar also played a symbolic role in hierarchical East Asian
international relations.
We can now examine what the absence of a single era count system in East Asia
implies, which we will review through the changing attitudes of East Asians
toward chronological systems in the late nineteenth century when the political
and cultural screens of East Asia were removed by Europeans. It was not until
then that East Asians recognized that their combined system of chronology had
only a regional universality, conditioned on East Asia as the world of literary
Chinese.
The Christian era system came to East Asia in earnest in the latter half of the
nineteenth century, and was introduced officially or, in some countries, only
practically by the middle of the twentieth century.75This resulted mostly from
the alteration of the political system of the East Asian countries76:the communization of China, North Korea, and North Vietnam; and the democratization of
South Korea and South Vietnam. The era names system disappeared in company
with the breaking-up of monarchy.
It is necessary to refer to Japan and the Republic of China. After the Meiji
Restoration of 1868, Japanese political power returned from the Tokugawa
shogunate to the Emperor, and the reign name system started. It could be said
that Japan returned to the emperor system, the reverse of other East Asian
73. C. R. Cheney, Handbook of Dates (London, 1978), 1-11.
74. Toby, State and Diplomacy, 90-92.
75. The Christian era system was first brought to East Asia in the middle of the sixteenth century
by Jesuit missionaries, though the system was not circulated even among East Asian Christians.
Hubert Cieslik reports the only known exception, a Christian tombstone in Kyoto: "Goshusseirai
1608 nen boshin 7 gatsu 8 nichi . . ." (the eighth of July in boshin [Japanese version of the 45th
of the sexagesimal cycle; wu-shen]; in the 1608th year from the Incarnation). See his "Genna 3 nen
ni okeru Oshu no Kirisitan" [The Japanese Catholics in the Northern Part of Japan at the 3rd year
of Genna era], in Kirisitan kenkyui 6 (1961), 83-120.
76. It is also true that in much of East Asia Chinese characters have fallen into disuse. Vietnam
uses Roman characters as the sole national script. North Korea uses the native Han'gul alphabet
exclusively, but South Korea has resumed teaching Chinese characters since 1987, to continue the
mixed writing of characters and Han'gul. Japan still retains a mixed writing system of Chinese
characters with the Japanese syllabary. China has introduced simplified Chinese characters. Still,
as explained below, we should not attribute the abolishment of the era names system (except in
Japan) to the disuse of Chinese characters.
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COMPARATIVE IDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
293
countries, strengthening the rationale for era names in Japan. In 1979, after
heated controversies,77the Japanese national Diet legislated the continuation of
the era names system, though the Emperor had been reduced to a symbol of the
State and of the unity of the people after World War 11.78 In Taiwan, the
Government represents itself as the successor to the Republic of China founded
in 1911, and still uses the Republic of China era system.
The introduction of the Christian era system in East Asia was grounded in
the realistic judgment that the Christian era was employed in most of the world.
A good example is found in the declaration of the People's Republic of China,
in 1949, to introduce the Christian era system officially. It did so not as the
"Christian era system" but as Kung-yuan (the public era; the international era),
because it was the chronological system used in most countries of the world.79
The same attitude toward the Christian era system is found even in Japan,
where the seireki (the Western calendar) is widely used in order to synchronize
with other countries (even though Japan is the only country that still officially
uses the era names system). Even those Japanese who take a positive attitude
toward the continuation of the era names system admit the necessity of the
Western era. Perhaps it can be said that the Japanese use the two chronological
systems each in its proper way.80
It is worth asking why the Christian era system was introduced by non-Christian civilization. The reason was, it seems to me, the invention of "B.C.," by
which concept the Christian era system transformed itself into a chronological
system capable of locating every historical event on a single time line.
It is often pointed out that the Venerable Bede was one of the very early
historians to use A.D. (Anno ab incarnation Domini: Year of the incarnation of
the Lord) as the main chronology, in his Historia ecclesiasticalgentis Anglorum
(731). But it has long escaped historians' notice that he also employed the
expression "anno igitur ante incarnationem Dominicam" (before the incarnation
of the Lord) two times in the work.8"
Thereafter, the expression was found in the work of a monk in Koln in 1474,
who employed "Ante Nativitatem Christi" with "Anno Mundi" as a practical
77. Tokoro, 218-247.
78. The Constitution of Japan (1947), chapter 1, article 1 in Ch-akaiNihonkoku kenpv [Commentaries on the Constitution of Japan], ed. Hirano Ry-u'ichi(Tokyo, 1953), I, 61.
79. Chung-yang jen-min cheng-chih fa-ling huei-pien: 1949-1950 [The Collection of Laws and
Regulations of the Central Government of the People: 1949-1950], ed. The Legislative Committee
of the Central Government of the People (Peking, 1952), 15. The same attitude toward the introduction of the Christian era is found in Vietnam. See Sekai no kyo-kasho: Betonamu I [The World's
Textbook on History: Vietnam I], ed. Yoshizawa Minami and Furuta Moto'o (Tokyo, 1985), 16.
80. The situation is best understood by analogy to the use of the metric system and the footpound-second system among English-speaking peoples. The persistence of the traditional measurement system derives from the fact that the system is suitable to daily necessity, and has become an
integral part of people's everyday lives.
81. The Venerable Bede, Historia ecclesiatica gentis Analorum, in the Loeb Classical Library
(1954), I, 22; II, 374.
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294
time reckoningmethod.82The expressionwas used afterthe late sixteenthcentury in the periodof the so-calleddisputeover Christianchronology.83It was
derivedboth fromthe disputesamongscholarsconcerningdatesfromthe Creation of the worldto the birthof Christ,and the difficultyof reconcilingnonChristianancienthistories(includingChina)and the Bible. It is plausiblethat
the idea of B.C. was put forwardby Dionysius Petavius as "ante Christum
natum"from the practicalpoint of view duringthe agitation for traditional
Christianchronology.84
The expressionwas thereafterused in Bossuet'sDiscours de l'histoireuniverselle(1681).InthisworkBossuetdescribes,for example,the Yearof Creation
as "An du m. I.- Av. J.-C. 4004,"and the year of the foundationof Rome as
Sincethe seventeenthcentury,the idea of B.C.
"753ans devantJesus-Christ."85
has been used widely in Europe.86
It shouldbe rememberedthat B.C. was used not singly but as an auxiliary
of the Christianideaof history
chronologyto AnnoMundi.The"secularization"
was necessaryfor the exclusiveuse of B.C., which startedin the eighteenth
century.The shift from the Biblicalchronologyto the secularchronologywas
first found in Voltaire's Essai sur les moeurs et l'esprit des nations....
(1756),
It waslaterdevelopedinto
whereB.C. firstacquiredcitizenshipin chronology.87
a systemof denominatingyearsseriallybackwardsfromthe birthof Christ,to
cope withthe extensionbackwardof "theCreationof the World"as a resultof
the developmentof archaeologyand geologyin the scientificrevolutionof early
modernEurope.88It is undeniablethat this veryidea of chronologyis precisely
butit is also undeniablethatthe invention
the Christianideaof timereckoning,89
of B.C. relativizedChristianchronology. It made the Christianera system
to a universalchronology.It was
shift from a chronology-within-Christianity
accidentalin the earlierstages, in the sensethat B.C. was used only to describe
the years betweenthe Creationof the World and the birth of Christ. It was
beyond their imaginationto think of a period "beforethe Creation of the
World."90
Auffassung(Gottingen,
82. AdalbertKlempt,Die Sikularisierungder universalhistorischen
1960), 86-87.
83. Paul Hazard, La Crise de la conscience europeenne 1680-1715 (Paris, 1968), I, 52f.
84. F. Rifhl, "Die Rechnung nach Jahren vor Christus," Rhein Museum far Philologie, Bd. 61
(1906), 628-629.
85. Jacques-B6nigne Bossuet, Discours sur l'histoire universelle 11681] (Paris, 1966), 47, 63.
86. Hay, 27.
87. Maekawa Teijiro, Rekishi o kangaeru [Thinking History] (Kyoto, 1988), 21-25.
88. It is worth introducing Joseph Needham's idea of chronological expression avoiding the
writing of dates as "B.C." and "A.D." by the use of " - " and " + " respectively, because, "such a
convention seems also more suitable for civilizations which were never part of Christendom." See
his Science and Civilization in China (Cambridge, 1954), I, 23. Shih Hsiang-tsai and Hsia Yfin-ch'i
seem to borrow the "B.C." notion when they introduce a system of reckoning years backwards
from the first year of the Republic of China era in their Chi-nien t'ung-p'u [Chronological Table]
(Shanghai, 1933).
89. Oscar Cullmann, Christus und die Zeit, 2nd ed. (Zurich, 1948).
90. Anthony T. Grafton, "Joseph Scaliger and Historical Chronology," History and Theory 14
(1975), 156-185. Even a chronological table published in the early nineteenth century starts from
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COMPARATIVE IDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
295
Ironicallyenough, the inventionmade it easierfor the Christianera system
to cope with the scientificrevolutionand spreaditself beyond the Christian
world.91
V. EAST ASIAN CHRONOLOGY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY
It goes withoutsayingthat historywas understoodas a streamof time in East
Asia,92althoughit was expressednot as consecutivenumbers,but as a stackof
era names. It is undeniable,however,that the systemof era namesproduced
powerfuleffectson East Asian historicalconsciousnessand historiography,in
which contextsthe idea of chronologyis now to be discussed.
The combinedsystemof eranamesandthe sexagesimalcycleleadsfirstto the
subject of time consciousnessin historiography.It is a matter of common
knowledgethat thereexisttwo kindsof time consciousness,"continuoustime"
time."93It mightbe proposedthat the lack of a single
and "compartmentalized
era-countsystem hinderedEast Asians from developingtheir historicalconsciousness.I should like to respondin the following manner.It is naturalto
time"ratherthan"continuoustime"whenwe look
employ"compartmentalized
is often referredto in our daily life as "beforeor
Our
into
the
past
past.
back
after a memorableevent,"as "ourschool days,"or as "a time when we lived
time"to
somewhere,"in the same way historiansinvent "compartmentalized
the biblicalcreationof the worldin 4004 B.C. See Chronologyof PublicEventsand Remarkable
OccurrenceswithintheLastFifty Years(London,1821).JamesBell'sA Viewof UniversalHistory
... (London, 1842)was a very earlyexampleof a chronologyliberatedfrom the traditionalidea
of "theCreationof the World."
91. In chronology,thetwo-wayscalesystemis thoughtto be aheadof theone-wayscalemethod,
in contrastto physics,wherethe absolutetemperaturesystemis thoughtto be moreadvancedthan
such relativetemperaturesystemsas the Celsiusand Fahrenheitscales.
or boxedtime,
92. The followingdiscussionfocuseson EastAsianideasof compartmentalized
thoughthis does not meanthat therewas no idea of lineartime in East Asia. Thereis no roomin
this paperto removethe false impressionof "TimelessAsia"long prevalentin the West. On the
idea of lineartime in China,see JosephNeedham'seruditeessay;"Timeand Knowledgein China
and the West,"in The Voicesof Time, ed. J. Frazer(Amherst,Mass., 1966),92-135: "If their
[Chinese]time had not beenlinearit is hardlyconceivablethat they wouldhaveworkedwith such
and suchbee-likeindustry."(134)This is extremelyimportantwhenwe try
historical-mindedness
to understandthe foundationof the voluminoushistoriographiesin China, and in East Asia as
well. WheneverI come upona discussionof "timelessAsia,"I recallthe passage,"Oncewhenthe
Masterwasstandingby a streamhe observed:'Allis transient,likethis! Unceasingdayandnight!"'
(Analects).Japaneseideas of linearor streamytime are discussedby MaruyamaMasao in his
inRekishishiso-shg[Collec"Rekishiishikino 'kosU"'["'BasicStrata'of HistoricalConsciousness"]
tion of HistoricalThoughts],ed. Maruyama(Tokyo, 1972), 3-46. Also see TanakaGen, Kodai
Nihonjinno jikan ishiki [TimeConsciousnessof AncientJapanese](Tokyo, 1975).
on such"undueassumptions
time"seemsto be basedterminologically
93. "Compartmentalized
context,
or axioms"that time is fundamentallycontinuous.In the East Asian historiographical
workis stimulatingon thisissue.Seehis"Chronology,DynasticLegitimacy,
0. B. vanderSprenkel's
(unpub., 1956). (I am indebtedto Dr. JosephNeedhamfor this
and ChineseHistoriography,"
chinoises,"in Bibliothequede l'institut
et historiographic
reference.)Also see his "Chronographie
hates etudes chinoises(Paris, 1960),XIV, 407-421. I am indebtedto Prof. Paul Rule for this
reference.
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researchthepast,andsearchfor a certainunitythere.ModernEuropeanhistoriographywas formedby weatheringthe long and strongtraditionof annalsand
chronicles,a form of historiographythat had dependedsolely on a series of
continuoustime.94A list of the titles of recenthistoricalworks is nothingbut
time.
an inventoryof variouslycompartmentalized
time. One makesuse of
of
compartmentalized
sorts
two
different
Thereare
an actualhistoricalcompartment;the otherwas createdand appliedretrospectively by historians.Dynasticperiodizationswidely used in the East and the
West are typicalof the former.The latteris representedby the periodizations
of ChristophusCellarius,KarlMarx,andAugusteComtein the West, andJien,
KitabatakeChikafusa,and Date Chihiroin the East, especiallyin Japan.95
Era nameshave often been used as a categoryfor such historicalcompartments as dynasty, reign period, year, month, and day, and they were used
properlyin accordancewith the context mentioned.The averagedurationof
one eraname,7.4 yearsin TokugawaJapanfor example,madeup a gapbetween
reign period and year.96It was a convenienttool for historiansto look back
upon the past, a conveniencemade greaterby the fact that era names were
changed,in manycases, as a resultof politicalor socialchanges.Compartmentalized time was a naturaland indispensablehistoriographicaltool for East
Asiansto look backupon the past. Eranameswerenot a hindrance,but rather
a stimulusto the developmentof historicalconsciousness.
The Christianera systemhad long been used in the West whenthe buds of
modernhistoriographyemergedin early modernEurope. Historianstook an
interestin compartmentalizingthe past to think about history. It was, in a
way, a declarationof the independenceof modernhistoriographyfrom such
traditionalhistoriographyas annalsand chronicles.The use of "century"since
the seventeenthcenturyin the West signifiesin itself the necessityfor compartmentalizedtime in order to think about history.97The naturalinvention of
such expressions,often found in Westernhistoriography,as "thefirsthalf of a
century,""thefirstquarterof a century,"or "1930s,"and so on, was a sign of
time in orderto be ableto look back
the indispensabilityof compartmentalized
upon the past, to developa way of graspingthe past that could not be attained
by absoluteyears.98
94. I am recalling Benedetto Croce's "Pensare la storia e certamente periodizzarla." See his
Filosofia come scienza dello spirito, IV, "Teoria e storia della storiografia," rev. 2nd ed. (Bari,
1920), 98-99.
95. On metaphysical interpretations of historical courses or processes in Japan, see Jidai kubun
no shisb-[Ideas of Periodization], ed. Ishida Ichiro (Tokyo, 1986). Also see my "Great Historians:
Japanese" in Great Historians from Antiquity to 1800, ed. Lucian Boia (New York, 1989),
281-295.
96. Kawaguchi and Ikeda, 97-103, 108-115.
97. Oxford English Dictionary [19331 (1970), II, 227.
98. Voltaire may be one of the earliest historians who started to use "siecle"repeatedly. See his
Essai sur les moeurset l'espritdes nations(1756).
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COMPARATIVE IDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
297
In the West, if we may offer a schematicsummary,the idea of a singleera
count, the Christianerasystem,formedthe basisof chronology.Basedon this,
kindsof periodizationwereemployedby historiansas compartmentalized
time
to think about history.By contrast,in East Asia, compartmentalized
time was
virtuallythe only form of chronologyfound in historiography.99
This mayraisea questionaboutthe sexagesimalcycle. The sexagesimalcycle
seems,on the surface,to be a formof continuoustimewhendiscussedin relation
to era names.However,it is actuallya systemof recurrenttime, and shouldbe
thought of as a compartmentalized
time. It was used in historiographyeither
jointlywitheranames,or by itself, yet it wasrarelyusedwhenhistorianslooked
back to the past, or when people referredto their past."0
How, then, did East Asians conceive of diachronichistory? The answer is
found, not in ideas of chronologythemselves,but in chronologicaltables.
It is necessaryhereto distinguishthe purposesof chronologicaltables from
those of annalsand chronicles.Annalsand chroniclesattachimportanceto the
content they record;chronologicaltables, by contrast, stress the date or sequenceof historicalevents.Chronologicaltablesplayedtwo importantrolesin
East Asia: one was to give a bird's-eyeview of the streamof history;the other
was to ascertainthe synchronicityof historical events in various parts of
East Asia.
Thechronologicaltablewas a deskcompanionfor menof lettersin EastAsia
whenthejoint systemof eranamesandthe sexagesimalcyclewasthe sole system
of chronology, and it still is for students of East Asian history. More than
fifteen-hundredera names were customarilyreferredto in chronologicaltables.101
It shouldnot pass unnoticedthat the earlierdevelopmentof chronological tablesin EastAsia thanthe Westernworldwas largelybecauseof this joint
system of chronology.
In the West,it is saidthat a synchronizedtableof era nameswas madein the
earlyfourthcenturyat the latest, whenEusebiuswrotehis Chronicle, presumably based on the already-lostChronologies of Africanus.102
The surviving
Latinversionby Jerome(331-420)103shows us that it may be seen as a sort of
synchronizedtable of era names, but it seemsto me that it aims firstat establishingthe datesof eventsin the Bible.TheWesthadto waitfor its firstchronologicaltable, to my knowledge,until the late sixteenthcentury.The tables by
JeanFunckor TheodorusBibliander,for example,may havebeen intendedas
99. It is not that East Asians lacked the ability to count years continuously; rather, they did not
employ the expression of a single era count system in historiography.
100. In modern Japan, for example, it is rare for people to refer to the sexagesimal cycle when
looking back to the past, except when they refer to an age in a roundabout way.
101. 1,526 era names have been used in East Asia to date. See Yamane, 1-20.
102. Maekawa, 11-14.
103. Jack Finegan, Handbook of Biblical Chronology (Princeton, 1964), 140-187.
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MASAYUKI SATO
a reference for chronological information. 104It need cause no surprise that this
was just the time when modern European historical scholarship appeared, as
separate from universal history. 105
In East Asia, chronological tables had already been proposed as a reference
for comprehending history by Ssu-ma Ch'ien (135?-93? B.C.) in his Shih-chi
(Records of the Grand Historian). He allots ten of 130 chapters to chronological
tables. His conception of chronological tables is summarized in his introduction
to the fourteenth chapter of "Chronological Table of the Twelve Dukes":
Confucianistsdiscussonlyjusticeandduty,andOratorsindulgein sophistryalone:They
willnot striveto takea surveyof the wholefromthe beginningto the end. Calendricians
hold mereyearsand months in esteem. Astrologersvalue Heaven'swill solely in view
of the resultsof their diviningsticks. It is difficultfor us to get them when we have
somethingto investigate.ThereforeI made this "ChronologicalTable of the Twelve
Dukes,"going from the republicage to the days of Confucius,to show the outline of
historicalrise and fall as researchedby scholarsof SpringandAutumnAnnals (Ch'unch'iu)andNarrativesfrom theStates(Kuo-yfi)as a table, for those studentswho intend
to studyhistorythroughthe above two historicalworks.106
Ssu-ma arranged "the chronological table of the twelve dukes" by separating
lines for the events of each of the twelve states: by reading down the columns,
one can see what happened in each state in any given year by the sexagesimal
cycle and regnal years of each state. 107Reading across the columns, one can see
the sequence of historical events in any given state. We could say that he made
the table to show us history in temporal and spatial contexts.108
The idea of the chronological table that appeared in the Shih-chi spread to
become a common historiographical asset throughout East Asia; it became a
mandatory element in official Chinese dynastic histories. The chronological
table was more necessary and useful for the peripheral countries of China: in
Japan, for example, where its own era names system has been maintained
continuously since the seventh century, 161 chronological tables had been published by 1968.109Many of these are designed to ascertain the synchronicity of
Japanese era names, Chinese era names, and the sexagesimal cycle; they have
chronologicisab initio mundiad resurrecti104. Jean Funck, Chronologiacum commentaries
onem Christi(Nuremberg, 1545); Theodorus Bibliander, Temporumcondito mundo usque ad
ultimamipsiusaetatemsupputatio,partitioqueexactior(Basileae, 1558). I will not go into the issue
here: I am preparing a work on a history of chronological tables West and East.
105. The following works remind me of the issue of contemporaneousness: Donald R. Kelley,
Foundationsof ModernHistoricalScholarship(New York, 1970); George Huppert, TheIdea of
PerfectHistory(Urbana, 1970).
106. Ssu-ma Ch'ien, 229.
107. It should be remembered that the era names system started in 114 B.C., during his lifetime,
and that the sexagesimal cycle system was still the only common method Chinese historians had
for denoting years.
108. On the chronological tables of Ssu-ma Ch'ien, see Burton Watson's explanation in his
Ssu-maChien:GrandHistorianof China(New York, 1958), 112-115.
109. Okuno Hikoroku, Nihon rekishinenpyoshi[A History of Japanese Chronological Tables]
(Tokyo, 1972), 537-553.
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COMPARATIVE IDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
299
also, since the mid-nineteenthcentury, added referenceto the Christian-era
system. 110
VI. CONCLUSIONS
Let us concludethis essay by answeringthe problemposed at the outset: why
has the Buddhistera not been used in East Asia, where Buddhismwas so
pervasive?
We have seen that the combinedchronologicalsystemof era namesand the
sexagesimalcycle in East Asia was a systemcomparablein many aspectswith
such chronologicalsystemsbased on the idea of a unitarychronologyas the
Jewish,Christian,andMuslimeras.Butthereis a passivebut significantfeature
of Buddhismas a religionwhich had let the combinedsystem of chronology
haveits own way. ThoughBuddhismis calleda religion,it is definitelydifferent
all threeWestern
in naturefrom Judaism,Christianity,andMohammedanism:
religionsarerevealedreligions,whichsupposethatan almightyGod has created
all nature.On the otherhand, Buddhismdoes not suppose,but ratherdenies,
a single almightyGod.111
Buddhismwas foundedby GautamaSiddhartha(c. 563-483 B.C.). He was
born a princeof the Sakyaclan in Nepal, and renouncedthe world at around
twenty-nineyearsof age. He resolvedto seek truthfor himself. After yearsof
ascetic practices,he finallygained the great enlightenment,sitting quietly in
meditation.That is why he is calledthe Buddha,"theEnlightenedone." Buddhism later spreadto the easternparts of Asia, and divided into two types:
southernand northernBuddhism.It is decisivethat the Buddhismintroduced
into East Asian countrieswas that of the northerntradition. In the southern
tradition, TheravadaBuddhismof southeastAsia, Gautamais the only true
Buddhain the presentworldcycle. By contrast,in northernBuddhism,that is,
the Mahayanatraditionpracticedin East Asian countries,Gautamais but one
of innumerableBuddhaswho are active in the presentworld cycle.
Gautamawas but a mediatorwho firstfound the truth(dharmas-universal
laws which governhumanexistence),and showed people how to realizeit. It
110. It may be of interestthat the persistenceof the chronologicaltable in Japan since the
centuryhas no directrelationwith its long traditionof the chronologicaltable. It
mid-nineteenth
ratherreflectsthe Japaneseattitudetowardhistoryas a school subject.Japanesechronological
tablesof historyhavebeenusedas a deskcompanionfor schoolhistorysincethemoderneducational
systemstartedin 1872. Historyas a school subjecthas aimednot at cultivatingpupils'historical
thinking,butat lettingthemlearnby hearteventsthatoccurredin the past,accordingto thecontent
of the historytextbook.Historyas a disciplinehas only beenpursuedat the universitylevel.There
still is an insuperablegulf betweenthe two histories.See my "Shakaikano juyo to henyo:Igirisu
to Nihon(II)"[TheAcceptance,Incorporation,andTransformationof SocialStudiesin Japanese
Educationand EnglishEducation(II)], YamanashiDaigakukenkyu-kiy-o38 (1987), 81-93.
meaningof
111. It was Prof. KurodaToshio who firstsuggestedto me the historiographical
See his Isuramuno kokoro
in his 1974lecture"MuslimHistoryof Historiography."
"revelation,"
[TheSpiritof Islam](Tokyo, 1980).
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MASAYUKI SATO
300
is thispointthatdistinguishesGautamafromthe foundersof revealedreligions,
who presentedthemselvesas agents of almightyGod. AlmightyGod was not
presupposedin Buddhism.Only the depersonalizedtruth is found there. It is
peoplewho seek and gain the truth. The religiousidea in East Asian Buddhism
is that it is not God but people who approachthe truth. Gautamawas but
the first who showed people how to gain it. Zen, which denotes meditation,
contemplation,concentration,andso on, is one efficaciousmethodto attainthe
state of enlightenment.Those who have attainedenlightenmentarethemselves
called Buddhas.Therehave been, and will be, countlessbuddhas.112
Buddhismhas neverreignedover East Asia as an entity above states;rather
it sometimesenjoyed national patronage. This distinguishesit substantially
from Christendomin Europe.East Asian Buddhismis no morethan a religion
introducedand patronizedby East Asian rulers and nations. It functioned
politicallyas a religionto ensurethe powers of the privilegedfew, though it
infiltratedinto the life and thought of ordinaryEast Asian people as well.1"3
Suchreligiouseventsas the Crusadeor the penanceof Canossain Christianity
werebeyondthe boundsof possibilityin East Asian Buddhism.Thereis nothing in East Asian Buddhismcomparableto the Pope or the Papal courtin Catholicism.
Yet we can not conclude a discussionof chronologyin East Asia without
referringto Confucianism,Taoism, and JapaneseShintiism. None of these
three"religions"is a "revealedreligion."Confucianismsuspendsjudgmenton
the existenceof a SupremeBeing.1-4Confucianismis an ethicalteachingand a
politicalphilosophyratherthana "religion,"concernedto maintainsocialorder
andto consolidatepoliticalpower.It evolvedto becomethe Chineseorthodoxy,
since its establishmentas the officialstate ideology by EmperorWu, the very
emperorwho startedthe era namessystem. It has had a fundamentalinfluence
on EastAsianculturesandsocieties,beingthe dominantideologyfor morethan
two-thousandyears into the twentiethcentury. Taoism joined with Confucianismto formthe basisof Chinesementallife. Taoismis a dominantChinese
metaphysicsbased on an appreciationof cyclicalchangeand a "religion"with
no referenceto the Creator.It spreadto all of East Asia as a popularbelief,
unlikeConfucianism,whichcirculatedamongthe rulingclasses.Taoismmixed
with native beliefs in variousparts of East Asia, and consequentlyplayed an
Shinindispensablerole in forming the East Asian religiousenvironment.115
112. Hajime Nakamura, "Buddhism," in Dictionary of the History of Ideas (New York, 1973),
I, 247-257.
113. For details, see Takasaki Jikido, "HigashiAjia Bukkyoshi" [A History of Buddhist Thought
in East Asia], iwanami k-oza: T7oy6shisio (Tokyo, 1988), XII, 1-31. Tsuji Zen'nosuke, Nihon
Bukkyo-shi[History of Buddhism in Japan], 10 vols. (Tokyo, 1944-1955) is the most detailed social
history of Japanese Buddhism.
114. It resolves itself into the following passage of the Analects: "The Master never talked of
mystery, strength, immorality and god." (vol. 7, no. 20). See my "Kong-zi (Confucius)" in Boia,
ed., 62-66.
115. It may be worth adding here that the existence of more than twenty (unofficial) Taoist era
names is reported. See Kubo, 39-40.
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COMPARATIVE IDEAS OF CHRONOLOGY
301
twism,theindigenousJapanese"religion,"is rootedin the folk beliefsandrituals
of an agriculturalpeople. It laterreshapeditself as a "religion"by codifyingits
Buddhismand Confudoctrinesunderthe stimulationof already-introduced
cianism. These doctrinesmade no referenceto a unitarysupremegod.116
It is remarkablethatnone of these four EastAsian religionsrefersto a single
almighty God. East Asia has a fundamentallydifferentconcept of religion
from that of the revealedreligions.The revealedreligionshave an idea of the
beginningof the world, and as the logical consequenceof that, the end of the
world. They accordinglyintroducedthe pivotalreligiousyearsas the firstyear
of theireras:the Jewishera took the firstyear (MoladTohu; 3761 B.C.) to be
the yearof the creationof the world.The Christianeratook its firstyearas the
year of the incarnationof Jesus Christ.The Muslimera settledthe firstyear
(622A.D.) as the yearof Hegira, the yearin whichMohammedfledfromMecca
to Medina.117
In the EastAsianreligions,therewasno roomto assumethe endof the world.
Thereonly existed"futureland"in the differentdimensionsof these religions.
It could be said that East Asia produceda civilizationwithout God.
The failureof the Buddhisterato achievewidespreadcurrency,andto dominatecalendrationin EastAsia in the waythat the Christianera did in the West,
is owing to the particularcharacterof Buddhismas a religion.Yet this is but
a partof the significanceof our reviewof chronologicalsystemsin East Asia:
the combined-chronologysystem using both era names and the sexagesimal
cycle, whichhad been in use from the late second centuryB.C., providedthe
culturesof the regionwitha chronologicalsystemadequateto the needsof both
contemporaryand historicalreckoningin the culturesof the region.
Systemsfor reckoningyears and series of years are a decidedlypolitical,
social, andculturalconstructionof humanintelligence.Thus,whentheenvironmentof EastAsia was transformedin all threerespectsduringthe past century
by the impactof the West,the peoplesof EastAsia hadlittlechoicebutto adopt
the chronologicalsystemof the Christianera. This choice was dictated,not by
the propagationof Christianityas a religion,but by the statusof the "Christian
era"las the "Westernera,"the internationallyacceptedchronologicalsystem.
The political natureof this choice is underscoredby the simultaneouswidespreaduse of combinedsystemsof chronologyin forty-onecountriesaround
the world, wherethe Christianera is employedas the "commonera," while
systemswith other(Islamic,Jewish,era-name,and so on) systemswith a "native"religiousor politicalcolorareusedfor the reckoningof "domestic"time.118
Yamanashi University, Japan
116. For an English-language introduction to the subject, see Allan G. Grapard, "Shinto,"
K-6danshaEncyclopedia of Japan (Tokyo, 1983), VII, 125-132.
117. Finegan, 126-131.
118. Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Seireki igai no kinen hoshiki o mochi'ite iru kuni
ichiran" [A list of countries which use the chronological methods other than the Western era], HI-rei
kaisetsu shiryos-Oran (Tokyo, 1979), XI, 45-47.
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