Glossary

Zhiyuan

至元

Term · calendar

Chinese era name (至元) of the Mongol empire and the Yuan for the years 1264–1294: 1264 is Zhiyuan 1 (元年) and Zhiyuan 31 is 1294. Zhiyuan (至元) is a Chinese era name (nianhao) of the Mongol empire, which took the dynastic name Yuan in 1271, proclaimed in 1264 under Khubilai Khan (世祖). Its years are counted in lunar years: 1264 is Zhiyuan 1 (元年), 1294 its last year, Zhiyuan 31. A Chinese source dates a year within it as “Zhiyuan 2” (至元二年) rather than by a continuous count. Before: Zhongtong. After: Yuanzhen.