Editing Ten thousand years (section)

==China==
[[File:Song Shan (6169489672).jpg|thumb|Mount Song, the location where the phrase "Ten thousand years" was coined]]
In [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[ten thousand]] or "[[myriad]]" is the largest [[orders of magnitude (numbers)|numerical order of magnitude]] in common usage, and is used ubiquitously as a synonym for "[[indefinite and fictitious numbers|indefinitely large number]]".  The term ''wansui'' ({{lang|zh-hant|萬歲}}), literally meaning "ten thousand years", is thus used to describe a very long life, or even immortality for a person.

Although the [[First Emperor of Qin]] also wished "ten thousand generations" ({{lang|zh|万世}}) for [[Qin dynasty|his imperial rule]], the use of ''wansui'' was probably coined during [[Han dynasty]].  In 110 BC, [[Emperor Wu of Han]] was addressed by the phrase "Wansui" during a [[Sacrifice to Heaven|heaven ritual]] on [[Mount Song]]. According to legend, Mount Song itself called out the phrase to address the emperor. During the [[Tang dynasty]], it came to be used exclusively to address the emperor as a prayer for his long life and reign. Then, during the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period]], its use was temporarily extended to include certain higher-ranking members of the imperial court,<ref>Ouyang, Xiu. Davies, Richard L. [2004] (2004). Historical Records of the Five Dynasties. Columbia university press. {{ISBN|0-231-12826-6}}</ref> but this tradition was relatively short-lived: in later imperial history, using it to address someone other than the emperor was considered an act of sedition and was consequently highly dangerous. During certain reigns of weak emperors, powerful [[eunuch]]s such as [[Liu Jin]] and [[Wei Zhongxian]] circumvented this restriction by styling themselves with ''jiǔ qiān suì'' ({{lang|zh-hant|九千歲}}, literally "9,000 years") so as to display their high positions, which were close to or even exceeded the emperor's, while still remaining reverent to the title of the emperor.

Traditionally, [[Queen consort|empresses consort]] and [[empress dowager|empresses dowager]] were addressed with "thousand years" ({{lang|zh-hant|千歲}}) rather than "ten thousand years", which was reserved for the emperor exclusively. However, [[Empress Dowager Cixi]], the ''de facto'' supreme ruler of China from 1861 to 1908, was addressed with "ten thousand years". Several photographs of her<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rayli.com.cn/0P10/2007-01-26/L0P10013002_218019.html |script-title=zh:瑞丽女性网-生活-揭密慈禧太后奢侈生活 |website=rayli.com.cn |date=2007-01-26 |language=zh-hans |access-date=2008-05-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609082959/http://www.rayli.com.cn/0P10/2007-01-26/L0P10013002_218019.html |archive-date=2008-06-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref> show a banner on her [[Litter (vehicle)|litter]] reading "The Incumbent Holy Mother, the Empress Dowager of the Great [[Qing dynasty|Qing]], [will live and reign for] ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand of ten thousand years" ({{lang|zh-hant|大清國當今聖母皇太后萬歲萬歲萬萬歲}}). The Emperor was addressed by the title "Lord of Ten Thousand Years" ({{zh|t=萬歲爺|s=万岁爷|p=Wànsuìyé}}).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJLPAAAAMAAJ&q=lord+ten+thousand+years+wan+sui+yeh|title=Current literature, Volume 51|year=1911|publisher=Current Literature Pub. Co.|page=624|access-date=2011-07-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wzYiAQAAIAAJ&q=lord+ten+thousand+years+wan+sui+yeh&pg=PA624|title=Current opinion, Volume 51|author=Edward Jewitt Wheeler, Frank Crane|year=1911|publisher=The Current Literature Publishing Co.|page=624|access-date=2011-07-06}}</ref>

===Usage===
[[File:G209-YemaHe-bridge-5429.jpg|thumb|A late-1960s era bridge on [[China National Highway 209|Hwy 209]] in [[Shennongjia]], [[Hubei]], with the inscription "{{lang|zh-hans|{{linktext|伟大|的|领袖|毛|主席|万岁}}}}" (Long live the great leader Chairman Mao!)]]
Classically, the phrase ''wansui'' is repeated multiple times following a person's name or title. For example, in ancient China, the Emperor would be addressed with ({{zh|t=吾皇萬歲，萬歲，萬萬歲 |p=Wú huáng wànsuì, wànsuì, wànwànsuì |l=[May] my Emperor [live and reign for] ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand of ten thousand years}}).  The foregoing phrase is best known to modern Chinese through televised films, but is not historically accurate; in the [[Ming dynasty]], the only occasion during which {{lang|zh-hant|萬歲}} is used is the great court, which was held one to three times a year.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Robles |first1=Pablo |title=In the Forbidden City, being the emperor didn't equate to a life of limitless power or pleasure |url=https://multimedia.scmp.com/culture/article/2158740/forbidden-city/life/chapter_03.html |website=South China Morning Post |access-date=22 February 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Approaching the end of the ceremony, the attending officials will be asked to shout {{lang|zh-hant|{{linktext|萬歲}}}} three times.

The significance of "ten thousand" in this context is that "ten thousand" in Chinese and many other East Asian languages represents the largest discrete unit in the counting system, in a manner analogous to "thousand" in English.{{citation needed | date=October 2018}} Thus 100,000 in Chinese is expressed as 10 ten-thousands; similarly, whereas a million is "a thousand thousands" in Western languages, the Chinese word for it is ''bǎiwàn'' ({{zh|t=百萬|s=百万|links=no}}), which literally means "hundred ten-thousands". Because of this, Chinese people often use ''wàn'' in a manner analogous to "thousand" – whereas an English speaker might exclaim "there are thousands of ants on the ground", the Chinese speaker would substitute it with "ten thousand" in the description. So in the context of ''wànsuì'', a literally incorrect but culturally appropriate translation might be, "may you live for thousands of years". The number simply denotes innumerability, in a manner etymologically similar to the Greek [[myriad]] (although the current usage of that word differs).

During the Qing, at the entrances of [[List of mosques in China|mosques in China]], a tablet was placed upon which the characters for ''Huangdi, wansui, wansui, wanwansui'' (皇帝萬歲，萬歲，萬萬歲) were inscribed, which means, "The Emperor, may he live forever". Westerners traveling in China noted the presence of these tablets at mosques in [[Yunnan]] and [[Ningbo]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xX8jAAAAMAAJ&q=happening+to+see+in+the+mosque+threshold+as+you+enter+a+tablet+temple+inscription+the+emperor+may+he+live+for+ever+the+emperor+the+everliving&pg=RA2-PA33|title=The Chinese repository, Volumes 11-15|year=1842|publisher=Printed for the proprietors.|page=33|access-date=2010-06-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hUEswLE4SWUC&q=mosques+tablets+wishing+the+emperor+long+life+prominent+position+entrance+mosque|title=China's Muslim Hui community: migration, settlement and sects|author=Michael Dillon|year=1999|publisher=Curzon Press|location=Richmond|page=77|isbn=0-7007-1026-4|access-date=2010-06-28}}</ref>

===Modern use===
During the [[Battle of Sihang Warehouse]] in 1937 during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], Chinese civilians voluntarily cheered "''Zhōnghuá Mínguó wànsuì!''" ({{zh|t=中華民國萬歲！|l=Long live the Republic of China!}}) after raising the [[Flag of the Republic of China]] on a flag-raising ceremony, to celebrate their victory over the [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese]].<ref name="lihpao">"Our Determined Lone Army Makes Final Stand". ''Lihpao Daily'' 29 October 1937</ref>

In August 1945, after Generalissimo [[Chiang Kai-shek]] announced the defeat of [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] in the Second Sino-Japanese War, the people exclaimed "''Jiǎng... Zhōngguó... Wànsuì... Wànwànsuì!''" (蔣...中國...萬歲...萬萬歲!), which means, "Chiang ... China ... live ten thousand years ... live ten thousand ten thousand years".<ref>{{cite news |title=CHINA: Wan Wan Sui!|newspaper=TIME|date=Aug 27, 1945|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,792352,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090407063026/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,792352,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 7, 2009|access-date=May 22, 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Tiananmen beijing Panorama.jpg|alt=|thumb|240x240px|The two slogans that contain the term ''wànsuì'' ("Long live the People's Republic of China!", and "Long live the solidarity of the peoples of the world!") on the [[Tiananmen]] gatehouse in [[Beijing]]]]
One of the most conspicuous uses of the phrase is at the [[Tiananmen]] gate in [[Beijing]], where large placards are affixed to the gatehouse reading "{{lang|zh-cn|中华人民共和国万岁}}"; {{zh|p=Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó wànsuì |l=[may the] People's Republic of China [last for] ten thousand years|links=no}}) and "{{lang|zh-cn|世界人民大团结万岁}}"; {{zh|p=Shìjiè rénmín dàtuánjié wànsuì |l=[may] the [[Great Unity]] of the world's people [last for] ten thousand years|links=no}}).

During the [[Cultural Revolution]], the saying {{lang|zh-hans|毛主席万岁}} ({{zh|p=Máo Zhǔxí Wànsuì |l=[may] [[Mao Zedong|Chairman Mao]] [live for] ten thousand years!|links=no}}) was also common. After Mao's death, the phrase has never been used for any individual. Apart from these special cases, the phrase is almost never used in political slogans today. In casual conversation, however, the phrase is used simply as an exclamation of joy. For example, [[China Central Television|CCTV]] commentator [[Huang Jianxiang]] shouted "''Yìdàlì wànsuì''" ({{zh|s=意大利万岁|t=義大利萬歲|l=Italy ten thousand years!|links=no}}; translated as "Forza Italia!" by some media) after [[Francesco Totti]]’s goal during Italy’s match against Australia in the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]]. Taiwan-based singer [[Leehom Wang]]'s 2007 album ''[[Change Me (album)|Change Me]]'' contains a song called "{{lang|zh-hant|華人萬歲}}" ({{zh|labels=no |p=Húarén Wànsùi |l=Long Live Chinese People}}).

Within the [[Republic of China]], shouting the phrase {{lang|zh-hant|中華民國萬歲}}; {{zh|p=Zhōnghuá mínguó wànsuì! |l=[may] the Republic of China [live for] ten thousand years!|links=no}}, translated as ''Long Live the Republic of China''!) has been the final act ending presidential speeches on the [[National Day of the Republic of China]], a tradition which was broken in 2016. It has been combined in recent years with another saying, {{lang|zh-hant|台灣民主萬歲}} ({{zh|labels=no|p=Táiwān mínzhǔ wànsuì |l=[may] a democratic Taiwan [live for] ten thousand years!}}, translated as ''Long Live the Democratic Taiwan!'') When this is said, everyone raises their right fists while standing.

In [[Cantonese language|Cantonese]], "ten thousand years" ({{lang|zh-hant|萬歲}}) can also be a slang term for [[treating]] others to foods and drinks.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zeng|first1=Zifan|title=A Study of Idiomatic Expressions in Hong Kong Cantonese|date=2008|publisher=City University of Hong Kong Press|location=Hong Kong|isbn=978-962-937-147-0|page=355|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nBMfAwAAQBAJ&q=%E8%90%AC%E6%AD%B2+%E5%BB%A3%E6%9D%B1%E8%A9%B1+%E8%AB%8B%E5%AE%A2&pg=PA355|language=zh}}</ref>