A.D., common era, antiquity, middle ages?

Joachim
 August 04, 2008, 08:25 PM posted in General Discussion
how is an era specified in Chinese? In the west I am aware of discussions on using A.D. (anno domini =in the year of Christ) or common era etc. But we also have the middle ages, the renaissance, antiquity etc. Any Chinese equivalents?
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John
 August 05, 2008, 02:21 AM

公元(后) (gōngyuán (hòu)) is used instead of A.D.

公元前 (gōngyuánqián is used instead of B.C.

2008 A.D. = 公元2008年

5,000 B.C. = 公元前5000年

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Joachim
 August 05, 2008, 09:26 AM

%u516C%u5143 looks to be equivalent to common era. I know of the Spring and Autumn period. Is it still common to talk of the New China etc.?Autumn

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daizi
 August 05, 2008, 01:37 PM

Because they are religiously neutral,the following are now commonly used, especially in the science community:

公元 gōngyuán：C.E. (common era) used instead of A.D.

公元前 gōngyuánqián：B.C.E. (before common era) used instead of B.C.

所以， 公元2008年＝2008 C.E.

And don't forget, in Taiwan they often date according to the establishment of the Republic of China in 1911. So, next time you're in a Taibei supermarket don't fret; the expiration year 97 on your jug of milk refers to 2008 C.E.

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Joachim
 August 27, 2008, 08:40 PM

Is there anything like a Golden Age in Chinese history?

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sushan
 August 27, 2008, 11:27 PM

Most Chinese understand periods in history based on dynasties （代 dai4） - Tang Dynasty, Qing dynasty, Warring States Period, etc. If you ask a Chinese person when in history would have been most interesting to live or when their city was first built they will refer to a certain dynasty instead of referring to years by number.

Chinese people seem to have a built in ability to know when each of these periods happened. It makes antique shopping and museum visits here a bit mystifying even if the notes are translated since instead of dates they refer to dynasties.

This wikipedia page has a pretty good summary.