令和

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令和

1. Reiwa era of Japanese history

From the Literary Chinese foreword by Ōtomo no Tabito to poems 815-846 in the fifth book of the Man'yōshū (c. 759 CE). Relevant part of the foreword:

于時、初春令月、氣淑風和、梅披鏡前之粉、蘭薫珮後之香。

It was in new spring, in a fair month,
When the air was clear and the wind a gentle breeze.
Plum flowers blossomed a beauty's charming white
And the fragrance of the orchids was their sweet perfume.

The Man'yōshū passage alludes in turn to a rhapsody written in 138 CE by the Han polymath and statesman Zhang Heng, titled 歸田賦／归田赋 (Guītián Fù, “Return to the Field”).[1] Below is the relevant part of the rhapsody with translation by Liu Wu-chi (1990), with slightly different choices of English for the same Chinese words:

於是仲春令月，時和氣清；原隰鬱茂，百草滋榮。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

于是仲春令月，时和气清；原隰郁茂，百草滋荣。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Return to the Field, by Zhang Heng, 138 CE

Yúshì zhòng chūn lìngyuè, shí hé qì qīng; yuán xí yù mào, bǎicǎo zī róng. [Pinyin]

Then comes young spring, in a fine month,
When the wind is mild and the air clear.
Plains and swamps are overgrown with verdure
And the hundred grasses become rank and thick.

With reference to both contexts, a general understanding of this kanji compound is thus along the lines of "good harmony", though it should be noted that this sense of "good" of the common character 令 (rei) is otherwise very rare.

• (Tokyo) れ​ーわ [réꜜèwà] (Atamadaka – [1])
• (Tokyo) れーわ [rèéwá] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɾe̞ːɰᵝa̠]

• Audio

  (file)

令(れい)和(わ) • (Reiwa) 

1. the Reiwa period (Japanese era that began on 1 May 2019)

• → English: Reiwa
• → Chinese:
  • Mandarin: 令和 (Lìnghé)
• → Korean: 레이와 (Reiwa)
• → Vietnamese: Reiwa, Lệnh Hoà, Lệnh Hòa

• 平(へい)成(せい) (Heisei): era that preceded the Reiwa era

令和

1. chữ Hán form of Lệnh Hoà, Lệnh Hòa (“Reiwa era of Japanese history”).