元代制度雜揉胡漢，迥異唐宋。固守傳統智識，對待元代事物，其扞格難入，易滋誤會，宜也。本文舉太后、太子、太上皇、太皇太后等詞為例，援引漢、蒙、波斯等文獻資料，說明傳統稱謂詞彙在元代發生意義變化的始末因緣，以及固守傳統文義來解讀元代文獻已經產生的荒謬錯誤。

The Yuan dynasty, which was established by the Mongols, differed in many respects from previous dynasties founded by the Han Chinese. This indicates that one cannot uncritically apply conventional wisdom about pre-Yuan Chinese dynasties to discussions of Yuan history. In order to explain changes in the meanings of traditional Han Chinese titles during the Yuan, this article draws on examples such as taihou (太后), taizi (太子). taishanghuang (太上皇) and taihuangtaihou (太皇太后), while also citing Han Chinese, Mongolian, Persian, and other source materials in order to systematically examine mistakes caused by an inability to look beyond traditional Han Chinese meanings when interpreting Yuan source materials.