This template has been designed so that it can be used both in articles that adopt the BC/AD date notation and those that adopt the BCE/CE date notation without forcing some articles to have inconsistent style.
It will display BCE/CE notation unless the template gives the parameter BC a value. For instance {{History of China}} will give BCE/CE notation, {{History of China|BC=1}} will give BC/AD notation.
It can be edited as normal, but with the following exception:
- Instead of writing BCE or BC write {{#if: {{{BC|}}}|BC|BCE}}
- Instead of writing CE or AD write {{#if: {{{BC|}}}|AD|CE}}
This functionality is necessitated by the Wikipedia:Manual of Style requirement that BC-AD and BCE-CE do not both appear in the same article.
