The origin of surnames can be traced back to the matrilineal clan system in primitive human society. The surname is a specific symbol that distinguishes the clan. Many ancient surnames in China have a female character next to them, which shows that our ancestors once experienced a matrilineal clan society. All surnames are allowed to intermarry with each other, and marriage within a clan with the same surname is prohibited. Children belong to the mother's side and take her mother's surname. The emergence of surnames is a sign that primitive humans are gradually getting rid of their ignorance. With the development of social productivity, the matrilineal clan system transitioned to the patrilineal clan system, the surname was changed to follow the father's, and the surname was changed to the female family. Later, the clan system was gradually replaced by the class social system, and the method and means of governing the country by giving land and clans came into being. The emergence of the clan is the march of human history towards class society. Surnames and surnames are two stages of human progress and the products of civilization. Later, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, surnames and surnames were unified and no longer distinguished, indicating that both surnames and surnames were surnames, and surnames indicated personal and family symbols. This is what we understand today as the meaning of a surname. Most of the Chinese surnames today were passed down from generation to generation thousands of years ago. According to some statistics, there are more than 5,600 records and existing records in the literature. Its characteristics are: long history, rich content and specific sources. The formation of surnames has different historical processes. The same surname does not necessarily mean the same origin. For example, the surname Liu has five origins. Different surnames may also come from the same clan. The Gu and Wu surnames originally have the same origin, and they are both descendants of the ancestors of Gu Gong. The origin of Chinese surnames treats surnames and surnames as surnames. According to research by Xu Junyuan and three other scholars, there are roughly ten categories: 1. Using surnames as surnames. The surnames are based on the symbols of ancient tribal clans, such as Ji, Jiang, Yao, Ren, and Yi. 2. Take the name of the country as your surname. During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, there were many large and small vassal states, and the descendants of each country took their country names. There are surnames such as Cheng, Fang, Du, Lei, Liao, Diao, Peng and Wei. 3. Name the surname after the town. The fiefdoms assigned to ministers and officials with the same or different surnames by the emperors and the kings of various vassal states were called towns or fiefs. Some of the descendants of ministers and officials or people from fiefs took the name of the town as their surname. There are surnames such as Su and Shangguan. 4. Name the surname after the village or pavilion. There are surnames such as Pei, Lu, and Ouyang. 5. Named after the place of residence. There are Dongmen, Ximen, and the grandson of Tong Diao, the official of Dongguo, who passed down the family as Diao. Zhou Ping's concubine was named Lin Kai, and his descendants took Lin as their surname. 7. Take the order as the surname. The surnames are chosen according to the ranking of brothers. For example, the eldest brother has the surname Bo and Meng, and the second brother has the surname Zhong. The third and fourth children were named Shu and Ji respectively. 8. Taking official position as surname. There are surnames such as Ji, Jian, Ku, Cang, and General. 9. Taking skills as a surname. People who engage in witchcraft will have the surname witch in their descendants. Descendants of people who engage in ice making have the surname Ling, as well as Bu, Tao, Jiang and other surnames.
10. Use the posthumous title as the surname. 11. Change of surname due to given surname or taboo. 12. The title, title and line of the title are surname. There are surnames such as Huang, Wang, Gong, Hou, Wangshu, Wangzi, Wangsun, Gongzi and Gongsun. 13. The surnames brought about by the integration of ancient ethnic minorities into the Han people. The origins of the surnames of the Hakka ancestors are also within the above dozen ranges.
When choosing names, the ancients tried to consider the meaning, shape, pronunciation and other aspects of the characters, trying to provide their own interests, pursuits, hopes, ambitions, rankings and other information through their names, so as to It leaves a good impression on people's vision, hearing and thoughts, so that people can understand the profound meaning of the namer. Its forms are roughly as follows.
First, respect the ancients. The ancients often expressed their admiration for ancient institutions and characters when naming, similar to what Confucius said, "the character "xin" is used as one's own name. For example, Cao Ziyu, whose courtesy name is Ximeng (Meng Ke's courtesy name is Ziyu); Wu Zhongdan, whose courtesy name is Xi Zhou (Zhou Gongdan); Fan Xue Zhu's courtesy name is Hui (Zhu Xi's courtesy name is Hui); Lei Yuan's courtesy name is Xiyan (Yan Hui); Zu Mengzheng's courtesy name is Xilu (Lü Mengzheng). Some admire Xianda's ancient philosophers. Then directly add the words Yang, Mu, Zong, etc. in the middle of the name, such as Qian Zongni, Yu Muyuan, Fang Jingyu, Lu Xiliang, Ming Shihong, Wu Yanghe, Nie Jingbai, etc.
Second, Chinese people attach great importance to ethics and achievements when naming. Those named after virtue include Cao Ren, Xue Rengui, Wang Shouren, Kang Guangren, etc. Li Yifu, Li Yishan, etc. Those named after loyalty include Guo Fengxiao, Fang Xiaoru, etc. Those named after Qian are mostly used. , Yu Qian, Qian Qianyi. Those who express their aspirations with the ambition of a saint are like Lu Biyong, who showed a strong ambition to serve the world. Later, he had no hope of becoming an official and changed his name to Lu Buyi, whose nickname was Gengtian.
Third, pray. Even the great sage Confucius once admitted that wealth is a human desire: "Wealth is something to be desired. Even though I am a whip-wielding man, I
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will also do it." . Therefore, when people choose names, they sometimes express their prayer for a prosperous life and noble status through naming, such as Li Guangli, Liu Chuanfu, Gai Kuannao, Wang Fugui, Qian Guang, Wu Shoufu, Sun Fushou, etc. Modern people often use such words in their names, such as Wang Yonggui, Li Maofu, Zhang Deli, etc. The same goes for pursuing an official career. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, people have generally sought fame and wealth through imperial examinations. Once they are named on the gold list, glory and wealth will come naturally. Therefore, in the naming, there are many names such as Fan Xinke, Qiu Zhuangyuan, Tang Diankui, Xu Zhankui, Huang Kaibang, Wei Kuishi, Wang Yankui, etc. Fourth, eliminate disasters. People always use various methods to express their desire to avoid disasters and turn bad luck into good luck. Sometimes naming is also a way of expression, such as Huo Qubing, Sima Xiaonan, Xin Qiji, Feng Quji, Huang Quji, Shi Baoji, Sun Fengji and others belong to this case.
Fifth, add longevity. As of now, although no one in the world can transcend the limit of "my life has an end" and get rid of the constraints of the laws of nature on life. But people always hope to prolong their lives as much as possible, preferably to live as long as heaven and achieve the ideal of Sun Wukong. This persistence and wish for life are sometimes expressed through naming. Therefore, people often use the word longevity when naming: such as Mao Yanshou, Zhang Chengshou, Xu Zengshou, Pan Tianshou, etc. In addition, there are also many people who like to use the names Yannian, Wannian, Yongnian, Danian, Turtle Nian, Wanling, Trillium, Pine Ling and Crane Ling. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, the words "老", "官", "老", "father", etc. have been used in naming, which may also reveal the namer's affection for elders.