The word surname in Chinese was originally different from "surname". Surname comes before, surname comes after.
The original meaning of "surname" is children born to women. In matriarchal society, children born to the same mother have the same surname. In patriarchal society, the surname follows the father. As the descendants of the same ancestor multiply, the family tends to be divided into several scattered branches. In addition to keeping their surnames, the descendants of all branches take a title as a symbol for themselves, which is "surname".
after surnames are produced, they are passed down from generation to generation, and generally do not change, which is relatively stable, while surnames change with the change of fiefs and official positions, so there will be several surnames in a person's descendants or different surnames between father and son. In addition, different surnames may be named in the same way, so there will be a phenomenon that different surnames are the same.
before the Zhou dynasty, nobles often took the country and official positions as surnames in addition to surnames. And the average person has no surname and no surname. At that time, only the monarch of the vassal state and his family had a surname, while the surname did not exist until the land was granted.
the origin of China's surname
according to the research of historians, the surnames of China people originated from the matriarchal society five or six thousand years ago. From the name of a tribe or the name of a tribal leader. Therefore, most of the oldest surnames in China are "female", such as Ji, Jiang and Yao. Its main function is to distinguish the descendants of different clans in the tribe and facilitate the intermarriage between different clans.
It is said that the surname "Shi" appeared as early as the legendary Yellow Emperor era. A large number of Shi appeared in the Zhou Dynasty. At the beginning of the Zhou dynasty, the king of Zhou enfeoffed the princes on a large scale, and later generations of these vassal States took the country as their surname. In addition, the vassal States also enfeoffed domestic officials, and the descendants of these officials took the fief as their surname. According to research, 99% of surnames used by China people are derived from surnames.
the use and evolution of surnames
according to statistics, there have been nearly 12, surnames in the history of China, including more than 5, single-character surnames, more than 4, double-character surnames and more than 2, three-to-nine-character surnames. At present, there are about 35 surnames in use, including more than 29 single-character surnames and more than 1 double-character surnames. Surnames with more than three characters are very rare. The 1 most commonly used surnames account for more than 6% of the total population in China. In the Han nationality, every 32, people enjoy a surname on average.
the origin of China's surname
the origin of China's surname is various and complicated. There are about the following sources:
from birthplace, residence, feudal country and fief: such as Lu surname, Du surname, Yang surname and Dong surname
ancestors' names, temple numbers and posthumous title: such as Zhang surname and Niu surname
ancestors' titles and official positions: such as public surname, historical surname, Sima surname and Stuart surname
. Together with Chinese surnames, it forms the names of China people. In addition, in addition to having names, people in China used to have characters.
China people's names
According to the records of ancient books, there was a system of naming people in ancient China. It is usually named by the father three months after the child is born. But in fact, there are also full moon names, one-year-old names, and names chosen before birth.
China has attached great importance to people's naming since ancient times. Under the influence of Confucius' thought of "correcting the name", people regard naming their descendants as very sacred and even mysterious. Since the Zhou Dynasty, naming has been incorporated into etiquette and formed a system. When naming names, people in China often use some methods to distinguish different generations of the same family. For example, in a name, one word is used to indicate seniority, and another word is used to indicate the meaning of the name. Others use the same radicals in their names to represent the same generation.
In ancient China, due to the influence of patriarchal clan system, there was a taboo system in the use of names. Pay attention to the honour person's taboo. When talking and writing, you should avoid the names on your father's head. You can't take some or homophones in their names when you name them. Although we don't pay attention to these things now, there are still some people who try not to take words with the same name or homonym as their parents or grandparents. Due to the influence of taboo, people in China still consider it disrespectful to call their elders by their first names.
first, the origin of "surname"
The origin of surname can be traced back to the matriarchal clan period in primitive human society. Surname is a symbol that distinguishes clans.
at that time, the matriarchal society only knew that there was a mother, not a father. According to archaeological data, there are less than 3 surnames in the bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty, but most of them are from the side of "female", such as Jiang, Yao, Niang, Ji, Wei, pregnant and Hao. Not only is the ancient surname mostly related to the word "female", but even the word "surname" itself has changed from "female". With the development of social productive forces, the matriarchal clan system has transitioned to the paternal clan system, and the surname has changed from the father.
second, the origin of "Shi"
With the continuous growth of population, a clan will decompose when it develops to a certain extent. Thus, a series of branches are derived from "surname", which is "surname". In the period of patriarchal clan commune, surnames and surnames were the symbols of paternal clan or
tribe.
after entering the class society, the surname is only available to nobles, because it is a unique symbol for nobles to distinguish between noble and noble. The naming methods mainly include: the vassal takes the sealed country name as the surname, the Qing doctor takes the given fief as the surname, some take the official position as the surname, and some take the residence as the surname.
Later, with the demise of clans and tribes, the clan died out. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, countless surnames were produced and disappeared, but the surnames remained basically unchanged.
after the Qin dynasty unified the whole country, the surname and surname gradually merged into one. Although slightly different, it can be ignored. In the Han Dynasty, there was no difference between surnames and surnames.
The fundamental reason for their integration is that the county system and the split-soil enfeoffment system have abolished hereditary fiefdoms, and there are no titles such as public, Hou, Bo, Zi and Male. The basis of the original division of surname is gone, and the meaning of nobility and inferiority represented by surname has disappeared, so it has merged with surname.
Third, the origin of "name"
The Book of Rites? Tan Gong records: "Young name, crown word."
the book of rites? "Guan Yi" records: "The word has been crowned, and the way to be an adult is also."
Kong Yingda, an economist in the Tang Dynasty, said: "It was born in March, so the name of the cloud was young; When you are 2 years old, you can't call your friends by their first names, so you add words to your crown. "
to sum up, it can be seen that in ancient times, a first name was a name used by a person before he became an adult, and it was mostly used at home for parents, relatives and friends.
As for naming, there is a traditional custom in our country, that is, babies are named by their fathers on the hundredth day. In one hundred days, the mother and nanny took the child to the hall to see his father, and the father took the child's hand and named him. After naming, the mother and nanny took the child back to the bedroom, and then informed the relatives of the child's name. The father immediately told his friends and informed the local governor for registration.
Naming is the first important event in a child's life, so the naming ceremony is very grand. Although this custom has disappeared, the custom of giving children a "hundred days" is still circulating.
iv. the origin of the word
in ancient times, people were afraid to call their ancestors by their first names in order to show respect, so the word came into being. It can be said that "word" has dual functions: one is out of taboo; Second, respect the elders.
a person should be called "first name" before adulthood, and "word" after adulthood. Contrary to the use range of "name", "word" is used in a wide range of social life. The change of address is also an important sign of a person's social identity change. In adulthood, people will be given a proper name, and if they are called by their names, it is an act of disrespect.