Bo is the eldest, Zhong is the second, Shu is the third, and the ranking is the smallest. In ancient times, Bo, Zhong, Shu and Ji were used to indicate the ranking order between brothers.
There are several brothers in a family. When naming them, the words "Bo (Meng), Zhong, Shu, Ji" are intentionally used to show the order of the young and the old. This customary practice, if counted from the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, has a history of at least two thousand years in our country.
"Bo" is the eldest, and "Zhong" is the second. Shuo Wen Ren Bu: "Bo, Chang Ye." "Zhong, Zhong also." The uncle is the third, and the season is the fourth. For example, during the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Jian's four sons: Sun Ce, the eldest son; Zhong Mou, the second son; Uncle Bi, the third son; and Jizuo, the fourth son. This is a representative name according to Uncle Zhong Ji.
expanded information
1. Uncle, the eldest, is the housekeeper at home. If he is a son of the royal family, he is in charge of the state affairs. Therefore, Zhou Wenwang's eldest son, the legendary prince who was killed by Su Daji, was named Boyikao.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, the eldest of the vassal states was called Bo, for example, Five Bo in the Spring and Autumn Period, and Bo was also called Ba, so it was also called Five Ba in the Spring and Autumn Period. In fact, in the pre-Qin classics such as Zuo Zhuan, they are all recorded as "Bo". "Meng" is also the name of the eldest brother, but it refers to the eldest brother who is born to a concubine.
2. Zhong is the second child. The ancients often added the ranking order before the word "Zi", for example, Confucius ranked second, so it was called "Zhong Ni"; Sun Quan is Sun Jian's second son, hence the word "Zhong Mou".
3. Uncle is the third. If there are more than four brothers and sisters, then from the third to the penultimate, they are probably all called "uncles". Zhou Wenwang had ten sons, and the Duke of Zhou ranked fourth, also known as "Uncle Dan".
4, quarter, is the smallest. But there are exceptions. For example, Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang has four brothers, and he ranks third. His eldest brother and second brother are Liu Bo and Liu Zhong, which seems to be called "uncle", but Liu Bangze is called Liu Ji. In fact, he has a younger brother under him, whose name is Liu Jiao, and Liu Jiao should be called Ji. However, Liu Banggu is not a noble family like Zhou Wenwang, and he will not be investigated for legal responsibility if he shouts casually.
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