Historical records record that Emperor Huangdi had twenty-five sons, fourteen of whom were given surnames. These fourteen people received twelve surnames, which are: Ji, You, Qi, Ji, Teng, Wei, Ren, Xun, Xi, Ji, Xuan, and Yi. (The real situation may be that the Huangdi tribe continued to develop and grow, and twelve major tribes and clans emerged from the Huangdi tribe). In addition, "Guoyu·Jinyu" records that Qingyang and Yigu have the same surname, and Xuanxiao and Cang Lin Tong's surname is Ji. History books after the Spring and Autumn Period classified Xuan Xiao, Zhuan Xu, Emperor Ku, Tang Yao, Yu Shun, as well as the monarchs of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties as descendants of the Yellow Emperor.
The later five emperors Shaohao, Zhuanxu, Yao, Shun, Yu and Xia Yu, the ancestors of the Shang people, the ancestors of Ying Qin, etc. are all descendants of the Yellow Emperor. Most of these descendants were descended from the Yellow Emperor to Yao and Shun. During the Yu and Yu periods, they all independently separated from the Yellow Emperor's mother clan and established a large number of clan states and tribes with independent surnames and surnames. Later, King Wu (Ji Fa) of Zhou who claimed to be a descendant of the Yellow Emperor came out of the Central Plains from the northwest and east to establish the Zhou Dynasty. In order to balance the twelve major tribes of the Yellow Emperor and other tribes and clans that had been active in the Central Plains for thousands of years, Ji Fa enfeoffed the same surnames and heroes as princes or kingdoms, including 53 kingdoms with the surname Ji. Taking the country as a surname, the Jizhou people have also changed from a weak tribe to a prominent tribe, from a civilian clan with a surname but no surname to an aristocratic clan with a surname and a surname. Even the Yellow Emperor may be surnamed Jizhou by Ji . According to the Great Wilderness North Classic, Great Wilderness West Classic, and Great Wilderness East Classic in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Quanrong in the north, the Beidi in the west, and the Dongyi in the east are all descendants of the Yellow Emperor.
"Historical Records·The Chronicles of the Five Emperors": Shaohao (his own surname), Zhuanxu (son of the second son Changyi), Emperor Ku (descendant of the eldest son), Tang Yao (descendant of the eldest son), Yu Shun (second son) Descendants), as well as the monarchs of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties were all descendants of the Yellow Emperor. The later five emperors Shaohao, Zhuanxu, Yao, Shun, Yu and Xia Yu, the ancestors of the Shang people, the ancestors of the Zhou people, etc. were all descendants of the Yellow Emperor. These descendants all inherited the surname Ji. His descendants, King Wu of Zhou, established the Zhou Dynasty. Dynasty; in the early Zhou Dynasty, when Ji Fa, the king of Zhou Dynasty, granted a large number of princes, there were 53 countries with the surname Ji. As time went by, most of the descendants of the principalities, princes, uncles, sub-states, and male states with the surname Ji changed their surnames to their own country names. Therefore, most of the descendants of these feudal states with the surname Ji changed their country names and feudal towns to their surnames. The first name and the names of the father and ancestors are the surnames, thus creating China's "hundred family surnames".
"Qingshan Pengshi Dunmu Genealogy·Genesis": "The Yellow Emperor gave birth to twenty-five sons, in order: he married the Xiling family (Leizu) and gave birth to Changyi, Xuanxiao, You, Qi, and Feng Yi, Teng and other six sons; marry Fang Lei (Nvjie), and have six sons, including Longmiao, Bi, Xun, Ren, Qing and Cai; marry Tongyu, and have five sons, Yigu, Jinyun, Qiaobo, Ji and Xi. ; Married to Gui Fang's mother, and gave birth to eight sons: Canglin, Qingyang, Zhan, Zhanren, Yi, Yu, Leizu, and Baimin."
The surname was born. Later, it was passed down from generation to generation and generally did not change and was relatively stable. However, the surname changed with changes in fiefdoms and official positions. Therefore, a person's descendants would have several surnames or the father and son would have different surnames. In addition, different surnames may be named in the same way, so there will be a phenomenon of different surnames but the same surname.
Before the Zhou Dynasty, in addition to having a surname, nobles often took their country and official position as their surname. Most people do not have a surname or a surname. At that time, only the kings and their families of the vassal states had surnames, and the surnames were given after the land was granted to them.
In the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, men were called surnames and women were called surnames. The surname is used to distinguish between high and low. Nobles have surnames, while poor people have no surnames. Surnames are used to distinguish marriages. People with the same surname cannot intermarry, people with the same surname but different surnames cannot intermarry, but people with the same surname but different surnames can intermarry. Later, this tradition was maintained in China, and intermarriage between people with the same surname was considered taboo. It was not until modern times that this tradition was gradually broken, but in many places people still disapprove of intermarriage with the same surname.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the patriarchal system collapsed and the surname system also underwent fundamental changes. At this time, the differences between surnames and surnames gradually blurred. After the Warring States Period, civilians also had surnames, and commoners became the general term for the people. This reflects the decline of the nobility and the rise of the status of the common people.
After the Qin and Han Dynasties, the surname and family name were combined into one, so they were called "surnames".
It was produced around the time of the clan commune in primitive society. People speculate that the origin of the surname is related to the totem worship of the ancestors. In the primitive Mengmei era, each tribe and clan had its own totem worship objects. For example, ears of wheat, bears, snakes, etc. were all the totems of our ancestors, and this kind of totem worship objects became the symbol of the tribe. Later, it became the code name for all members of the tribe, that is, "surname".
Since the number of ancient clans and tribes is limited and countable after all, there are very few pure surnames left from ancient times. According to legend, Huangdi Xuanyuan, the ancestor of mankind, had 25 sons, 14 of whom had outstanding merits. Huangdi gave them 12 surnames, which have been followed from generation to generation and are still in use today. The "ancient surnames" sorted out by later generations according to "Spring and Autumn" include: Gui (now Guishui in Zhuolu, Hebei), Si, Zi, Ji, (surname of the Zhou royal family), Feng, Ying (surname of Qin), Ji, Ren, There are 22 surnames, including Ji, Qian, Cao, Qi, Juan, Jiang, Dong, Yan, Gui, Man, Mi (Chu surname), Wei (original surname of northern ethnic minorities), Qi (Hou), and Yun. Nearly half of these surnames have a female character next to them. Therefore, people speculate that the surname may have originated in a matrilineal clan society. Mr. Zhang Taiyan and other scholars compiled dozens of ancient surnames (about 59, Zhang Taiyan got 52, and others from bronze inscriptions) from older documents such as "Shuowen", "Shan Hai Jing", oracle bone inscriptions, and bronze inscriptions. Lei and 7 others), including the original ones, there are only about 80. It is conceivable that these are only part of the surnames that actually existed in ancient times, and the original surnames must be more than these. The others have been lost. But one thing is for sure, the surnames at that time were by no means as numerous as the "surnames" we talk about today.
Our country is the first country in the world to use surnames. During the Fuxi period about 5,000 years ago, the "surname" was designated as hereditary and passed on from the father. What we call surnames today is different from the common "ordered by the strokes of the surname", which treats surnames as a unified concept. However, in ancient times, there was a strict distinction between "surname" and "family name". "Surname" represents the lineage of the clan, which originated from matrilineal society. It is called clan surname. It is a corresponding identification mark invented to distinguish blood relatives and prevent blood marriage. "Shi" is the symbol of ancient nobility and the title of the clan system. From the middle of the Xia Dynasty, "Shi" became a branch of "surname", indicating merit and status.
At that time, the large tribal group split into several small groups. Out of the need for identification in mutual interactions, these small groups obtained a new place of residence and at the same time acquired a sense of connection with the region. New logo - Shi. It has always been thought that Chinese people have "surname" first and then "surname". In fact, surnames and surnames have been used mixedly, and the relationship between surnames and surnames is also changing.
There are hundreds of "shis" appearing in legends and documents. The earliest ones are the Pangu clan, Tianhuang clan, Dihuang clan, Renhuang clan and Wulong clan, followed by Juling clan, Huang clan and so on. The Xunfei era of 22 clans, including the Shen clan, the Guikui clan, the Kongsang clan, and the Cimin clan, was followed by the Yinti era of 13 clans, including the Chenfang clan, the Shushan clan, the Huanchao clan, the Youchao clan, the Suiren clan, and the Yongcheng clan. century era. In this era, the most important ones were the Chao clan and the Suiren clan. There was the Chao family who taught the people to build wooden nests and dig the ground for camps; the Suiren family invented the method of drilling wood to make fire, taught people to cook cooked food, and taught people to knot ropes to remember events. Entering the Fuxi era, during this period, there appeared in the Central Plains the Gong family, the Baihuang family, the Zhu Xiang family, the Haoying family, the Li Lu family, the Hexu family, the Kunwu family, the Getian family, the Yinkang family, and the Zhongyuan family. Huangshi, Nuwa and other tribes or countries.
The earliest "surname" in China came into being in the Fuxi era. "Feng" was the first surname in China. One of the most important "surnames" in this period was the Zhonghuang clan, whose leader was Cangjie. Words were created to replace knotting to record events. After the Nuwa family, there was the Shennong family, that is, Emperor Yan, and then the Jiang family. The Yellow Emperor's surname was Gongsun and his given name was Xuanyuan. The name of the tribe where the Yellow Emperor belonged was Xiong. The Yellow Emperor succeeded the Yan Emperor and ruled the Central Plains. The Yellow Emperor had 25 sons, with 14 surnames and 12 surnames: Ji, You, Qi, Ji, Teng, Zhen, Ren, Xun, Xi, Xi, Xuan, and Yi. These 12 surnames are actually branch clans of the Xiong family. The other sons cannot have surnames because they do not have the strength to establish their own clans. According to research, the oldest surnames in China are basically from after the Yan and Huang emperors. The two emperors, Yan and Huang, are the most common ancestors of our Chinese nation. No matter you or me, we have the same surname and we all have the same roots.
There are many sources of surnames, including surnames based on totems: bear, tiger, leopard, tiger, dragon, etc.; surnames based on country names: Qi, Chu, Han, Zhao, Qin, etc.; Those whose surnames are based on their place of residence: Ximen, Guo, Qiu, Yin, Chang; those whose surnames are based on official positions: Shangguan, Bu, Qian, Shi, Sima, etc.; those whose surnames are based on their occupations: Zhang, Gu, Tu, Zhen, Jiang, etc.; Those whose surnames are based on the names of mountains and rivers: Qiao, Ji, Jiang, Huang, Wu, etc.; those whose surnames are given by the emperor: Liu, Li, Zhao, Wanyan, Zhu, etc.; and those whose surnames are based on numbers, seasons, directions, climate, flowers and trees, etc. Surname. In terms of time, this is already a matter of the patriarchal clan society, and clans bear the mark of this era. Therefore, "surname" can be said to be a branch of the surname.
"Tongshu·Waiji" says: "The surname is the origin of the ancestral examination, and the surname is the origin of the descendants." This can explain the relationship between the two. "Surname" is constant, and "surname" is variable. Gu Yanwu also said that "surnames can change as soon as they are passed down, but surnames remain unchanged for thousands of years." Before the Qin and Han Dynasties, surnames and surnames were used on different occasions. There were strict regulations on who had surnames and who used surnames. After the Han Dynasty, surnames were not added. Distinction, surnames are combined into one, collectively referred to as surnames.