What was the name of Qin Shihuang himself? There seem to be several answers: Zhao Zheng, Ying Zheng, Qin Zheng, Zulong.
What are the origins of these names? Which one is right?
"Zhao Zheng" is the original name of Qin Shihuang, which can also be called the original name. The surname system of the Zhou Dynasty is characterized by the coexistence of surname and surname, both of which are included. The latter is a branch of the former, and surname is placed in front of a person's name to indicate family origin. The Qin Guogong family to which Qin Shihuang belonged was the Zhao family in the surname Ying, so Qin Shihuang's real name was "Zhao Zheng".
"Ying Zheng" is the name of the revised version, which can also be called the modern version. The reason for the revision is because the system of parallel surnames in the Zhou Dynasty has become outdated. The surnames of the Zhou Dynasty are essentially the remnants of the emblems of primitive tribes in ancient matriarchal societies. They are just symbols of blood, similar to today's ethnic names, which are not placed in front of a person's name. Just as today there are no people called "Han Xiaohong", "Zang Mingming" and other inexplicable names, people in the Zhou Dynasty were not called "Ji XX" or "Ying XX". Especially after the emergence of surnames, people basically no longer use surnames, because surnames not only indicate family but also reflect lineage. By the late Warring States period, everyone used surnames, and even common people began to take surnames. The ancient surnames had basically completely disappeared. By the Han Dynasty, new people were completely unfamiliar with the ancient surname system of the Zhou Dynasty. They didn't know what the ancient surname was used for. They often confused it with the surname, which caused a great shift in the world. The surname is used as the surname, and this is the so-called "unification of surnames". Therefore, most people after the Han Dynasty believe that ancient surnames, like surnames, are placed in front of a person's name. This is how "Ying Zheng" appeared, and the fallacy has been circulating for two thousand years. The influence is too wide and deep. The extremely limited number of ancient history experts has no way to change the impression of more than one billion people on Qin Shihuang's name. They can only compromise and acquiesce. It is true, but the professional historians themselves still have to call Qin Shihuang Zhao Zheng.
As for the name "Qin Zheng", it can only be called wrong version and pirated version. It is completely parallel import. Its origins are roughly as follows:
First, in ancient books of the Pre-Qin Dynasty, it was customary to use the "national name" mode to address someone (usually a relatively famous person), such as the well-known Lu Ban , a native of the state of Lu, whose surname was Ji and whose surname was Gongshu. His official name was Gongshuban (sometimes written as Gongshupan). However, in order to directly indicate his identity, people from other vassal states called him Luban. As a result, the name "Luban" became famous. Far more than his real name, leading many modern people to think that his surname was Lu. The situation of "Qin Zheng" is almost the same. Similar ones include "Qi Xiaobai", "Jin Chong'er", "Wei Yang", etc.
Secondly, some people who are new to the history of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States have seen that the names of many princes and countries correspond to modern surnames. For example, the kings of Zhao and South Korea are called "Zhao" and "Han" , so I committed simplicity and empiricism, thinking that I had found the relationship between the country name and the surname, that is, the country name of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was the surname of its monarch. By analogy, Qin Shihuang's natural surname was Qin Mingzheng!
The third is that some people with the Qin surname in history and modern times deliberately tampered with family history in order to cling to celebrities, taking advantage of ordinary people in society's unfamiliarity with the ancient surname system, their lack of understanding of the background of the Zhao family in Qin, and Not understanding the relationship between the country title and the surname of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period, he deliberately referred to the Qin monarch as the Qin family and recognized the Qin monarch as his ancestor (essentially making the "ancestor" have his own surname of Qin), so that his own Qin The last name seems to be extremely noble.
To sum up, both "1" and "2" can be called wrong versions, while "3" should be called "pirated".
Finally, "Zulong" is the nickname of Qin Shihuang. According to the available information, this nickname should be an alias or a nickname, not a formal title.