Master Archaeologist

Chapter 107 Can't explain it!

Nangong Shi, the ancestor of the Nangong family.

However, what his surname is is not recorded in the history books.

The surname system in the Zong and Zhou Dynasties was very complicated, and the surname and clan were separated.

People in the two-week period are only called family names, not surnames.

After all, those who can have a surname are all nobles, and the possibility of nobles with the same surname is too great.

"Surname" represents the clan of origin.

The surname cannot be changed, but the family name can be changed.

Generally, after the meritorious service is sealed to other places, the clan will change with the fiefdom.

For example, Shang Yang in the Warring States period, he was surnamed Ji, surnamed Gongsun, and named Yang, was a native of Wei.

So in the history books, sometimes he is called Wei Yang, sometimes he is called Gongsun Yang, and sometimes he is called Shang Yang.

But no one would ever call him "Ji Yang".

Because Ji is a surname, the surname represents his clan.

"Surname" is a status symbol that represents one's birth clan, but it is not mentioned in daily life.

It's like there are 56 ethnic groups in modern China, and everyone comes from different ethnic groups.

But when introducing and addressing each other, you may introduce yourself as a member of the XX family, but in daily life, you only call by name.

Even if it is written down, it is impossible to specifically write "Li Si of the Han nationality" and "Zhang San of the Manchu nationality" and the like.

So in fact, Qin Shihuang was not called "Ying Zheng". Ying was his surname, and he was not called by name. In that era, he should be called "Zhao Zheng".

Nangongshi is also the same, "Nangong" is just his clan.

But Tai Shigong didn't say what his surname was, and Tai Shigong mentioned his historical documents before, and he didn't say it either.

However, in 1979, in Yidigang, the northern suburb of Suizhou, in the tomb of the nobleman of the Zeng State, there were two bronze spears with two inscriptions engraved on them.

"Muhou's son, the grandson of Xigong, once attacked (worker) Yin Jilao for use."

"The King of Zhou, the Sun Ji, acts on his own initiative."

The Muhou here is of course not Jin Muhou, but a Muhou of Zeng Guo.

Da Gong Yin is an official position in charge of the official handicraft industry.

This Zeng Guo Dagong Yin named Ji Yan is the son of Zeng Guo Muhou and the grandson of Xigong.

But he also claimed to be the king and grandson of Zhou.

"Wang Sun" means the descendants of the royal family.

This shows that the lineage of the Hou Jun of Zeng Guo is of the same origin as the King of Zhou, and they all have the surname of Ji!
Since there is an inscription of "Zeng" on the tripod unearthed from Tomb M1 of Wenfeng Pagoda, it can be confirmed that this is a tomb of the level of Marquis Zeng.

And the source of Marquis Zeng's blood can be determined to be a vassal state with the surname Ji through the inscription Ji Lan carved on Ge.

The newly unearthed chime bells in the tomb now show how Zeng Hou engraved on the bell how his ancestor "Nan Gong" founded Zeng State.

And this "Nangong", Chen Han and Professor Li, deduced from the inscription that it should be the famous four friends of King Wen, Nangong Shi!
So, connect all these clues in series.

Then you can fill in the missing parts in the historical materials!
If the research and interpretation of Chen Han and Professor Li are correct, this "Bo Shi" is really Nangong Shi.

That means that Nangong Shi shares the surname of Ji with King Wen and King Wu.

This is not surprising, after all, the four friends of King Wen were ministers in Zhou State before King Wen was ready to attack merchants.

Zhou Guo didn't pop out of nowhere suddenly.

The Zhou tribe was born in the early Shang Dynasty, and by the mid-Shang Dynasty, it had become a powerful country under the Shang Dynasty.

Before King Wen, Zhou had been passed down for many generations.

And in the era of Shiqing Shilu, if you can be a minister in Zhou State, you must be a nobleman, and the nobles in Zhou State must have something to do with the surname Ji.

Just like during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period, most of the ministers of various countries were distant relatives of their own country, or their ancestors were the princes of a certain vassal state. Because of the failure of political struggles, they went to other vassal states to develop.

For example, in the state of Jin, eleven families have served as the six ministers in the past 600 years.

Six of the families belonged to the Jin family, and three belonged to the Zhou Dynasty, all with the surname Ji.

Only the Fan family has the Qi surname, and the Zhao family comes from the Ying surname, not the Ji surname.

Now use the clues given by the inscription to work backwards.

As an important minister in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, Nan Gongshi was born with the surname Ji, is it reasonable?

Reasonable, that's too reasonable!
This also explains why Nangong can become the right-hand man of King Wen and Wu.

Why was it that when King Wen was imprisoned by King Zhou, and Zhou Guo seemed unable to overthrow the rule of Yin and Shang, Nangong Shi would try his best to save King Wen and rebel with him.

Because they are of the same race!

As soon as such a complete reasoning was unfolded, Chen Han, who was still a little uncertain and hesitant about whether the inscription was "fit" or not, immediately let go of his anxiety.

At least according to the reasoning, if this inscription really refers to "Nangong Shi", then the current explanations are all reasonable and can stand scrutiny!

Moreover, the most important point is that since Zeng Guo was the feudal state of Gongsun Shi, and it was sealed here in Suizhou.

As for whether Zeng Sui is from the same country, another important piece of evidence will be added!

According to historical records, Suiguo was an important country surnamed Ji who enfeoffed and guarded the south in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. It was the most powerful of the more than ten vassal states in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Undertake the important mission of protecting the "Southern Land" of the Zhou Dynasty!

In connection with the inscription on this chime, Chen Han completely connected a reasonable guess in his mind.

He looked at Professor Li with piercing eyes, and said slowly: "Professor, it is written in the inscription that King Wu let the Nangong mansion be full of land, the king shelters Huaiyi, and there is Jiangxia."

"At first I didn't quite understand this sentence, but now I seem to understand."

"During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the place occupied by Huaiyi was roughly east of the Han River, which is the modern AH, Jiangsu and other areas."

"Ruitu means the place where rivers and rivers meet."

"There is Jiangxia, the Jiangxia here refers to the place where the Han River and Xiashui converge!"

"As for Suizhou and Zaoyang, it is at the confluence of the Han River and Xiashui. Later, Jiangxia County was established here in the Western Han Dynasty."

"In this way, Zeng State completely overlaps with Sui State, both in terms of description and the actual territory of the feudal state!"

"Before the appearance of the Wenfeng Pagoda burial group, the earliest archaeological discoveries of Zeng State were only in the middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty. It is not yet certain whether this Zeng State was enfeoffed in the early Western Zhou Dynasty."

"However, the inscription on the chime bell of tomb M1 clearly records that Zeng Guo is a vassal state with the surname Ji granted in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty!"

"This undoubtedly proves once again that Zeng Guo is Suiguo!"

"It's just that when it was recorded in historical materials, it was recorded incorrectly, and "Zeng" was mistakenly recorded as "Sui"."

Chen Han was full of confidence and felt that his guess was absolutely correct.

But Professor Li frowned and did not agree with his point of view.

"However, how do you explain that the descendants who follow the surname all take Suiguo as their ancestor?"

"It's fine for outsiders to call it wrong, Sui's own country, don't they even know whether their surname is Zeng or Sui?"

"Why did the Zeng family change their surname to Sui instead of Zeng or Nangong after the country's demise?"

Now there are two random surnames in Huaxia.

One comes from the surname of Qi, a descendant of the Du family, and is related to the Fan family, one of the six ministers of Jin.

Their ancestor was Du Bo, a doctor during the time of King Xuan of Zhou. He was killed because he offended King Xuan of Zhou.

The other branch originated from Suiguo.

Suiguo died after Chu, and his descendants took the country's name as their surname.

Among them, the branch of Suiguo is the mainstream. Most of the people in the country have the surname Sui. Their ancestors come from Suizhou and Xiangyang, Hubei, and the ancestral temple is also in Suizhou.

If Zeng Guo is really Sui Guo, then how to explain that the Duke of Zeng Guo, who called himself "Zeng" and "Marquis Zeng" on the bronze wares, changed his surname to Sui surname after the country's demise?
The "Suiguo" recorded in historical documents is definitely not a simple misrecording. It can be explained by misrecording "Zeng" as "Sui", which does not make sense at all!
(End of this chapter)