The most interesting folklore

Chapter 31 The Most Interesting Folk Appellation (1)
1. Why is China called "Huaxia"

Since ancient times, the Chinese have called themselves the descendants of Huaxia, and Zhonghua, Central Plains, and Huaxia are all names for China.

According to "Zuo Zhuan", China is an ancient civilization, and it has always been called a country of etiquette. The name "Xia" means elegance, and the Chinese people's clothing is very beautiful, so it is also called "Hua".

There is also a saying that the earliest dynasty in Chinese history was the Xia Dynasty established on the Loess Plateau. It had the highest level of culture and the greatest influence in ancient times, leaving an indelible page in the history of Niu Kingdom.The Xia Dynasty regarded itself as a central power from the very beginning, so "Xia" has the meaning of "China". "Xia People: People of China". Later, people called areas with high culture "Mi", and people or ethnic groups with high civilization were called "Hua". Together, "Hua Xia" represented China. It is a central country with a high degree of civilization and developed culture. "Huaxia" has gradually become synonymous with the Chinese nation.

2. What other names does China have?
Chixian Shenzhou.It was first seen in "Historical Records Biography of Mencius Gou Dai Beiqing", in which it was mentioned that there was a man named Zou Yan in the State of Qi during the Warring States Period. He said: "China is called Chixian Shenzhou." Later, people called China "Chixian Shenzhou". .But more are used separately, or Chixian, or Shenzhou.

magnificent.It is the same as "flower" in ancient times, and it is beautiful and glorious in the quotation. As the abbreviation of China, "Hua" has a long history.One way of explaining Hua is that people in the ancient Central Plains thought they lived in a well-dressed and well-dressed civilized area, so they called themselves Hua.Another way of saying is: "Hua" contains the meaning of red.People in the ancient Zhou Dynasty liked red color and regarded it as a symbol of auspiciousness, so they called themselves Hua.

Zhu Hua.Since the people of the Zhou Dynasty called themselves Hua, many vassal states in the Central Plains enfeoffed by the Zhou Dynasty were called Zhuhua.In the annotations made by Du Yu in the Jin Dynasty to "Chunqiu Zuozhuan", it said: "Zhu Hua is also China."

China.Before the Qin Dynasty, the Huaxia people called their motherland China. After the Qin Dynasty, it gradually developed into a multi-ethnic country, and they also called it the "Chinese nation". "Zhong" is China, "Hua" refers to the Huaxia people, and the Chinese nation is the general term for the Chinese nation.

summer.In ancient times, it had the meaning of "big".The first slavery country in Chinese history was the Xia Dynasty established by Dayu. Later, people often used "Xia" to refer to China.

Zhu Xia.This term is similar to "Zhuhua", which initially referred to the various vassal states of the Chinese nation, and was used to refer to China after unification.

Kyushu.According to legend, after Xia Yu controlled the floods, he divided China into nine states: Ji, Yan, Qing, Jing, Yang, Liang, Yong, Xu, and Yu. "Huainanyu·Terrain" also records: In ancient China, there were nine states: Shenzhou, Cizhou, Rongzhou, Zizhou, Jizhou, Taizhou, Jezhou, Bozhou, and Yangzhou.Later, Kyushu generally refers to China.With the meaning of Kyushu, many names such as Jiuyu, Jiuyou, Jiutu, Jiuqu and so on have been derived.

In addition, there are Yashu, Hainei, Jiumu, Jiuku and so on.

3. Why is the emperor's wife called "empress".
"Hou" originally meant the monarch.In ancient times, "Hou" was the title of an emperor.For example, Dayu's son Beast is called "Xiahoushi", and the legendary Yi who shot the sun is called Houyi.Before the Zhou Dynasty, the wives of the emperor were called "concubines", and at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty they were called "empress".In the state of Qin, the emperor was called the emperor, and the emperor's wife was called the queen.

In the Chinese court, the queen's status in the post-officials is like the son of heaven, the master of all concubines.All their words and deeds must conform to the norms of etiquette, mothers respect the world, and formulate women's etiquette.Therefore, in the harem, the queen said in "Zhou Li Tiangong Neizai": "The queen is in command of the people in the six palaces."

After Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the empress and concubine system in the Qing Dynasty gradually improved, and it was stipulated that: the emperor's grandmother was called "the empress dowager"; the emperor's mother was called "the empress dowager"; "; below the queen, there are one imperial concubine, two imperial concubines, four concubines, and six concubines. There are no fixed numbers of nobles, permanent presence, promises, etc. "

4. What are the titles of emperors and concubines in the past dynasties
Zhou Dynasty: Tianyu established a queen, three wives, nine concubines, 27 wives, and 81 royal wives.This shows that as early as the Zhou Dynasty, Tianyu's wives and concubines had names such as madam, concubine, world wife, and imperial wife.

Qin: In addition to the queen, Qin Shihuang divided his concubines into seven levels, namely: wife, pod, beau, eight sons, seven sons, long envoy, and young envoy.In addition, there are thousands of court ladies.Han Dynasty: During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, except for the empress, the number of concubines increased to 14 levels: Zhaoyi, Jiehao, Mozi, Ronghua, Chongyi, Meiren, Liangren, Bayu, Qiyu, Chief Envoy, Young Envoy, Five Senses, Normally, the 14th level has many titles, such as Wuwei, Yuling, Baolin and so on.In addition, there are thousands of concubines such as "family members" and "daizhaoyeting" who are of low status and want to indulge in lust for the emperor at any time.If you have children, your status can rise, and if you are lucky enough to be favored by the emperor, you can also be promoted to an official concubine.In Guangwu Zhongxing, the titles of the harem are only queen, nobleman, and beauty.

Three Kingdoms Wei: Under the empress, concubines were divided into five levels, and in the first year of Taihe (AD 277), it was increased to 12 levels.After Emperor Wu of Jin destroyed Wu, he took thousands of people in Sun Hao's harem and tens of thousands of people in Ye Ting as his own.

Sui: Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was afraid of internal affairs, so there was only one Empress Dugu.During the reign of Emperor Yangdi, the harem was expanded.

Tang: Below the empress, concubines noble, concubine Shu, concubine De, and concubine Xian are the wives.Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Zhaoyuan, Xiuyi, Xiurong, Xiuyuan, Chongyi, Chongrong, and Chongyuan are the nine concubines.There are also names such as Jiehao, Chiren, Cairen, Baolin, Yunu, Cainu, etc., a total of 108 people.A total of 121 people.During Xuanzong's reign, the number of court ladies increased to 3000.

Song Dynasty: Similar to Tang Dynasty, the title of concubine, in addition to noble, shu, virtuous, and virtuous, also adds a concubine.

Ming: Concubine titles include Xian, Shu, Jing, Hui, Shun, Kang, Ning, Zhao, etc.Among the concubines, the imperial concubine ranks the highest, only determined by the empress, and the imperial concubine is the third.The names of palace people include palace people, selected servants, talented people, ladies and so on.

Qing: The emperor's official wife was called the empress, who lived in the middle palace and ruled the internal affairs.The following are one imperial concubine, two imperial concubines, and six concubines, living separately in the east and west with 12 officials, assisting the empress in internal governance.Below the concubine, there are three levels of nobleman, constant presence, and promise, all of which have no quota.In addition, there are other concubine titles such as Concubine Zhuang, Concubine Jin, and Concubine Zhen.

5. How did "Long Live the Mountain Call" come about?
"Long live! Long live! Long live is three shouts, also known as Shanhu, long live. It is what the ancient officials must shout when they meet the emperor, to show their respect for their monarch.

According to the "Han Shu Wudi Benji": "In the spring of the first year of Yuanfeng, Emperor Wu came to Songshan Mountain, and the officials and soldiers who followed him heard three faint voices shouting long live from the mountain." Therefore, "Shanhu" is also called "Songhu". ", this is because of climbing Songshan.Later, Emperor Wu wrote this as "auspiciousness" in the imperial edict.Later generations made "Long live Shanhu" as a ritual for courtiers to meet the emperor, and it was called "Shanhu".Zhang Yue of the Tang Dynasty said in "Ode to Zen in the Great Tang Dynasty": "Five-color clouds rise, and birds follow people; Longevity Mountain shouts, from the sky to the earth." "Five-color clouds rise" is auspicious.Auspicious, to show the spirit of the monarch and the balance.

Regarding the etiquette process of Shanhu Longsui, there are more detailed records in "Yuan Shi·Li and Le Zhi".All the courtiers who had an audience with the emperor knelt on their left knees, and the chief of ceremonies who was in charge of the court shouted "Shanhu", and the audience kowtowed and said in response: "Long live!" like this.Finally, the master of ceremonies shouted: "Hoo again!" The audience kowtowed and said: "Long live!" ", "long live".

6. Does Tiangao Emperor Yuan mean that he lives far away from the emperor's palace?
At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a severe drought in Taizhou and Wenzhou, Zhejiang, and many people died of starvation.Due to the large number of Beijing officials and local officials in the Song Dynasty and the huge number of institutions, the government expenditure was particularly large.In addition to the extravagance of the emperor, the construction of buildings, halls, halls, and temples never stopped for a day, so the burden was passed on to the people.Even in times of famine, the poor were not sympathetic, and miscellaneous taxes were exorbitantly imposed, extorted, and tortured.So the world was in chaos, and the people revolted one after another.

The peasants in Taiwan and Wenzhou couldn't survive anymore, so they erected a banner of rebellion in the village, with four sentences written on the banner:
The sky is high, the emperor is far away, the people are few, and the public is more.

Hit three times a day, no matter what.

The translation of these four sentences into modern language is: How can the high emperor care about the lives of the people?So many officials (Xianggong) ride on the heads of the people and exploit them.Hit me three times a day for tax collection, what are you waiting for if you don't rebel?This rebellion was later suppressed, but the ruling foundation of the Song Dynasty had been fundamentally shaken.

This story is recorded in Huang Pu's "Minzhong Ancient and Modern" in Ming Dynasty.Later generations often used "the sky is high and the emperor is far away" or "the mountain is high and the emperor is far away" as a metaphor for the upper-level bureaucrats not understanding the lower situation, or as a metaphor for the power of the central government not reaching remote areas, where officials can do whatever they want.

7. When did the title princess come into being?

The princess originated from the Zhou Dynasty.When the emperor of Zhou married his daughter, the princes with the same surname presided over the wedding. Because the princes were called princes, the daughter of the emperor was called "princess".At that time, the daughters of princes were also called princesses.

Since the Western Han Dynasty, only the emperor's daughter can be called a princess, and the emperor's sister is called "the eldest princess", and the sisters of the previous emperors are called "the eldest princess".The princesses of the Han Dynasty had Jiadi bestowed by the emperor, and they all had their own fiefdoms. For example, Princess Wuyang's fiefdom was Wuyang County.In the Jin Dynasty, the princesses were granted the title of "Jun", referred to as "Junzhu" for short.The county masters and princesses from the Han Dynasty to the Jin Dynasty all refer to the emperor's daughter.In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the prince's daughter was the county head, and the daughters of the kings were the county head.The daughters of the princes of the Ming and Qing Dynasties are the princesses, and the daughters of the princes of the county are the county princesses.

8. Why is the princess’s husband called a son-in-law?
The son-in-law is the husband of the princess, the emperor's son-in-law, also known as the emperor's son-in-law, the master's son-in-law, the country's son-in-law, etc.

When Zhang Liang joined forces with the Hercules to stop Qin Shihuang, he hit Qin Shihuang's auxiliary vehicle.After that, when Qin Shihuang went on tour, he arranged many auxiliary cars, using doubles to cover up people's eyes and ears.Since then, the emperors of all dynasties have followed the example of Qin Shihuang to arrange substitutes when they went on tour. The son-in-law who is both a member of the royal family and a person with a foreign surname has become the best candidate.When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to set up the son-in-law (deputy) Ma Duwei, who was in charge of the horse of the auxiliary chariot.During the Three Kingdoms period, He Yan of the Wei State was appointed as the son-in-law of the emperor's son-in-law, and later Du Yu of the Jin Dynasty married Princess Anlu, the daughter of Emperor Xuan of Jin, and Wang Ji married Princess Changshan, the daughter of Sima Zhao. .After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the emperor's son-in-law was routinely given the title of Consort Duwei, referred to as Consort, not a real official.From then on, the son-in-law was used to call the emperor's son-in-law.In the Qing Dynasty, the son-in-law was called the forehead son-in-law.

9. Why did the emperor call "Your Majesty" and "Holy Majesty"

"Your Majesty" in "Your Majesty" originally referred to the steps of the emperor's palace. "Jingke Assassins the King of Qin": "Qin Wuyang sent a map box to enter His Majesty." The "Your Majesty" here is the place and position where the minister met the emperor.

Because the attendants on both sides of the emperor are always on guard next to the emperor, when the courtiers address the emperor, they cannot call the emperor directly, but must first call the attendants under the steps to tell them. Therefore, "Your Majesty" means to greet you through the servants under your steps. Conveying the words of the humble means that the humble speak to the venerable.Over time, the word "Your Majesty" became the honorific title of the emperor.

Shengshang is the respectful title given to the reigning emperor by subjects in the feudal era.The emperor's power is extremely great, "under the whole world, is it the land of the king, and the shore of the land, is it the subject of the king," and the rights of the emperor are not subject to any laws.The only way to restrain the emperor is to rely on his self-cultivation, and only through the influence of moral power and the principles of sages to teach him, so as to cultivate the emperor into a moral "sage king".Therefore, the emperor became the "sage".

In addition to "Your Majesty" and "Sage", the honorific titles of ancient emperors also included:
① ninety-five.The ministers are called emperors, and "Your Majesty" is used on more occasions, but sometimes "Ninth Five-Year" is occasionally used.For example, Li Qiao's "Shangyongzhou Gaochang History Book" says: "The benefit is ninety-five, and the difference is twenty-eight."In many historical books, the emperor is called "Ninth Five-Year" or "Ninth Five-Year Master".

② South.The most honorable seat on the ancient "tang" is to sit north and face south.When the emperor summoned his ministers to discuss matters, he usually sat on the honorable seat facing south, so the emperor's seat was called "south face".Later, there were sayings that "the south is called the king" and "the south is called the lonely".

③ Beichen.Originally refers to the North Star.In ancient times, it was honored to sit north and face south, and the emperor sat north, shining like the Polaris, so the Beichen was used to refer to the emperor, expressing a kind of praise.

④ Long Yan.In ancient China, "dragon" was often used to symbolize the emperor.Long Yan, originally referring to the face of the emperor, later changed to refer to the honorific title of the emperor himself.It is also called "Tianyan".

⑤ long live.It was originally a speech of praise to the emperor by the officials in the feudal era, expressing the meaning of "eternal existence".Later extended to the emperor's special title.

10. Did ancient emperors also have modest titles?
The ancient emperors also had modest titles when they called themselves, mainly including:

① To one person. "Notes Yuzao" says: "Whoever claims to be, God says Yuyi....'Yuyiren", that is, Tianyu's modest name, which means that I am just one person in the world, no different from everyone else.Express a kind of humility.

② I am less than. "notes?"Qu Lixia" said: "Heaven has not eliminated the mourning, and he said it to the boy." That is to say, "Yu is less than" refers to the emperor's self-proclaimed during his father's funeral.It means not daring to be called the same as "the former king" during the mourning period, so it is modestly called "Yu Yu".If the mourning has been eliminated, it is called "Yuyiren".

③ I. "Erya · Interpretation" says: "Zhen, the body." That is to say, I am also.Guo Pu's note said: "In ancient times, all the noble and the humble called themselves Zhen." This means that in ancient times, no matter how high or low, everyone could call themselves Zhen.The self-proclaimed emperor began with Qin Shihuang. "Historical Records The Book of the First Emperor": "The Son of Heaven calls himself Zhen." In the 26th year of Qin Shihuang, he once designated "望" as the title of the Supreme, and used it to call himself.Since then, "zhen" has been used as a modest title by the emperor alone.

④ lonely.It was originally the self-proclaimed title of princes and kings of small countries.Such as "Notes."Yuzao": "Anyone who claims to be... the king of a small country is called Gu, and those who leave him are also called Gu." Yu. Called himself Gu." Later, calling himself Gu Dao widow was transformed into the self-proclaimed title of the monarch when he took the throne.For example, in Qiu Chi's "Book with Chen Bozhi": "Through meritorious service and development, the founding of the country is called an orphan." Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, the death of a father is called an orphan, and the death of a mother is called Aiyu.The king claims to be lonely, which means that the previous king has died before he can inherit the throne.The successor is called Gu, which means self-humility.Another meaning is that the kings are all alone and different, which obviously means loneliness and solitude.Therefore, "solitary" has become a kind of emperor's humble title with compassion.

⑤ Widows.Originally refers to the self-proclaimed princes and kings. "Mencius King Hui of Liang" has "the people who are widowed do not add more".Zhu Xi's note said: "The widow, the princes call themselves, is also a person with few virtues;" it can be seen that the widow is a modest word used by the monarch to express his few virtues.Sometimes, envoys on missions to other countries often refer to the monarch of their own country as "the widow", which is a kind of modest expression representing the status of the monarch of their own country.Since the Qin Dynasty, "widowed person" has become the emperor's modest name.

⑥ No hub.At first, it was the title of self-modesty given by heaven, and later the princes and kings also used it to call themselves. "notes."Qu Lixia": "If you don't cover the hub, it is called the emperor's self-deprecation." "Zhu" means good and good, and if you don't have a hub, you are not good. It is a humble word for the monarch who thinks he is not good.

11. What are the titles of the age of the ancients?

It is recorded in "Royal System": Children under the age of one are called infants, and children aged 2-3 are called children.Young men and women are generally called Zongjiao, those under 10 years old are generally called Huangkou, 13-15 years old are called the year of dancing spoons, and 15-20 years old are called the year of dancing elephants.7 years old is called the Year of the Girl, 12 is called the Year of Nobile, 13 is called the Year of Cardamom, 15 is called the Year of Jiji, 16 is called the Year of Pogua and Jasper, 20 is called the Year of Peach and Plum, and 24 is called the Year of Huaxin. When you get married, you are called Mei, and when you are 30 years old, you are called half-old Xu Niang.

Boys are called the age of 8, the age of 20 is called the weak crown, the age of 30 is called the age of thirties, and the age of 40 is called the age of fortitude and strength.

Men and women at the age of 50 are said to be over half a hundred years old, the year of knowing wrong, the year of knowing fate, the year of Ai Fu, and the year of Dayan. The year of the country, the year of service, and the year of government, 60 years old is called the year of Zhang Dynasty, 70~80 years old is called the old age, 80 years old is called the year of the back, and 90 years old is called Qiyi.

In addition, the age of the Zhang Family refers to 50 years old, the age of the Zhang Township refers to the age of 60, the age of the Zhang Kingdom refers to the age of 70, and the age of the Zhang Dynasty refers to the age of 80.The sixtieth birthday is 120 years old, and the ancient times and double celebrations are 140 years old.

In addition, it is recorded in "Zhuangzi": the lower life span refers to 60 years old, the middle life span refers to 80 years old, and the upper life span refers to 100 years old.

In addition, people over the age of 60 are collectively referred to as "senior", and those over 80 are called "Da Die".There are also people who generally refer to the elderly as "Dragon Bell" and "The Year of Frustration". "Guangyun": "Dragon bell, bamboo, the old man is like a bamboo branch, swaying, unable to hold it. If it is broken, the road is like flowing water, and it is upside down and blocked, just like what happens to people, so it goes."

12. What are the honorific speeches in ancient times?
Jingci is a word that expresses respect.There are the following categories:

(1) Words that directly express respect
Such as Ru, Er, Zi, Er, Gong, Jun, etc., as well as Mr., Wuzi, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Excellency, Deacon, Left and Right, Great King, Doctor, General, Young Master, etc., can all be translated as "you".

(2) Use an adjective plus a noun related to the other party to express

These adjectives generally include:

Ling: To show respect for other people's relatives, which means "beautiful".For example, the parents of the other party are called the paternal lord, the brothers and sisters of the other party are called brothers and sisters, and the children of the other party are called sons and daughters.

Zun, Xian: also show respect.Such as Zunfu, Zunxiong, Zunjia, Zunfu; virtuous brother, virtuous wife.

Hui, vertical, light: used for the opponent's actions towards oneself.For example, huilin and patronage mean that the other party comes to you; huicun means asking others to keep their gifts; inquiring and inquiring mean that the other party asks about yourself; hanging on means that others miss you.Also like visiting, visiting.

Ci: Refers to the gift received.For example, granting advice refers to others teaching oneself; giving meals refers to being entertained by others with meals; giving reply refers to asking others to reply to oneself.

Please: used to ask the other party to do something.If you ask, ask.Now commonly used.

Gao: To call other people's things.Such as high opinion, high theory, high foot (respecting other people's students), high life, old age, high attainment, etc.It is also commonly used now.

Hua: It refers to things related to the other party.For example, Huahan refers to someone else's letter; birthday refers to someone else's birthday; Huaxia refers to someone else's house.

Bong: Used for one's own actions involving the other party.Such as offering, returning, advising, and accompanying.

BAI: For your own actions.To read, to visit, to meet, to know, to congratulate, to worship, etc.

Da, Fang: Call each other or things related to each other.For example, big birthday refers to the birthday of the elderly; masterpiece refers to the works of the other party; Da Zha refers to the letters of the other party.Fang Ling refers to the age of the other party, and the other party should be a young woman; Fang Lin refers to the other party's neighbor; Fang Ming refers to the other party's name, and the other party should be a young woman.

Bow: Used in official documents and letters to refer to the actions of the other party towards oneself.For example, overlooking, refers to the other party’s or superior’s understanding of oneself; condescending, is used to ask the other party’s consent to take up a certain position; bowing down, refers to the other party’s or superior’s body idea; Fuyong, refers to the other party’s or superior’s permission.

Expensive: To call things related to the other party.Such as Guigan, Guigeng, Guisurname, Guiqi (called the other party's disease), Guiguo and so on.

Ya: It is used to express the affection or action of the other party.Such as Yayi, Yazheng and so on.

There are also words such as Hua, Jing, Gong, Qu, Jiu Yang, Enlightenment, Correction, Stop, Stay, Smile, Forbearance, Fu Zheng, Bi Huan, and Ding Li.

13. What are the humble words in ancient times?
There are many kinds of humble words in ancient times, that is, when talking to the other party, it is a modest term of addressing "I" or "mine".The following categories are listed:
One class means "I".

Emperors are self-effacing, lonely, widowed, not bossy, etc.

There are ministers, servants, so-and-so, villains, lower officials, last officials, petty officials, and low-ranking officials.

The self-effacement of scholars includes niche, late student, late school, lack of talent, lack of sycophantic, unworthy and so on.

Women are self-effacing and have concubines, maidservants, slaves, slaveservants and so on.

(End of this chapter)