Chapter 4 The formation of the third section Xingdai characters
The names of the people in the pre-Qin period were disorganized among the brothers, and their relationship could not be seen. "Zuo Zhuan Eleven Years of Wengong" records Di Ren's attack on Lu, and mentions by the way Chang Di Qiaoru's three younger brothers, Fenru, Rongru and Jianru. In the Spring and Autumn Period, it was really rare.The names of people in the Han Dynasty are still so scattered.Liu Bang's eight sons, in addition to Emperor Hui Liu Yingzhi and Emperor Wen Liu Hengzhi, the other six are Liu Fei, Liu Ruyi, Liu Chang, Liu You, Liu Hui and Liu Jian.From the names of Emperor Hui and Emperor Wen, it can be concluded at a glance that they must be related, but the other six people have no way of guessing.At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Biao's two sons were named Liu Qi and Liu Cong [cong Cong]. Gu Yanwu said that "the single names are ranked by radicals, and they were first seen in Liu Qi and Liu Cong" (Volume 23).Later, brothers Ying Yu [yang Yang] and Ying Yu [qu Qu] also used radicals to indicate their ranks.In addition, there were no new discoveries during the Wei and Jin Dynasties.However, there are eight brothers Sima Yi. Although there is no ranking mark in their names, they all have the word "Da" in their names.Such as: Boda, Zhongda, Shuda, Jida, Xianda, Huida, Yada, Youda.It should be said that this is also a manifestation of a peer relationship.
After the Jin Dynasty, this sense of seniority was significantly strengthened.For example, the 17 sons of Emperor Wu of Qi all had the word "Zi" embedded in their names and the word "Cloud" in their names.For example: Xiao Ziliang's word is Yunying, Xiao Ziqing's word is Yunchang, Xiao Zixiang's word is Yunyin, Xiao Zijing's word is Yun... Or the six sons of Emperor Wudi's younger brother Xiao Yi, all of them have the word "子" embedded in their names, but they all use "Zi" in their names. The word "Jing" means that he is different from the father of the same generation as the son of Emperor Wu, and he is a brother.For example: Xiao Zilian's character is Jing Ai, Xiao Ziyun's character is Jing Qiao, Xiao Zixian's character is Jing Ai, and so on.Liang Xiaohong's sons all use the word "正" in their names and the word "gong" in their names: Xiao Zhengren's name is Gongye, Xiao Zhengli's name is Gongshan, Xiao Zhengbiao's name is Gongyi...
This kind of seniority consciousness of one family, when developed to later generations, becomes the collective consciousness of a clan.All family surnames of the same ancestor will jointly formulate several good characters, arrange them in order, and use them sequentially.In this way, people of the same family and generation have a "common name" (different characters for the same generation), and each has its own proper name. Just look at the different characters for the same generation, and you can know which generation he is. presented in an orderly manner.
The most typical and longest-lasting use of Xingdai characters is none other than the descendants of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong.Because Yanzi, Mencius, and Zengzi played a special role in carrying forward Confucius' theory, a school was set up in Qufu for the descendants of Confucius, Yan, and Mencius in the Yuan Dynasty.The descendants of these three families are allowed to share the same characters as the Kong family.Therefore, the lineages of the descendants of Confucius, Mencius, Yan, and Zeng have been arranged in an orderly manner for hundreds of years.This is unique in the history of Chinese culture.
With the common clan surname and line generation characters, it can still express the distant and close relatives of the blood relationship.Like father and brother or brothers with the same ancestor, you can use the same radical as the name; you can also use an idiom, such as: "Heqing Haiyan", "Fengming Qishan"; you can also use a scripture, such as: "Yuan "Henry Zhen" ("Yi·Qian Gua"), "Gentle, Courteous and Thrifty" ("The Analects of Confucius·Xue Er").
Notes:
Notes: