Chapter 19 Section 5 Title Taboo
A person's name is just a personal symbol used in social communication activities, and there is no distinction between high and low.However, in ancient society, the name and name became an integral part of the feudal ritual system, and were endowed with the concept of hierarchy and the color of superiority and inferiority.
The surname is also called the surname, but there was a strict distinction between the surname and the family name in the pre-Qin period.The surname is the title representing a race with a common blood relationship, and the clan is a branch derived from the surname.Surnames and family names in the Zhou Dynasty were an important part of the prevailing feudal patriarchal system at that time, and there were strict regulations.The surname is innate and stable, while the surname is subject to change.The main function of the surname in the Zhou Dynasty was to distinguish marriages.The ancients have long realized that intermarriage between close relatives is not conducive to the health of offspring, so the Zhou Dynasty has stipulated that intermarriage between people with the same surname is not allowed.In order to distinguish the similarities and differences between men and women's surnames and decide whether to marry, women must use their surnames.Although aristocratic women have various ways of addressing them before and after marriage, life and death, no matter how they are called, they must carry their surnames.For example, a woman surnamed Jiang, who was born in the royal family of Qi State, is generally called "Qi Jiang"; if she marries the king of Lu State, she can be called "Lu Jiang".Duke Huan of Lu's wife was surnamed Jiang, and her posthumous title was "Wen" after her death, so she was also called "Wen Jiang".The main function of the surname is to distinguish between noble and humble, so only noble men have surnames, and usually they are only called surnames but not surnames.The source of the clan is more complicated. In general, the princes are named after the enfeoffed country, such as the Chen clan and the Song clan.There are specific regulations on the surnames of the descendants of the princes. The sons of the princes are called Gongzi, the sons of the princes are called Gongsun, and the sons of Gongsun are named after their grandfather.Some of the senior officials took their official positions as their surnames, such as Shi, Shi, Sima, and Sikong;In addition, there are also those who take their residence as their surname, such as Dongguo surname and Liuxia surname.However, the surname system in the Zhou Dynasty became chaotic with the disintegration of the clan and nobles during the Warring States Period. In the Qin and Han Dynasties, the surname and clan were no longer distinguished and merged into one.What needs to be explained here is that only nobles had surnames in the pre-Qin period. Not only slaves were not eligible to have surnames, but ordinary commoners also had names without surnames.Therefore, the "common people" in the pre-Qin period refer to the nobles.After the Qin and Han Dynasties, everyone had a surname. Because of the large number of ordinary people, the lower classes were gradually called common people.
According to the etiquette of the ancients, it was "Young Name Guan Zi" ("Book of Rites·Tan Gong"), that is, it was named by the father three months after birth, and the men took the characters when they held the crown ceremony and the women held the jiao ceremony.Characters are often used to explain or supplement names, and are related to names, so they are also called Biaozi.The relationship between the word and the name has the same meaning, such as Zhang Heng who created the seismograph in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the word Pingzi, "heng" and "ping" are synonymous.The meanings complement each other, such as Bai Juyi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, whose word is Letian, and he was able to "Juyi" because of "Letian".Those with opposite meanings, such as Zhao Mengfu [fufu], a calligrapher and painter in Yuan Dynasty, had the word Ziang, and "复(同备)" has the opposite meaning to "ang".In addition, the relationship between words and names, there are many situations such as summarizing the meaning of the scriptures and using allusions.However, in ancient times, only nobles or gentry had characters, and common people did not have characters.For example, among the heroes who followed Liu Bang to conquer the world in the early Western Han Dynasty, except for a few descendants of nobles from the six countries such as Zhang Liang, most of them were born civilians, so Chen Ping, Han Xin, Fan Kui, etc. are all famous.
There are certain principles for the ancients to call names and words under what circumstances, and they cannot be used indiscriminately regardless of the occasion or the object.Generally speaking, the name is given by the father or the eldest relative, and it is called by the elders; while the character is taken by the guests for the purpose of "respecting the name", and it is called by others.Therefore, only the venerable can name the humble, and the elder can name the younger.For example, in "The Analects of Confucius Advanced", Confucius called his disciple Ran Qiu by his first name: "Qiu, how about you?" Friends and peers call each other by name to show closeness and respect.In addition, the elders often call the other person's name for the humble to express their modesty; in the pre-Qin and early feudal society, the humble can also call the elder.Therefore, the use of words is more extensive.For example, during the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei was often called Liu Xuande, Zhuge Liang was called Zhuge Kongming, Guan Yu was called Guan Yunchang, Zhang Fei was called Zhang Yide, and Zhao Yun was called Zhao Zilong.Since addressing characters means showing respect, no matter whether the other party is an elder, a peer or a junior, they can only address themselves by their names and not their characters.Of course, there is also a special case, that is, the real name violates the taboo of the emperor, and you can call yourself a surname as a last resort.For example, in "Sui Shu Literature Biography", Wang Zhen's character is Xiaoyi, and in the letter to King Qi, it is said that "Xiaoyi was born in the season of war".Here Wang Zhen called herself "Xiaoyi" because her name "Zhen" violated the taboo of Sui Wendi's grandfather Yang Zhen, so she had to use the word "Zhen" instead.Another example is "New Book of Tang·Liu Zhiji Biography": "Liu Zixuan's name is well known, and he is suspected by Xuanzong, so he uses his words." The homophony of the word "Zixuan" violated the emperor's taboo, so he had to use the word "Zixuan" in the world, and he also called himself the word when he called himself.However, this situation of "acting with characters" due to taboo avoidance is essentially using "characters" as "names", and it is not arrogant, so it is generally recognized by the society and is not regarded as indecent.
In addition to names and characters, the middle and upper class figures in ancient times, especially literati and scholars, often took their names based on their residence, situation, and aspirations.For example, the Taoist Ge Hong in the Jin Dynasty called himself Baopuzi, the poet Tao Qian called himself Mr. Wuliu; the poet Li Bai in the Tang Dynasty called himself Qinglian Layman, Du Fu called himself Shaoling Yelao; the historian Ouyang Xiu in the Song Dynasty called himself Liuyi Layman, Calligrapher Mi Fu (fu Fu) called himself Haiyue Waishi; Ming Dynasty painter Zhu Da (da Da) called himself Bada Shanren; Qing Dynasty thinker Wang Fuzhi called himself Nanyue Selling Ginger Weng.The number is a fixed alias, also known as an alias.Because the nickname is taken by the person himself, it expresses a certain ideological interest, so the title is also an expression of respect, so that some respected writers in ancient times had their nicknames more resounding than their names.For example, Su Shi, a great writer, calligrapher and painter in the Northern Song Dynasty, called himself Dongpo Jushi, and people often called him Su Dongpo; Lu You, a patriotic poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, called himself Fang Weng, and people used to call him Lu Fang Weng.
Feudal emperors also had honorary titles, posthumous titles and temple titles.Honorary titles were enshrined during his lifetime. For example, officials in the Tang Dynasty gave Tang Xuanzong six honorary titles, one of which was Kaiyuan Shengwen Shenwu Emperor.Posthumous titles are titles added after death, such as Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, and Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty.The temple name is that the emperor was enshrined in the Taimiao after his death, and he was revered as a certain ancestor and a certain clan, such as Han Gaozu, Tang Taizong, Ming Taizu, Qing Shizong, etc.For the emperor in the feudal era, it is absolutely not allowed to call him by his first name, but only his honorary title, posthumous title and temple title.Before the Tang Dynasty, the deceased emperor was generally referred to as the posthumous title. For example, in the Han Dynasty, Liu Che was used to call him Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.After the Tang Dynasty, it was renamed the temple name. For example, Li Longji in the Tang Dynasty was usually called Tang Xuanzong.After Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty, the emperors of all dynasties still had reign titles.When a new king ascends the throne, the reign name must be changed, and the same emperor can have several or even more than a dozen reign titles.In the Ming and Qing dynasties, an emperor had only one year name, so the emperor can be called by the year name.For example, Zhu Youjian, Emperor Sizong of the Ming Dynasty, could be called Emperor Chongzhen, and Aixinjueluo Xuanye, the holy ancestor of Qing Dynasty, could be called Emperor Kangxi.Empresses, kings, princesses, high-ranking officials and dignitaries, as well as those who have made special meritorious deeds or received favor from the emperor, are also given posthumous titles after death.For example, after the death of Yue Fei in the Song Dynasty, he was given the posthumous title of King Wu Mu, and he was called Yue Wu Mu to show his respect for this patriotic general.There is also a private posthumous title, which is a posthumous title given by relatives, friends and disciples of famous scholars and celebrities after their death.For example, after the death of Zhang Zai, a Neo-Confucianist in the Northern Song Dynasty, his disciples added the posthumous posthumous title of Master Mingcheng, and commensurate with the posthumous title, which also shows respect for the former teacher.
In order to show special respect for people, sometimes they are not called even words or titles, but are called by location and official position.Calling Diwang refers to calling people by their place of birth, place of residence or place of employment.For example, Liu Zongyuan, a writer in the Tang Dynasty, was born in Hedong (now Yongji, Shanxi), and he was called Liuhe East; because he was the governor of Liuzhou, he was also called Liuliuzhou.Another example is Wang Anshi, a politician and writer in the Song Dynasty, who was called Wang Linchuan because his native place was Linchuan, Fuzhou (now Fuzhou, Jiangxi).It is more common to use official titles. For example, Ma Yuan, who served as General Fubo in the Eastern Han Dynasty, was called Ma Fubo; Ban Chao, who was once Dingyuanhou, was called Ban Dingyuan.Du Fu, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, was often referred to as Du Gongbu and Du Shiyi because he served as a member of the Ministry of Industry Wailang and Zuo Suyi.It is no longer popular to refer to people by geographical location in modern times, but it is still popular to refer to people by official titles.
In ancient times, in interpersonal communication, in order to show respect for others, when referring to oneself, one should use a modest title, and when addressing the other party, one should use a respectful title.Due to the different identities of oneself and the different objects of respect, the terms of modesty and respect are also different.
Ancient emperors or princes modestly called themselves widows, lonely families, and no valleys. "Widow" and "solitary" are synonymous, and both have the meaning of expressing one's lack of virtue.Widowed and lonely were originally derogatory, but because they were used exclusively by emperors, later "calling lonely and widowed" became synonymous with "calling emperor and king".Bugu means not good, and it was mainly used as a modest title by the monarchs in the pre-Qin period, and it was abolished after the Qin Dynasty.Officials generally call themselves modest ministers, inferior officials, junior officials, and humble officials.A minister is a self-proclaimed official who expresses humility when facing the monarch; a junior official, a junior official, and a humble official all refer to his lowly position humbly.Literati and refined scholars are accustomed to using Xiaosheng, late student, late student, late student, late student, etc. to show that they are new learners, and their knowledge is still very shallow; , Condescending and other words, modestly refers to his lack of talent and insight.In front of the honorable person, humility is mostly used in the lower seat. This is because in ancient times, the honorable person in the seat was on the top, and the humble person lived in the bottom seat.Facing the elders, in addition to humbly referring to them as juniors, young people often call themselves boys.When the elderly are self-effacing, they often call them old, old, old, old man, and old clumsy, which means that they are old and stupid, decayed and useless.Women, on the other hand, humble themselves with words such as xiao slave and concubine.The use of humility is to elevate the status of the other party by belittling oneself. It actually expresses respect for the other party, and also shows a kind of self-cultivation and politeness.
There are also many respectful words, all of which have the meaning of respect and admiration.For the supreme ruler in ancient times, they were often honored as the Son of Heaven, the Emperor, the Lord, the Holy Lord, the Holy Lord, and long live. According to "Baihu Tongyi", "Son of Heaven" is the ancient belief that the father of an emperor is heaven, and his mother is earth. He was born of heaven, "so it is called the son of heaven." The word "emperor" means big, "sage" means superior wisdom, and "shang" means supreme. These words all show the special status of the emperor. "Long live" was a common congratulatory message for princes and nobles in the pre-Qin period. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, it was dedicated to blessing the emperor, and later the emperor was honored as long live.In addition, the emperor is honored as "Your Majesty".According to Duan Chengshi's "Youyang Zazu" in the Tang Dynasty: "Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the emperor said His Majesty, the crown prince said His Highness, the general said His Majesty, the envoys said His Majesty, His Excellency, and the two thousand stone chiefs said His Excellency. Your Majesty’s words are yours.” The original meaning of majesty is the steps of the palace, and your majesty originally referred to the emperor’s close ministers who set up the steps under the steps to prevent accidents.Taking His Majesty as the respectful title for the emperor, Cai Yong of the Eastern Han Dynasty explained in the volume of "Arbitrariness": "The ministers and the emperor dare not speak out directly, so those who call him His Majesty tell him, because of the righteousness of humbleness." The name is right. His majesty's close ministers said that he was actually speaking directly to the emperor, so your majesty became the emperor's synonym.Your Highness, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty have the same meanings as Your Majesty, and they are all respectful titles that are transformed by the servants to show respect because they dare not address each other directly.Among them, "Dian" refers to the hall. At first, the emperor, princes, empress dowager, empress, prince, etc. could be honored as His Highness. After the Tang Dynasty, it was mainly used for the crown prince and empress. "Hui" is the banner of commanding the army, so the general is honored as his subordinate. "Jie" refers to the talisman held by the messenger; "hub" was originally a log in the center of the wheel, which is used as a synonym for the wheel.Envoys are ordered to ride in festivals, so they can be honored as Jiexia or Hubia.In addition, the officials sent as envoys by the emperor's order are honored as angels. The "Ge" is smaller than the hall. The prefect of the ancient county (the salary in the Han Dynasty was two thousand stones, so it can also be called two thousand stones) is qualified to govern affairs in accordance with the Sangong Pavilion, so he is honored as your Excellency.However, this honorific title is widely used, not only for elders, but also for peers.After the Tang Dynasty, the chiefs of prefectures and counties were often called Fuzhu, Fugong, Futai and so on.
As for the word "one step", it is said to have originated from the story of Jie Zhitui.Jie Zhitui was a hermit in the Spring and Autumn Period. Later, he assisted Chong Er, the prince of Jin, and went through the hardships of exile.When Chonger finally returned to China with the support of Duke Mu of Qin to ascend the throne (it was Duke Wen of Jin), and offered rewards to those who followed him in exile, Jie Zhitui lived in seclusion with his mother in the mountains of Mianshang (southeast of Jiexiu, Shanxi today) without asking for rewards.Jin Wengong felt ashamed, but he couldn't find Jie Zhitui, so he ordered the mountain to be set on fire, trying to force him out of the mountain.Unexpectedly, Jie Zhitui was burned to death while hugging a tree.Duke Wen of Jin was so lamented that he ordered people to cut down the tree and make wooden clogs (ji machine).Since then, Jin Wengong often looked down at the clogs on his feet, and lamented: "It's so sad." Because Jin Wengong used "one step" to refer to Jie Zhitui, and with deep respect, "one step" became A kind of honorific.
In ancient times, in addition to being called old uncle and old uncle, old people can also be honored as old man and father-in-law. The meaning is derived from holding a stick. "Huainanzi Dao Ying Xun" Han Gaoyou's annotation said: "When you are old, you are older than others, so you are called father-in-law."Those who are qualified to hold a stick in front of others must be old people, so father-in-law generally refers to elderly elders and venerables.As for father-in-law referring to father-in-law, it became a proper name only after the Tang Dynasty.
For men with high morals and high prestige, especially those with profound knowledge, they can be respected as masters.In the Spring and Autumn Period, all officials above the doctorate level could be called masters, where "fu" refers to a doctor, and "zi" is a respectful title for men.Confucius was a military official in the state of Lu, and he was also a doctor, so he was called Master by his disciples and others.Later, Confucius was enshrined as the teacher of all ages, so Master became the honorific title for Confucius.Confucius is an educator, so it is extended to be called Master to teachers or men who can be regarded as teachers. For example, King Xuan of Qi respectfully called Mencius Master.Teachers, old people, and moral and learned people are also respectfully called Mr.This usage has been handed down to this day, and "Sir" has become a socially polite title applicable to all adult men in modern society.Married women are often called Mrs. and Mrs.; unmarried women are often called Miss.For friends of the same generation, they are commensurate with elder brothers and benevolent brothers.Even the children of the younger generation, the ancients used to respectfully address them as son and xiaolangjun.
The above are the direct titles for face-to-face conversations and correspondence. In addition, when referring to the relatives of both parties in the conversation, they should use the modest and respectful titles respectively.When talking about one's relatives, use modest terms, such as father, mother, brother, younger brother, younger sister, nephew, etc.Home and home have ordinary and ordinary meanings, which can show humility.Mentioning his wife as humble, humble, and Hanjing, and talking about his son as cheap and dog, is more self-deprecating and modest.When referring to the relatives of the other party, they often use words of praise such as order, respect, and virtuous.For example, the grandfather of the other party is called the ancestor, the father is called the father, the mother is called the hall, the brothers are called the good brother and the good brother, the wife is called the wife, the son is called the virtuous man, and the son-in-law is called the noble son-in-law.There are many more modest and respectful words, so I won’t list them any more.
In short, respect is courtesy, modesty and respect are two aspects of the same issue, both expressing respect for others.The politeness shown in this kind of appellation can be encountered everywhere, and it is difficult for everyone to avoid it, so it is a very important part of daily etiquette and customs.
In ancient times, methods must be adopted to avoid the names of contemporary emperors and dignitaries.Once a certain Chinese character used by the whole society is used as a name by the contemporary emperor, it is monopolized by him, and his subjects are no longer allowed to use it. This practice is called "national taboo" or "public taboo".Violating this article and calling the emperor by his name directly or still using the emperor's taboo words is "violating the superior" and "disrespecting", which may lead to death.For example, in the 42nd year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1777), Wang Xihou, a Juren in Jiangxi Province, compiled 60 volumes of "Zi Guan". Yinzhen and Emperor Qianlong, whose name is Hongli, were denounced by their enemies and sentenced to treason, and their whole family was beheaded.Moreover, Jiangxi governor Haicheng and other officials were implicated and severely punished because they could not find out the treason.The national taboo shows that the feudal emperors are self-respecting and domineering, which is one of the phenomena of inequality between people in the feudal era.
There is also "family taboo", that is, children and grandchildren cannot call their fathers and grandfathers by their names, which is also a manifestation of respecting ancestors and ancestors.In social activities, chatting with others should not offend the family taboo of the other party, otherwise it will be regarded as indecent.When Huanxuan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was the crown prince washing horses, Wang Da came to congratulate him and hosted a banquet for him.Wang suspected that the wine was cold and frequently called the messenger to fetch "warm wine".Because Huanxuan's father was named Wen, in order to avoid his father's taboo, the word "Wen" was not allowed to be mentioned in the family.The "warm wine" called by the visitors contained the same word "warm", which violated his family's taboo.In this way, not only was the envoy afraid of taking the "warm wine" for fear of being scolded by the patriarch; even Huan Xuan was upset when he heard the word "warm" repeatedly from visitors, but he was inconvenient to get angry, so that he burst into tears on the spot.Because of taboos, ancient etiquette and customs paid attention to "asking about prohibitions when entering the realm (territory), asking about customs when entering a country (city), and asking about taboos when entering a country." Ask about the taboos. When entering a city, you must first understand the customs. When entering a family, you must first understand the taboos of the family. Only in this way can you avoid taboos and disrespect.
Taboos originated in the Zhou Dynasty. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, due to political turmoil, taboos were different.In the Qin and Han Dynasties, with the formation and consolidation of the great unification, Confucianism gradually occupied a dominant position in the field of superstructure, and the taboo system gradually became complete.In the Tang and Song dynasties, the taboo system prevailed, and the prohibition of avoiding taboo became increasingly strict; and in the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasty, the strictness of the taboo reached its peak.
Due to the attention of the rulers, a special taboo law has gradually been formed for a long time.On the one hand, it clarifies the object of taboo, mainly including avoiding the name of the reigning monarch, such as Qin Shihuang Yingzheng, also known as Zheng, who changed the "first month" to "Duanyue" during his reign; avoiding the monarch's temple taboo, such as Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin's The grandfather's name was Jing. At that time, the word "Jing" was replaced by "Gong" or "Qin"; to avoid the name of the prince, for example, the name of the prince of Wanyanliang, the king of Jin Hailing, was named Guangying, so "Yingfang" was changed to "Tame". Prey Square"; to avoid the name of the concubine, such as the mausoleum of Empress Du, Emperor Cheng of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and change "Lingyang County" to "Guangyang County"; to avoid the name of the queen's ancestor and father, such as the grandfather of Empress Renzong Liu in the Northern Song Dynasty named Yanqing, the deputy capital in front of the palace The commander changed the name of "Li Zhaoqing" to "Li Zhaoliang"; to avoid powerful names, such as Cai Jing in the Northern Song Dynasty, who was very powerful and powerful, all officials avoided his name, and "Jingdong" and "Jingxi" were renamed "Jizuo" and "Jiyou"; There are also taboos such as avoiding the name of Confucius, and envoys avoiding the embassy country.On the other hand, in order to avoid too many taboos, there are also sayings such as five no taboos and eight no taboos.For example, it is stipulated that the first name should not be taboo and the surname should not be taboo; the two names should not be taboo, that is, there are two characters in the name that are not taboo one by one; the name should not be taboo, that is, the pronunciation of the word that is similar to or the same as the taboo word can not be taboo; Don’t hide your father’s name, that is, you don’t hide your family taboo in front of the monarch; you don’t hide your family’s taboo in front of the monarch; you don’t hide your family’s taboo in front of the monarch; you don’t hide your family’s taboo when you read poems and books, that is, you read them according to the correct pronunciation, but you don’t taboo your characters; There are many names such as Zu Shibushi.However, the leniency and strictness of taboos vary from dynasty to dynasty, and some dynasties did not follow the regulations on taboo laws.For example, "Book of Rites · Qu Lishang" stipulates that "not shy away from humble names", but when it was repaired during the Zhenguan and Xianqing years of the Tang Dynasty, all those that used the word "Bing" for Tiangan to record the year were changed to the word "Jing". The father's name is "Zi", which is a humble name.Although it is stipulated that "the two names are not taboo", both characters of the emperor's double name must be taboo.For example, "Old Tang Book Taizong Ji" contains: "The order of June in the ninth year of Wude (AD 626) said: According to the ritual, the two names are not taboo. Since modern times, the two characters have been avoided, and there have been many abandoned ques, so follow the will. , which violates the classics. It is not necessary to taboo those whose official titles, personal names, and public and private records are not continuous with the word "Shimin." This shows that before the Tang Dynasty, avoiding both characters had become a trend, so Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty ordered to ban it as soon as he came to power. .However, this prohibition was not carried out. In the Tang Dynasty, "Shi" was changed to "Dai" and "Min" was used as "Ren". In fact, the two characters "Shimin" in the name of Tang Taizong were avoided.
Because of the taboo, some unique phenomena appeared in ancient China.Some changed their surnames to avoid taboos.The surname change is as stated in "General History Clan Briefing": "Ji's family was changed to Xi's to avoid the taboo of Xiang Yu; Zhuang's was changed to Yan's to avoid the taboo of Emperor Han and Ming; Shi's was changed to Shuai's to avoid the taboo of Emperor Jin Jing." There are those who changed the surnames of their predecessors. For example, in the Han Dynasty, Xun Qing, a thinker in the Warring States Period, was called "Sun Qing" to avoid suspicion of Liu Xun, Emperor Xuan.The name was changed as recorded in "The Biography of Gao You in the Book of Wei": "Gao You's real name is Xi, which is the same name as King Chengyang, and Gaozu gave him the name You." Another example is "Book of Southern Qi · Xue Yuan Biography": "The real name is Daoyuan, avoiding Taizu (Referring to Xiao Daocheng) It’s taboo to change.” Not only the name of the emperor and prince should be changed if they violated the taboo of the emperor, but even the servants of noble families should change their names if they violated the taboo of their masters.For example, in the twenty-fourth chapter: "It turns out that Xiaohong's surname is Lin, and his nickname is Hongyu. Because the word 'yu' violates the names of Baoyu and Daiyu, he is called 'Xiaohong'."
Some changed their official names and resigned to avoid taboos.For example, in June of the 23rd year of Zhenguan (649 A.D.), Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty came to the throne, avoided the taboo of Taizong Temple, and changed "Minbu Shangshu" to "Hubu Shangshu." "Servant Yushi" was changed to "Yushi Zhongcheng", "Zhizhong" was changed to "Sima", and "Zhililang" was changed to "Fenglilang" in various states.Resignation For example, in "Northern History·Xu Zhuan", Li Yanshi was awarded the position of Taibao, but because of his grandfather's name "Bao", he believed that the homophony of "bao" was a violation of ancestral taboo, so he resolutely resigned from the post of Taibao.This kind of behavior of resigning from office due to taboo is really undesirable, but it was once popular and even included in the legal provisions. "Laws of the Tang Dynasty" stipulates: "The names of officials in various houses violate the names of their ancestors and fathers, and those who pretend to live in glory will only be punished for one year." The sparse meaning explains: "The government has a positive name, and the official has a name. The government name If the father's name is Wei, he is not allowed to be an official in Zhuwei, or his ancestor is named An, and he is not allowed to be a county official (referring to Chang'an County). Qingren and the like. You must speak for yourself, and you must not accept it."
Some place names were changed due to taboo.For example, Jiankang (now Nanjing), known as the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, was originally named Jianye. When the Jin and Yuan emperors were in Jianye, they changed their name to Jiankang because they avoided the taboo of Jinmin [min Min] Emperor Sima Ye.At the same time, "Ye", which was once an important capital of Cao Wei, was renamed "Linzhang".Another example is that in the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang's name "Guang" was avoided, and "Guangwu County" was changed to "Yanmen County".Such cases of changing the names of prefectures, counties, and counties due to taboos occurred in almost all dynasties.In addition, the names of mountains, rivers, gardens, palace gates, etc. were changed.Changing the name of the mountain, such as changing "Hengshan" to "Changshan" in the Han Dynasty to avoid the taboo of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty Liu Heng.The name of the river was changed, such as in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Biwen Yuwentai's small character Hei otter (ta pagoda), changed "Black Water" to "Wushui".Change the name of the garden, such as the taboo of Cao Fang, king of Qi in the Wei Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms, and change "Fanglin Garden" to "Hualin Garden".Changing the name of the gate, such as changing "Xuanwumen" to "Shenwumen" to avoid Emperor Kangxi's name Xuanye in the Qing Dynasty.
Some revise ancient books because of taboo.This includes two cases of changing the title of the book and changing the text in the book.Changing the title of the book, for example, in the Tang Dynasty, in order to avoid the taboo of the great ancestor Li Yuan, "Shenyuan" written by Zhao Ye in the Eastern Han Dynasty was changed to "Shenquan".Another example is the book "Zhongxing Xiaoli" written by Xiong Ke in the Southern Song Dynasty, which was later lost. When the "Siku Quanshu" was compiled in the Qing Dynasty, this book was recorded from "Yongle Dadian". Xiaoji".Changing the text of ancient books, such as the "Li Shi" written by Hong Shi in the Song Dynasty, quoted the remnants of the Han stone scriptures. Among them, the word "Bang" in "Shang Shu" was mostly changed to the word "Guo", which was due to avoiding the taboo of the name of Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty.Another example is Sima Zhen's "Historical Records Suoyin" in the Tang Dynasty. When describing the style of "Historical Records", the "Thirty Aristocratic Families" were renamed "Thirty Family Families".
Some have changed their names due to taboo.For example, in the Han Dynasty, "pheasant" was renamed "pheasant" because of avoiding the taboo of the name of Lu pheasant, the empress of Han Gaozu.Another example is that in the Tang Dynasty, the name of Li Yu, who avoided the suspicion of Emperor Daizong, was changed from "yam 蓣 [yuyu]" to "Yam Yao"; in the Song Dynasty, the name was changed to "Yam" because of the suspicion of Emperor Yingzong Zhao Shu.Lu You's "Notes on Lao Xue'an" also recorded a typical case of changing the name of an object.In the Song Dynasty, there was a magistrate named Tian Deng who "self-confessed his name", and the whole prefecture under his jurisdiction changed "lamp" to "fire".On the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, lanterns are set off for people to visit, and the notice posted by their subordinates is: "The state will set fire for three days according to the law." Therefore, the idiom "Only state officials are allowed to set fire, and people are not allowed to light lamps" came into being. and spread widely.
Others have changed their daily expressions to avoid taboos.For example, in the Jin Dynasty, Sima Shi was revered as Emperor Jing, and the name "Jingshi" was changed to "Kyoto" to avoid the taboo of his temple.Tang Gaozu's grandfather was named Hu, and because he avoided using "beast" or "dragon" instead of the word "tiger", strange sayings such as "If you don't enter the den of a beast, how can you get a beast's offspring" and "Drawing a dragon can't be an anti-dog" appeared.Because of the change of common language, jokes are often made.For example, Qian Liangchen in the Southern Song Dynasty taught his son to avoid taboos. Whenever there is the word "Liangchen" in classics and history books, it is changed to "father" when reading it.One day, his son read the sentence in "Mencius" that "what is called a good minister today is called a traitor in ancient times" and changed it into: "what is called a father today is also called a traitor in the past." Instead, it became an insult, which is also a satire on excessive taboo.
The phenomenon of taboo is full of strange things, and the methods of avoiding taboo are also varied.In addition to the above-mentioned directly changing characters, there are also methods such as empty characters, missing strokes, split characters, and combined characters.Empty characters are words that should be avoided when writing, leaving a blank, or making an empty circle (that is, drawing □), or writing the word "certain" or "taboo".For example, in Xiao Zixian's "Book of Southern Qi", he avoided the name of Xiao Shun, the father of Emperor Wu of Liang, and did not write the word "Shunzhi" when he encountered it, but left two spaces.The lack of pens refers to the lack of strokes for taboo characters. For example, in the Song Dynasty, the name of Taizu Zhao Kuangyin was avoided, and "Kuang" was written as "Kuang", and "Yin" was written as "(香字去乚)".Splitting characters is to divide taboo characters into two and use one of them.For example, Wen Yanbo, the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, was originally surnamed "Jing". His great-grandfather avoided the name of Shi Jingtang in the later Jin Dynasty, so he took the right half of the word "Jing" and changed his surname to "Wen". , and changed his surname to "Wen" again.A ligature is to combine two characters into one.For example, Zhang Dayuan, who used to be the governor of the state in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, was promoted to the general manager of Tanzhou due to Ping Chen Yougong in the Sui Dynasty.When Li Yanshou in the Tang Dynasty wrote "Northern History", in order to avoid taboos in the temple of the great ancestor Li Yuan, he combined his name "Da Yuan" into one character, writing "奫 [yun halo]", and calling it "Zhang Wei".
To sum up, the taboo custom originated from avoiding the name of the monarch, and became more and more prosperous with the strengthening of the autocratic monarchy. This not only led to the confusion of ancient books and characters, but also brought troubles and adverse effects to many aspects of social life at that time. .It was not until entering the 20th century, with the overthrow of the feudal autocratic monarchy, that people were freed from the shackles of taboo.
In addition to the above-mentioned "taboos" unique to ancient China, there are many taboo words that should be avoided in daily life.
Out of the fear and disgust of death, the ancients tabooed to say the word "death", so some other words were created to express the meaning of death.For example, the death of a king is expressed by "long live forever". "Historical Records The Family of Liang Xiaowang" contains: "Shang (referring to Emperor Jing) drank with Liang Wangyan, and said calmly: "Long live forever, pass it on to the king." Long live forever is the age that the king hopes to live to. In fact, this is just a fantasy. Life is usually only a hundred years, so most people use "a hundred years later" instead of the word dead.Some also use "old" to hide their death, such as Chapter 15: "This Tiekan Temple was built by Ning Rong Ergong that day, and there are still acres of incense to prepare for the elderly population in Beijing. Stop here." Spirit." In addition, words that replace death include death, next life, death, death, death of illness, death of illness, long death, eternal sleep, immortal death, passing away, gone, gone away, etc.
Similar to death, the ancients were also taboo to speak out about diseases and disasters.Such as denying the fire, the fire is called "running water".In the thirty-ninth chapter, Jia's stables caught fire. When Jia's mother asked, the servant girl replied, "There is water in the stables in the south courtyard. It's irrelevant. It has been rescued."
In addition to avoiding unlucky words, in accordance with the requirements of etiquette and customs, it is even more taboo to swear. "Qing Barnyard Banknotes" contains: "People in the capital (Beijing) avoid scolding, husbands and husbands are rewarded rightly, and there is rarely the tone of other places, and the words that insult the ancestors and parents are especially hated." Not only Swearing is taboo, even words connected with many swearing words are also taboo.For example, in Beijing, in order to avoid the suspicion of cursing people, all the things with the word "egg" were renamed: eggs are called chickens; preserved eggs originated in the south, and they were called Songhua in Beijing; Huang Cai and egg soup are called sweet-scented osmanthus soup.
Speech taboo reflects people's ideological tendency of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, and also expresses respect for others, which is reasonable to a certain extent. Therefore, a large number of substitute words have been handed down, which not only enriches Chinese vocabulary, but also becomes an important part of etiquette and custom culture. .
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