Text | Old Yan Kanshi
Edit | Old Yan Kanshi
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In the traditional culture of the mainland, a name is not only a symbol of personal identity, but also carries the weight of a family, a history and even a culture.
What is a person's last name? In fact, there are many hidden secrets in this seemingly simple common-sense question. Confucius, the great thinker and educator who was known as the "Most Holy Teacher", turned his surname into an unexpected "roadblock" in a civil service examination.
Why can this question stump so many candidates? What kind of story is hidden behind the surname of Confucius? What kind of cultural meaning does it contain?
The mystery of Confucius's surname
In a seemingly ordinary civil service exam, there is a question quietly presented in front of the candidates: "What is Confucius's surname?" Faced with this question that can almost be blurted out, many candidates are lost in thought.
The options are clear and straightforward: Zi, Kong, Li, Lao. Intuition led most people to believe that Confucius should be surnamed "Kong". After all, the title "Confucius" has long been deeply imprinted in people's hearts and has become a prominent symbol of this sage.
However, some candidates feel that this question will not be so simple, so they are entangled in the two options of "Li" and "Old".
Then some people asked, why not consider considering the "child"? Because in modern times, we have basically never seen this surname. But the answer is this "son".
When the results of the exam were announced, many candidates were shocked that they had made a mistake in this scoring question.
In fact, the mystery of Confucius's surname is not nonsense. Confucius's original name was Kong Qiu, the surname of the child, the surname of Kong, the name Qiu, and the word Zhongni. The "son" here is not his name or character, but his surname.
In ancient continental times, surnames and surnames were two very different concepts. The surname is the source of personal blood and is the distinctive sign of a large ethnic group; A family name is a branch of a family name that is used to distinguish different families within the same surname. They are closely related and jointly construct the traditional Chinese surname system.
Confucius was called "Confucius" because his father, Shu Liang Su, was a member of the Kong clan, and he himself inherited the surname Zi.
This exam not only examines the candidates' mastery of basic knowledge, but also a profound reflection on ancient Chinese surname culture. Many candidates get their answers wrong precisely because they don't have a good understanding of the intricacies of the ancient surname system.
The evolution from the sub-surname to the Kong family
To solve the mystery of Confucius's surname, it is necessary to trace back to the life history of his ancestor "Qi". According to legend, the deed was an important assistant in the period of Dayu's water control, because the establishment of merit was given the surname "son" by Emperor Shun.
This noble surname not only witnessed the great military exploits of the Che, but also opened the glorious history of the family with the surname. Among the descendants of Qi, Tang, the founding monarch of the Shang Dynasty, pushed the dignity of the surname to the peak.
However, with the changes of history and the change of dynasties, the family with the surname has also experienced ups and downs. At the time of Confucius's sixth ancestor, Kong Jia's father, the surname of the son gradually diverged, and branches such as the Kong family were born.
Kong Jia's father held an important official position during the Song Dynasty, laying the foundation for the rise of the Kong family. But fate made people, Kong Jia's father was unfortunately killed in a civil strife, and the status of the Kong family in the Song State also declined.
In order to revive the glory of the family, Confucius's father, Liang Su, fled the Song State with the family and came to the Lu State. Here, Shu Liang Su relied on his courage and wisdom to fight for a world and became a famous general of the Lu country.
Uncle Liang Su had a son Confucius in his later years and had high hopes for him. Confucius, as expected, lived up to expectations, and with his profound thought and outstanding wisdom, he was honored as a great master in the history of ancient Chinese thought, and his influence was far-reaching.
He inherited the bloodline of the surname and the glory of the Kong family, and passed down through the ages under the name of "Kong Qiu". The birth and upbringing of Confucius is not only a personal legend, but also a microcosm of the evolution of the Zi surname to the Kong surname.
In fact, there are many different legends and stories about the evolution of Confucius's surname, some of which are still imagined by our descendants, but these do not hinder the fact that his surname "Zi" is true.
About the culture of surnames
Some people may ask why this question is tested in the civil service examination, because this question is not only about Confucius, but also about the surname culture and history of the mainland behind it.
Surnames are a key component of traditional Chinese culture, which not only carries the family lineage and historical memory, but also reflects the great value of the ancient social hierarchy and blood relationship.
In mainland China, surnames were first used to distinguish a person's clan from tribe and were signs and symbols that prove one's family relationship.
In a matrilineal society, the surname changed from the mother to the patrilineal society, and gradually became the surname from the father. Later, after the Qin and Han dynasties, the surnames were gradually merged.
From a matrilineal society to a patrilineal society, from the separation of surnames and surnames to the gradual unification, the evolution of the surname system has witnessed the development and changes of mainland society.
There is still a lot of content about mainland surnames, such as mainland surnames have single surnames and compound surnames, and there are some special forms of multi-character surnames.
For example, there are many sources of surnames in the mainland, some are based on the country, some are based on the words or names of ancestors, and some are based on official positions and so on.
Moreover, the distribution of surnames in the mainland also has regional characteristics, I don't know if you have found that most of the people in a village have the same surname, except for the daughter-in-law who marries in from outside. Most villages are also named after surnames, such as Lijia Village.
In modern society, surnames have been integrated with first names and become an important identifier of personal identity. Through the surname, we can trace our ancestors and historical origins, and feel the heritage of our family.
In the process of tracing history, it is not difficult for us to find the cultural connotation and historical value behind the surname. It is not only a family inheritance, but also a national cohesion.
By discussing the mystery of Confucius's surname, we not only revisited this historical story, but also felt the eternal charm of surname culture in inheritance and change.
It is like a link connecting the past and the present, communicating history and the future, allowing us to feel the power and temperature of culture in our exploration.
epilogue
The mystery of Confucius's surname has not only given us a deeper understanding of this great thinker, but also given us a deeper understanding of ancient Chinese surname culture.
Behind this seemingly simple question is a deep reflection and respect for traditional culture and historical knowledge. In the future study and life, let us continue to explore the breadth and profundity of Chinese culture with this awe, and feel those dazzling cultural treasures in the long history.
Information sources:
What is Confucius's surname? China Education News Network2022-03-09 10:00