Hou Jian
Miao people, like Tibetans, Yi people, Mongolians, Uighurs and other ethnic groups, have their own surnames and first names, but what the modern and contemporary Miao people reflect in words is the Chinese surnames and first names. Where did the Miao surname and name go? Why don't Miao people use surnames and first names? Did the Miao people's names disappear? The answer is no, for thousands of years, due to the continuous migration in the history of the Miao people and the fear of the rulers, they had to remain anonymous and change their names to Chinese names, which led to the extinction of the Miao name culture. However, Miao compatriots in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, located in the southeast of Yunnan Province, continue to use their own Miao surnames and names in addition to Chinese surnames, thus continuing their name culture. Therefore, Miao name culture, like other cultures, has high research value and historical significance.
First, the use of Miao names.
In the southeast of Yunnan Province (Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture and Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture), there are more than 700,000 Miao compatriots whose language is the first dialect of Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan sub-dialect, that is, the Miao language in the western dialect. Miao people living in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, the United States, Canada, France, Australia and Argentina are of the same origin as Miao people in southeastern Yunnan, with a population of nearly 6,543,800+million, and also speak this dialect. Phenomenologically, Miao surnames have a long history. Due to the lack of written records of Miao history and the long-term migration of Miao people, there is no record of Miao surnames and names in historical documents, which brings many problems and difficulties to the study of Miao name culture. But we can't deny the existence of Miao surname just because there is no record. The existence of Miao surname is objective. Therefore, in the study of Miao surname culture, the author found that the origin of surnames can reflect a certain aspect of Miao history, and the addressing methods of these Miao surnames basically do not belong to the category of Han surnames. The following is a comparison between Miao surnames and Han surnames used by Miao people:
Han surname
king
Yang, Han
Tao and Wu
plum
collect
Zhang (surname)
archaic
project
marquis
bear
horse
Song dynasty; surname
Kang, Zou, Zhu
week
Miao surname (Miao Wen)
Voss
Jeus
dlob
Jett
knife
nyangb
nguk
Dangus
Deluce
hmaob
rangs
Gunter
bluat
nzhif
Chinese transliteration
Rich
special
indole
all
huge
mother
archaic
gathering
Dewa
Loess hills
Slowly
worker
Bawa
location
There are also a few surnames such as Cai, Xu, Liu, Huang, Gu, Xie, Jane, Hui and Ai. In this case, it is difficult to say clearly what their Miao surname is, and some people think that their family evolved from the Han nationality.
Knowing the surname and first name of Miao nationality has its profound cultural connotation, which is mainly manifested in commemorating the predecessors and praying for health and prosperity. At the same time, when naming a name, think carefully, don't repeat it, and don't have symbolic meaning. As far as the Miao nationality in southeast Yunnan is concerned, the meaning of the name is mostly related to its natural environment, because the Miao nationality lives in the mountains. For example, women's names are mainly flowers, trees and household appliances. Flowers and trees such as "Bangx" (Chinese for flowers) and "Nzhuab" (Chinese for green), utensils such as "Vangb" (Chinese for dustpan), "Chouk" (Chinese for sieve), "Geuf" (Chinese for basket), others are "Ncaik". Men's names are generally mighty, strong and smart. For example, Zhod (Chinese for tiger), Ncut (Chinese for elephant), Nyox (Chinese for cow) and Dled (Chinese for puppy), and others such as Yaob, Nzheus (Chinese for child) and Nyax. Generally speaking, the Miao people with gold objects are women, while those with silver objects are men. For example, "gold" is generally used for women's names, and "silver" is generally used for men's names. More interestingly, Miao people think that the "sun" is female and the "moon" is male. Therefore, the words "ngoux hnob" and "ndrous hlit" often appear in Miao folk songs. This is the similarities and differences between Miao and Han in the fields of nature, universe and aesthetics. Why? As discussed in another article, it is not appropriate to talk about it here. Occasionally, some families want to have boys or girls, because their children are all girls or boys, so they name the youngest girl or boy as boy or girl. When choosing an old brand, we should pay more attention to its cultural connotation, and at the same time consider its history and memorable names. In other words, Miao people have good wishes and wishes for the applicants or families when they choose their names. For example, "Novo" (Miao Yin: Nuo) and "Zhu De" (Miao Yin: Lord) mean to get ahead in the future. Nian Nujiao (:Nian), Wan Ling (:Wang) and so on. I hope the money will roll in the future. "Nqaid" (Miao Yin: Jie) means to commemorate Angel, the founder of Lusheng, and "Nzhuab" (Miao Yin: make-up) means green life. Young people use the word "you" to address their elders, so "Chiyou" has become synonymous with "elder" and "ancestor" in Miao language in southeast Yunnan. The naming art of Miao nationality is characterized by natural worship words in adolescence and profound symbolic words in adulthood. It can be seen that the naming of Miao nationality is a serious and solemn etiquette process, which embodies the outlook on life and values of the ancient Miao nationality and the traditional virtue of respecting the old and loving the young.
The naming of Miao nationality has its unique laws, which are closely related to the traditional culture of Miao nationality. Among the Miao people in southeastern Yunnan, there is still an ancient naming custom among several branches of the Miao people, and the Miao people call this name "taking the old name". This naming custom is mainly popular among Miao people who call themselves Hmongb Nzhuab, Hmongb Dleub and Hmongb Shib. Moreover, this ancient naming method plays an important role in Miao social life, because its formation is closely related to a person's status and identity.
The naming custom of Miao nationality can be divided into three stages.
The first stage is the birth name. Birth name is the first life etiquette after the birth of a new member of the family. In the social life of Miao people, it is necessary to formally accept them as new members of the family through the ceremony of wizards. On the morning of the third day of the baby's birth, a wizard must be invited to summon the souls of the new members of the family, which means adding new members to the family and telling the ancestors that the incense is constantly burning. The baby was named by its parents. For example, male babies are generally named Midbao, Mid Yal and Mid Lox, while female babies are generally named Mid Nzeuf, Mid Ncaik and Mid Vangb. When a baby grows up to be a boy or a girl, it will naturally remove the word "rice" and add his surname to address him. The names of Miao people in the west are usually first and last names. Such as "Baoke Dlob", "Lox Jait" and "Ncaik Dluas", in which "Dlob" is the Miao nationality's "Tao surname" and "Jait" is the Miao nationality's "Li surname", "Dewa" (DLU and "Baoke" (Bao),
"Lox", "Ncaik" (color) and so on. If children often cry or get sick at night, please ask the wizard to ask the gods for divination. According to the situation of wizard divination, they think children need to recognize "michel platini". Or "bridge" the fork in the road and connect with michel platini, and the first passerby becomes "michel platini". After taking michel platini home, he explained the situation to michel platini. The child's father knelt down to michel platini with his child in his arms and begged michel platini to change his name. Or go to worship the stone and recognize it as "michel platini", and the baby's name will be changed to "Leibu" (Chinese meaning: Stone). After "michel platini" renamed the child, the original name will gradually fade out of this family's life circle.
The second stage is father-son joint name and mother-son joint name. The joint name of father and son of Miao nationality in southeastern Yunnan is different from that of Miao nationality in southeastern Yunnan. The joint name of father and son of Miao nationality in southeast Yunnan is only for father and mother, and has nothing to do with son or ancestor. Moreover, this kind of father-son joint name is naturally formed, and it can be called after marriage and children. For example, after a young man or a young woman gets married and gives birth to a child, it is natural to associate the child's name with the father's name or the mother's name. For example, after Bao Duo got married, he had a son named Dong, and everyone called him Bao Duo Dong's son Bao Ke, which means that Dong's father is Bao and his wife is Fa. But it has nothing to do with the names of ancestors. If there are two pairs of father and son with the same name in a village, their surnames must be added up to show the difference.
The third stage is to take the old name. Taking the old name is the most important life etiquette of Miao people in southeast Yunnan, and it is an important symbol of Miao adult men from naivety to maturity. In general, it will be decided after giving birth to the first full moon or after a period of time. After the date is set, pigs and chickens are slaughtered, and a ceremony is held to invite parents-in-law or family elders to take their old names. When the naming ceremony is held, the old man or father-in-law will sit on the table. Name seekers must drink two glasses of wine to their elders and fathers-in-law, and kneel down to ask their elders or fathers-in-law to give them an old name. Father-in-law will ask what their family took. For example, Baoduo will be named "Zeux Bao", his wife is also called "naf Zeux Baok" and outsiders are called "Zeux Baok Dlob", thus linking their surnames. If the purpose of naming this time in the family is to commemorate an ancestor, then take the old name as the name of this ancestor. For example, the name of one of Baoduo's ancestors is "Nzhuab", so Baoduo's old name will be "Nzhuab Baok Dlob", but when people call "Bao Zhuang", they will remind people in the family that there is an ancestor named "Zhuang". After taking the name, the applicant must kneel and kowtow to express his thanks.
Second, the origin of Miao surnames
The origin of Miao surnames has a long history, which can be traced back to the "Three Miao" period. Xiang Miao people think they are descendants of Xiang Yu, the overlord of the western Chu Dynasty. 1 In Wu Miao's word-of-mouth materials, some people think that they are descendants of Wu Sangui, a general of the Ming Dynasty. Mr. He Guangyue said: "Chiyou is a national ancestor that Miao people have always recognized. ..... future generations will be surnamed Yu. " Today, the surnames of the Miao people in Wenshan are Guo and You. Mr. Wang Wanrong's research found that the characteristics of Chu people's name appellation are first name and surname, which is consistent with the characteristics of Wenshan Miao people's name appellation. The "Xiong family" of Chu people is the "Xiong family" of Wenshan Miao people today. In the Miao folk story "Brother and Sister Made Man Smoke", it is also told that the reason why the Miao people are surnamed is because people were drowned in the flood on the Yellow River on Queen's Day, leaving only two brothers and sisters hiding in the cowhide drum and drifting with the flow. After the flood subsided, the brothers and sisters came out to see that everyone in the world had died and had no choice but to get married and reproduce. I gave birth to a child who is neither human nor ghost. In a rage, I killed his son and scattered his meat in the stable, under the peach tree, under the plum tree and on the stone. When I got up the next morning, there were people in the stable, under the peach tree, under the plum tree and beside the rock. These people were named Ma, Tao, Li and Hou respectively. After years of investigation, the author found that the "dlob" in Miao surname is not "peach tree" but "black"; Jarjat is not Li Shu, but Li. "dluas" is not a "monkey"; Rangs is a donkey, similar to a horse. This story can also explain the basic origin of Miao surname, but it is largely based on the literal translation of Miao language in Chinese, which is contradictory to the meaning of Miao surname itself. Therefore, the study of Miao surnames cannot be understood literally from the Han surnames used by Miao people today. Only by studying the literal and semantic meaning of Miao surname can we contact the origin of Miao surname.
For these surnames, we should first understand their meanings literally in Miao language. Vos (king), Miao language means "bow and arrow"; Yeus (Yang), Miao language means "ancestor", not "sheep"; Dlob (Tao), Miao language means "black", not "peach"; Jait (Li), Miao language means "Li" or "Li", not "Li"; Chib (Luo), Miao language means "election", not "tribute"; Nyangb (Zhang), Miao language means "daughter-in-law" or "grass"; Nguk (ancient); Miao language means teaching babies to learn to speak, such as "Haik nguk", which belongs to onomatopoeia and has no practical meaning in modern Miao language, not "drum"; Dangs (item), Miao language means "death" or "death and death"; Dluas (Hou), which has no practical meaning in modern Miao language, is not a "monkey"; Hmaob (bear), Miao language means "aphid", not "bear"; Rangs (horse); Miao language means "donkey", not "horse"; Gongt (Song), which means "needle" in Miao language; Bluat (Kang, Zou); Miao language means "petal", which belongs to the category of Miao quantifier Nzhif (Zhou). Miao language means birds' names (Nong NZ Hiflib), not "spicy".
Secondly, from the historical origin of Miao nationality. Luo surname (Chibi) and Yang surname (Jeus) are named after their ancestors to commemorate their ancestors Chiyou; Li's surname (both are Jieyin), "Li", "Li" and "Li" are homonyms, which proves that the Miao nationality is a ceremonial nation with the sense in etiquette customs. Vos Yinwo, named after a weapon, indicates that the ancient Miao people invented bows and arrows to defend their homeland; Rangs, named after livestock, shows that Miao people once lived and raised donkeys in places with donkeys, such as Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei, Henan and other provinces. While Dluas Yindang and Hou Shi were named after the country's demise. Up to now, in the Miao folk songs in Maguan, Malipo County and northern Vietnam, as well as in the legends of overseas Miao people, there is the article "Dangd nad ndox dangs njuat", with Xiang surname and Hou surname. There are similar situations among Miao people in China, such as Hou surname, Xu surname and Cai surname. There are two main reasons why Miao people use Chinese surnames. On the one hand, ancient national wars, especially the failed tribal war between the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou, made them afraid of the killing of the Chinese people and remained anonymous. Finally, they changed China's surname in order not to invite people to die, and the surname gradually faded out of memory and was forgotten. This tribal war is still fresh in the minds of Miao people. On the other hand, after Yongzheng came to power, E Ertai, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, thought that "many Miao people have the same name" and should "write books according to their ancestors". There, "those who don't know their surnames are given official surnames for inspection", and the compulsory policy forces the Miao people to change their names.
From the phenomenon of Miao surnames, the origin of these surnames is closely related to the history of Miao nationality, and some surnames are obviously separated from the ancient Miao language. It is worth noting that the ancient Miao language is not as developed as the modern Miao language. For example, when/kloc-0 created the Miao language in 957, the Miao language in Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan dialects had only 13 vowels (there were also 13 vowels in Miao Wen abroad). Now Miao language has borrowed and absorbed most of the vowels in Chinese to enrich its own vowels, which has grown to 25. Meanwhile, Miao people have learned Chinese vowels. So, in a certain pronunciation of Miao surname, is it divorced from the ancient Miao language? The answer is yes. For example, "Nguk" (ancient surname) may have evolved from "gud" (stubborn and conservative), and "Dluas" (Hou surname) may have evolved from "duas and druas". How did these languages evolve? How to divide a word into two words? Because there are no historical documents, we can only infer from the pronunciation phenomenon of modern Miao language. Since the Qing Dynasty, many Miao surnames have been replaced by Han surnames, and Miao people began to contact Chinese culture, and surnames gradually faded. What needs to be pointed out here is that the Miao nationality in southeastern Yunnan is a nation without genealogy, and there is no "word arrangement". They estimate the length of their life history in a certain place through several generations. Especially after the Miao people moved to Yunnan, they basically lived in the mountains, isolated from the outside world, accepted a low level of China culture, and did not have their own written records. Therefore, it is almost impossible to record their genealogy. The emergence of so-called "genealogy" and "arrangement of characters" originated from the influence of China culture after the founding of New China and the school education of Miao descendants.
Third, the conclusion
We should be soberly aware that the Miao nationality's name culture is on the verge of extinction, just like the Miao nationality's costume production technology, folk songs and witch culture, it is a crisis of the Miao nationality's traditional culture. Although the National People's Congress has enacted legislation, many folk experts and scholars have also loudly called for the protection of excellent national traditional culture. However, due to the impact of modern culture and the constraints of the social system that has been formed for a long time, some valuable folk cultures have been excluded and accused of backwardness or feudal superstition, thus accelerating its demise. The disappearing phenomenon of Miao folk culture. First of all, there are differences in the understanding of Miao culture between Miao upper class and Miao intellectuals. Secondly, Miao people's own cultural quality is generally low, which leads to a lack of understanding of name culture. Thirdly, government departments in poverty-stricken areas mainly focus on poverty alleviation, without seriously studying how to protect and develop ethnic cultural resources, which leads to the Miao and other ethnic minorities passively accepting the Han culture and gradually giving up their precious culture. If this continues, many excellent traditional Miao cultures will disappear in a few years. Therefore, Miao name culture belongs to the category of intangible cultural heritage, and active measures should be taken to rescue and protect it. First of all, the government should encourage and support Miao or other ethnic minorities to use their own names in order to effectively protect this long-standing national culture; Second, the upper-level Miao people and Miao officials seeking jobs in the government should take the lead in using the Miao surname, translate it into Chinese, and standardize and fix it; Three, for newborn Miao babies, parents should be guided to rename them Miao, and gradually promote them.
To sum up, although the name is just a symbol that is convenient for people to call and distinguish you from me, after thousands of years of history, the name has become an indispensable cultural carrier in human life and has been endowed with a certain religious mystery. Name culture is the most representative intangible culture of human beings, and it is an important milestone for human beings to break away from primitive barbarism and enter civilization. As an important part of Miao culture, name culture is inseparable from its historical rise and fall. It is not difficult to see that the name culture occupies a considerable position and role in the social life of the Miao nationality, and the name of the Miao nationality is closely related to the political, historical, cultural and religious development of the Miao nationality. As long as we work together, the names and surnames of Miao people will last forever with the rapid development of modern society.
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1 Xiang Chaozong: "Remembering My Ancestor Xiang Chongzhou", Volume 24 of Yunnan Literature and History Collection.
2 He Guangyue: History of the Origin of Dongyi, published by Jiangxi Education Press 1990.
3 Wang Wanrong: On the Cultural Relationship between Chu and Miao, Journal of South-Central University for Nationalities, No.2, 1998.
4 Yang Guanghan, editor-in-chief: Integration of Miao Folk Stories in Yunnan, published by China Folk Literature and Art Publishing House 1990.
[Author Brief Introduction] Hou Jian, born in 1963, male, Miao nationality, native of Maguan County, Yunnan Province, ethnic language translator, director of the Supervision Office of the Commission for Discipline Inspection of wenshan city Cultural Bureau, executive director of Yunnan Miao Society, and deputy secretary general of wenshan city Miao Society.
(Journal of Wenshan Teachers College, No.3, 17, 2004, with changes)