Most surnames in modern European and American countries come from the Middle Ages and can be traced back to ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. As early as 5,000 years ago, China had formed a surname, which gradually developed and passed down from generation to generation.
China's first philological monograph explaining the original form and etymology of square characters is Shuo Wen Jie Zi. Xu Shen, the author of this book (about 58- 147) explained: "Surnames are born to people. ..... born by surname, born by surname. " In other words, people are born to their mothers, so their surnames are next to women.
The origin of surnames can be traced back to the matriarchal clan system in primitive human society. Surname is a special symbol to distinguish clans. Many surnames in ancient China were beside the female characters, indicating that our ancestors had experienced matriarchal clan society. All surnames intermarry with each other, and intermarriage is prohibited within the clan with the same surname. Children belong to the mother and take the mother as the surname. The appearance of surnames is a sign that primitive people gradually got rid of ignorance. With the development of social productive forces, the matrilineal clan system has changed to the paternal clan system, and the surname has changed from the father's surname to the woman's family. Later, the clan system was gradually replaced by the class social system, and the methods and means of governing the country by naming the land came into being. The appearance of stone is a step towards class society in human history. Surnames and surnames are two stages of human progress and the product of civilization.
Later, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, surnames and surnames were unified and no longer distinguished, indicating that surnames and surnames were both surnames, indicating the symbol of individuals and families. This is the meaning of surname as we know it today.
Before Qin Dynasty, surname and surname were two monosyllabic words with different meanings. The archaic characters of surnames consist of "ren" and "destiny", which means that people are born with their surnames because of their destiny. In the inscription "Curse Chu Wen" carved by the State of Qin, it was first seen that the surname was composed of the word "female" and the word "sheng", and this glyph was finally shaped by Xu Shen, a Han Dynasty person, and became a knowing word. The appearance of surnames already existed in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Zhu, a philologist in Qing Dynasty, explained in his masterpiece Shuo Wen Tong Xun that the original meaning of "Shi" is woody, the root of plants and hieroglyphics. Later, he changed his surname to "Shi" and took the fundamental meaning of wood.
In the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the social function of surnames was to represent races with the same blood relationship, and surnames were a branch derived from surnames. As a mirror, it says, "Surnames are unified by ancestors; The surname is not divided by his descendants. " Surnames originated earlier and remained relatively stable after their formation. Its origin is late and constantly changing. "Zhou Yu in Mandarin" says: "The surname is born, and it is the ancestor. Although not as good as a fairy, this surname will not change. Family members belong to the same family, their children and grandchildren are linked by the same family, and their collateral families belong to the same family. " In short, surname is the origin of surname, and surname comes from surname. Before Shang and Zhou Dynasties, surnames were used to distinguish marriage, so there were same surnames, different surnames and common surnames. Surnames are used to distinguish between high and low. Noble people have surnames, but poor people have no surnames. With different surnames, marriage can pass; You can't get married with the same surname.
In the Western Han Dynasty, there was little difference between surnames and surnames. When Sima Qian wrote Historical Records, he simply confused surnames and became inseparable surnames. Therefore, Gu, a beginner in Qing Dynasty, said in Tian: "The names of surnames have been mixed since Taishigong, and this is also the case when Qin Shihuang called Zhao and Emperor Gaozu called Liu."
Surnames originated from primitive clan society. Several ethnic groups form a primitive tribe, and clans in the tribe exist independently. At the same time, there is a close marriage relationship between clans, so surnames came into being as a specific symbol to identify and distinguish clans. China's earliest surnames all had the word "female", such as Ji, Jiang, Gui and Si. It can be inferred that surnames have been formed as early as matriarchal clan period, which is determined by the status of women in matriarchal society, and its function is to facilitate intermarriage and determine the ownership of future generations. Within the same surname, clans with different surnames are forbidden to marry.
Surname culture in China
You can marry each other, and the children return to the mother, taking the mother's surname as the surname.
Stone was first formed in the late primitive society. By the time of the Yellow Emperor, there was already a "native name". With the disintegration of clan system and the formation of class society and state system, there has been a habit of giving and giving land to name families. Thus, the origin of surnames began and formed, and various forms of surname taking appeared. At this point, the difference between surnames and people's original intentions is not obvious in essence.