Because I spent a period of time and energy sorting out the information of the Niu family in the Middle Ages and published a monograph on Niu Hong. It's a pity that Niu Ge's book was published very late. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to run around and work so hard, but it's worthwhile to work hard for what I like, and it's often a joke.
The greatest feature of Collected Records is that it collects rich and comprehensive materials, which not only has a long time span, but also covers a wide area, which is accepted by both the north and the south. Including the northern provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Shanxi, and of course mainly Shanxi and Henan. This is the main place for cattle activities, no matter ancient or modern. In addition, he also went deep into the Yangtze River valley, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places. Wherever he could run, he collected all the information he could see, which was extensive and in-depth. Therefore, the value of these materials is also various, which provides important information for the branch, migration, mobility, official career, marriage, genealogy and the relationship with other gentry in the Middle Ages. Here, I am very grateful for the invitation of Sanjin Niu Culture Research Center to discuss some research problems I have encountered with you.
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Data need to be classified, so that we can consult it and produce value in the eyes of researchers. The division and classification of data is a science, which is more complicated. As far as the inscription of cattle is concerned, the tolerance for women is not only an idea, but also brings some new angles. However, the entry of women will bring new problems. Therefore, it needs to be well organized, otherwise, you can't see the clue. Compared with the traditional compilation of documents and materials, such as the Epitaph Compilation of Tang Dynasty (Shanghai Ancient Books, 1992) and the Epitaph Editing of Han, Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties (Tianjin Ancient Books, 1992), some people related to the Niu family entered one after another, such as including Niu's nephew and Niu's epitaph author.
Try to analyze two sentences in two tablets: the epitaph of Tang Niupu and the epitaph of Tang Niuheng.
Hou Bei said, "I fell ill in the private parts of Sanshui, Yizhou", which means that Niu Heng died at his home in Sanshui, Yizhou. However, compared with the former monument "Because the official moved to wenxi county, several generations of Wenxi people", we can know: first, Niupuzhi is already Wenxi people in Shanxi; Second, his wife is Hedong Pei. So, the question is, did you move to Wenxi because you married Pei Jia of Hedong, or did you marry Pei Jia of Hedong because you were an official in Wenxi? Why did he die in his home in Xunyi, Shaanxi? Of course, only by comparing the two monuments can we know the relationship and lineage of the characters in the two monuments. The father names of the back monument and the front monument complement each other-Qian Jing. It can be inferred from the inscription that Niu Heng entered the news because of his ancestors.
His great-great grandfather Niu Xiu, commonly known as Niu Jinda, was buried in Taizong Mausoleum of Zhaoling in Liquan, Shaanxi Province. It is revealed in Zhaoling's Epitaph of Niu Jinda that Niu Xiu is "Mrs Hedong". This is a very important message. Niu Xiu was the founding hero of the Tang Dynasty, so it is possible to get married and enter Shanxi. Although the Niu family in Longxi also belongs to Xizhou Haozu and is a great scholar, after all, it has not completed the transformation of "restraining martial arts into literature" and cannot be regarded as a first-class giant. Only in Niu Xiu's generation, following Emperor Taizong and making great achievements, can we say that the family transformation has finally been completed. Pei Niu is combined with Guanlong Group, the most important political force, and it is logical that his descendants will be born in Hedong (Wenxi).
Even so, why does Niu Heng have a private house in Sanshui, Taizhou? It seems that the existing inscriptions have not solved this problem. Need to have a deeper understanding of the data).
The collection of female epitaphs mainly looks for the evolution track of this family from the marital status. Through the study of women and marriage, we will find that the stable Niu family is an old aristocrat. For example, they were mainly married to Anding Xin's family, Tianshui Zhao's family and Taiyuan Wang's family, which was further confirmed in Historical Records.
The marriages of medieval nobles were mostly for political purposes, paying attention to mutual equality and taking genealogy from each other, which were recorded in historical books. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong rebuilt the Genealogy, and changed the "Longxi Lee" originally belonging to the second class into the first-class families such as Boling Cui Shi, Lushi, Jing Zhaowei and Du. As a result, it was resisted by the imperial clan, and this work was not completed until the Wu and Zhou Dynasties. In fact, the party struggle between Niu and Li in the middle Tang Dynasty actually reflected this problem. Therefore, historians say: "The most thorough way to test the evolution of the political situation in the Tang Dynasty and investigate the dispute between Niu and Li is to explore the origin of court officials." However, the times have changed, and the native place, native place and county appearance have all changed. People in the Tang Dynasty themselves said, "There is nothing wrong with a scholar living in the countryside. Cultivated by the government, the land is separated by a hundred years, but they are all people from east, west, north and south. " (Jia Zhi's "On Yang Wan") The imperial examination, official position, promotion and marriage in the Middle Ages. They all use family genealogy, so the study of genealogy is very developed. In other words, genealogy is more reliable.
On the contrary, after the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, it was not used much, so it naturally sank, so the genealogy was often abandoned. Moreover, there may be confusion when future generations continue the spectrum. The Song people themselves said that the genealogy was scattered after five generations. For example, Zhao Mingcheng said in "Records of the Stone": "Before the Tang Dynasty, scholars put their surnames first, so although it lasted for thousands of years, it can be tested for dozens of generations. Since the rebellion of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, people in the dynasties were brave and good at fighting, so the genealogy was lost, and the literati were at a loss as to where their clan came from. It's not a pity! Therefore, the rest is recorded here, which is convenient for those who learn surnames in the future to take a test. "
As an academic citation, Genealogy of Song Dynasty should be cautious. Generally speaking, it is no longer the main aspect, but also because the social structure has changed during this period and it is no longer an aristocratic society. The international academic circles generally believe that the Tang and Song Dynasties in China are a period of great change, which is the famous "Theory of Change in Tang and Song Dynasties".
For example, the question of "Niu Hao's Tomb in Song Dynasty". Historical Records quoted the genealogy of Niu family in Jizhou. Niu Hao was the 14th generation grandson of Niu Sengru after the Tang Dynasty. Let's analyze: this spectrum was compiled by the Ming Dynasty, and the year of death of Niu Sengru was the eleventh year of the Tang Dynasty, that is, 857 AD, at the age of 83. Judging from the Epitaph of Niu Sengwu and the Tombstone of Niu Sengwu written in the Tang Dynasty, Jizhoupu is obviously in doubt, which is inconsistent with the inscription. Inscription: Niu Sengru died in 848 AD at the age of 69. There is a difference of nine years in years, and I don't know what the basis of the 83-year-old cloud in Jizhou Spectrum is.
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How to deal with handed down documents and unearthed materials?
This is also a famous double evidence law in modern academic circles. Proposed by Wang Guowei, it is not only a historical textual research method, but also a widely used new research method. On the one hand, scholars should make full use of seals, military symbols, bamboo slips and other materials to textual research on classical history; On the other hand, scholars should study the history of ancient China and the Western Regions according to the newly published Oracle Bone Inscriptions, bronze inscriptions and Han bamboo slips. When using materials, textual research, material analysis and literature research are integrated, so the "double evidence law" still has important enlightenment significance for researchers.
Niu Sen is like an epitaph and Niu Sen is like a tombstone. According to Qing Jiaqing's "Xianning County Records", "The tombs of Prime Minister Niu Sengru are less than those in the south, and Du Mu writes epitaphs." Today, Wei Zhaoyou in Fan Chuan, Chang 'an District, Xi has the tomb of Niu Sengru, the epitaph of Du Mu and the tombstone of Li Jue. Moreover, the authors are all contemporaries, and their ci is circulated because it is preserved in historical books and Quantang Wen, which belongs to handed down literature. Even though the documents have been handed down from generation to generation, there are still some problems: the generation of Niu family is unknown in the Tang Dynasty, such as Niu Hong, Niu Seng-ru, who lived under the same roof for seven or eight generations.
Under the chapter "Yuanhe Three Years" in Zi Tongzhi Jian, it is considered as VII. The inscriptions of Du Fu and Li are the words of the Eight Dynasties. Mr. Ding Ding thinks that if you count yourself, that is, if you count yourself, it is the eighth generation, and if you don't count yourself, it is the seventh generation (see Niu Hong Studies, P 19, 155, Sanqin Publishing House, 20 10). Why are there these problems? I think the party struggle in Niu Li is really complicated, and all of them are literati with the right to speak, thus causing unexpected conflicts for future generations. In this case, the problem of generation difference can actually be solved by using old documents. Can the existing inscriptions (unearthed materials) solve this eternal problem? Not yet!
There are several historic sites to pay attention to. The question I met in the literature before was whether Niu Xianke and Niu Zhen were the same generation. The name of Niu, the son of Niu monk, and the inscription on the tablet further illustrate this problem. For example, the epitaph of Tang Niuheng has the name of Niu Qianjing. Is there a connection between the two?
I think there is a certain connection. Niu Xiu's team can be traced back to the Northern Wei Dynasty, the secretariat of Hanzhou, the Lord and the Bull Ding in Pingyuan County. In the epitaph of Tang Niu Xiu, there is "being a Confucian in the earth, and the people of the Seven Chivalrous Men are lacking in sound;" Chen Cang has a defender, and Han Fa became famous for a while. Shangdi here refers to Shangdi county and cattle shortage in the Warring States period, and Han refers to the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. Then, this branch is Jingyang House recorded in Yuan He Xing Bian, and the lineage of Jingyang House is connected. Jingyang Prefecture and Anding Prefecture have a generation of "Qian Feng" and "Qian Jing", which shows that the pedigree of cattle existed in the Tang Dynasty.
Also, does the appearance of "Tang Niu Fang Hui Epitaph" let us contact Niu Hongzi, Fang Da, Yu Fang and local chronicles again? It should be possible. These people are close to their time. According to the year of the owner's death (Yifeng two years, Spring and Autumn 80 years), Niu was born in 598 AD, that is, the eighteenth year of Emperor Kai of Sui Dynasty. The epitaph records several generations in detail, including great-grandfather Chi and grandfather Yun, whose father Niu Huan was recorded as the half-brother of Niu Hong. Only at that time, there were no records of Sui Shu, Northern History and Zhou Shu. In this way, once again enriched the material of "An Ding Niu".
Niu Hong's family background has always been noticed by his father's office, because Anding County is in the river basin, which is not difficult to understand. However, the history books sometimes record it as "the Duke of Linhuai", which was wrongly noted in previous dynasties and changed "Huai" to "Jing". The epitaph of the Tang Dynasty in Historical Records contains "Zu, General Wei Zhennan and the Prefect of Linhuai". Although the relationship between Niu Honghe is uncertain, Linhuai Gong should have a history and can be used as a relief. This newly published epitaph can be used as a supplement to historians' annotations, and at the same time, it can also deeply explore the direction of this family.
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Also, the use of new data. For example, the stele extension in Huguan bunker, these things appeared and circulated on the Internet for some time. I have communicated with Mr. Niu Jiandong about the stele extension of Shaku Niujia in Huguan, and I always feel that it should be used with caution, because it is not the data compiled by archaeological excavations. At present, I haven't seen any relevant researchers release special masks, and we still need to do a professional analysis ourselves.
Among them, Tang Niukang's epitaph has no illustrated version. Judging from the content, this tomb was buried for the second time, and the monument was erected by his grandchildren. The inscription tells the story of Niu Kang's eldest son Niu Gaozhi and his wife. The inscription records that their father and son were buried together in Erliyuan, southwest of Shaku Village. How to understand this? Obviously, this should be a second burial, that is, moving to a new place instead of the same grave. There is only one monument, probably for economic reasons, to save money.
There is "Niu Xing" in this inscription pedigree, which is "a long history of Sui Qingzhou". We will probably remember that the name "Niu Xing" once appeared in Jingyang House, but it is recorded that "the Western Wei Dynasty was too common to live in Jingyang", so he should be the ancestor of Jingyang House. In the study of Niu Hong, the famous scholar Dialectics of Surnames in Ancient and Modern Times was quoted. When proofreading, Wang Liping suspected that "He" and "Xing" were similar to traditional Chinese characters in form. However, the inscription in this exam is not the same person, not because of the font problem. Therefore, this problem in Niu Hong's research needs to be explained and corrected.
After 2000, colleges and universities merged in Xi 'an, and a new college district was planned in the southern suburb of Guodu and the present Chang 'an District. At this time, a large number of Han and Tang tombs were excavated in the capital construction, and many epitaphs were unearthed, which is a new batch of underground data. In 2003, the epitaph of Tang Niu Ren Xiang was unearthed at the site of Chang 'an Campus of Northwest University. There are three inscriptions, and the owner of the epitaph is Pingzhou Sima. Judging from the year of birth and death, it should belong to the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties. This information can be used to revise traditional literature.
In the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Jiuling wrote an inscription for the father of Niu Xianke, named Niu Yi; During the Song and Zhao Mingcheng Dynasties, Jin Shilu was also named after the incomplete monument. In 1943, there is a tombstone named Niu Yiren. According to textual research, a person is one person, but has two names. It is also quite difficult for Song people to compile the Book of the Old Tang Dynasty, and it is impossible to judge. Now, the newly published Epitaph of Cattle can put an end to this eternal problem, revise the traditional literature, and then infer the close relationship between Cattle and Niuxianke.
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These materials also convey some important information and value from other aspects. List separately:
(1) Historical Geography: The directions of ancient place names can be explained to each other. For example, Niu Fanghui's epitaph reads "Buried in the Land of Laiyuan in Yongzhou", while another epitaph by Niu Wenzong reads "Buried in the Mountain of Laiyuan to the west of Jingzhao Capital". Thus, Levin's original position is not only clear, but also confirmed by new historical materials.
In addition to Levin, during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were Xiliuyuan (epitaph of Tang Niupu, epitaph of Mrs. Tang Niupu Chen, epitaph of Tang Niuheng), Fengqiyuan (epitaph of Tang Dynasty), Sanzhao (also known as Zhao) (epitaph of Mrs. Tang Niu) and Shaocemetery (epitaph of Tang Dynasty), which were the land and cemetery of stable cattle (see Niu Hong Research for details) He said that there is a Niujia cemetery in Jiali Village, Wangqu Town, and their Niujia people come to pay homage every Spring Festival. Its location is roughly in the area of Fan Chuan.
(2) Surname information: There is a saying in the epitaph of the Tang Dynasty that "Yuan and Yuan Tongzong originated from the late Wei Dynasty", which is the fact that Tuoba of the Northern Wei Dynasty changed his surname to Yuan, and Yolanda may write Yuan.
(3) Other main characters' information: The pedigree in the epitaph of Tang Dynasty reveals the pedigree information of the author of The Ruling and Opposition. The Record of the Ruling and Opposition is a collection of notes and novels written by Zhang Kun in the Tang Dynasty, with a total of six volumes, which records the legacy of the ruling and opposition in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, especially the ruling and opposition events in the post-Wu period, and is also selected as historical materials by Zi Jian. Author Zhang Kun, the word Wencheng,no. Fu Xiuzi, is known as "Bachelor of Green Money" in history; Lu Ze, a native of Shenzhou (now Shenxian North, Hebei Province), has a biography of the Tang Dynasty, and his date of birth and death is unknown. Roughly from Wu Zetian to the early Xuanzong period, he was famous for his poems. Today, in addition to the records of the ruling and opposition parties, there are also dragon and phoenix judgments and fairy caves. Through the inscription, it is known that his family is Changshan Zhang, which is roughly not bad with the historical records.
And so on.
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In addition, ask some small questions for your reference.
Variant characters and traditional characters. If there is an inscription on the inscription, common characters can be used instead of variant characters, which is consistent with the characters used in the literature. If there is no chart, you can keep variant characters, such as the epitaph of Tangniupu. Although the author also has a list of variant characters in the appendix, it is inconvenient to consult.
The epitaph of Tang Niuxiu is now in Zhaoling Museum, and the author has revised the explanatory text of the monument several times. The traditional Chinese characters of Liquan are not Liquan, but Liquan. Zhaoling Museum in Xi should be Zhaoling Museum in Liquan County, Shaanxi Province.
Mr. Niu Jiandong sacrificed his spare time and took pains to collect information in all directions, which was touching. He put a heavy and precious document in front of us. We should make use of these materials to further study the migration and flow track of medieval surnames, especially the Niu family in Longxi, sort out the historical context of its detailed evolution, find new evidence for the life history of medieval society, revise and supplement the historical materials, and explore the motive force of this family's development and enterprising in the historical process.
This is also the charm and value of this book.