Local Literature and History - Lu xiqi: the names and names of the early Chinese Shu people

On November 29, 2021, Professor Lu Xiqi of the School of History of Wuhan University gave an academic lecture entitled "Names and Names of Early Chinese Shu People" at the 5th Local Literature and History Advanced Seminar of East China Normal University. Starting from the naming methods of the early Shu people in ancient China, according to the records of the "names" of the Shu people in different documents from Zhou Qin to the early Han Dynasty, he examined the different types and methods of using the names of the Shu people in early ancient times, that is, the names of people expressed in spoken language, the names of people written into writing, and the names of people actually used, analyzed the structure of written names, and then pointed out the origin and essence of the "names" and "names" of The Shu people. The lecture was presided over by Bao Shiqing, Associate Professor of the Department of History, East China Normal University.

"Tongzhi Clan Sketch" has a cloud: "The noble have a clan, and the untouchable have a nameless clan." This statement is the conclusive conclusion of the inheritance of posterity. However, since the Shu people (commoners) belong to a specific blood organization (or group), they should "have" their surnames; as seen in the literature, most of the Shu people do not have a surname, and it is not the same thing to cover "having a surname" and "calling a surname": the Shu people have a surname, but they may not "call the surname", so the fact that the Shu people "call the name without the name" does not mean that in fact the "Shu people" is "no clan". Therefore, Luci pointed out that most of the Shu people seen in the literature do not have surnames, but in fact, the difference between "having a surname" and "calling a surname", in ancient times, Shu people may also have their surnames, but do not call their surnames, only their names.

The way people are named and their variations

Lu Xiqi further discussed the evolution of the surname system and the way of naming based on the many personal names recorded in the "Nine Years of Weiding" inscription, the "Sanshi Pan" inscription, the Tao Wen Catalogue, the Baoshan Chujian and the Liye Qinjian. And briefly summarized the changes in the way people are called names:

1. In the Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties, surnames and surnames were used exclusively by the aristocratic class, and the commoners were not called surnames (whether they had clans or not), and this rule was mostly observed until the Spring and Autumn Period.

2. As for the Warring States period, the State of Qi still adhered to the old rules, and noble officials mostly used the "clan + name" method of naming, and the Shu people were called by their names, and mostly used single characters. The State of Chu is more common in the use of the "clan + name" method of naming, whether it is nobles or commoners, most of them have their names, clans (clans). The Qin people are less likely to be called clans (clans), and most of the nobles and officials are called by their names. In short, the Spring and Autumn Warring States people gradually became known as clan members.

3. After Qin had the chu land and unified the whole country, the qin name method was implemented, regardless of the status, most of which were called by a single name. In the early Western Han Dynasty, the surname and surname were merged into one, and there was no longer a difference between the aristocratic bureaucracy and the shu people, so the shu people used the "surname + name" method to call the name. That is, during the Qin and Han dynasties, the Shu people gradually and universally used "name".

Writing of personal names

The name of the Shuren, originally derived from the colloquial title, is expressed as "sound" and is not written. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, due to the needs of the list of names and other towns, the names of the Shu people were written into writing and included in the register of books to be conscripted into military service. It is precisely because the Shu people have entered the wider social and political system that the blood or geographical organization to which they belong has become an integral part of defining their attributes, and the clan has been given a name above its name to form a name.

And because most of the people are illiterate, they cannot write their own names. Luci believes that it is often the scribe (Lidian, Zuo or Shi, etc.) or the parties concerned and their close associates who register their household registration, make registers, record the distribution of grain, and select the characters they think are appropriate to write into specific Chinese characters based on the pronunciation of the names reported by the Shu people, and combine the physical characteristics of the parties seen at the scene (such as "皙", "Black", "欬", "Piercing Ears"). That is, in the personal name writing system, which Chinese character is used depends largely on the writer's writing ability, situational judgment, or emotional preference and meaning choice, and this behavior is the result of the intervention or even direct implementation of the state power from the outside.

Generally speaking, people's names are mostly expressed in a common Chinese character, but some names are more complex in pronunciation, and they are written into two or more Chinese characters, thus forming two-character names or multi-character names. The first is a two-word name composed of simple words, including overlapping words, single words + mood words, simple words with two syllables, and personal names called "no", "no", and "such". The second is a two-word name composed of compound words. These include the partial positive type, a personal name consisting of a modified or descriptive, qualified word and a subject word, such as Dun Fox, Xiao Gong, and Yang Jiao; and a joint type, a personal name composed of two equally juxtaposed words. Such as Rong Fu, Yi Fu, Yi Wu, etc.; supplementary type, a personal name composed of a main word and a supplementary word, such as Li Ji, Mao Ji, Meng Fei, etc. The two-word or multi-word personal names composed of these compound words are generally composed of qualified or descriptive morphemes and subject morphemes, which have specific connotations and meanings, and are used to describe the identity, residence, origin, and family of the subject morphemes. And when the declarative morpheme is fixed and becomes a common indicative morpheme of people with blood or geographical relations, it actually becomes a "surname" (surname).

The establishment of the "name" of the Shu people and the "name" of the Shu people

This way of naming "surname + name" is because simply calling its name is not enough to accurately identify a specific person, so the "surname" is added before the "name", and the "surname" at this time has the function of explaining and limiting the "name". Because some "clan" (surname) designations are given from the outside, it is likely that they cannot be firmly used because they are not recognized by the descendants of the parties concerned. For example, the titles of "Rongfu", "氐夫", "Prisoner Wu", "Yiwu", "Fu", "Wu" descendants did not inherit the titles of "Rong", "氐", "Prisoner", and "Yi".

The surname used by the name of the Shu people generally has the following sources: first, with their occupation and identity (including ethnic identity) as the clan; second, the place as the clan, that is, the origin or residence as the attribute of the Shu people, and then become their clan name; third, the use of surnames for military service. For example, in Riye's "Order Jane", most of them use the method of "clan + name" to refer to the person who is ordered, and the order received should be engaged in servitude such as transfer.

Literalization of "names" and "names" and their meanings

Luci pointed out that in the colloquial system, there is first "first name" and then "surname (surname)". Within the family, when people need to refer to an individual, they use a specific title, which is "name". After leaving the family, it will be preceded by the "name" of his mother or father, the place or symbol of his family, the place where the family is located.

In the text expression system, the use of "surname" and "first name" is exactly the opposite. The text expression system is a top-down identification system, and its identification rules are to distinguish between people first and then individual people. A kinship or geographical group of people is a "clan", and the literal symbol used to identify a "clan" is a "surname" or "clan". In ancient society, whether it was a blood population, an organization, or a geographical population or organization, its ordinary members did not need a "name" in the written expression system, nor did they write their names. After the disintegration of ancient society, the individual became a "commoner" and "household" of a new type of "state", and because he needed to "directly" face the "state", he needed a "name" of his own expression in words. After the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Shu people gradually had a written "name" in the written expression system, and in the case where the "name" was not enough to identify a specific person, they repeatedly prefixed the "name" with a surname and a surname, and used the "name" method to refer to the individual and his family. Therefore, writing (household) is the most important way for people to literalize their names. In addition, this is also related to the need to indicate the affiliation, domicile and source of the parties in litigation matters and legal documents.

The compilation of household books made the names of the Shu people universally textual, while the departure from the hometown and the practice of military service promoted the universalization of the surnames of the Shu people. When people leave their places of origin and go to other places to "change the battle" and "transfer", it is more necessary to indicate their place of origin. Therefore, leaving one's hometown, separating one's inherent blood or geographical population organization, and prefixing it with a "name" with its place of origin is probably the main reason for the common use of surnames by Shu people.

Why study the names and names of the ancient shu people? Lucić explains that because we want to study ordinary people in history, the first thing to know is to know their names. If you don't even know its name, how can you talk about research? He stressed the need to construct the historiography of "people", pay attention to living people, pay attention to ordinary people, and pay attention to marginalized and vulnerable groups. In the face of such a powerful cultural power and machine as the state system, and even in front of the masses, the individual is very small, isolated, and drawn into the dynastic state system. "They are born, they suffer, they die", this is the trajectory of the lives of all ordinary people, no one can escape the shackles of this old saying, but through continuous research will gradually give these three links more and more rich connotations, just as the symbol of "name and name" stitches together their life trajectory and narrates the historical process.

(This article has been reviewed by Professor Rusic)