There are many surnames in China, and its history is even more long.
Those whose surnames are subordinate to their ancestors; those whose clans are divided by their descendants; "those whose surnames are also marked by the symbols of family blood." Of the 100 common surnames in contemporary China, 87% of the country's population is concentrated. Among them, there are 19 surnames that account for more than 1% of the national population, namely: Li, Wang, Zhang, Liu, Chen, Yang, Zhao, Huang, Zhou, Wu, Xu, Sun, Hu, Zhu, Gao, Lin, He, Guo and Ma.
However, the history of the development of each surname is a wonderful story, and today the author will reveal a "big surname" in china - Li.
In the history of our country, which surname has the most rulers?
According to the data of the sixth national census in 2010, the population of the Chinese mainland Li surname is as many as more than 95 million, accounting for about 7.9% of the han population in the country, which is the largest surname in China today and the most populous surname in the world. There are about 200-300 million people surnamed Li in the world, in South Korea, Vietnam and North Korea, the surname Li is a big surname, second only to the Kim surname and Nguyen surname, in the United States, where the Chinese are ethnic minorities, the Li surname ranks 22nd.
Moreover, according to statistics, there have been more than sixty emperors in China alone in the surname Li. It can be said that no matter in terms of population size, family prominence and contribution and impact on society, Li surname can be called the world's "first" surname. As we all know, the rulers surnamed Li were mostly concentrated in the Tang Dynasty, which once made the Tang Li clan the most prominent family at that time.
However, this surname not only brought a respected status to the Li family, but also brought a lot of unnecessary trouble to the common people.
According to the "Youyang Miscellaneous Tricks", because Li was a national surname during the Tang Dynasty, the people of the whole world at that time had to abide by a strange prohibition, that is, it was forbidden to eat carp. Whenever a fisherman catches a carp, it must be released according to the relevant laws. If fishermen dare to peddle carp in the market, once investigated and punished, they will be hit with sixty boards. Compared with the next taboo, fasting carp is still quite elegant.
During the Tang Dynasty, the common people of the whole world were forbidden to eat tigers, and even the word "tiger" was taboo and could not be said. Why? Originally, the father of Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was named Li Hu, and in order to avoid his name, the imperial court would naturally make a big fuss about the "tiger". Of course, in those days, it was difficult to eat tiger meat, but it was a bit excessive not to allow people to mention the word "tiger".
The Tang Dynasty stipulated that whenever the word "tiger" was encountered, it was replaced by "horse". Before that, ordinary people usually called toilet utensils "tigers", after which, "tigers" naturally became "horses", and later, this object was renamed "toilet" and is still used today. Judging from these allusions, the surname Li can be called the most prestigious surname in ancient times, and even, in a subtle way, it has changed the customs and habits of ordinary Chinese people.
Over time, gao tao's descendants began to take "Li" as their surname. Until the time of Emperor Xin of the Shang Dynasty, Gao Tao's successor Zheng zheng offended the King of Sui because of his impartial law enforcement and selflessness, and was killed tragically. In order to take refuge, Li Zheng's wife and children fled chaoge in anonymity. In the process of fleeing, the mother and son almost starved to death, but fortunately a plum tree on the road saved their lives, and they survived by eating plums.
In order to avoid the next disaster, and at the same time, thanks to Li Shu's life-saving grace, The descendants of the Li clan changed their surname to "Li".
However, another theory has little direct relationship with plum trees.
According to the Surname Examination, before the Zhou Dynasty, there was no surname "Li" in China. The earliest appearance of The Li clan in historical sources is Lao Tzu Li Er. The author believes that Li Er may be a descendant of the Li clan, but what really happened between "Li" and "Li" of this surname, we do not know.
By the time of the Tang Dynasty, The Li clan became the most prominent surname. In recognition of the merits of the ministers, the rulers repeatedly gave the surnames of Xu, An, Du, Guo, Ma, xianyu and other families. For example, one of the more famous Luoyang Li clans among the Li clans was the Xianbei clan before being given the surname, and the original surname is unknown. In fact, this kind of situation in which ethnic minorities are given surnames is not uncommon in history, and similar situations occurred in the earlier Han Dynasty.
As early as the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, after Zhuge Liang pacified the southern barbarians, he saw that most of the local aborigines did not have surnames, so he gave them many Central Plains surnames, among which there was the surname "Li". From the above examples, it can be seen that Li's blood lineage is not simple. What's even more incredible is that there are many friends surnamed Li who are of Jewish descent, and perhaps even friends surnamed Li are not aware of this matter.
During the Tang Dynasty, many Jewish merchants came to Middle-earth to do business and had friendly exchanges with the Central Plains, which lasted until the Song Dynasty.
By the time of the Northern Song Dynasty, more and more Jews came to the Central Plains, mainly living in major cities and engaging in business. Among these Jews, the surname Lee is the majority. The author speculates that the rulers of the early Tang Dynasty gave the Jews the surname of Li, so many Jews with the surname of Li will appear a thousand years later.
As we mentioned earlier, the Li clan can be traced back to the Yu Shun period. From the point of view of origin, the Li family originated from present-day Luyi, Henan, which is recognized and undisputed by historians. Later, one of the Li clan migrated to the Longxi region and divided into thirty-nine branches. In the Western Han Dynasty, the Li clan began to move to Jiangxi, Shandong and other places.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, many Han Chinese Li came to the southwest region and joined the Bai, Miao and other fraternal ethnic groups. Today, the Lee clan has spread all over the country and become one of the most populous surnames in China.
Resources:
["Hundred Family Names", "Chinese Jin Language", "Zizhi Tongjian Tang Ji"】