In the "Records of History", the phenomenon of referring to women as "Ji" is extremely common, and its usage mainly has three types: first, it follows the titles of pre-Qin classics such as "Zuo Zhuan", such as Li Ji, Cai Ji, Bo Ji, etc.; second, as a common name for beautiful women, such as pet Ji, Ai Ji, Mei Ji, etc.; third, after the female surname, such as Qi Ji, Ji Ji, Man Ji, etc.
Li Ji film and television image
It is worth noting that during the Western Zhou And Spring and Autumn Warring States periods, the use of "Ji" to refer to women was limited to the first, that is, "Zhou nu called Ji, Qi nu called Jiang". In other words, the woman with "姬" in her name refers to the woman's surname of "姬". During the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a taboo in society that "the same surname should not marry", so women must indicate their surname in their names.
At that time, there were four main ways of naming women: one was the name of the mother country + the mother surname, such as Li Ji, whose mother country was Li Rong, and Li Rong was the surname of Ji; the second was her rank + mother surname, such as the well-known Meng Jiang nu, "Meng" was not her surname but the rank, she was actually the surname "Jiang"; the third was the name of herself or her husband + mother name, such as "Mu" in "Mu Jiang" for my own nickname, "Wu" in "Wu Jiang" for Zheng Wu Gong Yu, they are all "Jiang" surname women; the fourth is husband surname + mother surname, such as "Xia" in "Xia Ji" for her husband Xia Yushu"'s surname, "Ji" is Zheng Guo's "Ji" surname.
Meng Jiang girl cried the Great Wall
In addition, there are also naming methods such as the mother's family name + mother's surname, the husband's family's family name + mother's surname, and the husband's country name + mother's surname. That is to say, at that time, women must have their original surnames in their names. Therefore, there is a saying in the Book of Rites that "therefore the concubine who does not know her surname is Buzhi", which means that if you do not know the woman's surname when buying a concubine, you will determine whether the two can be combined through divination.
Of course, the Zhou Dynasty's prohibition of intermarriage with the same surname was not based on genetic or physiological considerations, but for the purpose of strengthening the Ji surname. Western Zhou originated in Xiqi, which can be described as a small border area, and its clan strength could not be compared with Yin Shang at all, so it adopted a sub-feudal system to make "five out of ten in the country of brothers, and forty in the country of Ji".
The reason for the formation of the concept of "intermarriage with the same surname, its birth is not good", one is to develop the Ji surname, because at that time there were few people with the Ji surname, if the same surname intermarriage, it is undoubtedly not conducive to the development of the original surname; the second is to intermarry with the male surname of his surname through the daughter of the original surname, so that the power of his surname is tied together with the original surname, which is conducive to maintaining the stability of the regime.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, although the ceremony collapsed and the Zhou Dynasty declined, Zhou was still the nominal co-lord of the world, and the woman with the surname of "Ji" was still a symbol of honor, so people from all over the world were proud to marry a woman with the surname of "Ji". The surname of "Jiang" is the surname of the State of Qi, and the Duke of Qi Huan is "nine princes of the Nine Kingdoms, one Kuang Tianxia", making the State of Qi a veritable great power, and the status of the daughter of the "Jiang" surname of the State of Qi has also risen. Therefore, there are many records in the pre-Qin classics about the daughter of the surname "Ji" and the surname of "Jiang".
At this time, there is still a question, since "Ji" is a symbol of honor, why did it eventually become a common name for women, and even associated with a slightly inferior "concubine"?
Yu Ji film and television image
This is because the Zhou Dynasty existed in name only during the Warring States period, and great powers such as the State of Qi and the State of Chu gradually had the habit of using "Ji" to refer to beautiful women, which actually reflected their desire to conquer the Zhou Dynasty. Beauty and land are the two major trophies of the victorious side, and referring to beautiful women with the surname "Ji" means that the beauties of the Zhou royal family are included in the palace in advance.
Of course, it was not Qi Chu but the Qin State that finally conquered the Zhou Dynasty to unify the world. The State of Qin included the women of the Zhou royal family and the Six Kingdoms in the harem, and called them "Ji" by the surname of the Zhou Dynasty. While making the "Ji" surname low, it also shows the psychology of its own victor. This undoubtedly shows the world that the originally honorable woman with the surname of Ji is now just a concubine in my palace, and my Qin Dynasty is the true lord of the world.
As a result, "Ji" began to become a generic term for women. During the Qin and Han dynasties, not only did words such as "concubine", "geji" and "maiji" be produced, but also the habit of calling beautiful women by a certain ji was formed.
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