△ Ming Tang Yin's "Year Dynasty Map"
January says "Yuan"
△ Qing Dong Bangda's "Imperial Pen Fan Cheng Dafen Year Axis" (partial)
Unconsciously, we have entered 2022 and the new year has begun again.
We all know that the first month of the new year is called The First Month, and the first day of the New Year is called New Year's Day. So, how did the word "yuan" in The Month of January and New Year's Day come from, and what is the meaning?
01
The original meaning of "yuan" refers to the human head
In the Shang Dynasty Jinwen and Oracle, the glyphs of yuan are:
The first motoji resembles a humanoid standing on the side, but the head is visibly enlarged. The next two yuan characters, the side of the humanoid face in different directions, but the position of the head is written two short horizontal. The two short horizontals are indicator symbols (some people think that the two short horizontals represent "up"), which are used to indicate the part of the head in the human body. Therefore, the original meaning of yuan refers to the human head.
"Erya" is the earliest monograph in China to explain the meaning of words. Erya Shiyi: "Yuan, Shouye." "The meta is clearly interpreted as a human head.
02
Führer Marshal Führer
△ Wudai Mogao Grottoes 146 North Wall "Burning Lamp Prayer"
The head is at the top of the human body and is the organ that governs the entire body. Therefore, Yuan also has the meaning of leading and leading.
For example, the Fuehrer, the original meaning of the finger, refers to the monarch who holds the entire state power, the supreme leader of the country. In the Book of Yiji, it is said: "Fuehrer Mingya, Qiu Qiu Liangya, Shu Shi Kangzai!" This means that if a monarch like a head is wise, if the ministers like the humerus (thighs and arms) are virtuous, all undertakings will be settled.
Marshal refers to the main general who commanded the whole army in ancient times. In the Tang Dynasty, from the time of Gaozu Li Yuan, he established the official position of "marshal". Marshals of the Tang Dynasty were often served by princes or princes, and deputy marshals were mostly served by prestigious ministers.
The Founding Father refers to the person who led the creation of great merits. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao sent a table to Emperor Xian of Han and asked for a knighthood for the counselor Xun Yu, who wrote: "(Xun Yu) should enjoy the high lordship in order to show the yuanxun. This means that Xun Yu should enjoy a high title, so as to commend those who have taken the lead in creating great merits.
03
New Year's Day, New Year's Day, Lantern Festival
△ Part of Qing Yao Wenhan's "Year Dynasty Celebration Chart Axis"
The Eastern Han Dynasty Xu Shen's "Explanation of Words" explains the yuan character in this way: "Yuan, the beginning also." From one, from the Vultures. Xu Shen interpreted the original meaning of yuan as the beginning, and believed that yuan is a huiyi character composed of one, wu (the same meaning as yuan). In fact, the beginning, the first is the extension of the yuan. New Year's Day, now usually refers to the first day of the Gregorian New Year, and is also the beginning of the Gregorian New Year.
Yuan Day also refers to the first day of the New Year.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, people had to set off firecrackers, drink Tusu wine, and change peach charms (the prototype of the Spring League) on the first day of the first lunar month, and these customs were still very different from our current New Year's habits.
Lantern refers to the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, that is, the first full moon night of the new year (陳, referring to the night). When people pass the Lantern Festival, they usually cook a kind of stuffed food made of glutinous rice flour into a ball shape, and the name of this food is also called the Lantern.
04
Solution, Huiyuan, Yuan
△ Qing Lang Shining,"Qianlong Emperor's Dynasty Xingle Chart Axis"
In the feudal era, the imperial examination was based on the person who ranked first as the "yuan". Yuan still means first here.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, once every three years, the imperial examination was held in the provincial capitals of each province, and those who passed the examination were called lifting people, and this kind of examination was called the township examination. The first place in the township test is called Xiangyuan, also known as Xieyuan.
The examination is an examination held every three years in the capital, where people from various provinces are gathered. Those who pass the examination are called gongshi. The first place in the test is called huiyuan.
The temple examination was the highest-grade imperial examination in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The tributes who were admitted in the examination gathered at the imperial court and were personally initiated by the emperor. In the temple examination, it is divided into three admissions. The first one admits three people, and gives them to the soldiers and the first. The first of these is called The Yuanyuan (殿元). The name of the yuan is related to the tang dynasty imperial examination system. When people from the Tang Dynasty went to Beijing to participate in the examination of the Ministry of Rites, they all submitted a petition (handed in a handwritten document). The first name in the examination is the shape head, that is, the shape.
Zhongzhuangyuan was the highest honor and ideal of ancient readers. Even today, people often refer to the person who won the first place in the examination, and it is also used as a metaphor for the best and highest achiever in all walks of life.
In the new year, we can all be our best selves. As long as you work hard and be proactive, everyone can become a "champion" who creates a happy and beautiful life.
Congratulations to everyone in the big study
Happy New Year's Day
-The end-
Written by | Yuan Yong
Edited | Han Hua, Qing Yi