What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
Qin Shi Huang was the first monarch in China's history to complete the great unification, and he was also the first person in China to be called emperor, establishing a centralized and unified multi-ethnic state, laying the basic pattern of China's political system for more than two thousand years.
He was called "The First Emperor of the Ages" by later generations, and in addition, that was the self-designation of the decay he left behind.
Many classmates may be very strange, after Qin Shi Huang, Tianzi called himself "Yuan". So before Qin Shi Huang, what did those monarchs call themselves?
After the unification of the Six Kingdoms, Qin Shi Huang believed that the title of King of Qin at that time was not enough to reflect his own merits, so he extended from the Three Emperors and Five Emperors to the Emperor. And because he was the first monarch to call himself emperor, he called himself the first emperor.
In addition to the title of emperor, Qin Shi Huang also used the term "朕" to refer to himself, and made a stipulation: from now on, only the emperor can call himself 朕.
The reason why I say this is because before this, the title of Yuan, which can also be used by ordinary people, regardless of identity level. Before that, "朕" and "I" had the same meaning.
For example, in "Leaving the Troubles", there is: "Emperor Shuo Kao Yue Boyong." The meaning of this sentence is that my deceased father is Word Boyong.
Qu Yuan everyone knows that the poet of the Chu State has never been an emperor. Therefore, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Yuan was not the exclusive title of the emperor.
In that period, the meaning of the word "朕" was the same as that of "I", just the most common self-designation, and did not have any symbolic meaning of nobility.
The reason why Qin Shi Huang wanted to use it was largely because of its variant characters, which were of great significance when taken apart. From the current font, you may not be able to see anything, because it is a month plus a pass.
But when you take it apart from the variants, you will find that on the left is the boat and on the right is the hao. You may not recognize this word, but it means tinder. In the era when science and technology were not developed, the significance of fire was very important.
It is precisely because of the discovery of fire that human beings began to drink blood without hair and gradually moved toward civilization.
The significance of the boat is even more significant, before the three countries, China's economic center of gravity was basically in the north. As we all know, the Yellow River Basin gave birth to Chinese civilization. Living near the waters, the ship has naturally become the most important means of travel for everyone, and it is also an important tool for subsistence life.
Perhaps this is also the meaning of Qin Shi Huang's self-proclaimed "朕", of course, the most important thing is to strengthen the imperial power and reflect the supremacy of his own power, it is stipulated that some words can only be used by the emperor.
When it comes to the supreme ruler of China's ancient feudal society, the most familiar title is the emperor.
As mentioned earlier, this title began with Qin Shi Huang, so what were the titles of the monarchs before him?
During the Shang Dynasty, the title of the monarch should be distinguished between the pre-birth and the post-birth. When monarchs were still on the throne, they were all called kings, such as the King of Shang. After the death of the monarch, he will be posthumously called the emperor by his descendants, such as Emperor Yi.
But in the Zhou Dynasty, whether before or after his death, he was called a king, such as King Wen of Zhou. The two dynasties had similarities and differences in the title of emperor.
The same thing is that they all regard the emperor as the emperor of heaven, that is, the heavens. And it is the human king, the king, who rules over these people on the ground.
According to the regulations of the time, no matter who it was, no matter how much merit it was, when it was alive, the highest title was only king. But after death, it was different, in the Concept of the Shang Dynasty, the ancestors became gods after their deaths.
However, compared to the highest-level Heavenly Emperor, it was one level lower, but it also possessed divine power. In the "Bu Ci", it is mentioned that "Emperor Ruowang, Emperor Beiruo King?" ”
The Zhou Dynasty was different, believing that after the death of their ancestors, the highest merit could only serve the Heavenly Emperor. It is recorded in the inscription of the Heavenly Death: "Dressed in the absence of king Covin, please God." ”
Therefore, the centralizers of the Zhou Dynasty, after their deaths, were also called kings.
The difference that arises is that the beliefs of the two dynasties are different. The Shang Dynasty believed in the descendants of the Heavenly Emperor and had the blood of heaven. It is precisely because of this that they can be directly called emperors after their deaths.
The Zhou Dynasty people, on the other hand, only through some kind of ritual did they ask for descendants from heaven. In "Living People", Jiang Yan's "Ke Yu Ke Qi, Ephesian has no children". Therefore, they are not considered to be descendants of heaven, and they cannot ascend to god after death.
After saying the salutation, let's talk about the self-designation. Before Qin Shi Huang, the monarchs called themselves very much. The shang emperor's self-designation was Yu Yiren, which is also the earliest emperor's self-designation that can be found in the current historical data.
The Book of Shang records: "Oh! There are many in all directions, and they hear one man's praise. ”
The reason why they call themselves this way has been explained by scholars in later generations. This may be a more modest term for the Shang monarchs, in order to show that there is no difference between themselves and others.
Just as he came from the people and went to the people, he was only one of all. However, this self-designation was not often used, but was only used on more solemn occasions such as the emperor's edict.
And the self-designation related to Yu, there is also Yu Boy. This is the name that monarchs used to call themselves after the death of the previous king and during their mourning. The Book of Rites records a sentence by the Shang king Taijia: "Yu Xiaozi is not clear about virtue." ”
Not only the monarchs of the Shang Dynasty, but also the monarchs of the Zhou Dynasty would use this self-designation, such as King Cheng of Zhou's "Min Yu Boy, Who Was Not Built by the Family." "From the Book of Verses."
The previous two titles are basically used for specific occasions. In daily life, the monarchs mostly claim to be orphans, widows, and widows that everyone is most familiar with. These self-designations can be found in works of the pre-Qin period such as the Book of Rites and the Spring and Autumn of the Lü Dynasty.
In addition to these, they also have a more interesting self-designation, not valley.
It is recorded in the Warring States Policy: "It is the prince who is called lonely, widowed, and not valley." ”
Seeing this, do you think that the titles of monarchs are really a bit much and complicated? In fact, all the titles associated with monarchs are only to highlight the supremacy of their power.
Of course, this is true not only in my country, but also abroad. For example, Caesar was the founder of the Roman Empire, so there are Roman monarchs with the title of emperor with his name "Caesar".
The title of monarch of the Russian Empire, as many people know, is called Tsar. The Tsar is actually derived from the Latin title "Caesar" from the ancient Roman era, which is the name of the emperor.
But whether in our country or abroad, every title of the monarch is actually in the service of the supreme ruler, and it is to reflect the supreme power of the supreme ruler.