From ancient times to the present, there are many taboos about marriage customs, and once these taboos are violated, they will not only cause a lot of trouble for themselves, but even have a negative impact on future generations.
The ancients said that "men and women with the same surname, their birth is not fertile", saying that it is taboo in marriage, and fertility means prosperity, which can be interpreted as a man and a woman with the same surname who cannot intermarry, otherwise future generations will not prosper.
After many people see this saying, they may have some questions, why can't people with the same surname get married? This root is unreasonable.
After digging deeper into the meaning behind this saying, we will find that the emphasis is not on the marriage of the same surname without blood relations, but on the marriage of close relatives of the same clan and the same clan, so that the understanding is reasonable.
I. "Men and women with the same surname, their birth is not fertile"
This saying comes from the "Zuo Zhuan", "The Prince of Jin has three yans, and Tianqi may be built!" Courtesy. Men and women with the same surname, their birth is not fertile. ", it is the story of Jin Wen Gong's heavy ears.
From this passage, it can be seen that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the custom of not intermarriage with the same surname already appeared. And this custom is also inherited from a much earlier era.
In primitive tribal societies, due to low productivity, people often fought on a small scale for food and territory.
The victorious side can invade the defeated tribes arbitrarily, for example, by using men as slaves, engaging in some heavier manual labor or going to war.
In addition to being slaves, the stolen women will also be possessed by the strong men of the tribe. Give them children and children, so that their children can flourish and multiply.
This is actually a means for a tribe to become powerful, and the stolen cattle, sheep, horses and other livestock will become tools for cultivating the land. In fact, even within the tribe, sometimes they will fight for power or women.
In this way, it is easy to weaken the power of the tribe, so it is forbidden to rob women within the tribe. It has evolved into a prohibition on marriages of the same surname and the same clan.
In fact, with the advent of the civilized era, this so-called unmarried marriage with the same surname has gradually become the familiar close relatives who cannot marry.
According to the "Jin Language", "The same surname is the same virtue, the same virtue is the same heart, the same heart is the same, although the comrades are far away, men and women are not compatible; He complained, complained about the disaster, and destroyed the surname. It is the reason why he marries his wife to avoid the same surname, and fears chaos and disasters."
This is actually a reiteration of the marriage custom that men and women with the same surname cannot marry. It is generally believed that as early as the Xia Shang Zhou period, there was already a "same surname and no marriage" rule.
However, since the Qin and Han Dynasties, surnames and surnames have been confused, and this provision has been gradually diluted. However, according to ancient marriage customs, "same surname" later refers to the same clan and the same clan, so the same surname does not marry, that is, men and women who are related by blood can never get married.
Second, the reasons for not intermarriage with the same surname: know the etiquette, strong clan
The main reason for this rule is that men and women with the same surname generally have the same ancestor. They are related by blood, and the offspring born after marriage often appear to be physically weak.
Over time, it will lead to a generation that is worse than a generation, and then the family will slowly disappear. In order to avoid this situation, it is stipulated that "the same surname does not marry".
This is the inner meaning of the proverbial "men and women with the same surname, their birth is not fertile". Because the same surname generally means the same family, the blood relationship must be very close, so that future generations will not prosper.
During the Warring States period, Zheng Guoguo's son was born, and it was clearly stipulated that internal officials were not allowed to marry with the same surname; and the Jin State Sikong Jizi also said: "Different virtues and surnames".
Therefore, from this point of view, in the ideological concept of the ancients, it is believed that intermarriage with the same surname is particularly harmful to the reproduction of offspring. Therefore, when the ancients got married, they would choose people with different surnames or non-ethnic groups.
For example, the children of the Zhou royal family did not intermarry with Jin, Wu, Wei, and Lu, all because they all came from the same clan. In fact, the ancients were very concerned about not getting married with the same surname.
Because they didn't want to destroy the ritual law, and they didn't want the clan to weaken. The Qing Dynasty scholar Gu Yanwu once said: "It is zhili who does not marry those with the same surname, not only to guard against suspicion, but also to abstain from independence." ”
To put it bluntly, marrying a wife and not marrying the same surname is mainly because of "knowing the etiquette". People of the same clan are related by blood, so children born are easily weak and sick, which has been verified in modern medicine.
Intermarriage is not only a ceremonial law, but also can achieve the purpose of strong alliance and avoid isolating the clan.
There is also a saying that the "surnames" all come from the Five Emperors, and the reason why they got the surname is because they are originally from the Five Elements. Therefore, there is a saying that "the five elements are born together, so the same surname is not married". Obviously, this statement lacks scientific basis and is not convincing in the eyes of modern people.