As one of the four ancient civilizations, it is not easy for Chinese civilization to be passed down to this day. The civilizations of other countries have more or less been embellished or disappeared in the long river of history, as long as the Chinese civilization, although it has undergone several changes and innovations, can still endure for a long time, and it is still shining today.
In the transmission of civilization, the role of surnames is also indispensable. Because for Chinese, the surname is a connotation of the lineage. Many people will recognize their common ancestors by surname. In fact, the surname has also changed several times, some surnames still retain the original meaning, and some surnames must be traced back to understand its origin. There are four surnames that are absolutely special, and the people with these surnames are very likely not descendants of the dragon, but the ancestors of Nuwa, come and see if you can also have these surnames around you.
The surname of the Chinese nation
The origin of Chinese surname can be traced back to the period of the Yan and Huang emperors. Later, due to the development of society, the population was added from time to time, and after the population expanded, thousands of surnames were differentiated. These surnames are very elegant, and the extension is also very interesting.
The earliest primitive society did not have a surname, but because people but social plants, soon the people gathered together carried out territorial understanding, and at the same time, after breeding, they derived clan understanding, so they began to demand surnames to divide tribes. Surnames were first presented in matrilineal societies to express a kinship relationship.
Since human beings only recognize their mothers and do not know their fathers, the surnames are marked with the matrilineal clan relationship, and most of the surnames presented at this time will have the word "female" next to this reason. As for the naming of surnames, the earliest basis is the leader of the tribe. After the Yellow Emperor came to all the tribes of the Central Plains, the descendants of each fief again took their own fief as their surname. As the division continued from time to time, the surnames also increased from time to time.
Generally speaking, the name of the surname will be taken from the name of the place or the totem of the tribe, which is also a recognition of belonging. Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor had more than twenty children, 14 of whom were given surnames. The descendants of these people multiplied in the fiefdoms of various places, grew from time to time, and then continued to divide, and became the main part of the later Chinese nation. The surnames of our most local people tomorrow can be traced back to these surnames.
The first ancestor of mankind, Nuwa
In addition to the surnames derived from the two emperors of Yan and Huang, there are also some surnames that come from the same period of Nuwa, and these four surnames are considered to be the ancestors of Nuwa, and they are justified. These four surnames are Feng, Long, Yi, and Fu, and to know the relationship between these four surnames and Nuwa, we must first understand the story of Nuwa.
It is generally thought that Nuwa is a mythical figure, but virtual. The earliest record of her is in this Classic of Mountains and Seas, which depicts her as the creation god of mankind, and the shape is a combination of man and snake. Legend has it that Nuwa is a human-faced snake who can change up to seventy items every day. Even human beings were created by her. Later, human beings suffered a disaster from the sky, and it was Nuwa who managed to make up for the heavens so that human beings could keep their lives.
Although the mythology of these records is strong, in an ideal sense, Nuwa is very capable of being a tribal chief in ancient times, and her status is similar to that of the two emperors of Yan and Huang, and even higher. Because of the identity of women, it later evolved into the ancestor who invented human beings. She is one of the guardians of humanity, and in an ideal situation, she should be the patron of a tribe, that is, a tribal leader.
As a leader, she certainly has no right to name her own people and descendants. This branch of her division has divided into a total of four surnames, distinguishing them as wind, dragon, Yi, and volt. Although these four surnames are not rare in today's life, each of them has a long history and has a deep relationship with Nuwa.
The origin of the four surnames
The first is the surname Feng, which is said to be Nuwa who inherited her father Wind and Thunder God. In some texts, it is recorded that Fuxi and Nuwa are brothers and sisters, and their surname is "wind", because their father is the god of wind and thunder. However, the system of ancient mythology is huge, and in some regions it constitutes different legends. It is also said that Nuwa and Fuxi were from the Huaxu kingdom, and their mother gave birth to them after combining with Shenlong.
This story also has the shadow of a matrilineal clan, the legend is that Hua Xu went to the center of Leizer to play, saw a grand footprint on the road, she wanted to see how big this footprint was after all, so she stepped on her own foot, unexpectedly, this actually made her pregnant, which is a typical example of having a mother and no father during the matrilineal clan period. It's just that in the patrilineal clan period, some of the ancestors of Nuwa changed to the surname of their father Shenlong and set the surname as "dragon", so the person with the surname of Long was originally also the descendant of Nuwa.
As for the first two surnames "Yi" and "Fu", they are related to Nuwa's brother and her husband Fuxi. Legend has it that the two brothers and sisters later became husband and wife, and Fuxi was also one of the first ancestors of mankind, and in the patrilineal society, the importance of Fuxi became more prominent, and his descendants and Nuwa's descendants were originally different.
First of all, let's talk about the surname "Yi", and it is not difficult for everyone to associate this word with the book "I Ching". The final prototype of the I Ching came from Fuxi, and it was Fuxi who deduced the gossip to have the later I Ching. Therefore, the word Yi is also thought to be passed down by Fuxi, and the offspring born after the union of Nuwa and Fuxi have also changed their surname to Yi.
The original "Fu" surname naturally came from Fuxi. This surname is definitely rare, and now it exists secondary among the Miao people on the mainland. This is also consistent with the birthplace of Nuwa recorded in the history books, and today's Miao people will put up portraits of the two gods Nuwa and Fuxi when paying homage to their ancestors, and they also think that they are the descendants of Nuwa and Fuxi, so a considerable number of them use surnames from Fuxi.
epilogue
In fact, whether it is the surname of the descendants of Yanhuang or the surname of the ancestors of Nuwa, it is the common wealth of the Chinese nation. These surnames are a good way to maintain the emotional relationship of our nation, and they should not be used as a way to divide us. When we trace the origins of our surnames, we are also remembering our common ancestors. Although many of these historical myths have a fantasy color, these ancestors were also important promoters of human reproduction.
The surname is a testimony to the long history of Chinese civilization, and understanding this history can strengthen our sense of national identity. Surnames are a part of our daily lives, and although they are all taken for granted, there is a lot of truth in them, which is worth discussing in depth.