<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Cao Xueqin's ancestral home</h1>
Ge Junxi
The discussion of Cao Xueqin's ancestral home has become a problem that has been discussed by red science experts since the study of red studies, and no one has dared to fully determine where it is. The author did not want to discuss this issue anymore, but in actual life, I always disagreed with this issue in my exchanges with red science enthusiasts. Therefore, I personally believe that it is necessary to conduct academic research and discussion on this issue, which is purely a personal research point of view, and is only for everyone's exchange and reference, and I would like to ask for the advice of red science experts from all sides.
First, clarify the concept of ancestral origin and understand the meaning of ancestral origin
Looking up from books or the Internet, the definition of ancestral origin is so clear. Ancestral home is the concept of ancestor remembrance in traditional Chinese culture, so in the retrospection and identification of ancestral home, the ancestral family of the original surname, that is, usually the ancestral ancestors and grandparents have lived in the area for a long time, without reference to the ancestral home of the mother or grandfather. Simply put, it is the long-term residence of the ancestors and ancestors' families. Ancestral origin is different from the place of origin, also known as "origin".
Ancestral origin refers to the place of birth of an ancestor (traditionally patrilineal ancestor) at a certain time identified by a family group. Some people who have left the birthplace of their ancestors or have left their hometowns, their descendants, still trace the ancestral birthplace or the ancestral hometown (i.e., ancestral home) as their place of origin. In some areas, it is customary to take the ancestral origin of the grandfather as the ancestral home, while in some areas, such as Taiwan Province, most of the people are based on the ancestral residence of the ancestors on the mainland more than ten generations ago, and the overseas Chinese take the ancestral ancestral origin of the Chinese as the ancestral home.
Ancestral home is the traditional cultural concept of the Han people, which can refer to the place of origin of the grandfather, or it can refer to the ancestral place of origin, that is, the place where the paternal ancestors of a family have lived for generations for a long time. In particular, it should be noted that the place of household registration is not necessarily the ancestral place or place of origin of this person, especially in economically developed areas and some new places where construction began after the founding of New China, the ancestral place of a large number of people is not the place of household registration, and these people generally migrated from other places from other places after the reform and opening up and in the era of China's planned economy at that time in accordance with the distribution of the state at that time.
According to the Chinese tradition of thousands of years, place of origin is an expression of ancestral place, which is where the household registration differs from the ancestral place. The same place of residence of a person as his or her ancestral home: If the present place of residence of a person's father and the permanent residence of his paternal ancestors are the same, then the place of residence of a person is the same as the place of residence of his father's ancestral home, and if at this time a person and his grandparents are the ancestral place of residence of someone's family, then the place of residence of a person at this time is also the same as his ancestral place. The household registration on your identity card can only be your ancestral home if the current place of residence of a person is the same as the place of long-term residence or ancestral birth of a person's ancestors. As large as the province, as small as the county and city or the streets, townships, towns and other settlements can become the place of origin.
Although the frequency of use of ancestral home is not high, but as the place of origin is the location of the place of origin, and the place of origin is very important in the personal resume or introduction, but young people due to the concept of filial piety to the ancestors is weak and the sense of ancestral origin is not strong, they generally mistakenly believe that the place of origin is the place of residence or the place of birth, according to the chinese tradition for thousands of years, the place of origin is a expression of the ancestral home, the place of origin refers to the ancestral home, the ancestral home refers to the long-term residence of the ancestors, according to the province / autonomous region / municipality + district / county + township / town / street + village / community to fill in.
The reason for the formation of the ancestral homeland has a long history, and the Chinese nation has attached great importance to the place of origin for thousands of years. In the exchanges between the Chinese Huaxia (Han) and the surrounding ethnic groups for thousands of years, there have been frequent exchanges of personnel and long-standing roots. The main reasons for this are: political factors (political exile, diplomatic missions, political marriages, resistance to the Japanese Empire and aid Korea, etc.), economic factors (foreign trade and commerce, etc.), accidental factors (drifting in the sea, etc.), survival (refuge from war, avoidance from lawbreaking, clan spreading, making a living in the east, etc.), and so on.
After a long period of time, they gradually migrated to new places to create a new society or integrate into the local society, leaving the original place of residence, so they have their ancestral homeland to distinguish their current place of residence, but also retain many traces of history. Due to The large size and large population of China, the population in different places is still different. Because it is convenient for people in different places to exchange understanding, ancestral origin, can represent the characteristics, habits, cultural spirit, etc. of a group of people, the ancestral place makes it possible for a person to indirectly know the general situation of a person. And the information contained in the ancestral home is also through the people or a group of people who belong to this place, every word and deed in other places, which leaves an impression on people in other places and is constantly corrected and enriched.
Generally speaking, people in other places, by understanding the ancestral home of that person, can know which person is probably what kind of person, and there are a few people who are more special, different from people in a certain place, but more or less have certain characteristics of the people in this place of ancestral origin.
To clarify the difference between ancestral origin and place of origin, some people think that ancestral origin and place of origin are one meaning, and strictly speaking, there is a difference. Place of origin is also known as ancestral residence or place of origin, the place of origin is generally from the father, and some from the mother line refers to the long-term residence or birthplace of the grandfather and above paternal ancestors. The place of origin is the original place of origin. The difference is that the ancestral home is the long-term residence of the ancestors and generations of the family, and the place of origin is the long-term residence of the father or mother. Clarifying the difference between ancestral origin and place of origin plays an important role in the study and discussion of Cao Xueqin's ancestral home.
Second, the current statements are one, and it is difficult to determine who is wrong
First, Shenyang said.
Shenyang Cao Cemetery Epitaph In May 2012, the epitaph of Cao Fu was unearthed in Shenyang. Cao Fu was originally a Ming Dynasty general of Shenyang Zhongwei Huaiyuan, who died in the twenty-first year of Chenghua (1485). Cao Fu and his son Cao Ming were both descendants of Cao Xueqin's ancestor Cao Jun. The names of the two also appear on the donation list of the "Reconstruction of the Monument to the Chang'an Zen Temple in Shenyang" in the twenty-third year of Chenghua (1487), and the titles of both at that time were marked as "Commander of Shenyang Zhongwei".
The "Narrative of the Genealogy of the Cao Clan in Liaodong Province" says: "(Cao) Jun, commanding envoys with merit, feng Huaiyuan general, Kefu Liaodong, transferred to Jinzhou to guard the imperial palace, and then transferred to Shenyang Zhongwei, Sui Shijia Yan." Cao Jun was transferred to Shenyang Zhongwei during the reign of Ming Hongwu (1368-1398), and his descendants, from Cao Fu and Cao Ming, all the way to Cao Xueqin's fifth ancestor, Cao Xiyuan, lived in Shenyang for more than 200 years. Therefore, from the narrow definition of ancestral origin, Cao Xueqin's ancestral home is in Shenyang.
The Eight Banners of Manchurian Clan Genealogy, vol. 74: "(Cao Xiyuan) lives in Shenyang." This is the imperial archive of the Qianlong period, with absolute authority, absolutely error-free, and more valid than any other evidence.
Cao Xiyuan was originally a junior officer of the Ming Dynasty stationed in Shenyang, Liaodong Province, and was annexed around the sixth year of the Mandate of Heaven (1621) and entered the Manchurian Zhengbai Banner as a coat. Around the fifth year of Qing Shunzhi (1648), Cao Xiyuan's son Cao Zhenyan entered the customs with Dolgun.
Scholars misunderstand Shenyang as Liaoyang because they have too shallow knowledge of the geography of Liaodong. In fact, Liaoyang not only refers to Liaoyang County (prefectures, prefectures, cities), but also the entire Liaodong region, including Shenyang, which is also commonly known as Liaoyang. There is a Qing Dynasty book on the Book of Poetry, which contains a woodcut map, which calls "Liaoning Province" "Liaoyang Province", which shows that the Qing Dynasty called Liaoyang a place name. Therefore, in his later years, Zhou Ruchang abandoned the Fengrun theory and the Liaoyang theory and changed to the Shenyang theory.
The second is Liaoyang said.
Feng Qiyong said: "Xueqin's ancestral home is Liaoyang, and although it is contained in her family tradition, recorded in the genealogy, documented, and evidenced by stele stones, although it is immutable for thousands of years." Liu Shide sorted out 17 pieces of information from the "Liaoyang Theory". Qianlong Tongzhi of Zhejiang, vol. 122: Cao Zhenyan, a native of Liaoyang, Fengtian. Qianlong's Datong Fu Zhi, vol. 21: Cao Zhenyan, a native of Liaodong. Jiaqing "Shanxi Tongzhi" volume 82: Cao Zhenyan, Fengtian Liaoyang people. Kangxi's Shangyuan County Chronicle, vol. 16, Cao Xi's biography: written by Xiangping (i.e., Liaoyang). The beginning of each volume of Cao Yin's "Neem Pavilion Poetry Banknote" is signed "Qianshan Cao Yinzi Qing", and Qianshan is another name for Liaoyang.
The third is Tieling said.
Tieling scholar Li Fengzuo believes that Cao Duanguang, the distant ancestor of the Cao clan, was naturalized in Tieling, Liaodong province by Guannei Fengrun in the early Ming Dynasty, and Duan Guangzi Cao Jun was awarded a military post for military merit, and successively went through Duanguang, Jun, Sheng, Zhi, Kou, Kou, Kou, Zhi, and Shixuan in Liaodong, for a total of nine lifetimes, and three years after the Mandate of Jin, Nurhaci attacked the Tieling Sanchaer Fort and other large and small eleven forts, and Cao Shixuan was captured and reduced to a slave of the Zhengbai Banner " Wrapping".
Fourth, Fengrun said.
In May 1931, Li Xuanbo's thesis "Cao Xueqin's Family Lineage New Examination" was published in the Forbidden City Weekly, based on You Tong's "Preface to Songci's Poems" and Qianlong's "Fengrun County Chronicle", proposing that Cao Xueqin's grandfather Cao Yin was "a brother of the same ethnic group as Cao Chonggu of Fengrun in Hebei", and for the first time proposed that Cao Xueqin's ancestral home was in Fengrun. In September 1953, Zhou Ruchang comprehensively demonstrated Cao Xueqin's ancestral home in Fengrun District, Tangshan City, Hebei Province, in the third chapter of the book "New Certificate of The Dream of the Red Chamber", "Origin of Origin", the first section of "Fengrun People" and the second section "Liaodong Prisoner".
Fifth, Wuyang Jinxian said.
In April 2010, the Kangxi Dynasty "Genealogy of the Cao Clan of Wuyang in Nanchang" was found in the Zhejiang Library. The book records: In the second year of Gai Zi Yongle, the ancestor Bo Liang Duke crossed the river from Yuzhang Wuyang to the north of the river, one Bu lived in Fengrun Xianning, one Bu lived in Tielingwei in Liaodong Province, then Wuyang, the birthplace of Xun Wu's ancestors. That is to say, Wuyang is the source of Fengrun and Liaodong Cao. Zhou Ruchang also said: Cao Xueqin's real and exact old roots are Nanchang Wuyangdu.
In Jiangxi, there is also the "Jinxian Theory" Hu Deping once found the "Yuzhang Cao Clan Genealogy", that is, the Jinxian Cao Clan Genealogy. The genealogy contains the name of a Member of the Cao clan of Cao Xiaoqing, who is Cao Xueqin's Jiangxi ancestor.
Third, follow the laws of science and respect the facts of life
The study of Cao Xueqin's ancestral home must begin with the place where his ancestors lived, so that his ancestors were all officials of the imperial court, and their lives turned everywhere and lived endlessly. In this sense, to determine Cao Xueqin's ancestral home, we have to discuss them in detail, and we can't immediately focus on their place of residence, because they have lived in many places. Just like the government officials and soldiers now, they have worked all their lives to move from place to place, and there are many situations such as officials and soldiers in the Qing Dynasty, and some people work and live for a few years in various places, and some even more than ten years are normal situations. In fact, this situation is very common now, and there are still some migrant workers who are also running around, sometimes living in various places. From this point of view, Cao Xueqin cannot simply focus on their place of residence, but also look at the original land of her ancestors as the place where she was born and lived, as a place of long-term residence.
Only by following the laws of science and respecting the facts of life can we be regarded as scientific in this way of historical study, and it is also very fair and objective, and it can more correctly determine Cao Xueqin's ancestral home. Therefore, according to many theories, whether it is Shenyang theory, Liaoyang theory, Tieling theory, Fengrun theory, Wuyang Jinxian theory, etc., there are certain facts and may also be. However, from the perspective of scientific laws and facts of life, there is no doubt that its ancestral home is northeast China, specific to which city, I personally think that Liaoyang is certain, and its ancestral home is Liaoyang. First, his grandfather lived and worked in Liaoyang during his lifetime. Historical records record that his grandfather Cao Yin was born in Fengtian Liaoyang, lived in Liaoyang for a long time, and was originally from Fengtian Liaoyang (present-day Liaoning). Since his grandfather, he was a cloth (slave) of the Manchurian nobility, subordinate to the Zhengbai Banner, and the official was the envoy of the tongzheng, managing the weaving of Jiangning, and inspecting the two quasi-salt waters to supervise the imperial history. Good at riding and shooting, able to write poetry and songwriting. Second, the facts are clear and need not be repeated. Feng Qiyong, a famous red scholar, said: "Xueqin's ancestral home is Liaoyang, and although it is contained in the family tradition, recorded in the genealogy, documented, and evidenced by stele stones, although it is immutable for eternity." Liu Shide sorted out 17 pieces of information from the "Liaoyang Theory". Qianlong Tongzhi of Zhejiang, vol. 122: Cao Zhenyan, a native of Liaoyang, Fengtian. Qianlong's Datong Fu Zhi, vol. 21: Cao Zhenyan, a native of Liaodong. Jiaqing "Shanxi Tongzhi" volume 82: Cao Zhenyan, Fengtian Liaoyang people. Kangxi's Shangyuan County Chronicle, vol. 16, Cao Xi's biography: written by Xiangping (i.e., Liaoyang). The beginning of each volume of Cao Yin's "Neem Pavilion Poetry Banknote" is signed "Qianshan Cao Yinzi Qing", and Qianshan is another name for Liaoyang. These facts are enough to prove that Cao Xueqin's ancestral home in Liaoyang is credible and verifiable, and there is no doubt about it.
The author is the deputy secretary-general of the Liaoyang Red Society
Tonglian: Ge Junxi, Veterans Center, No. 124 Xinyun Street, Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province