Costume dramas can show a different side of the lives of the ancients, which is really interesting, so in the first two years, costume dramas and time-traveling dramas were very popular, but many historical experts were not happy, and they pointed out many mistakes that did not conform to history and culture.
For example, no matter which dynasty the emperor calls himself "I", experts point out that the emperors of different dynasties do not call themselves differently. So, in the history of the mainland, what did the emperor call himself? and when did I start to use it?
Image: A still from the Emperor calling himself "I".
1. The source of me
According to reliable historical records, the time when "朕" was used by the emperor to refer to himself is more officially from Qin Shi Huang, but before that, the term was not limited to emperors.
Before the Qin Dynasty, "I" was a very common title, and even uncles on the road could say when chatting with others: I just sold a hundred flatbreads yesterday.
In the pre-Qin period, I was equivalent to "I", and it was common for men to use this word to refer to themselves, and we can know why from the origin of the word.
Picture: Stills of the uncle on the road chatting with people
In fact, I am a simplified word, in the first creation of the word, the left side of the word is "boat", the right side is "灷", 灷 represents the fire, the success of drilling wood for fire represents the successful evolution of human beings into advanced species, the importance of fire in the primitive society is now unimaginable to us.
In order to find a more suitable living environment for human life, it is also very common to build a boat to cross the sea, leaving fire on the boat, and human beings can only live in a strange place, so people with boats and fire have the ability to live and reproduce.
And generally those who possess these two items have excellent talents, both the ability to manage their clansmen and the strong appeal and productivity, so such people are elected as leaders, and these leaders refer to themselves as "I".
The picture comes from the Internet: the ancient Chinese character "朕"
But the king at that time obviously had no sense of copyright, and there was no limit to the scope of use of this title, and the people could also use "I", even Qu Yuan once used me to refer to himself.
Therefore, the first thing Qin Shi Huang did after ascending the throne was to quickly find a more individualized and authoritative title to represent himself, which was a big problem, and it was not determined after several discussions, or Li Si's words made Qin Shi Huang have a decision.
Although the word "I" has been used for a long time and was used among nobles and commoners, it was the most suitable word for Qin Shi Huang for two reasons.
Image: Qin Shi Huang discussing stills with his ministers
1. "朕" is pronounced like "politics". Qin Shi Huang's name is Ying Zheng, and when the six countries were not unified, Qin Shi Huang often used "Zheng" to refer to himself, and after ascending the throne, if he used me, it would be very convenient for Qin Shi Huang.
Therefore, he originally intended to use the word "I", but he felt that others used the same name as himself, and he couldn't accept it psychologically, and now he needed a think tank to help him think of a way to get both.
2. Li Si believes that "I" is the most suitable for Qin Shi Huang, which is based on literature. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that "the world is all me, and the imperial power is the only one", and the person who can unify China is the capable person designated by God to manage the world, so the world is his.
And this person has supreme imperial power, which is naturally different from ordinary people. Therefore, Li Si insisted that Qin Shi Huang refer to himself as "I", and told the world that only the emperor could use me, and no one else could call himself me.
For this reason, Qin Shi Huang was obviously very satisfied, so since then, Qin Shi Huang has used "I" to refer to himself, and this title has been handed down and has been used by emperors from all walks of life.
Image: A still from Lis's opinion
2. Other names that the emperor called himself
In fact, in addition to "I", the emperor also has some different ways of calling himself, but these names have slowly disappeared with the passage of time and the transfer of power.
1. Widows. In costume dramas, we often see some emperors calling themselves widows, and this title has indeed existed for a long time. The most impressive thing is that in the TV series "Fengshen Bang", the king called himself a widow, and in the end, because of his gullibility, the king betrayed his relatives and left, and he really became a "widow".
In fact, the term "widow" has been used in the pre-Qin period, even princes can call themselves like this, but many people have misunderstandings about "widows".
Image: Stills from the King of the Rings
Literally, widow, is the meaning of less, many people think that to be able to ascend to the highest position of imperial power, must have gone through bloody storms, some even have to fight to the death with their relatives, even if they ascend to the throne, they are also "alone", so these high-ranking rulers can only use "widow" to describe their desolation.
In fact, in ancient texts, "widow" means a person who is not good enough in morality, that is, "widow" is a modest way to say, feeling that although he controls the world, he still has many deficiencies in morality, and constantly reminds himself to improve and improve.
In the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian would still use the widow to call himself, but after the Ming Dynasty, this title was gradually used less, and in the Qing Dynasty, it was no longer used in the royal family.
Image: Wu Zetian stills
2. Lonely. Lonely and widowed are actually about the same meaning, but lonely is lower than widow in artistic conception, many people think that without the unification of Huaxia, they can't call themselves widows, so Liu Bei, Sun Quan and others call themselves lonely. There is also a saying that the princes of that time would only call themselves lonely when they were in danger.
3. To one person. If you don't have a special history book, you don't know anything about this title. "The Book of Rites: Qu Lixia": "The ruler of the world, called 'the Son of Heaven'; ”
This source tells us very directly that in the pre-Qin period, Yu Yiren was the self-title of the princes, but this name was not used for too long. Yu Yi is more used to address the ancestors, so gradually this name is forgotten.
4. No hub. During the Zhou Dynasty, King Wen of Zhou and others used the hub to call themselves, the hub is the meaning of "good and beautiful" in ancient texts, and the hub is the humble name of the Son of Heaven for himself, thinking that he is not perfect enough. With the decline of the Zhou Dynasty, this obscure title was gradually lost, and few people know about it now.
Image: Sun Quan stills
Up to now, the reason why we are more familiar with the word "I" is related to the fact that the history of the Qing Dynasty is relatively close to us, and when we get information from various media, we all know that the Qing Dynasty emperors used "I" to refer to themselves.
But if you study carefully, you will find that the emperors of all dynasties are particular about how they call themselves, and they also know the truth that "water can carry a boat and can also overturn a boat", although they control the entire court situation, but they also know how to use some humble words to make themselves appear more close to the people and more easy-going.