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The vanished aristocrat - Sima
In other words, in our ancient land of China, the surname culture can be described as broad and profound, with a long history.
Some of them have a large number of surnames, such as "Zhang Wang Li Zhao", known as "Liu everywhere"; although some surnames are not large in number, their historical background is not inferior at all.
Today, let's talk about this mysterious and legendary surname - "Sima".
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From the "groom" to the emperor's family
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people were still very simple, and the distinction of surnames was also very simple. At that time, "surname" was used to "don't marry", and men and women in the same family could not get married!
As for the "clan", it is divided according to the person's official position, occupation, place of residence, etc. No, there is a man named Cheng Xiu's father, because of his meritorious work in raising horses, he was given the official position of a big Sima.
His sons looked at it, Dad is so good, we can't lag behind!
As a result, the descendants of the eldest son, Zhong Geng, took Cheng Xiu's father's official position as their clan and called themselves "Sima Clan", while the descendants of the second son Zhong Xin took the fiefdom Cheng Yi as their clan and called them "Cheng Clan". This is the origin of Sima's family.
As time went on, the Sima family grew stronger and stronger. In the Three Kingdoms period, they ushered in the highlight moment of the family.
It is said that on the big stage of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan, the three bigwigs, are really fighting to the death, and all kinds of schemes and tactics emerge in endlessly, but in the end, they let the Sima family pick up a big bargain, and this luck is simply better than buying a lottery ticket and winning the jackpot!
At that time, the Sima family was like a cheetah hiding quietly in the shadows, quietly waiting for the fatigue and negligence of its prey.
And the more fierce the fight between Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan, the more beneficial it will be to the Sima family. As the saying goes, "the snipe and the clam compete, and the fisherman profits", and the Sima family is the "fisherman" who has the last laugh.
In the later period of the Three Kingdoms, Sima Yi's father and son were in the limelight. Not only are they wise and courageous, but they also know how to seize the moment.
As soon as he saw that there was a problem within Cao Wei, he immediately took the opportunity to rise, like playing a game of "big fish eating small fish", swallowed the whole world in one go, and established the Jin Dynasty.
For the next 155 years, the 15 emperors of the Sima family took turns to sit in the village like a marquee. During this period, the Sima clan can be described as infinitely beautiful and powerful.
Not only do they hold the lifeblood of the country, but they also enjoy endless glory and wealth.
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Game of Thrones – The turmoil of the North and South Dynasties
However, history is always full of drama. It's like a Game of Thrones, always giving people a 180-degree turn when they feel like they have the stakes in their hands.
During the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was like an impromptu performance without a script, with major forces rushing left and right on the stage.
At this time, what about the Sima family? They have already begun to decline from the peak of power. originally thought that he could sit firmly in the country, but he found that he gradually lost his position in this "chair grabbing" game.
In the last years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, they were even more discredited, just like rats crossing the street, everyone shouted and beat them.
What about Emperor Wu of the Song Dynasty, Liu Yu? He is not a fuel-efficient lamp. As soon as I saw the situation, I immediately smelled the smell of opportunity. This guy is like a leopard waiting for its prey in the jungle, and once it finds a flaw in its target, it will not hesitate to pounce on it.
So, he took the opportunity to rebel and kicked the Jin Dynasty out of office.
He was not so polite to the Sima family. Not only did they purge and kill the Sima clan on a large scale, but they also searched for fish that slipped through the net across the country like hunters hunting down their prey.
The poor Sima family, in this game of power, not only lost the country, but even the lives of the clansmen could not be saved.
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In order to survive, the "horse" also had to run
In the face of Liu Yu's iron-blooded methods, the descendants of the Sima family are not vegetarians. They know that in a game of thrones, the loser usually has only two options: either accept defeat or find a new way out. And they clearly chose the latter.
"Stay in the green mountains, don't be afraid of no firewood. This old proverb became a lifesaver for Sima's family. In order to survive Liu Yu's purge, they played the game of "changing their names and surnames".
Some members of Sima's family feel that splitting the conspicuous surname "Sima" may reduce the chance of being noticed. Thus, the two surnames "Si" and "Ma" were born.
Imagine that a group of people with the original surname Sima suddenly became people with the surname Si and Ma, it was like a magic show!
While other Sima family members were more thorough, they directly changed to other surnames. What is the surname Feng, the surname is the same... Pretty much every last name you can think of, they've tried.
In this way, the people of the Sima family are like water droplets that melt into the sea, and they are no longer easily recognizable.
Although this "name change and surname" operation allowed Sima's family to escape Liu Yu's pursuit to a certain extent, it also brought a side effect: Sima's population was greatly reduced.
In this way, the once prominent family gradually disappeared in the long river of history.
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The decline of compound surnames and the inheritance of culture
Now there are less than 30,000 Sima clans, and they can be regarded as big surnames among the compound surnames. However, the historical changes behind this are deeply regrettable.
The surname is not only a family symbol, but also an important carrier of cultural inheritance. Each surname carries a unique historical and cultural background, and their disappearance means that we have lost a part of our precious historical memory.
However, history is always full of uncertainties. It's like a long journey, with ups and downs, ups and downs. Although the Sima family has gradually declined in the long river of history, the glory they once created and the cultural heritage they left behind cannot be erased.
Their stories teach us to be brave enough to find new ways to pass on and promote our culture, even in the face of adversity.
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Ending Reverie:
In the long course of history, every family has its rise and fall. The decline of the Sima clan shows us the ruthlessness of history and the fragility of culture.
However, even in the modern world, we can still trace and pass on these precious historical and cultural records in various ways.
For the Sima clan, although their population has been greatly reduced, their history and culture can still be passed on and carried forward in various ways.
This will not only allow us to better understand history, but also inject more cultural heritage and vitality into modern society.
Therefore, we should cherish the historical and cultural stories behind each surname and let them rejuvenate and vitality in modern society.
At the same time, we must also learn to find our own position and responsibility in the long river of history, to inherit and carry forward those precious cultural heritages, and to contribute to the cultural prosperity of the Chinese nation.