Preface
The development of culture often depends on the economic vitality of a region, and according to historical materialism, things develop in a spiral upward, so the process of development is always tortuous.
Of the four ancient civilizations, only China has continued to the present, because of the continuous change of ancient Chinese dynasties and the transformation of the economic model, it is natural that it can last for thousands of years.
Economic development also plays a guiding role in language, do you know why the people of the northwest call their father "big"? Behind this simple title, in fact, is the result of thousands of years of cultural development.
1. The power of language
In our social context, for different people, the title is also different, for example, if you call people of the same generation, if you call them by their names, it means that the social status between you is about the same, but if the title is changed to "Brother Zhang" and "Sister Zhou", then obviously the social status of these two people is higher than yours.
In the same way, the title of parents represents the highest power, and the two titles of father and mother cannot be called casually, only for biological parents, and any title that is given the meaning of patriarchy is an act of elevating social status.
For example, someone is your godfather, but you may not have any feelings between you, and you don't even see each other much, but because of this title, your relationship will be closer.
After Homo sapiens defeated Neanderthals, human civilization entered a new era - the gathering civilization, under which people's daily lives depended on nature.
For example, women go out to pick fruit and fetch water, while men unite to hunt, and in this mutual cooperation, generations of human beings have multiplied.
But after a long time, people found the problem, that is, this way of life is completely based on God's face, if because of the bad weather or other natural conditions, everyone can't eat, people urgently need a reliable way of life.
At this point, the gathering civilization began to change from agricultural civilization, and after entering the agricultural civilization, people mastered the planting technology, could master the harvest of grain and melons and fruits, and the food was guaranteed, and at the same time, the progress of agricultural technology also allowed humans to make metals, and hunting became much easier.
In short, human beings in the period of agricultural civilization have stepped into the fast lane of economic development, getting rid of the dilemma of watching the sky and eating, and the social structure will also change.
In the past, having children was a big deal, but the food problem was solved, having children is not a big deal, raising children is a big deal, especially for fathers, so men must have a deep binding with their children, so they can protect the future of their children.
Almost everyone is closer to their mother, so why do we take our father's surname? This is because the father often controls the financial power of a family, so it is necessary to ensure that the child is not abandoned through the hard binding of the surname.
The same is true of salutation, such a serious title as father can create inseparable feelings between children and fathers, and the power of language has shown such a decisive role in the economy.
2. Historical reasons
People in the northwest call their fathers "big", which is very interesting, you must know that in the south and even the northeast, the name of the father is more formal, and the northwest shows a completely different style.
Some people believe that this is caused by the influence of dialects, the northwest region is vast and sparsely populated, so the distance between people is very far, if you want others to hear what you say, you must shout at the top of your voice, for some nouns, the northwest people will also use particularly interesting onomatopoeia instead.
Therefore, "big" is actually the homonym of "dad", try to call dad and call big, only when the two are called "big", it is easier to make a bigger sound, which is convenient for the spread of information.
In addition, there are historical reasons, after Qin Shi Huang unified the six countries, he formulated a series of standards, requiring all subjects of the Qin Dynasty to comply with these regulations, of which language is a very important one.
During the Qin Dynasty, the emperor was called "Dawang", and the ministers or celebrities in the court were called "doctors", and the people would also use "eating meat and drinking wine" to describe the situation of feasting.
With the fall of the Qin Dynasty and the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, the expansion of the territory also made the northwest dialect begin to penetrate into the Central Plains, and the people with higher status were particularly high.
According to the view of Western political economy, class status is determined by economic status, and the father is the pillar of the family, and naturally has the highest class status.
It is normal for children to call their father "big", and in more distant areas, the name of the father will also be called "big", which dissolves the authority of "big", adds some closeness, and is more suitable for ordinary people's lives.
3. Integration of new languages
In today's Northwest Territories, fewer and fewer people call their fathers "big", not because people have forgotten traditions, but because they have adapted to the requirements of the new era.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to strengthen the construction of social spiritual civilization, the popularization of Putonghua has become the focus of national work, because the unification of working language and daily language can strengthen the ties between various provinces.
As the new generation of the motherland, young people have received the most advanced higher education in the country, so the new language combining old dialects and popular words has become the mainstream.
This is not because the times have abandoned the old languages, but because the dialects also need to evolve with the times, and this is also the period that must be passed through by the integration of the old and the new society.
In today's Gansu region, the older generation of people can still be heard shouting "big" in the old city, continuing to the south, and when they reach Shaanxi Province, the high-pitched "big" can also be heard in the streets and alleys.
Especially in Xi'an, because it is the capital of a province, there are many young people and foreigners, but they are not unable to hear the most authentic dialect, but many post-00s still call their father "big".
Such a scene makes us feel that Chinese culture has a long history, and the name of a thousand years ago is still used by people today, which is a bloody thing.
From the small matter of the Northwest people calling their father "big", it can be seen that what is cultural heritage, this is cultural heritage, and the thick and strong Chinese civilization will be spread forever.