In ancient China, the culture of avoidance was deeply rooted in all aspects of social life, especially in the writings of literati and artists. The origin of avoidance can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty, when people used avoidance to respect the gods and elders, and in feudal society, avoidance became a kind of respect for the emperor. In the Ming Dynasty, this culture of avoidance was also prevalent, especially when it was homophonic with the royal family name, and it was necessary to treat it with more care.
The surname of the Ming Dynasty royal family "Zhu" is the same as the daily word "pig", which naturally attracted special attention in the social context of the time. However, the Ming Dynasty's treatment of this homophone was not as rigid as people imagined. Zhu Yuanzhang, as the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, doesn't seem to mind that his surname is the same as the word pig. According to records, Zhu Yuanzhang personally inscribed a couplet for a butcher family who could not post a couplet due to poverty during a New Year's holiday, which showed that he had no taboo about the word "pig".
However, there was indeed a time in history when the Ming Dynasty briefly banned the consumption of pork. This ban was issued by Zhu Houzhao of Ming Wuzong, because he himself is a pig, and believes that raising and killing pigs among the people is disrespectful to his own zodiac. This ban was strictly enforced in the 14th year of Zhengde, resulting in a large number of private pigs being slaughtered or discarded. However, the following year, the ban became anachronistic and had to be repealed because no suitable sacrifice could be found at the time of the sacrifice.
In the Ming Dynasty, people avoided directly using the word "pig", which is homophonic to the royal family name, in their daily lives, and often used ancient words such as "豕" or "彘" instead. This practice showed both respect for imperial power and the wisdom and flexibility of the people of the time. In addition, the avoidance of the Ming Dynasty was not limited to words, but also involved many aspects of social life, such as the title of the emperor, the change of place names, etc., all of which needed to follow the principle of avoidance.
Through this story, we can see that although the system of evasion had an important place in ancient society, different emperors had different attitudes and ways of dealing with it. This fragment of the history of the Ming Dynasty provides us with a window into ancient culture and social customs, and also gives us a deeper understanding of the people of that era. Today, when we look back on this period of history, we can not only feel the profound heritage of Chinese culture, but also appreciate the evolution and development of language and writing in the long river of history. At the same time, it also reminds us how social customs and cultural traditions have changed with the changes of the times in different historical periods.
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