Li Shimin
Why is Tang Taizong Li Shimin famous and wordless? None of them are recorded in the history books. In my opinion, this is not an inadvertent oversight. As soon as I explained you understood
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > From the Sixteen Kingdoms to the Northern Dynasty: Northern Surname Traditions Under the Influence of Nomadic Cultures</h1>
After the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, northern China fell into the "Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms" period, when the nobles of all ethnic groups who entered the Central Plains gave Han names, such as the Xiongnu nobles gave themselves Han surnames (such as Liu Yuan, Liu Cong), and the Xiongnu nobles gave themselves Han surnames (Shi Le, Shi Hu), but in fact they had their own names.
By the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the North was the domain of the Xianbei people. The practice of the Xianbei people is also to give Chinese names. For example, all the emperors of the Tuoba clan gave Han names. But they all have xianbei real names, which have become the "characters" in Chinese character names, for example, the character of Emperor Taiwu Tuoba Tao is "Buddha Fox", and some history books are recorded as "Fo Li Fa Dai Li", in fact, this should be his Xianbei real name. This statement was put forward by historian Chen Yinke.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13" > the xianbei cultural background and the surname customs of the upper class in the Sui and Tang dynasties</h1>
Yang Jian
The Sui and Tang ruling groups all originated from the nobility of the Northern Dynasty period. The Northern Dynasty prevailed in the Xianbei culture. Many people have Xianbei surnames, such as gao huan, the founding emperor of Northern Qi in the early years, whose character is "He Liuhun". And this "word" is actually his humble name. That is, among the Xianbei people, Gao Huan's name is "He Liuhun", while in the Han chinese group, his name is Gao Huan. In the same way, The Sui Emperor Yang Jian was originally a magnate of the Northern Zhou Dynasty founded by the Xianbei people, and he married the daughter of the Xianbei nobleman Du Guxin. His eldest son, Yang Yong, wrote "睍地伐", which is also a transliteration of his humble name. The same is true of the surnames of the humble nobles. For example, The Northern Zhou Emperor Yuwen Yong, that is, Yang Jian's relatives, the character "You LuoTu", which is also a transliteration of the Xianbei script. In the same way, the nickname (I think it is also a 'word') of the Zhou Ming Emperor Yuwen Yu was called "Tong Wan Tu".
Speaking of this, you should pay attention to one point: Yang Jian was given the "Puliu Ru Clan" during the Northern Zhou Dynasty because of his meritorious service, that is, he had a humble surname. So the question is, how can a person have only a last name and no first name? Therefore, Yang Jian should actually have a humble name, but it is not recorded in the history books, what do you think is the reason? Because Yang was a Han Chinese, the Sui Dynasty he established was also meant to show the orientation of "Sinicization". Therefore, he only talks about Chinese names and does not say Xianbei names, which is why he has only one name in the history books, and there is no word.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="15" > Lee's situation and Yang's situation</h1>
In the same way, the same is true of the Li Tang Dynasty, for example, Li Yuan's grandfather Li Hu was the "Eight Pillar State" of northern Zhou, and Li Yuan was born in the middle of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and he also had a humble surname "Daye Clan". I speculate that he probably also had a humble name, but it is also not recorded in the history books. The reason should be similar to Yang Jian. However, according to the historical records, Li Yuan had a "character" called "Shude". However, this word was recorded in the New Book of Tang compiled by the Song Dynasty. The Old Book of Tang compiled by five generations of historians does not record Li Yuan's "character" at all. It should be known that the main basis of the old Book of Tang is the Records of the Tang Dynasty. The New Book of Tang, on the other hand, absorbs a lot of miscellaneous wild history, and its reliability is questionable. Moreover, the Song Dynasty was oppressed by foreign nationalities in the north, and it is difficult to say whether the history books compiled by the Song people deliberately created a Chinese color.
There is another important example: Li Yuan's eldest son Li Jiancheng's "small characters" are called "Vishamen", which is of course a transliteration of the Xianbei script. Li Jiancheng was born in the early Sui Dynasty, and it is not unusual for him to have a humble name. In the Han Chinese community, his name is "Jiancheng".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="24" > Li Shimin's words and his thoughts</h1>
According to the above traditional customs, I think Li Shimin's words should be the same. However, it is not recorded in the history books, and the reason is likely to be similar to Yang Jian, that is, Li Shimin wanted to show his Han identity, so he did not have a humble surname. This mentality is not difficult to prove: when Li Shimin was in power, the chancellor Gao Shilian revised the "Family Name Genealogy", and Old Li attached great importance to it. With a thick skin, he had to designate the Li family as the first class of the scholar clan, and the cui family, the original first surname in the Central Plains, as a rank below the Li clan, obviously to elevate the identity of his surname and make the Li family a typical representative of "dress and crown".
But in fact, his ancestors were probably not from the Chengji Li clan of Longxi, but from the humble Han people in the north. There is an example: after killing his brother Jiancheng and Yuanji at Xuanwu Gate, he ran to the palace and knelt down to make a "sucking of his milk" (sucking Li Yuan's breast) to his father Li Yuan. This detail reveals the family's identity, which was heavily influenced by nomadic culture. And if he comes from a family of scholars, in an environment that pays attention to the Confucian and Mengli methods, it is impossible for the son to make such an action to his father, which is "disrespectful".
Therefore, Li Shimin is not without words, but he deliberately avoids this thing. Moreover, Li Shimin has a bad deed in history, and he likes to arbitrarily change the records written by historians. Will he delete his "character" (i.e., xianbei name) during this period to show his orthodox "Hua Guan" identity?
Do you think this explanation makes sense? Welcome to leave a message.