Among the popular salutations now, "boss" is the one with the most "mystery of life". Where did it come from? Opinions have been divided.
Judging from the existing information, the earliest bosses appeared in the Peking Opera circle. The first person to be called the "boss" was Cheng Changgeng, the "Huiban leader" during the Qing Xianfeng period, and the "Cheng Big Boss". Why we call a Beijing brush name horn "boss", we speculate that it may be due to this reason: from the glyphological point of view, "boss" can also be written "lao guan" or "boss", "guan" refers to the board used for printing books, the original meaning of "version" is mujian, then the original meaning of "boss" refers to the original version, and "big boss" can be extended to "the most authoritative sample". Cheng Changgeng was known as the "originator of Peking Opera" at that time, and it was reasonable to call him "big boss".
However, how did such a "boss" evolve into a manager again? This needs to start from the system of Peking Opera classes - the system of picking out famous characters. The so-called famous role selection system means that a famous actor is both the main actor and the class master. He is not only the "top pillar" of a drama class, but also exercises the "right to appoint and dismiss personnel" for the actors in the class. For example, Cheng Changgeng is the class leader of the Sanqing class, and Tan Xinpei is the class leader of the same spring class. Since he is the head of the class, it is naturally the authority of operation and management. This meaning was later widely used and became the most common meaning of "boss". The "boss" used to refer to the industrial and commercial owners and their agents is most likely derived from this, and the earlier "boss" we see using this type of meaning is in the fifty-four times in the "Record of the Appearance of the Officialdom" published during the Guangxu years: "The owner of a rat goods shop has come..."
However, some people think that the "boss" in industry and commerce is not related to the "boss" in Peking Opera. They believe that the "old" of the "boss" is used to show respect; the "boss" is from the door to the product, and the store will be intentional. Because "products" are goods and utensils, and the shop always has a "door", it is called "old" by the shop owner.
Either way, the definition of "authority and manager" is obvious, but people are increasingly emphasizing the "power" and "potential" elements, making "boss" synonymous with "power and power". Anyone with this characteristic can be called a "boss", such as in the old days, the wife called the husband, the employee called the employer, and the tenant called the landlord... It is in this sense that "boss" has evolved into an honorific title that flatters strangers. As early as Liu Junxiu's "Struggle on the Line of Death", there were: "I saw clearly that it was two ordinary people wearing torn clothes." I followed up and tapped one of them on the back, "Boss, where are you going?" Today's "boss" voice is even more incessant.