Shang Martin was the most famous politician and reformer in the history of the Spring and Autumn Warring States, and his "Shang Martingale Transformation Law" led to the rise of the Qin State as the first power and unified the world on this basis, and its influence has continued to this day. But interestingly, many people still don't know what Shang Martin's surname is.
Shang martingale has three most common names in history, namely Gongsun Martingale, Wei Martingale, Shang Martingale, that is to say, Shang Martingale's surnames are Gongsun, Wei, and Shang, which are indeed easy to confuse people. So what is the surname of the most outstanding legalist of the Warring States that has influenced Chinese history for thousands of years?
According to historical records, the Shang martingale was a side branch of the Weiguo clan. Because Weiguo was a vassal state with the surname Ji that had been divided during the Western Zhou Dynasty, ShangMartin was a surnamed Ji. However, in the early Warring States period, when the surnames had not yet been truly integrated, the Shang martingale of Shu was unable and not qualified to use the surname of Ji, and could not be called "Ji Martingale".
The Shang martingale was supposed to be the lowest level of the Wei dynasty, so much so that the Shang martingale did not have its own fiefdom. According to the ceremonial law, without a fief, it is impossible to use a fief as a clan, and Shang Martin can only use his own bloodline as a clan, that is, "Gongsun (meaning the grandson of the Gong clan)". Shang Martin's name when defending the country should be "Gongsun Martingale".
It may be that in the Wei state can not continue to mix, Shang Martin to the most powerful Wei state at that time to find a future. Shang martingale was not a public clan in the State of Wei, and it would not be appropriate to use Gongsun as a clan (after all, the State of Wei had its own Gongsun). Therefore, Shang Martin took the name of the princely state of his hometown and changed his name to "Wei Martingale".
From looking for a future in the State of Wei to entering the State of Qin to preside over the change of law, Shang Martin used the name "Wei Martingale". In the 29th year of King Xian of Zhou (340 BC), Shang Martin led the Qin army to defeat the Wei army and won the Fifth Battle of Hexi. The contrast between the strengths and weaknesses of Qin and Wei has now been completely reversed.
Because of Shang Martin's great military achievements, Duke Xiao of Qin enfeoffed Shang Yu's fifteen yi to Shang Martin, and was known as "Shang Jun". After obtaining the first and only fief in his life, Shang Martin took Shang Yu's "Shang" as his clan, and the name Shang Martin officially appeared in the historical literature.
In general, Shang Martin is a surname of Ji, and his surname is constantly changing with his living environment and political status. Temporally, "Wei Martingale" is his longest-used name, while "Shangmartin" represents his final success. Therefore, later generations are mostly called "martingale".