For Chinese, Qingming is a special season. At this time, there is mourning in the world. "During the Qingming Festival, the rain is pouring, and the pedestrians on the road want to break their souls", but this is how it is said.
Qingming sweeping the tomb, I believe that everyone has seen the words "so, xian, xian, kao, concubine" on the tombstone. So, what exactly do these words mean?
If you are not familiar with these words, you may mistakenly recognize the ancestral grave and worship the wrong people, which will not only be laughed at, but also bring a lot of unnecessary trouble. For this reason, it is very necessary to understand the implications and pay attention to it.
Next, we will talk specifically about the meaning and use of these words.
"Therefore", in the Chinese dictionary, has the meaning of "cause", "accident" and so on. In addition, "therefore" also has the meaning of the past and the death of the table, such as the death of illness, the early death of parents, etc.
Chinese are more taboo to use the words "death" and "death", in order to express respect for the deceased, people often replace "death" with "so". Therefore, on the tombstone, the words we see often begin with "Gu", such as "Gu Xian Kao Xia Gong ..."
The "refore" here is an expression of quiet elegance and solemnity, as well as an expression of modification. For this reason, sometimes we can see that some tombstones do not have the word "why" at the beginning, but directly write the content, which is to directly omit the modifier "why".
"Conspicuous", as the name suggests, means conspicuous, conspicuous, and conspicuous. Since ancient times, Chinese has always advocated filial piety and respect for the elderly. On the tombstone, the tomb owner inscribed with the word "Xian" is generally the elder of the family.
Specifically, the following conditions are roughly met:
1. The elderly who are senior in the family;
2. Often over 60 years old, no elderly people (parents, etc.);
3. There are grandchildren below.
The old saying that "virtue is evident and deeds are remarkable" means the same thing.
In addition to the word "explicit", "first" is also often used as a substitute for "explicit". "Xian" and "Xian" are homophonous, and the usage meaning of the two words is basically the same, which is an honorific title for the deceased, praising and praising the elders as virtuous people. However, the restrictions on the usage conditions of "first" are relatively low, that is, the conditions required for the word "explicit" can also be used without satisfying the conditions required by the word "explicit".
In general, the word can be understood in layman's terms as "first" means ancestor, which indicates respect, remembrance, and mourning for the deceased. "Manifestation" is used to praise people with relatively high merit and fame before they were born.
Kao and Lao, in the oracle bone its glyph is the same, for the same word, both like a backed old man holding a crutch. In the pre-Qin period, "kao" was often used as a term for the father.
Font evolution
Combined with the glyphs and meanings of "kao", we can roughly summarize three image characteristics:
1. Older
2. The waist is bent
3. Walk with a cane
We all know that the life expectancy of the ancients is relatively short, generally living to 60-70 years old, which is already a very long life. When the father was "examining" the age of the year, the waist was tired, the hands and feet were no longer sharp, and he often had to travel with a cane, so basically he could only sit in the sun and raise his life.
For this reason, in Old Chinese, "kao" has the meaning of longevity and end of life, and "kao end year", that is, the meaning of enjoying the full year of heaven. Chinese believed that enjoying the full years and living a long life and dying was the most complete thing in life, so later, "kao" especially referred to the deceased father. The "Li Ji Qu Li" says: "Born to know the father, death to know the examination", which means this.
"妣", representing women, is synonymous with loving mother, and ancient societies used this to call mother. Later, with the development and evolution of history, "妣" was gradually used to represent the deceased mother.
For example, Tao Yuanming once mentioned in the "Sister of the Sacrifice of the Cheng Clan": "CiFei died in his early life, I was twenty-six years old, and I was only nine years old. The "ci concubine" mentioned here refers to the mother, referring to Tao Yuanming's loss of his mother at the age of 12, leaving him and his sister behind.
Xiankao and Xianyu: "Kao" refers to men, "妣" refers to women, and Xiankao and Xianfei generally refer to males and female deceased people over the age of 60.
First examination and first concubine: Generally refers to male and female deceased under the age of 60.
There is also a saying that "explicit" is used for the people of high-ranking officials and nobles and powerful people, while "first" is used for ordinary people' homes.
Therefore Xiankao and Gu Xianyu: refers to the deceased father and mother. The prefix "Gu Xian" prefixed with "Kao and Yu" expresses the remembrance and respect for relatives.
If it is a royal family, it will often add a "emperor" word.
In addition, the customs of some places are different, and their interpretations of "explicit" and "first" are also different. Some places believe that if both parents have passed away, the term "Xiankao" and "Xianyu" are used, while if one of the two parents has passed away, "Xiankao" or "Xianyu" is used.
In addition, there is a saying that children use "first" to erect monuments to their parents, while grandchildren use "xian" to erect monuments to grandparents.
Combined use of kao and concubine: In life, you can occasionally see a tombstone engraved with the words kao and you at the same time. Seeing this, we can roughly judge that this is a joint tomb, that is, both husband and wife are buried at the same time. Generally speaking, the inscriptions of this kind of tomb are generally written in the order of "male left and female right", that is, "Kao" is on the left, and "Concubine" is on the right, which is mainly influenced by the feudal idea of "male superiority and female inferiority", and ancient society respected "left".
Xu Ruren, female; Grand Duke Zhou, male
On this, there are often engraved the birth and death years of the two people and the names of their children. Through the writing on its tombstone, we can roughly glimpse the family development of the owner of the tomb.
All in all, the dead are large, and from ancient times to the present, erecting a monument has always been a very rigorous and elaborate thing. The inscription is equivalent to the identity certificate of the deceased, equivalent to the personal resume of the deceased, for which the written record is naturally sloppy.
Resources:
《According to the Shape of Chinese Characters》
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