why is this happening?
This is related to the social environment such as clan awareness at that time, because there are "five great families in the world" - Cui Lu, Zheng Wang Li, "Four surnames in Guanzhong" - Wei Pei Liuxue. The surnames
are VIP business cards and green passes, which must be respected by the whole society. Even the surname Li of the Tang Dynasty could only be ranked at the back, sighing to himself. When did the surnames
become famous?
The formation of the gate system
The formation of the gate system is closely related to the political, economic, cultural and social development in Chinese history.
Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty began to advocate Confucianism, so many people started their careers with Confucianism and classics and became bureaucrats; in the middle and late Western Han Dynasty, the phenomenon of land annexation was very serious, forming a "trinity" of bureaucrats, businessmen and landlords.
These upper social forces, some families attach importance to poetry and calligraphy, teaching children, inheriting propriety and righteousness, and are proactive, so they have achieved remarkable achievements, occupy high positions in officials or become social celebrities, and inherit family traditions and talents.
Moreover, in order to inherit blood, these families marry each other, protect each other, hold together for warmth, and improve their social status.
As a result, some families have been self-improving, inherited for several generations as officials, became prime ministers, ministers from generation to generation, have power over the government and the public, and have friends all over the world. privilege.
During the Cao Wei period of the Three Kingdoms, the nine-rank Zhongzheng system was implemented, which enabled aristocratic landowners to be officials and participate in political power by virtue of their family background.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, officials were selected and appointed according to their rank. In addition, the social characteristics of "the gentry are exempted from corvée service, and marriage is the theory of sect" and "the occasion of the sages and commoners, are separated from each other by the sky".
At the same time, in order to consolidate the political power, the highest ruling class, namely the royal family, also implements a policy of indulgence and enslavement to the aristocratic families, appointing officials and conferring titles, and listing them as important objects of royal intermarriage to show their favor.
As a result, the clan system prevailed, and the gentry, especially the aristocratic families, almost monopolized educational and political resources, and dominated the political center for a long time.
Some people are prosperous and prosperous for a long time, and they have become world-famous noble families.
In order to maintain this kind of clan system, the gentry paid great attention to the origin of the lineage and attached great importance to the compilation of genealogy.
These people outside the aristocratic family try their best to join the famous family, and many scholars will marry a famous daughter and change the family blood as the highest pursuit in life.
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Li clan in Longxi arose in the turbulent times. After the separatist regime established by Li Hao collapsed in Xiliang, his grandson Li Bao returned to the Northern Wei Dynasty and was reused. Li Bao's sixth son, Li Chong, was a high-ranking official and actively planned the marriage of the four aristocratic families (Qinghe Cui clan, Fanyang Lu clan, Taiyuan Wang clan, Xingyang Zheng clan) and the Northern Wei royal family.
As a result, the social status of these four aristocratic families has been further demonstrated, with deep roots.
At the same time, the Longxi Li family, who brought together this large-scale marriage, gradually emerged as a new wealthy family.
For a variety of reasons, these clans have settled and flourished in various regions.
From the Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang dynasties, among the famous northern clans, the most prestigious social status is the "five surnames and seven clans": Boling Cui, Qinghe Cui, Fanyang Lu, Xingyang Zheng, Taiyuan Wang, Longxi Lee, Zhao Jun Lee .
Let's take a look at the social influence of these aristocratic families.
The Great Family in the Early Tang Dynasty
(1) The Five Great Familyz1. Cui's
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cui's representatives were: the famous minister Cui Zhuan, his grandson was the writer Cui Pang, his great-grandson was the calligrapher Cui Yuan, and the great-grandson was the writer Cui Kuo, all of whom served as officials in the imperial court. During the Han, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Cui clan of Qinghe County and Boling County were the most powerful. From the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the surnames were ranked according to the clan, and the Cui surname was in the first place.
In the Tang Dynasty, the Cui surname was even more prominent. For example, there were as many as 27 prime ministers.
Therefore, the Cui family is recognized as "the head of the northern wealthy family and the highest in the world".
In addition, in the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, warlords scuffled, and Cui Yu, the prefect of Pingzhou, led his people to escape the chaos and entered Korea, and later developed into a surname of the Korean people.
2. Lu's
During the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms, Lu's representatives include: Lu Wan, who assisted Liu Bang in establishing the Han Dynasty and was named King of Yan, was named Emperor by Shan Yuli of the Xiongnu, and was later named King of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Lu Fang. The scholar and general Lu Zhi, Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei were all his disciples.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Fanyang Lu family married three Northern Wei princesses, and "one family and three princesses" became the supreme glory at that time.
Lu Jing, who served as Tai Changcheng in the Northern Wei Dynasty, has three sons who are the teachers of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and the Northern Qi Emperor, so the family is known as the "Emperor Teacher's Room".
Lu Zhaolin, one of the "Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty", was born in the Lu family of Fanyang.
Lu Lingfeng in "The Story of the Tang Dynasty" is also from Fan Yang Lu's family. He is the companion of the prince and later the prince. He is excellent in martial arts. At the age of 23, he served as a fourth-rank official. He has always been proud of being from a famous family, and he is proud of himself.
3. Zheng's
In the Han Dynasty, Zheng's representatives included Zheng Xuan, a master of Confucian classics, Zheng Zhong, a scribe, and Zheng Jun, a famous minister. Their descendant families continue to serve as officials. When
arrived in the Tang Dynasty, the Zheng family of Xingyang shined, and 10 prime ministers were successively appointed.
4. Wang's
During the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, Wang's representative figures were: the founding emperor of the new dynasty, Wang Mang, the thinker Wang Chong, and Wang Can, one of the "Seven Sons of Jian'an".
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there were famous ministers Wang Dun, Wang Dao , calligraphers Wang Xizhi , Wang Xianzhi father and son, etc. Langya Wang's and Chen Jun Xie's are collectively called " Wang Xie " by the world, and they have become synonymous with prominent families.
Before the Tang Dynasty, the surname Wang established the regimes of Xin, Zhao Han, Qi, Yan, Zheng, Zhao, former Shu, Beiping, Min, Shu, Anyang, and Korea. From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the end of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were as many as 92 prime ministers surnamed Wang. From the Western Han Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, there were 36 queens surnamed Wang.
is the only surname among Chinese surnames for a family of emperors and empresses.
5. Li's
From the Han Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty, Li's representatives include: the famous general of the Han Dynasty Li Guang, the famous minister Li Ying, the hero of the Sui and Tang Dynasties Li Mi , the early Tang military strategist Li Jing, the calligrapher Li Yong Wait.
Before the Tang Dynasty, Li surnamed emperor and established regimes: Dacheng, Xiliang, Liang, Wu, Wei.
Li Yuan, whose ancestral home is in Longxi, established the Tang Dynasty, which made the Li family in Longxi soar to the sky, and the surname Li became the national surname.
(2) Four surnames in Guanzhong
After Chang'an in Guanzhong area, the capital of Sui and Tang dynasties, Some clans who settled in Guanzhong grew rapidly through their inheritance.
, especially the branches of several major clans ( Jingzhao Weishi, Hedong Xue clan, Hedong Pei clan, Hedong Liu clan ), many children served as high-ranking officials in the dynasty, with high prestige, and became the leader of the gentry in Guanzhong area group.
1. Webster
Since the Han Dynasty, Webster has gradually become a prominent family in Jingzhao County, the capital city of Chang'an. For example, the father and son of Wei Xian and Wei Xuancheng of the Western Han Dynasty successively served as prime ministers and princes; the master of the Chu Yuan king, Wei Meng, successively served as prime ministers for three generations. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Wei Xiaokuan served as the Taifu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and his son Wei Zong was the general of the hussars.
During the Sui Dynasty, there were 16 people in Wechsler who served as prefects.
Mr. Wei's eldest son, Wei Yuan, became an official to Kaifu Yitong Third Division, Yun Guogong, the second son Wei Kuangbo was Shangyi Fengyu and Shu Guogong, and the third son Wei Yuanzhao was Princess Shang Fengning, who was the consort. Wei Tong was named General of Hussars and Duke of Longmen County, and Wei Chong served as Minister of Civil Affairs. During the Tang Dynasty, Wei Gui, the daughter of Wei Yuancheng, was the concubine of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Wei Chengqing served as the prime minister of Wu Zhou, and Wei Anshi paid homage to the prime minister four times. Wei Xuanzhen, the prefect of Yuzhou, and Wei Xianger, the daughter of the Cui family, became the queen of Tang Zhongzong.
Since the Han Dynasty, there is a large population of the Wei family living near Chang'an. Every year on the first day of March in March, the Weiqu Town is held.
2. Pei's
The birthplace of Pei's family is in Wenxi County, Shanxi Province. Since the Jin Dynasty, celebrities such as Pei Xiu and Pei Kai are known as "Wenxi Eight Pei", as famous as the "Eight Kings of Langya" at that time.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Pei Songzhi, Pei Cong, and Pei Ziye families were known as the "Three Pei in History", and were famous for their annotation of history; the famous general Pei Guo served as the hussar general of the Western Wei Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
In the Sui Dynasty, the famous minister Pei Zheng was ordered to formulate a new law " Kaihuang Law ". Pei Ji, who served in the Zhou and Sui Dynasties, became the founding hero of the Tang Dynasty, canonized Wei Guogong, and was the prime minister. In the Tang Dynasty, Pei Yan, the son of Pei Datong, the commander of Zhechong, and Pei Yaoqing, the son of Pei Shouzhen, the prefect of Ningzhou, became prime ministers successively.
In Pei Bo Village, Liyuan Town, Wenxi County, Shanxi Province, there have been 59 prime ministers surnamed Pei in history, and they are known as "Chinese Prime Minister Village".
3.Liu clan
Liu clan has risen since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, such as general Liu Zhongli, minister Liu Qing. Liu Yuanjing, the son of Liu Ping, the prefect of Feng Yi, was a famous general in the Southern Song Dynasty; Liu Shilong, the nephew of Liu Yuanjing, was the prime minister of the Song and Qi dynasties.
Their descendants and grandchildren continued to serve in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties.
Liu Chongchong was ordered by Tang Taizong to compile "'s clan ", creating a precedent for Chinese surname research and genealogy creation, and became the originator of surname studies.
The great-grandson of Liu Qing, the minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, was the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, and his granddaughter was the king and queen of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty.
4. Xue's
In the Han Dynasty, Xue's Xue Ou followed Liu Bang and was brave and good at fighting. He was later named Jinghou of Guangping, his son Xue Shan was Jinghou, grandson Xue Ze was successively named Pingjihou, great-grandson Xue Rang was Pingjiehou .
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xue Yong led his clan to follow Liu Bei into Sichuan and became an important official of Shu Han, and his family name was "Shu Xue".
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Xue family who migrated to Hedong rose to a famous family.
Xue Andu , Xue Yuan and his son are famous generals in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Xue Andu's nephew Xue Shen was the hussar general of the Southern Song Dynasty, and Xue Zhendu served as the governor of the four states. Xue Qiang was a doctor of Youguanglu in the Later Qin Dynasty, the Book of Seven Soldiers, and Feng Yigong. Yang Hou.
Doctor Si Jin of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and Xue Zhou, Duke of Wencheng County, served as the prefect of Yanzhou in the Sui Dynasty. Gansu Province, Xue Ju, with a wealth of wealth, rebelled against the Sui Dynasty at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and once proclaimed himself emperor. In the Sui Dynasty, Xue Shitong, a general of Ying Yang Lang, was awarded the governor of Dongwuzhou, Ping Fugong and Quanzhou after he returned to the Tang Dynasty.
The famous general of the Northern Wei Dynasty Xue Rengui, the grandson of Xue Andu VI, is a famous general in the early Tang Dynasty with outstanding achievements.
Xue Shao married Wu Zetian's daughter, Princess Taiping, the powerful eldest princess in "The Story of Tang Dynasty".
Xue Daoheng, a famous minister in the Sui Dynasty, his grandson Xue Shou served as Tai Changqing in the Tang Dynasty, and his great-grandson Xue Yuanchao was a prime minister and a literary leader during the Tang Dynasty. Xue Ji, the nephew of Xue Yuanchao, married Li Dan (later Tang Ruizong , the emperor in "The Story of Tang Dynasty"), and became the prime minister later.
The decline of the gate system
The founding emperors of the Sui and Tang dynasties came from the Guanlong Group clan, but they were only upstarts. The Yang clan in the Sui Dynasty and the Li clan in the Tang Dynasty were not as famous as some other traditional clans.
Even though Xue Yuanchao of the Xue family was a prime minister in Tang Zhongzong, one of the three major regrets in his later years was that he could not marry a woman with "five surnames" in Shandong as his wife.
During Li Yifu's tenure as prime minister, due to his humble background, he was still not allowed to enter the ranks of celebrities. Therefore, he petitioned to revise the "Clan Chronicle", and advocated that regardless of the rank, all those who obtained the five-rank official or above should enter the scholar stream.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, in order to break the monopoly of social resources by other aristocratic families and prevent them from threatening their rule, they began to select and appoint officials through the imperial examinations, and vigorously supported the underprivileged children to participate in the political power, in order to gain popular support and stabilize social governance.
During Wu Zetian's reign, it was even stipulated that no intermarriage was allowed between aristocratic families. The background of the story of
"Story of the Tang Dynasty" is that a few years after Wu Zetian's death, the traditional clan system began to disintegrate, but a group of children of several families with surnames still hold important positions in the court, and the social influence of the aristocratic family still exists.
With the containment of Wu Zetian and Li's royal family, especially the vigorous promotion of the imperial examination system, the power of traditional aristocratic families has been greatly impacted.
As Liu Yuxi, a poet of the late Tang Dynasty, wrote in "Wuyi Lane": "In the old days, Wang Xietang flew into the homes of ordinary people." 's decline. From
to in the Northern Song Dynasty period, the clan system withdrew from the political arena, and the social class was also reshuffled and reorganized.
