An interesting phenomenon: There are more and more “mothers” in costume dramas nowadays. The "mother" mentioned here specifically refers to female characters with the word "mother" in their names, such as Hu Meiniang in "The Legend of the New White Snake", Chen Qiuniang and

An interesting phenomenon: There are more and more “mothers” in costume dramas nowadays.

The "mother" mentioned here refers specifically to female characters with the word "mother" in their names, such as Hu Meiniang in "The Legend of the New White Snake", Chen Qiuniang and He Danniang in "The Legend of Lu Zhen", and Su Meiniang in "The Celestial Master Zhongkui" , Zhu Manniang in "Do You Know Should Be Green, Fat, Red and Slim", Sun Sanniang in "梦华录", Liu Qiniang and Yao Niang in "The Wind Rises in Luoyang", etc.

Source: Film and TV drama screenshots

Not only TV dramas like to name characters "xx mother", but the names of female characters in many literary works always end with "mother".

In " Water Margin " Lin Chong's wife is named Zhang Zhenniang. In addition, there are the famous "Yizhangqing" Hu Sanniang and "Dominatrix" Sun Erniang; in " Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio " Xin Shisi Niang, Hu Siniang, Feng San Niang; Du Liniang, the heroine of Tang Xianzu's "The Peony Pavilion: Resurrection"; Du Shiniang of "A Warning to the World" written by Feng Menglong; and Nie Yiniang of "Legend" written by Pei Kai of the Tang Dynasty, all have names ending in "Niang".

Source: Film and TV drama screenshots

There are countless powerful people with "mother" in their names in history.

In the Tang Dynasty, there were the famous Wu Meiniang, Aunt Gongsun who was good at sword dancing, Du Qiuniang, the concubine of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, Lin Moniang, the prototype of "Mazu" in the Song Dynasty, and Li Fengniang, the queen of Zhao Dun, Emperor Guangzong of the Song Dynasty.

Source: Film and TV drama screenshots

Here comes the question, why do women in ancient times like to be called "xx mothers"?

Why does it have to be called "xx Niang"

"Niang" has always been a common word for naming women in ancient times.

The word "mother" placed at the end of a name as a woman's name began in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Specifically, there are two main naming structures.

The first is "surname + number + mother". Among them, the numbers mainly represent the rank, that is, the ranking order of the members within the family. From the first mother, the second mother, to the fifty mother to the hundred and second mother, a variety of numbers are acceptable. The legal document "Yuan Zhangdian" of the Yuan Dynasty once recorded the names of "Yang Funiang" and "Zhao Yuanniang".

The daughters of the Luo family in the TV series " Jade Hearts " are named according to the ranking. The eldest daughter is named Luo Yuanniang. The "Yuan" here is synonymous with the previous "一", which means "number one" order. Luo Yuanniang's sisters were named Luo Erniang, Luo Wuniang and Luo Shiniang respectively.

Source of the picture: Weibo @ TV series Jin Xin Si Jade

He Zhen, the second female lead in the recently popular TV series " willow boat story ", because she is the "third child" in the family, the heroine Liu Miantang is dating her When communicating, we call her "He Sanniang".

Source: Screenshot of the TV series "The Story of the Willow Boat"

The second type is "surname + adjective/noun/verb + mother".

Here we put aside the surname for the time being and focus on the modifiers before the word "mother". "Adjective + Niang" mainly includes Mei Niang, Rui Niang, Zhen Niang, Xiu Niang; "Noun/verb + Niang" includes Yi Niang, Sleeping Niang, Chan Niang, Xi Niang, etc. In this series of names, "Niang" The word is mainly used to emphasize the identity of "female".

It is worth mentioning that the name "xx mother" is not necessarily given by a woman since childhood. Generally speaking, ancient people were given names from childhood, but there would be exceptions, that is, they were given names when they grew up, and the names also reflected the woman's own characteristics.

Wu Zetian has a name we are familiar with: Wu Meiniang. This name was given by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. The "New Book of Tang", a biographical history of the Tang Dynasty, records that "when he saw the emperor, he was given the title Wu Mei". Coincidentally, a popular song at that time, "Dancing Mei Niang", depicts the graceful and beautiful scene of dancing girls and singers. In addition, "Martial" and "Dance" are homophonic, so the name "Wu Mei" given by Emperor Taizong most likely echoes this poem, just to express that the music is like the person, and the music is as beautiful as the person.

There are also some fixed "x Niang" related to status, occupation or role. For example, in ancient times, "Auntie" was a concubine's honorific title for the head wife, "Lao Niang" was another name for grandmother, and "Master Niang" referred to a witch. "Crow Niang" refers to a witch, "Zhu Niang" is a girl, "Xiniang" and "Xiao Niang" are young girls, "Yao Niang" is a woman who can sing and dance, and "Zhai Niang" is a deaconess who serves the queen in sacrifices. "Ta Zhu Niang" is Wen Po.

There is also the saying of "Gusu Twelve Niangs" in Suzhou, Jiangsu. They include embroider girl, weaver girl, boat girl, tea girl, fan girl, lamp girl, piano girl, silkworm girl, flower girl, singer girl, painting girl, Clam mother, different "mothers" have different specialties and skills.

The clam girl who specializes in looking for good pearls｜Source: TV series "The Twelve Mothers of Gusu"

The ever-changing "mother"

So, in addition to women who can emphasize people Identity, what are the "naming advantages" of the word "mother"? ?

really exists. The word "mother" itself has a good meaning. The "mother" in ancient women's names means "young woman".

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, "mother" was generally used to mean "girl" or "young woman". "Shuowen Jiezi" compiled by Xu Shen of the Eastern Han Dynasty did not include the word "mother". The latest version included is my country's first existing regular script dictionary "Da Guangyi Hui Yu Pian·Nvbu", which explains the word "mother": "Mother, a good girl, a girl's nickname."

Niang means "young woman". It was originally used in Wu dialect, mainly in the simplest monosyllabic form. For example, "Yellow Bamboo Song" in "Yuefu Poems" "Yellow bamboos by the river can be used as a daughter's box. A boat uses two oars, and the mother returns to her hometown" and "Jiangling Girl Song" "Rain falls from the sky, water flows from the bridge Obscene. I picked up my mother's skirt and knotted it at both ends." These two Qing Shang songs are both Wu songs that express love. The word "mother" in them refers to young women in general, rather than to a specific woman.

When "mother" appears in a woman's name, the meaning of "young woman" is retained.

Aunt Gongsun was the best at sword dancing in the Tang Dynasty. At first glance, she thought she was an elderly lady, but in fact she was a young and beautiful woman. Du Fu's "Watching Gongsun's Disciples Dance with Swords" describes Gongsun's "beautiful appearance and beautiful clothes", which means that she has a beautiful appearance and gorgeous clothes.

However, the meaning of "mother" is not static. After the Tang Dynasty, the meaning of "mother" became wider.

From a morphological point of view, the monosyllabic word "Niang" began to become a word-forming morpheme. Additional compound words such as "Aniang" and "Niangzi" and overlapping compound words such as "Empress" appear.In terms of word meaning, "mother" has the meaning of "mother" and "wife". "Aniang" mostly refers to the mother, "Empress" can refer to the mother or the concubines in the palace, and "Niangzi" has a broader connotation, which can refer to not only a young girl, but also a wife and mistress. It is worth mentioning that "Empress", "Niangzi", "Da Niangzi" and "Da Niang" also have the color of respect, which are honorific titles for women.

Wang Ruofu, the eldest lady in "Do you know whether she should be green, fat, red and thin" | Picture: Screenshot from the TV series

However, the "young woman" meaning of the word "mother" has not completely disappeared in the Tang Dynasty. "The Book of Tang: The Biography of Princess Pingyang" records: "The great ancestor's daughter was Chai Shao's wife. The great ancestor raised an army, and the Lord and Shao got hundreds of people to respond to the emperor, and established the capital, and named it the Women's Army." The Women's Army is an army composed of young women.

In the Song Dynasty, "mother" was generally used to address mother, and it has been used to this day. At the same time, the word-forming ability of the root morpheme "Niang" has been further strengthened. On the basis of "Niangzi" and "Empress", more compound words have been derived, such as "girl", "mother-in-law", "mother", "aunt", etc.

After the Yuan Dynasty, the structure and usage of "mother" basically stabilized. In the early Yuan Dynasty, Tao Zongyi's note "Nancun quit farming" concluded that "women are called mothers". It can be seen that "mother" has become a general term for women, and at the same time, "mother" is different The meaning has also continued. The "mother" in the "master's wife" and "boss' wife" we often talk about today refers to "wife", and the "mother" in "bride" refers to "young woman".

It should be noted that although "mother" means "young woman", the name usually accompanies a person's life, and the ancients would not change or replace the word "mother" as they grow older. In essence, "xx mother" still emphasizes the female identity of the named person.

The word "mother" is not the only word used in women's names to express gender. "aunt", "mei", "ji", "jiang" and "po" are also used in women's names, and some even use "女" directly. This word. It’s just that these words are not used that frequently and are not as common as “mother”.

So don’t be angry if someone calls you “xx mother”, they may be praising you for being young.