Li surname has a long history, but it has not always been the first surname in China.
Before the Sui and Tang , the country was not able to carry out population surname statistics. The ranking of surnames mainly depends on bloodline. From Xia, Shang, Zhou and Qin, the surnames were divided into more prominently. A person had both surnames and clans. In a big family, the legitimate son, eldest son or powerful branch appears nobler; while the legitimate son without power or power gradually becomes low.
After reaching Qin Dynasty , the surnames slowly merged. In the Han Dynasty , the emperor's surname was Liu, and the surname Liu became the highest surname in the country. When the subjects made contributions, the emperor gave his surname Liu. He had good luck and could also be included in the surname Liu Zongzheng and enjoyed certain political and economic treatment.
Wish, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, great families ruled, such as the Wang family of Langya, Chenjun , Xie family, Yingchuan Chen family, etc., were all relatively noble surnames. During the Sui Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty, Wang, Cui, Lu, Li, Zheng (east of Taihang Mountains), Wei, Pei, Liu, Xue, Yang, and Du (Shanxi and Shaanxi); in the south, Wang, Xie, Yuan, Xiao, Zhu, Zhang, Gu, and Lu were the most.
Cui, Lu, Li, Zheng, Wei and other surnames were all powerful families of officials. Regardless of the officials, civilians, scholars and common people, they all wanted to marry these families. The surnames Cui, Lu and others also have high status and have become the guiding principle of political forces.
Tang Taizong witnessed such a strange situation and ordered the revision of " Clan ".
's core meaning is to rerank the surnames of the world. There are three meanings for doing this:
First, respect the Li royal family.
The second is to highlight the political status of the newly rising nobles of the Tang Dynasty .
The third is to crack down on the arrogance of powerful families such as Cui Lu and stabilize the political appeal of the court.
, but the Minister of Personnel Gao Shilian , who was responsible for presiding over the revision, did not fully understand Taizong's intentions. After several years of hard work, they compiled the first draft of the revision of the "Clan Chronicle" and presented it to Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty to read it.
Emperor Taizong of Tang was very angry after watching it.
It turns out that Gao Shilian and others were still old thoughts and routines of the Sui Dynasty. They still ranked , the leader of the Shandong gentry, as the first-class surname.
Emperor Taizong of Tang said: I pacify the world and become the emperor. My surname Li is not as good as the surname Cui? In today's court, which of the nobles and crowned men does not make more contributions than the Cui family? How did you arrange it? After reprimanding
, Emperor Taizong of Tang reiterated the standard for placing surnames: does not need to be considered several generations, but only today's official titles are ranked as the level.
Gao Shilian revised it according to Taizong's intention.
The emperor spoke in person, so naturally the surname Li should be ranked first.
The emperor's mother and wife were the most noble except for the surname Li, so Dou and Changsun were second.
But who should be ranked third? Gao Shilian is in trouble.
If you follow Taizong's intention, then you should arrange for Fang Xuanling and other prime ministers. However, when the Tang Dynasty was the same, three or four people were set up, and the replacements were a little frequent, and they were all ranked third, which was too overbearing. Erze, Fang Xuanling and others have been civilians for many lifetimes and have no background. If they are forced to insert, it will be difficult to explain to the court and the public.
After thinking about it, Gao Shilian decided to rank Cui in third place. The reason for doing this is that is to be responsible to both the emperor and the gentry.
If you ignore the fact that the gentry is still very powerful and suppress the Cui family very far behind, it will cause strong discussions and make the emperor criticized and infamous. The ministers should not care so much about their heads and butts.
The next sorting is to take care of the heroes of the founding of the Tang Dynasty. The emperor only focuses on the group and not the individual, which is even better. After the new "Clan Chronicle" was compiled, Emperor Taizong of Tang was very satisfied when he saw that the surname Li and his relatives were both ranked first. As for the Cui family, because they themselves have a very large power, a large population, and many officials, Taizong accepted the result of ranking third.
Someone asked, it’s just a surname, is there any difference between ranking?
This difference is quite big.
Tang Dynasty economic system, official system system and other areas involving practical material interests are all linked to the surname family. If the surname has a high status, the government will calculate that the number of land granted by oral is more than acres, but it will bear less taxes and service. In the selection of officials, although the Tang Dynasty implemented the imperial examination system, the family system still existed. The positioning of surnames can be used as a reference for the award of officials. Some children of aristocratic families can even become officials without taking the exam.
surnames are connected to interests, no wonder even the emperor has to ask about it personally.
However, the development of surnames was not based on the emperor's personal will. Although Emperor Taizong of Tang suppressed the surnames Cui, Lu, Zheng and other surnames, there was a Tang Dynasty, and the number of prime ministers who had the surname Cui was still the first among the surnames.
The development of the surname Li was not determined by Emperor Taizong of Tang to be the first, but he has always maintained the first place. The increase in the population of the Li surname is related to the long-term enjoyment of the Li surname on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is related to the large number of surnames given to the Tang Dynasty emperors. For example, Xu Ji, a famous general in the early Tang Dynasty, was given the surname Li. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Shatuo tribe rose. In order to win over them, Hu people like Li Keyong were also given the surname Li.
Until today, the surname has truly escaped from the shackles of the clan and became a pure surname name. The sources of a surname are very complex. The population of a certain surname and the origin of each ethnic group are mixed in it, and many may be changed to their surnames. The of Longxi Li family (the source of the Tang Taizong family) and the Li family of Zhaojun were also integrated and there was no distinction between them.
