Fan Zhongyan was orphaned at the age of two. When he was four years old, his mother Xie took him to the Zhu family in Changshan, Zizhou (now Zouping, Shandong), and named him Zhu Shuo (Yue). When he grew up, he inquired about his family background, recognized his ancestors and returned to his clan. His surname was changed to Fan Zhongyan . But when did he change his surname? And why was it changed to "Fan Zhongyan"? Documentary records are either unclear or inconsistent, so there is still considerable controversy today. The author plans to talk about his own views on these two issues and seek advice from the Fang family.
About the time when the compound surname was changed
The original biography of the Song Dynasty states that Fan Zhongyan "was promoted to Jinshi, and joined the army as the manager of the Guangde Army (now Guangde, Anhui) to welcome his mother back to raise him; he was transferred to the Qing Army (now Bozhou, Anhui) for Jiedu Tui Official, the surname is returned and the first name is changed."
This legend is probably derived from Fu Bi's "Fan Wenzheng Gong Epitaph": "Since he is a eldest son, he did not want to have a different surname with Zhu's son, for fear of hurting the country of Wu (according to this, his mother Xie gave it to Mrs. Wu Guo) Zhixin's aunt's surname is Zhu; he later worked in Bo, Wu Guoming, and then returned to Yan. "Fu Bi's statement originated from Fan Zhongyan's behavior. The Chronicle of Fan Wenzhenggong written by Lou Yao of the Southern Song Dynasty follows this statement: "Ding Si, the first year of Tianxi, was twenty-nine years old. He moved to Wenlin Lang, Quan gathered the Qing army and promoted officials during the festival, and then regained the surname Fan."
It is said that the time when Fan Zhongyan changed his surname can be finalized based on this. However, there are still different opinions in some important documents of the Song Dynasty. For example, Ouyang Xiu's "Fan Zhongyan's Shinto Stele Inscription" only says that "Gongsheng was orphaned when he was two years old, and his mother and wife were poor and helpless, so he became the Zhu family of Changshan." As for the initial name Zhu Shuo, and then the surname change, it was not mentioned at all because it was a matter of privacy.
Zhang Tangying, the historian of the Northern Song Dynasty who wrote his biography earlier, said: Fan Zhongyan "was an orphan since he was young, and his mother belonged to the Zhu family. In the eighth year of Xiangfu's reign, he was promoted to Jinshi, and he is said to be the one who said it." He named Zhu Shuo, but did not mention when he would change his surname. Zeng Gong's "Biography of Fan Zhongyan" says: "Zhongyan lost his father when he was two years old, and his mother changed her name to the Zhu family in Changshan, so she took her stepfather's surname. In the eighth year of Dazhong Xiangfu's reign, he became a Jinshi, named Zhu Shuo. After his mother died, he served as a surname. "Zeng Gongxiang was famous for his articles and was personally favored by Fan Zhongyan. Since he changed his surname to Fan Zhongyan after his mother died, it naturally had a profound impact. Become the origin of divergent opinions. Wang Xian of the Southern Song Dynasty wrote "A Brief History of the Eastern Capital" and followed Zeng Gong's statement: "Zhong Yan was orphaned when he was two years old. His mother was poor and helpless. He changed his family to the Zhu family in Changshan, so he took the surname Zhu, and his name said that after his mother died, he resigned from the official position. After the death, he returned to his clan and changed his current name. "
In this way, there are two theories as to when Fan Zhongyan recognized his ancestors, returned to his clan, and changed his surname. One theory is that it was in the first year of Tianxi (1017) when his biological mother Xie was still alive. ), one theory is that it was in the sixth year of Tiansheng (1028) after the death of his mother. Which of the two is right and which is wrong has become a topic that is difficult to explain for its own reasons.
The author believes that the ancient and modern debates seem to have ignored the following key issues:
First, the identity of Fan Zhongyan's biological mother, Xie. According to the "Fan Family Classic", especially the Suzhou Fan family genealogy, it can be seen that Fan Zhongyan had two mothers: his aunt, Chen, and his concubine, Xie. Fan Zhongyan was actually a concubine. His father Fan Yong died in Xuzhou , and his aunt Chen returned to her hometown in Suzhou with her Zhongwen brothers. However, Fan Zhongyan's mother and son, as the concubine of the concubine, actually had no place in the Fan family. The so-called "poor and helpless, more suitable for others" is just a euphemism. The real reason why Xie was forced to remarry lay in her status as a concubine.
The second is the family status of the Xie family after changing to the Zhu family. According to the "Changshan Zhu Family Genealogy", Fan Zhongyan's adoptive father Zhu Wenhan was originally married to the Chu family and also had several sons. According to Sima Guang Volume 10 of "Sushui Chronicles": Zhong Yan "and the Zhu brothers were both academics". It seems that he and the Zhu brothers are not much different in age. If Mrs. Chu dies and Mrs. Xie is the main wife, then Mrs. Xie should replace Chu and become the housewife. However, Xie did not live in the Zhu family. According to the "Miscellaneous Records of Yanshan" written by Wang Shizhen (that is, a native of Yuyangshan) in Xincheng (today's Huantai, Shandong, adjacent to Changshan) in the early Qing Dynasty, Xie lived in Yanshen Town (today's Boshan District, Zibo City) at that time ). The "Changshan County Chronicle" of the Qing Dynasty contains "A Study of Fan Wenzhenggong's Living in Changshan" written by Liu Konghuai, a local, and it is clearly stated that Xie lived in Qiukou of Yanshen Town.Why can't Ms. Xie live in the Zhu family? The Zhu brothers can live a luxurious life of "waste and immoderate", but "Zhu Shuo" has to live in Liquan Temple to "paint porridge and cut off troubles". Comparing the two, the obvious reason is that Mrs. Chu is still alive, and Mrs. Xie still has not achieved the status of the main wife.
Three is the time when stepfather Zhu Wenhan passed away. According to common sense, Fan Zhongyan could only recognize his ancestor and return to the clan after the death of his stepfather Zhu Wenhan. "Song Hui Yao Collection" contains a memorial written by Fan Zhongyan asking the imperial court to reward his stepfather Zhu Wenhan with an official post. He calls Zhu the "former magistrate of Changshan County, Zizhou". This should be Zhu Wenhan's. Last official position. It indicates that he died during his tenure at Changshan or shortly thereafter. According to Fan Zhongyan's "Collected Works" and "Annals", there is no record of Fan Zhongyan's stepfather Ding You after he became an official, indicating that Zhu Wenhan had passed away long before Fan Zhongyan became an official. The author once said: Zhu Wenhan's doting on Fan Zhongyan's mother and son does not mean that the whole Zhu family doted on Fan Zhongyan's mother and son; while Zhu Wenhan's whole family doted on Fan Zhongyan's mother and son, it does not mean that they will continue to dote on Fan Zhongyan's mother and son after his death. On the contrary, once Zhu Wenhan passed away, Zhong Yan's mother and son, as concubines and concubines with different surnames, were likely to be in trouble soon. Because Zhong Yan is a member of the Fan family after all and has no relationship with the Zhu family at this time, his situation is bound to be far more embarrassing and miserable than when he was in the Fan family. The realistic situation forced him to try to escape as soon as possible.
What is most worthy of our attention is the passage quoted from "Jia Lu" in "Chronology": "The Duke thought that the Zhu brothers were wasteful and immoral, so he discouraged them. The Zhu brothers were unhappy and said: 'I use the Zhu family for myself. Qian, why do you want to interfere with your affairs? "When the public heard this, the informant said: "You are the son of the Fan family in Gusu, and the wife brought you to the Zhu family." The public is angry and determined to establish his own family, wearing a piano and sword. , Heading towards the southern capital. Mrs. ties it to the time when Fan Zhongyan left Changshan to study in Nandu (now Shangqiu, Henan) in the fourth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1011). Fan Zhongyan was already 23 years old at the time, which shows that this incident greatly stimulated him and became an opportunity for him to leave "out of anger".
Secondly, "Zhu brothers" can be interpreted in two ways: first, as far as the Zhu family is concerned, since they are called brothers, it means that there is more than one person, and their biological mothers should all be of the Chu family; second, as far as Fan Zhongyan is concerned, if Fan Zhongyan among them Some call them brother and some call them brother, which can prove that after the Xie family arrived at the Zhu family, the Chu family continued to have children. From this, it can be concluded that the Xie family is still a concubine.
Thirdly, the reason why the Zhu brothers dared to confront each other was due to two possibilities: one was that their biological mother Chu was still alive, so they had nothing to fear; the other was that Zhu Wenhan had passed away and they lost control, so they spoke so rudely. In the author's opinion, there should be two situations.
Fourth, from Fan Zhongyan's "indignation", one can imagine the humiliation and hardship that his mother and son were in at this time.
Fifth, why is this "reporter" so troubled? The reason why he revealed the secret was probably out of sympathy, as he could no longer stand the situation of Fan Zhongyan's mother and son.
Sixth, "I will come to you in ten years to welcome my bride." This sworn promise should not be underestimated. If Zhu Wenhan was still alive at that time, or if Xie had become a housewife, Fan Zhongyan would definitely not swear like this. If that were the case, Fan Zhongyan vowed to just pick up his mother, wouldn't it mean that he would not only break up a good family, but also an old couple? This can be used to prove that, firstly, Mrs. Xie did not become the Zhu family’s mistress, and secondly, Zhu Wenhan had passed away.
The fourth is the relationship between recognizing ancestors and returning to the clan and changing surnames. The two are closely related, in order. That is to say, Fan Zhongyan must first express his wish to recognize his ancestor and return to his clan, and obtain the consent of the Suzhou Fan family before he can change his surname. The time proposed by Fan Zhongyan is according to Lou Yao's "Chronology": "In the eighth year of Xiangfu, at the age of twenty-seven, he ranked first in the Jinshi Rituals Department and passed the B Division. He was first appointed as the manager of the Guangde Army, and later became the wife of his maid. Aunt-in-law Su wanted to return his surname to Fan, but his clan members were in trouble. The surname Fan was restored at the beginning."The tortuous experience described by Lou Yao echoes the previous statement "it takes ten years to come to the throne to welcome the bride", which can exactly reflect Fan Zhongyan's eagerness to recognize his ancestors and return to the clan.
The fifth is Fan Zhongyan's own confession:
The first is Fan Zhongyan In China, recognizing one's ancestors and changing one's surname is a big deal, and it must be approved by the court. "Chronology" once excerpted Fan Zhongyan's memorial: "The name is not hegemonic." Yue, I took a boat to serve Tao Zhu; I was determined to surrender to the Qin Dynasty, so when I entered the country, I called him Zhang Lu, who was the most cordial in his dealings. "In this regard, we will inevitably be curious: What did the memorial say? Why is it not included in the collected works? At the same time, it is not difficult for us to imagine: since the memorial was specifically designed to request the imperial court to approve his surname change, then he originally The reason and process of leaving the Fan family and the reasons for recognizing the ancestors and returning to the clan must be reported clearly to the court. This will inevitably involve the privacy of Fan Zhongyan's life experience. Please think about it. In addition to having to report it truthfully to the court. In addition, would he use his "poor background" as a capital to show off to the world? Therefore, no matter how skillful, elegant and touching the memorial is, Fan Zhongyan will never include it in the collection. , and there are two words: "even effect" and "suisheng". As classical Chinese function words, "even" and "sui" both have the meaning of "not long after", which also shows that Fan Zhongyan submitted a report to the court soon after he became an official. . It can also be inferred that Fan Zhongyan's recognition of his ancestors was unlikely to be delayed until more than ten years later.
The second is the letter written by Fan Zhongyan to Fan Zhongyi in the second volume of "Yu Zhongyi". The third post said: "In the past, I wanted to go back to Gusu for burial, but I found that the customs were too weak. Because Si Gao and Zeng were originally from the north, their descendants were fortunate enough to be in the Jin gentry, and it was appropriate to build a hall, so they changed it to Luo. "This passage clearly stated his thoughts on how to bury his mother when he first considered it. That is to say, when he was serving as a civil servant in the past, it was not that he did not want to bury his mother in the ancestral tomb of the Fan family in Suzhou. It was just because the "customs there were too weak" that he decided to bury his mother. Luoyang had to be reburied. In this regard, we must consider the order of things: according to common sense, Fan Zhongyan can only request to bury his mother after he recognizes his ancestor and returns to the clan, and it can never be the other way around. It is concluded that Fan Zhongyan must have recognized his ancestor and returned to his clan when his biological mother was still alive and when he was the governor of Bozhou Jiedu.
Why "Zhu Shuo" changed his name to "Fan Zhongyan"
Many modern scholars believe that "Zhu Shuo" The renaming of "Shuo" to "Fan Zhongyan" and the courtesy name "Xiwen" is related to his admiration for Wang Tong (Zhongyan), a great scholar in the late Sui Dynasty. The author is quite dissatisfied with this. First, because we found it from Fan's collected works He did not particularly admire Wang Tong's writing, and secondly, no one among his contemporaries mentioned that "Fan Zhongyan" admired "Wang Zhongyan".
So, why did "Zhu Shuo" change his name to "Fan Zhongyan"? : Now that he has returned to the Fan family, he has to change his surname to "Fan" and has no choice. The character "Zhong" is the established seniority ranking of the Fan family, so he has no choice. The only choice for him is the third character, "Yudi". It is also very limited. Because Song people have a habit of naming brothers from the same radical in Chinese characters. Since the elder brother Zhong Wen of the Fan family was named from "氵", he can only be named from "氵". There are many words to choose from for "氵", and the one that made him most satisfied should be "Yan". Why? The author guesses, because this word is not only rich in connotation, with both praise and blame, but also best fits the reality of "Zhu Shuo". 1. On the one hand, flooded, flooded, flooded, flooded, flooded, flooded, flooded, flooded, etc., can best reflect his ups and downs; on the other hand, flooded, flooded, flooded, flooded, flooded, flooded Yan Ya, Yan Mu, Yan Hua, etc. are the words that best represent his ambitions and pursuits. They have double meanings and are both praise and blame. They can reflect his past, his future, and his misfortune. , and it can represent his hope. It is truly ingenious and wonderful. The author does not deny that it may have been inspired by Wang Tong's character Zhongyan, but it should mainly be attributed to his wisdom, erudition and ingenuity. .
Source: Wenhui Scholar
