In the pre-Qin period, surnames were not only an important symbol of whether a woman could marry a man, but also an important basis for distinguishing whether a woman was married. Because at that time, although women had names, they were limited by Zhou Li's stipulation that men and women were unknown unless they had media, so women's surnames played a common role in society.
In order to distinguish unmarried women, Meng (Bo), Zhong, Shu and Ji are usually used as prefixes to indicate the ranking of young and old, second young and third old. According to ancient records,, Zhong You,, and Ji Mou refer to Jiang's parents, two daughters, three daughters, and an aunt (the one who cried down the Great Wall is not Meng, but Jiang's parents' daughter).
When a woman gets married, she usually calls someone by her husband's surname and maiden's surname. For example, there was a woman named Ji who married Kong Wei, a doctor of Wei State. If a woman surnamed Li marries a man surnamed Zhang, she can only be called "Zhang Lishi" or "Shi Li" after marriage, which can still be seen in some rural areas today.
According to the Chinese Dictionary, "Meng, Zhong, Shu, Ji, brothers and sisters are also different from each other." At the same time, Bo, Zhong, Shu and Ji also refer to the order of brothers. The dictionary explains: "According to the ranking order of brothers, the eldest is uncle, the second is secondary, the third is uncle, and the youngest is season. If there are three brothers, they are named Meng, Zhong and Ji. "
Extended data:
Uncle generally refers to the third child, but if there are seven or eight brothers, except the boss and the third child, they can all be called uncles.
There are ten brothers recorded in Historical Records of Guan Cai's Family, namely: "The eldest son is Bo Yikao, the second is Wu, the second is Xian, the second is Cai Shudu, the second is Cao Duo, the second is Cheng, the second is Huo Shuchu, the second is Kang Shufeng, and the second is Ji Zai. The season is the least. "
Among them, the eldest brother Boyi is called "Bo", the second brother Wu and the fourth brother are regarded as honorifics, and the rest are all from the third brother Xian to Kang Shufeng, and the old one is called "Ji".
Uncle Ji can be the youngest, but uncle Ji is younger than uncle Ji. For example, your father is the youngest son of Gu's father. Gu's father should be transferred to his eldest son Taber, but he likes his youngest son's calendar in his heart. He is in a dilemma and can't figure out how to get sick.
Taber and his second brother, Zhong Yong, resolutely left Nanman to establish the State of Wu, while Qi Huangong's father passed it on to his youngest son, Ji Li, and finally Ji Li's son, Zhou Wenwang, established the Zhou Dynasty.
Baidu encyclopedia-Meng Zhongshu