Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 04-21-12 18:51
中國姓氏故事 - 李姓
不求金玉重重貴,---Bu4 qiu2 jin yu4 zhong4 zhong4 gui4,
但願兒孫個個賢.---Dan4 yuan4 er2 sun ge4 ge4 xian2.
I do not ask the gold and jade to have high value,
All I wish is that all my offspring will be wise.
不求金銀財寶越多越好，但愿子孫個個都有出息。
A Chinese proverb
-------------------------------------------------
Surname LI (李姓)
Li means: plum
The surname Li is about 3000 years old.
The surname Li originated in an area referred to during the Qin Dynasty
(秦朝 221BC to 207BC) as the Longxi Prefecture (攏西郡). The present day
location of Longxi Prefecture is in Linyao county (臨洮縣103.8 degree East
and 35.7 degree North on the world map) of Gansu province (甘肅省).
According to Chinese historical records, Gao Tao (皋陶) was the descendant
of Ji Zhi (己摯) who was the son of Huang Di (黃帝) or the Yellow Emperor,
the legendary leader of the united tribes in ancient China. Gao Tao was
employed as Da Li (大理) or Law Official in the administration of Yao Di
(堯帝), another leader the federated tribes, after the Yellow Emperor. The
offspring of Gao Tao inherited his official position as Da Li. They came
to be known as Li Shi (理氏) and they gave themselves the surname Li (理
).
Many generations after Gao Tao, during the Shang Dynasty (商朝1783BC to
1122BC) Li Zheng (理徵), one of his descendants, was employed as a Jian
Guan (諫官) or legal advisor by Shang King Zhou (商紂王), the 31st king
of Shang Dynasty. Shang King Zhou reigned from 1154BC to 1122BC.
Shang King Zhou was a wicked and cruel man, but he was a very clever and
capable King and he seldom listened to his advisors. Later he married the
most beautiful woman in the land. Her name was Su Daji (蘇妲己). The couple
neglected the welfares of the country and lived extravagantly. Shang King
Zhou built many big palaces and in the process squandered the wealth of
the country. He became wicked and cruel and would kill or torture anyone
who dared to criticize him on his spending.
The Zhou clan (周族) who lived in the Wei Valley (渭谷), west of the great
bend of the Yellow River. Zhou's territory was under the jurisdiction of
the Shang empire and was therefore required to send Ji Chang (姬昌), their
leader, to serve in the Shang Court as an advisor and one of his sons, Ji
Kao (姬考) was assigned as his assistant.
One day, Ji Chang told Shang King Zhou about the deficient financial situation
of the country and advised him not to be too much of a spendthrift. Shang
King Zhou was angry and imprisoned Ji Chang and had Ji Kao executed.
Ji Chang was released after three years in prison. He returned to his homeland
and died soon after. Ji Chang's eldest son, Ji Fa (姬發) succeeded him as
the leader of the Zhou clan. Ji Fa wanted to take revenge on Shang King
Zhou, but he could not do so because the Zhou clan was not strong enough
to take on the Shang Dynasty.
Twelve years later in 1122BC, Ji Fa believed that his people were ready
to fight Shang King Zhou. Ji Fa wanted to challenge him in battle. Li Zheng
advised Shang King Zhou not to fight, but King Zhou was furious at this
suggestion. With a whim of anger he killed Li Zheng and his family.
Qi Heshi (契和氏), the wife of Li Zheng took their youngest son Li Lizhen
(理利貞) and escaped to Xu (墟 present day southern region of Yi He 伊河
in Henan province 河南省), the former domain of Yi Yin (伊尹) who was the
first Prime Minister of the Shang Dynasty. On the way to Xu, there was no
food and water for the mother and the child. Fortunately it was the Li (李
) or plum season and there were plum trees in blossom along the way. Qi Heshi
had to climb up the tree to pluck the sweet and juicy plums to sustain themselves.
Mother and child survived by eating only plums.
The decisive battle between the Zhou people and Shang King Zhou was fought
in Muye (牧野 present day county of Ji 汲縣 in Henan province). The Shang
army were defeated, ending of the Shang Dynasty. Ji Fa established a Dynasty
called the Zhou Dynasty (周朝1134BC to 256BC) and he was crowned Zhou King
Wu (周武王), the first King of the Zhou Dynasty.
When Qi Heshi and her son settled down in Xu, Qi Heshi changed her son's
surname from Li (理) to Li (李) which are homonymous, that is, having the
same pronunciation but different meanings.
When Li Lizhen (李利貞) grew up he married his cousin sister Ru Chang (女
昌), the daughter of Qi Heshi's younger sister.
Eleven generations after Li Lizhen one of his descendant, Li Dan (李聃)
became known as Lao Zi (老子), the founder of Taoism (道教). The great-grandson
of Li Dan was Li Tan (李曇) who had two sons. One was called Li Ji (李璣
) and the other Li Chong (李崇). Li Ji lived in Zhao Prefecture (趙郡) in
Hebei province (河北省) and Li Chong settled down in Longxi Prefecture of
Gansu province where it was recorded in history as the place where surname
Li originated.
李氏祠聯 The couplet for the ancestral temple of the Li clan
臚唱兒童三百輩,---Lu2 chang4 er2 tong2 san bai3 bei4,
經傳道德五千言.---Jing chuan2 Daode wu3 qian yan2.
Displaying to the children for 300 generations,
The song of the 5,000 words of the Dao Classic.
The poem for surname LI (李)
By using the two radicals of 木(Mu or wood) and 子 (Zi or son) to compose
this poem.
木榮花綻振春色,---Mu4 rong2 hua zhan4 zhen4 chun se4,
子教孫賢傳嘉風.---Zi3 jiao4 sun xian2 zhuan4 jia feng.
In spring, the trees grow luxuriantly and the flowers are blooming,
It is like the tradition in your family where your children are well cultured
And grandchildren are virtuous persons.
The couplet for surname LI is,
猶龍世澤,
.................................................
Famous historical people produced by the Li clan
(1) 李淵 (Li Yuan 565AD to 635AD)
During the period of the Dynasties of North and South (南北朝 420AD to 589AD)
, China was divided into ten kingdoms. In 581AD Yang Jian (楊堅) unified
China and founded the Sui Dynasty (隋朝 581AD to 618AD). In 618AD Li Yuan
(李淵), a general in the Sui armed forces, dethroned Yang You (楊侑) in
618, the last Emperor of the Sui and founded the Tang Dynasty (唐朝 618AD
to 907AD).
.............................................................................
(2) 李白 (Li Bai 701AD to 762AD), the Tang poet 唐朝詩人
Li Bai was born in 701AD during the reign of the first and only powerful
female ruler in China, Empress Wu Ze Tian (武則天) whose real name was Wu
Ying (武嬰). The birth place of Li Bai was Suiye (碎葉) in An Xi county
(安西縣) of Gansu province (甘肅省). The present day Suiye is in the Lake
of Balkhash in Kazahstan. Since Li Bai was born there, there were people
mistaken him of Turkish descent or at least some Turkish blood (胡人).
Li Bai's original ancestral home was in Qinglian of Sichuan province (青
蓮四川省). Li Bai's ancestor (great-grandfather, I think) was banished by
the authority of the Sui Dynasty (隋朝 589AD to 618AD) to Suiye which was
then under the jurisdiction of the Sui Dynasty Authority. When Tang Dynasty
(唐朝 618AD to 907AD) was established by Li Yuan (李淵) or Emperor Gao Zu
(高祖) he granted amnesty to all those who were ostracized from the homelands.
The outcasts were free to return home at any time as they wished.
Li Bai's father was called Li Ke (李客), a rich business man. When Li Bai's
mother was in full term of pregnancy with him, one night, in her dream,
she saw the star of Venus (太白星) shining brightly. A few weeks later Li
Bai was born. Li Bai's parents named him after the star of Venus.So he was
called Li Taibai (李太白) and his given name was just Bai (白). He called
himself Li Bai. Years later, Li Bai had a little sister and his father named
her Yue Yuan (月圓 round moon or full moon). When Li Bai was 5-year-old
Li Ke took his family and returned to their ancestral home in Qinglian village
(青蓮鄉) in the county of Zhangming (彰明縣) of Jinzhou Prefecture (錦州
) in present day Sichuan province (四川省).
Li Bai grew up and educated in his hometown by an educational system of
the Dynasties of Han and Wei (漢朝與魏朝教育制): 五歲學六甲﹐十歲觀百家)
When he was 15 years old he heard of a hermit, a master of martial art,
by the name of Jing Zhigao (景之杲), who lived in the mountain of Douchui
(竇圌山), quite far from his home. He took a sword and went up the mountain
to seek for master Jing Zhigao. There were snakes, tigers and many harmful
animals in the mountain. Eventually he found master Jing Zhigao who accepted
him as a pupil. Li Bai learned martial art from master Jing for about a
year before he returned home.
Li Bai continued to study all sorts of literature books and he was already
very good in writing poetry (寫詩作賦). Li Bai did not sit for any governmental
examinations. He considered it was too troublesome to sit for any examination.
In 725AD, during the reign of Emperor Xuan Zong (玄宗), Li Longji (李隆基
), the famous Tang Minghuang (唐明皇), Li Bai left home to seek for a living
and began his wandering life.
After touring places for three years (remember his father was a very rich
businessman) he arrived in Anlu in Hubei province (安陸 湖北省). He was
27 when he married the granddaughter of Xu Yushi (許圉師), the former Prime
Minister of Li Shi (李治), Emperor Gao Zong (高宗 650AD to 683AD). He named
his eldest son, Ming Yuenu (明月奴). That was why many of his poems are
about the moon which he loved. His other son was called Po Li (頗黎), the
name of a type of crystal stone (水晶石). Although he still travelled a lot
after marriage yet most of the time he stayed in Anlu as a family man
When Li Bai was about 35 years old he left home and travelled to Taiyuan
(太原 the present day city of Taiyuan in Shanxi province 山西省). He arrived
in Tai Yuan during the summer and put up with his friend Yuan Canjun (元
參軍). Li Bai toured all the interesting places around Taiyuan. In Autumn,
Li Bai left Taiyuan for Qilu (齊魯 the present day Shandong province 山東
省). In Qilu he spent most of his time in these two places of Rencheng (任
城 the present day city of Jining 濟寧) and Shaqiu (沙邱 the present day
city of Yixian 掖縣). He bought a house in Shaqiu where he lived there for
a long time.
Here in Shaqiu he befriended Kong Chaofu (孔巢父), Han Zhun (韓準), Pei
Zheng (裴政), Zhang Shuming (張叔明) and Tao Mian (陶¨-c). The six of them
lived in Zu Laishan (俎徠山) in the south of Taishan (泰山). People nicknamed
them the "Zhu Xi Liu Yi 竹溪六逸 or the six escapees in the bamboo stream".
He left Qilu and went touring to the present day provinces of Jiangsu (江
蘇省), Anhui (安徽省) and Zhejiang (浙江省). After all these years he began
to have a clear picture about politics. Emperor Xuan Zong admired his literary
talent and in 742AD called him to come to Changan to work for him. Li Bai
had never set foot on the capital before. He was very happy to be called
by the Emperor to Changan. Li Bai though he could show his literary talent
while he was in Changan. He was quickly disappointed when he was offered
to work as an ordinary employee to an official in the Han Lin Academy (翰
林院or the Imperial Academy). He worked as a Gong Feng (供奉) a kind of
butler. Other than working as an attendant (侍從), Li Bai befriended many
people, like He Zhizhang (賀知章), Cui Suizhi (崔祟之), Chao Heng (晁衡)
and many others. At their leisure they drank they talked of everything under
the sun (談天說地).
His stay for three years in Changan was more than enough for him. Li Bai
resigned and went back home to his family in Rencheng in Shandong province
(任城在山東省). For the rest of the years he went touring to places like;
Guangling (廣陵the present day county of Jiangdu (江都縣), Jinling (金陵
the present day city of Nanjing 南京市) in Jiangsu province (江蘇省), Xuancheng
(宣城) in Anhui province (安徽省) and many other places, until he was 55-year-
old when he met Prince Yong Lin (永王璘) in mountain Lushan (廬山).
Prince Yong Lin formed an army trying to overthrow his elder brother Li
Heng (李亨) or Emperor Su Zong (肅宗 756AD to 762AD) and Li Bai was asked
to become one of his advisors. The rebellious army of Prince Yong Lin was
crushed the following year. Li Bai was arrested and imprisoned in Xunyang
(潯陽 the present day city of Jiujiang 九江市 in Jinagxi 江西省). One of
his best friends, Du Fu (杜甫), wrote poems on how he missed Li Bai as an
intimate friend; poems like Meng Li Bai (夢李白) and,Tian Mo Huai Li Bai
(天末懷李白) or I dreamed of Li Bai. Du Fu was angry over the banishment
of Li Bai and he wrote:
冠蓋滿京華,---Guan gai4 man3 jing hua2,
斯人獨僬悴.---Si ren2 du2 qiao2 cui4.
孰云網恢恢?--Shu2 yun2 wang3 hui hui?
將老申反累!---Jiang4 lao3 shen fan3 lei2
There are officials everywhere in the capital,
Why you are the only one who is down and out.
Who says the heavenly principles are broad?
And let you suffer at old age!
(Du Fu met Li Bai in 744AD in Luoyang 洛陽. Together they went touring for
two years. They departed from each other in Lujun 魯郡 in Shandong province)
Although he was bailed out from the prison by his friends, Li Bai was ostracized
to Yelang (夜郎 present day Tong Zi 桐梓 in Guizhou province (貴州省). At
the age of 60 he was rehabilitated and he returned home in Rencheng.
In 762AD when he was 61, Li Bai went for a drinking party with a few friends
in a boat. While cruising along a river near the present day city of Xuancheng
in Anhui province (宣城安徽省), Li Bai was drunk. It was full moon that
night and the reflection of the moon on the surface of the river was beautiful.
Li Bai always loved the moon. He had written so many poems about the moon.
He loved the moon so much that he wanted to grab it. Off his nut (foolishly),
Li Bai jumped into the river trying to scoop up the moon. With a loud splash
that was the end of the famous poet. Li Bai was drowned. His best friend
Li Yangbing (李陽冰) buried him in a rocky place called Caishiji (采石磯
) near the river in which he was drowned. Since then, there were many scholars
came to his grave to pay him respect. Many of them scribbled poems on his
grave. His stony grave was covered with poems.
During the reign of Zhu Yijun (朱翊鈞), Emperor Shen Zong (神宗), of Ming
Dynasty (明朝 1368AD to 1644AD), there was a poet by the name of Mei Zhihuan
(梅之渙) who went to Li Bai's grave to pay respect to the great Tang poet.
Mei Zhihuan did not like any of the poems on Li Bai's grave. So he composed
one poem next to all those poems which were written hundreds of years ago.
He wrote:
采石江邊一堆土,---Caishi jiang bian yi dui tu3,
李白之名高千古;---Li Bai zhi ming2 gao qian gu3;
來來往往一首詩,---Lai2 lai2 wang3 wang3 yi shou3 shi,
魯班門前弄大斧.---Lu Bang men2 qian2 nong4 da4 fu3.
On Caishi's[A] riverbank stands a mound
Great Li Bai's fame forever to astound
But poems from callow poets upon his grave are scored
Like showing off one's proficiency with the axe before Lu Ban[B]
the master carpenter
[A]
Caishi 采石 means 采石磯 the place where Li Bai was buried.
[B]
Lu Ban 魯班
was the famous architect during the Autumn and Spring Period
(春秋時代 722BC to 481BC) of Zhou Dynasty (周朝1134BC to 256BC).
.............................................................................
.
(3) Li Yu (李煜 937AD to 978AD)
In 937AD Li Sheng (李昇) founded the Kingdom of Nantang (南唐 937AD to 975AD)
with his capital was at Jinling (金陵 present day Nanjing 南京 in Jiangsu
province). He changed the name of Jinling to Jiangning Fu (江寧府). Li Sheng
died in 943AD and was succeeded by his eldest son Li Jing (李璟). He was
crowned Yuanzong Emperor (元宗皇帝).
In 960AD Zhao Kuangyin (趙匡胤) founded the Song Dynasty (960AD to 1279AD)
and was crowned Emperor Taizu (太祖皇帝). Li Jing, the ruler of Nantang
(南唐) died in 961 and was succeeded by his 6th son Li Yu who was a man
of letters and excelled in painting and calligraphy. He was also interested
in music. In 975AD, Zhao Kuang Yin, the first Emperor of the Song Dynasty
attacked Nantang. Li Yu, the ruler of Nantang, surrendered without a fight.
Li Yu was honoured with the title of Weiming Hou (違命侯 or the Marquis
of Disobedience).
The following year Zhao Kuangyin died and was succeeded by his younger brother,
Zhao Guangyi (趙光義) who was crowned Emperor Taizong (太宗皇帝 976AD to
997AD) Zhao Guangyi changed Li Yu's title to 隴西郡公 or the Duke of the
Prefectire of Longxi.
In 978AD, on the night of 7th day of 7th Month , his birthday, Li Yu composed
this poem and he called it "虞美人 Yu Mei Ren"
春花秋月何時了?---Chun hua qiu yue4 he2 shi le?
往事知多少!----------Wang3 shi4 zhi duo shao4!
小樓昨夜又春風,---Xiao3 lou2 zyo2 ye4 you4 chun feng,
故國不堪回首月明中!
Gu4 guo2 bu4 kan hui2 shou3 yue4 ming2 zhong!
雕欄玉砌應猶在,---Diao lan2 yu4 qi4 ying you2 zai4,
只是朱顏改.---------Zhi3 shi4 zhu yan2 gai.
問君能有幾多愁?---Wen4 jun neng2 you3 ji duo chou2?
恰似一江春水向東流.
Qia4 si4 yi jiang chun shui3 xiang4 dong liu2!
When will the beautiful scene of spring flowers and autumn moon end?
It depends on how much you know about the past events!
The spring breeze blew on the little building last night,
When the moon is full I cannot bear to look back at the old country!
The carved balustrades and marble steps should still be there,
With a change of colour.
I ask you how much worry can you take?
It is like the water of a river flowing to the east
Having composed this poem Li Yu asked his wife Xiao Zhou (小周) to sing.
She was very sad. With tears welling up in her eyes she sang. Zhao Guangyi
(趙光義) heard about it and was not happy. Li Yu gave a copy of the poem
to one of his former officials who passed it around to other of his former
officials. All the former of officials Li Yu felt sad when they read these
lines:
故國不堪回首月明中!
Gu4 guo2 bu4 kan hui2 shou3 yue4 ming2 zhong!
問君能有幾多愁?---Wen4 jun neng2 you3 ji duo chou2?
恰似一江春水向東流.
Qia4 si4 yi jiang chun shui3 xiang4 dong liu2!
The two lines showed that Li Yu was still nostalgically thinking of his
extinct country. Having heard about the reactions of Li Yu's former officials
Emperor Zhao Guangyi was very angry. Knowing that Li Yu could not forget
his extinct country and in future he might harbour the intention of reviving
his country and rebel against the Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhao Guangyi had
him killed by putting poison in his food.
When Li Yu died he was only 42 years old. Generations later people compiled
Li Yu's poems and his father's poems into a book titled "The poems by the
two rulers of the Kingdom of Nantang 南唐二主詞". Recently people compiled
the forty odd poems by Li Yu into a book and called it "The poems by the
last ruler of Nantang 李後主詞".
.....................................................................
Note:
Surname LI (李姓) is the No.1 the most common Chinese surname in the world.
Posted to asiuawind.com
By CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
-
|
|
The Asiawind forums are provided to you by
InTechTra Inc.
