During the Warring States Period, Qin and Zhao both had the surname Zhao. Were they the same family five hundred years ago?

If people nowadays meet someone with the same surname, they will often say: So we were a family five hundred years ago! Although it is a joke, it does make sense. There is an article in the third volume of "Peking University Collection of Western Han Bamboo Books" called "Zhao Zhengshu". This bamboo slip document unearthed in the Western Han Dynasty calls Qin Shihuang Yingzheng Zhao Zheng, Zhengtong Zheng. , in fact, we all know that Qin Shi Huang’s surname is Ying, but in fact few people know that Qin Shi Huang is also Zhao.

The ancients in the Pre-Qin period had surnames and clan names. Surnames and clan names are two different concepts. The surname represents the code name of a tribe, indicating the ancestors and origin, while the clan name is the code name of each branch family in the tribe. , represents future generations. A tribe generally has only one surname, but it can have many surnames. This is a custom passed down from primitive clan society. Surnames are used to distinguish blood relatives and tribal relationships, and surnames are used to distinguish branch lines.

For example, Huangdi, the ancestor of the Chinese nation, had 25 sons. The earliest surname of Huangdi was Gongsun. Later, he changed his surname to Ji, Xuanyuan, also known as Xiong. Huangdi had 14 sons who were enfeoffed. In various places, 12 surnames were given to them, namely: Ji, You, Qi, Ji, Teng, Wei, Ren, Xun, Xi, Ji, Yan and Yi. For example, if you were granted a surname in Qi, you would be given the surname Qi. It is equivalent to setting up a new branch and establishing a new tribe. Therefore, the Huangdi surname evolved into 12 surnames, and then continued to evolve.

Other sons who were not enfeoffed, or whose surnames were given to Ji, were still tribes of the Yellow Emperor, and different surnames were used to distinguish the code names of these sons. Later generations of Yao, Shun, Yu, Xia and Shang The monarchs of the Zhou Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty were all descendants of the Yellow Emperor, so thousands of surnames and surnames were derived, which became the descendants of the Yan and Huang Dynasties. If the surnames and surnames were not used to distinguish them, it would be difficult to figure out the relationship between ancestors and descendants.

The Qin State and Zhao State during the Warring States Period also had a similar relationship. Let’s talk about Qin State first.

The ancestor of the Qin State was also a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. He was Zhuanxu, the son of Changyi, the son of the Yellow Emperor. Zhuanxu was also one of the Five Emperors, named Gaoyang. Zhuanxu had descendants called Nuxiu, and Nuxiu had a great career. Daye married a daughter of the Shaodian tribe, named Nuhua, and gave birth to Dafei. Dafei assisted Dayu in flood control and was rewarded by Shun with a pair of black banners and ribbons. At the same time, Dafei was given a beautiful woman named Yao as his wife. , Da Fei was also called Bai Yi. At the same time, Shun gave Da Fei the surname Ying, so Da Fei was called the ancestor of the Ying surname and established a new tribe.

Da Fei gave birth to two sons: the eldest son Dalian, named Niaosu; the second son Ruomu, named Fei. The Fe family had a great-great-grandson named Fei Chang. Fei Chang drove for Shang Tang and participated in the crusade against Xia Jie. Dalian had two great-great-grandsons named Meng Xi and Zhong Yan. Meng Xi and Zhong Yan also drove for Shang King Taiwu. The descendants of Che and Zhongyan also assisted the Shang Dynasty, and many of them became princes with meritorious services.

Zhongyan had a great-great-grandson named Zhongyi, and Zhongyi had a son named Feilian. Feilian had two sons, namely: Elai and Jisheng. Both Feilian and his son assisted Shang Zhou. The king's evil was very powerful, brave and good at fighting, and was loyal to King Zhou of Shang. When King Wu of Zhou attacked King Zhou of Shang, evil was killed, and the Shang Dynasty also perished, and history entered the Zhou Dynasty.

After Erai was killed, he had a son who survived, named Nvfang. Nvfang gave birth to a son named Pang Gao. Pang Gao gave birth to a son named Taiji. Taiji gave birth to a son. His son was Da Luo, and Da Luo had a son named Fei Zi. Fei Zi was good at raising horses and other livestock. Later, Fei Zi helped King Zhou Xiao raise horses, and King Zhou Xiao made Fei Zi the heir of Da Luo. Maybe Fei Zi was not He may be the eldest son, but because of his merits in raising horses, King Zhou Xiao liked him, so he made him the heir of Daluo. Feizi's mother was the daughter of Marquis Shen.

The ancestors of Marquis Shen also had a daughter who married Daluo’s ancestor Zhongli, so he asked King Xiao of Zhou to enfeoff Feizi, so King Xiao of Zhou enfeoffed a piece of land to Feizi, which became the land of Qin. It was the earliest fiefdom of the Qin State, and Feizi was known as Qin Ying. This was the founding ancestor of the Qin State. Feizi was not a vassal, and was only regarded as a vassal at that time. Qin truly became a vassal state during the period of Qin Xianggong, because he protected Zhou Ping The king performed meritorious service and was granted the title of vassal, and Duke Xianggang of Qin was the fifth generation grandson of Feizi.

So the lineage of the Qin ancestors is like this:

Huangdi → Changyi → Zhuanxu → Nuxiu → Daye → Dafei → Dalian → Zhongyan → Zhongyi → Feilian →Elai→Nvfang→Panggao→Taiji→Daluo→Feizi.

Let’s talk about the State of Zhao. As mentioned earlier, Da Fei is the ancestor of the surname Ying. He is the ancestor of both the State of Qin and the State of Zhao. However, the branch of the Zhao State and the Qin State date from the late Shang Dynasty. It started with the son of Feilian. As mentioned earlier, Feilian had two sons. The eldest son Erlai was the ancestor of Qin, and the second son Ji Sheng was the ancestor of Zhao. Therefore, when we talk about Zhao, we start from Ji Sheng.

"Historical Records of the Zhao Family": The ancestor of the Zhao family and the ancestor of the Qin Dynasty. When he reached Zhongyan, he became Emperor Dawuyu. Later, Fei Lian had two sons, and one of his sons was ordered to serve in the Zhou Dynasty. He was killed by the Zhou Dynasty, and later by the Qin Dynasty. The evil brother named Ji Sheng was followed by Zhao.

Historical records also record the relationship between Qin and Zhao. This means that the ancestors of the Zhao family and the Qin people are the same ancestors. It was passed to Zhongyan that he drove a chariot for King Taiwu of Shang. Zhongyan's descendant Feilian had two sons. One son was named Eilai and served King Zhou of Shang. He was later killed by the Zhou people. His descendants are the Qin people. Erlai's younger brother was named Ji Sheng, and his descendants were the Zhao people.

Ji Sheng gave birth to a son named Meng Zeng, named Zhai Gaolang. Meng Zeng was favored by King Zhou Cheng. Meng Zeng gave birth to a son named Hengfu. Hengfu had a son named Zaofu. Zaofu once He presented a famous horse to King Mu of Zhou and was favored by King Mu of Zhou. Cepheus also drove a chariot for King Mu of Zhou. He went to the west to meet the Queen Mother of the West, and also went to the east to put down the rebellion of King Xu Yan. Cefu drove the chariot with great merit, and King Mu of Zhou gave the city of Zhao to him. After that, the descendants of Zaofu took Zhao as their surname.

The sixth generation grandson of Zaofu is Yanfu. He once drove a carriage for King Zhou Xuan and also saved King Zhou Xuan. Yanfu gave birth to a son named Shudai. During the period of King Zhou You, Shudai left Zhou Dynasty. The king came to the state of Jin to serve Marquis Wen of Jin, and later became a high-ranking official of the state of Jin. The fifth generation grandson of his uncle was named Zhao Su. Zhao Su once led an army to attack the state of Huo. Because of his meritorious service, Duke Xian of Jin gave the land of Geng to Zhao Su.

Zhao Su gave birth to a son named Meng, and Meng gave birth to a son named Zhao Shui. Zhao Shui once served Chong'er, who was later Duke Wen of Jin. Zhao Shui followed Chong'er and went into exile in various countries. 19 In the year, Chong'er finally returned to the Jin State and became the king. Zhao Shuai was named a doctor and presided over the political affairs of the Jin State. Princes, this is how the three families were divided into Jin, and the State of Zhao officially became a prince.

So the lineage of Zhao’s ancestors is as follows:

Huangdi→Changyi→Zhuanxu→Nvxiu→Daye→Dafei→Dalian→Zhongyan→Zhongyi→Feilian → Ji Sheng → Meng Zeng → Hengfu → Zaofu → Yanfu → Uncle Dai → Zhao Su → *** Meng → Zhao Shuai.

If we count from 403 BC when Zhao became a vassal, this year is also the beginning of the Warring States Period. Until the end of the Shang Dynasty in 1046 BC when the two brothers E Lai and Ji Sheng lived, Zhao The State of Zhao and the State of Qin were one family 643 years ago. They were both descendants of Da Fei and the Yellow Emperor. Therefore, it can be said that both Zhao and Qin are descendants of the Yellow Emperor.