What does it mean to be sworn brothers?

Friends are brothers with different surnames.

Sworn brothers is a Chinese word.

There is an organization in Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Chongqing, which is said to have been founded by Zheng Chenggong in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. In Sichuan, the elder brother society is also called Paoge Society. The big brother in society, also called the leader, is called the "steering handle".

The rudder is used to control the direction of the ship. It used to be something like an oar, placed at the stern. This kind of equipment was found on a pottery boat unearthed in the Han Dynasty. Later, the rudder was improved and placed at the bow like a steering wheel.

Either way, the role of the rudder is obvious, that is, it controls the direction of the ship, just like the role of the leader, so people gradually use the "rudder" as a metaphor for the leader. The rudder has a tiller, also called the handle. Hold the handlebar when using it, so people also use the "handlebar" as a metaphor for the boss.

At that time, the education level of the people at the bottom was very low, and most of them were illiterate, so everyone slowly omitted the "steering wheel handle" as a "handle". When taking the oath, everyone should arrange the order and stipulate who is the boss, so the oath is called "sworn brothers". Up to now, there are still sayings of "promoting cadres", "doing cadres" and "taking brothers", all of which mean the same thing.

Historical origin

The word "become sworn brothers" probably appeared in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The ancient people became sworn as "Yi Jie Jin Lan".

In The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is said for the first time that Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei became sworn brothers in Taoyuan, and they became sworn brothers in Jin Lan, not wishing to be born on the same day in the same year, but wishing to die on the same day in the same year, which is very pleasant to read. The friendship between the three brothers is a much-told story.

And Zuo became sworn brothers at the earliest. Left sacrifice is perfect, which is a model of righteousness.

Water Margin 108 will also take the oath, which has made a vigorous peasant uprising.

In addition, Cheng, Qin and Dan in the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties became sworn friends in Wagangzhai.

When these people with different surnames become sworn brothers, they are usually called "Yi Jie Jin Lan". This is because, after the ancients became sworn, they often wrote a list and named it "Jin Lan", which means "Love is stronger than gold and righteousness is like spearmint".