What does father-in-law mean?

Lao Zhangren refers to the man’s father, that is, the woman’s father-in-law.

In traditional Chinese culture, marriage is the union of two families, so the relationship between the elders in the two families is also very important. After marriage, the woman's husband's father becomes her father-in-law. This word is often used to express the honorific title and address to the husband and father.

In the Song Dynasty, there was a saying that since the Tang Dynasty, the word "lao-zhangren" refers to the wife's father. Later, Liu Zongyuan, a litterateur of the Tang Dynasty, recorded in an article that there was such a sentence: The son-in-law would like to make a memorial ceremony for his father-in-law's spirit with a clear conscience. Later, many people became suspicious of this matter, and further researched it, believing that the time when the wife's father became the father-in-law may be earlier than the time described in this matter.

The origin of the father-in-law

When Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, consecrated Mount Tai (that is, he went to Mount Tai to perform a ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth), he sent Zhang as the envoy to consecrate him. Zhang also sent his son-in-law Zheng Yi Brought it. When the Feng Chan is over, except for the three princes (Taiwei, Situ, and Sikong), according to the custom, all officials who follow Xuanzong to Feng Chan will be promoted to one level. Zheng Yi was originally in the ninth rank, but was suddenly promoted to the fifth rank because of Feng Chan.

Xuanzong found this very strange and asked Zheng Yi why he was suddenly promoted to the fifth rank. Zheng Yi was speechless. At this time, the actor Huang Fanchuo, who was standing next to Xuanzong, said humorously: " This is the work of Mount Tai." Due to the spread of this joke, his wife's father was also called "Taishan". As for the title of "father-in-law", it is also derived from "Mount Tai", because Mount Tai is the honor of the five mountains.