"Brother" or "Xiongtai" etc.

Not long ago, I greeted a college classmate on WeChat: "How is brother so-and-so (the other person's name)", and the other party replied: "How is brother so-and-so (the author's name)". Hey, how could this happen? We are actually the same age. The problem is that some differences in age are almost meaningless here. According to the custom that continues to this day, people of the same age (not much different in age), colleagues, and colleagues who have a good relationship with each other are called "brother" or "xiongtai" (my dear brother, senior classmate, etc. can also be used). It is a polite and polite written title. , if you want to reply, you should still call the other person "brother" or "xiongtai" (brother, senior fellow). It is inappropriate to call him "old brother" or "virtuous brother". This should be some basic common sense in Chinese culture. .

By the way, the author studied Chinese in college and was a classmate of the person I just mentioned. Haha, he is now the dean of a regional college (university).

Of course, there is no slight hurt or anything, but I feel a little ashamed for this former classmate, who is now a somewhat high-ranking person.

That "brother". How should you use "Xiandi"? The word "Brother" is obviously a spoken word, not as solemn as written language. If the other party calls you "Big Brother", then it is no problem for you to reply "Xiandi"; if you are younger, By the way, the heroes in "Water Margin" actually have a relationship with each other. This is especially true for Liu Guan and Zhang Jian in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". In other words, "brother" (except for brothers in blood relationships, such as brothers and sisters). In the traditional cultural context, it is equivalent to an honorific word, such as noble, noble, elegant, light, fragrant, jade, etc.

What’s interesting is that. In modern times, Western learning spread eastward, and new content was added to the traditional "brother". Just like some prestigious cultural women were also called "sir" (such as Qian Zhongshu's wife Yang Jiang, writer Ding Ling, etc.), "brother" " is no longer limited to men. For example, when Lu Xun was teaching at Beijing Women's Normal University, he began to fall in love with Xu Guangping, who was 17 years younger than him. When he wrote a letter, he called Xu Guangping "brother". This title made Xu Guangping a little scared and puzzled. Guangping then explained this matter in another letter. Xu Guangping wrote: "I received a letter from my husband and saw the word "brother" after my name on the cover! Please forgive me for being too stupid and not knowing what your husband meant. Besides, how dare I call you brother in front of your husband? It’s not worth it and I don’t have the courage and courage! I don’t know what he means? The students are really puzzled! My husband doesn’t call me a classmate, nor a brother, but a brother. Is this his game? When Lu Xun saw it, he was happy and wrote back: "This time I want to talk about the meaning of the word brother first. The meaning of the word brother is my own creation." Those who are good friends and classmates with me, or students who often listen to my lectures, I call them brothers when writing letters, and those who are strangers or elders I call them sir, master, or grandpa. My "brother" is just a little nicer than calling him by his name directly. It doesn't mean "old brother". I hope you won't blame me!"

Xu Guangping smiled after receiving the letter. He felt confident.