From left to right: Shizong Zhu Houcong, Mu Zong Zhu Zaijing, Shenzong Zhu Yijun, Guangzong Zhu Changluo, Xizong Zhu Youxiao. (Image source: Public domain)
The ancients were always particular about naming. No matter what their status was, relatives of the emperor and ordinary people liked to choose their names according to the “generation” of the family tree, so as to distinguish distant relatives and seniority. Han people are more particular about names and characters. Except for a few people who changed their surnames, the surnames and surnames were almost inherited from the ancestors. Names and characters are only given to people after they are born. Therefore, the degree of freedom in naming is relatively high, but it is not an arbitrary choice.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, even set stricter rules, that is, even the last character must be named in the order of the “Five Elements”. Unexpectedly, the periodic table of chemical elements unexpectedly appeared later, which was surprising. The Ming Dynasty lasted for 12 generations, with 16 emperors and a reign of 276 years. As the last Han dynasty in Chinese history, it has the reputation of being the most upright dynasty in history. “The emperor guards the country and the king dies in the country” is the most classic interpretation.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang’s name does not contain the Five Elements, so why does he require future generations to have the Five Elements?
According to Chinese media reports, Zhu Yuanzhang deeply believed that a name could change a person’s luck pattern, so he stipulated that the last character of the Zhu family’s descendants must be named according to the Five Elements method, and at the same time, they must follow the “Five Elements Mutual Generation” (wood generates fire, and fire generates fire). (Earth, earth, metal, metal, water, water, wood), that is, they must be named in the order of “wood, fire, earth, metal, water”. This is why among the 16 emperors of the Ming Dynasty, except Zhu Yuanzhang, the last radicals of the names of the other emperors all have a pattern to follow. For example, the names of Zhu Yuanzhang’s sons such as Zhu Di, Zhu Biao, Zhu Chong, etc. are all related to the element of wood. When it comes to Zhu Yuanzhang’s grandchildren, their names are related to the element of fire. If you look at the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, you can find the law of the Five Elements: Zhu Di, Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Zhanji, Zhu Qizhen, Zhu Qiyu, Zhu Jianshen, Zhu Youtang, Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Houxun, Zhu Zaihe, Zhu Yijun, Zhu Yijun, Zhu Changluo, Zhu You Xiao and Zhu Youjian.
However, someone has discovered that the name of Ming Wuzong Zhu Houzhao has nothing to do with the Five Elements? In fact, the lower four points of the character “zhao” mean “fire”. Therefore, Zhu Houzhao and his brother Zhu Houcong both have the same five-element radicals.
Although there are many Chinese characters, it is not easy to name them by using the “Five Elements” order, but some radical characters are indeed scarce, and the increase in the population of the royal family has made naming a little more difficult, causing the descendants of the Zhu family to start to create some uncommon characters.
Coincidentally, the Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev, born in 1834, spent about twenty years studying the periodicity of chemical elements and created the world’s first periodic table of elements based on atomic weight. Later, the Qing Dynasty scientist Xu Shou translated the periodic table into Chinese through the homophony of the original text and the use of Chinese characters with the radical “gold”. Unexpectedly, he found that it was the same as the last character of the names of the royal family members of the Ming Dynasty, such as Zhu Shenlei, Zhu Tongchrome, Zhu Tongniobium, Zhu Gongxi, Zhu Zaina, Zhu Chengco, Zhu Chengpalladium, Zhu Ence, Zhu Shuaizin, Zhu Micadmium, etc.
Because it was such a coincidence, there was a rumor among the people that “Xu Shou named the periodic table of elements based on the Ming Dynasty family tree”. However, there is no relevant discussion in historical materials, and a search of the “Kangxi Dictionary” at that time found these rare characters, so everything is purely coincidental.
Source: Look at China
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