Baixing
Encyclopedia
Baixing or lao baixing (老百姓; lit. "old hundred surnames") in Chinese means "ordinary folks", "the people", or "commoners." The word Lao(Chinese:老) is used here as an adjective, which give it a warm and friendly touch.
Chinese family names are patrilineal
, passed from father to children. Chinese women, after marriage, typically retain their birth surname. Historically, however, only Chinese men possessed xìng (姓) (family name), in addition to shì(氏); the women had only the latter, and took on their husband's xìng(姓) after marriage.
, there lived large tribes called Hwangdi tribes
(Chinese:黄帝族), Yandi tribes
(Chinese:炎帝族), Yi tribes
(Chinese:夷族) and Jiuli Tribe (Chinese:九黎族). After many years of tribal wars, the Hwangdi tribes
, Yandi tribes
and the Yi tribes
formed an alliance which consisted of roughly 100 tribes, hence the origin of the 百姓(Pinyin:Baixing, translation:One hundred surnames). The three-tribe-alliance won the war over the Jiuli Tribe (Chinese:九黎族), and the war captives became slaves of the alliance, hence the origin of the term 黎民, who were the tribal people of Jiuli Tribe.
During the Western Zhou
, Baixing came to mean Slaves owners and 黎民 their slaves. Over thousands of years of history, 百姓 Baixing and 黎民 Limin come to mean the same thing.
Chinese family names are patrilineal
Patrilineality
Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well....
, passed from father to children. Chinese women, after marriage, typically retain their birth surname. Historically, however, only Chinese men possessed xìng (姓) (family name), in addition to shì(氏); the women had only the latter, and took on their husband's xìng(姓) after marriage.
Legendary origin
Thousands of years ago, along the plain of the Yellow RiverYellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
, there lived large tribes called Hwangdi tribes
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor or Huangdi1 is a legendary Chinese sovereign and culture hero, included among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he reigned from 2697–2597 or 2696–2598 BC...
(Chinese:黄帝族), Yandi tribes
Shennong
Shennong , which names mean "Divine Farmer", but also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains , was a legendary ruler of China and culture hero reputed to have lived some 5,000 years ago...
(Chinese:炎帝族), Yi tribes
Yi
Yi may mean:* Yi , a letter of the Ukrainian alphabet* Yi , a text editor written in Haskell* Serbia and Montenegro * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and its sequel, Yoshi's Island DS...
(Chinese:夷族) and Jiuli Tribe (Chinese:九黎族). After many years of tribal wars, the Hwangdi tribes
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor or Huangdi1 is a legendary Chinese sovereign and culture hero, included among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he reigned from 2697–2597 or 2696–2598 BC...
, Yandi tribes
Shennong
Shennong , which names mean "Divine Farmer", but also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains , was a legendary ruler of China and culture hero reputed to have lived some 5,000 years ago...
and the Yi tribes
Yi
Yi may mean:* Yi , a letter of the Ukrainian alphabet* Yi , a text editor written in Haskell* Serbia and Montenegro * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and its sequel, Yoshi's Island DS...
formed an alliance which consisted of roughly 100 tribes, hence the origin of the 百姓(Pinyin:Baixing, translation:One hundred surnames). The three-tribe-alliance won the war over the Jiuli Tribe (Chinese:九黎族), and the war captives became slaves of the alliance, hence the origin of the term 黎民, who were the tribal people of Jiuli Tribe.
During the Western Zhou
Western Zhou
The Western Zhōu period was the first half of the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty at the Battle of Muye. C.H...
, Baixing came to mean Slaves owners and 黎民 their slaves. Over thousands of years of history, 百姓 Baixing and 黎民 Limin come to mean the same thing.