In the traditional political culture of China, "Long live" is a word with special significance. For thousands of years, the "long live" in the mouth of courtiers has been prostrated under tyranny and arrogance, specifically referring to the emperor. No one dares to associate himself with "long live". In fact, the word "Long live" was not a special word for the emperor at first, and its evolution has gone through a long historical process.
There is no record of "Long live" in the handed down documents before the Warring States Period, but in some inscriptions, there are many words such as "Infinite Years" and "Infinite Eyebrow Life". However, it is not a tribute of the emperor, but a style of writing, which can be used by anyone who casts a tripod. At the same time, the word "ten thousand years" also appeared in the Book of Songs, such as "ten thousand years for longevity", "ten thousand years for a gentleman", "ten thousand years for the son of heaven" and "longevity without borders". As can be seen from its context, most of them are commonly used greetings. Gao Cheng, a Song Dynasty poet, once pointed out: "Long live, archaeology catches Zhou, and there is no such literary talent." Since the Warring States period, the word "Long live" has become a popular word, and its meaning is roughly as follows: First, its literal meaning is a tribute to wish a long life; The second is cheers expressing respect and admiration; The third is another name for "after death". Since then, with the establishment and strengthening of autocratic imperial power, such a word with multiple meanings began to be unique to emperors and gradually became synonymous with the supreme ruler emperor.
So far, the earliest person we know named "Long live" is the son of the Eastern Han Emperor Zhang Huo. In the fifth year of Yongyuan (93), he was crowned King Guangzong and died after losing his son. Obviously, this Liu Wansui is a short-lived ghost who died as a minor. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the names of "Long live" were Zhou Wan, the secretariat of Liu Songning State in the Southern Dynasties, He Wan, the official of the Chinese calligrapher, Wang Wan, the ruler of the Northern Qi Dynasty, Han Wan, and Li Yuan, the all-powerful man in western Wei Wendi. Zhou Shu (Volume 25), Long live the biography of Li Xianchuan's brother, records that when Xi was discussing the rescue of Gao Zhongmi and Li Yuan, the generals of Northern Yuzhou in the Eastern Wei Dynasty, he said, "Long live Li's words are not satisfactory." This at least shows that in this period, it is not taboo for people to call it "Long live", and it may be a fashion to take this name.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, people named "Long live" were also very common. For example, Taiping Gong, who was framed after the defeat of Khan in Sui Dynasty, came to Liu Wuzhou with him, Xie Wanlai, then the governor of Zizhou, Zhou Luoxuan's son in Tianbao period of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, and Diao Wanlai, Yan Zhenqing, who stuck to the plain during the Anshi Rebellion. But after Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, there was no one named "Long live" in the literature.
from:/mil/20 10-07-28/content 5 _ 4 1932 _ 2 . shtml
Why is this happening? Some people think that in the Wu and Zhou Dynasties, titles such as "Long live Tian Shu", "Long live Dengfeng" and "Long live the sky" were used continuously, which strengthened the sacred color of the word "Long live" in an extremely special form and even declared the name "royal" to the people all over the world. Secondly, during the period of Wu Zhao and Xuanzong, the imperial examination system became the mainstream of the social election system in the Tang Dynasty after nearly a century of implementation and improvement. The long-term implementation of this selection mechanism with Confucian classics as the main content and Confucianism as the core theory as the standard answer has made Confucianism fully penetrate into social, political and cultural life, and traditional Confucian ethics such as "great unity", "supremacy of monarchical power" and "loyalty and filial piety" have unconsciously and profoundly standardized people's thoughts. Thirdly, the "Revival Movement of Confucianism in the Middle Tang Dynasty" further consolidated and strengthened the orthodox position of Confucianism, and the way of being a saint advocated by Confucianism became not only the center of social politics and social life, but also the center of people's spiritual beliefs. Therefore, any behavior that does not conform to the way of sages is regarded as disrespect. Naturally, "Long live", which has been equated with the supreme ruler, cannot be used by others.
By the Northern Song Dynasty, "Long live" had been completely monopolized by the emperor. According to Kou Zhun Biography, one day when Kou Zhun was riding a horse, "a madman greeted the horse for a long time". As a result, Zhang Xun, Kou Zhun's political opponent, knew about it and denounced it. Kou Zhun was dismissed from the Privy Council and was reduced to Qingzhou. According to Cao Liyong Biography, Cao Shu, the son of Cao Liyong, a general in the Northern Song Dynasty, was once drunk and was "Long live". He was denounced and died with his staff. These two historical facts show that in the Song Dynasty, no one was allowed to shout "Long live" except the emperor. From then on, "Long live" was decided by the Emperor alone.