The monarch's wife is called madam by the monarch, and the lady calls herself a child. Foreigners call her your wife, foreigners call her a widowed gentleman, and foreigners call her your wife.
translate
For the monarch's wife, the monarch calls it "madam", and the "madam" calls herself "child". Locals and foreigners call it "noble lady", and locals call it "widowed gentleman" to foreigners.
To annotate ...
"State" refers to the country. Refers to the ancient vassal.
"Zhi" in this chapter refers to "the wife of the monarch".
"Child", claiming to be a lady's modesty.
"Widowed gentleman", the ancient monarch called himself "widowed gentleman", so his subjects called him "widowed gentleman" and his wife "widowed gentleman". "Widowed" means humble and widowed; The "small army" is different because of the integration of husband and wife. The vassal is the king, so his wife is called "Xiaojun". For example, in the twenty-second year of The Legend of Gu Liang and Zhuang Gong, Wen Jiang, my little gentleman, was buried.
Comment and analysis
The source of words in this chapter is unknown. I don't know whether it comes from Confucius or other sources, but I can only doubt it. Some scholars believe that at the end of the spring and autumn period, the ceremony collapsed and the music was bad. "The princes are not right, and the titles are not judged." Therefore, this chapter has a clear name.
"Madam" and "Your Lady" are honorifics, while "Child" and "Mr. Widow" are modesty. The difference between respect and modesty is established, and the meaning of etiquette is clear. If you misuse appellation and don't know the respect and humility of the other party, it is inevitable that there will be misunderstandings between words. For example, "teacher", "miss" and "comrade" used to be honorifics, but now they are vulgar after being abused. Therefore, "if the name is not correct, the words will not be smooth; Words are not smooth, things are not smooth; Things fail, rites and music decline "(see reading of the analects of confucius 13.3).
Some scholars call this title "maintaining hierarchical naming system". In fact, why "maintain" ranking points? This is the objective need and existence of an organized society, whether at home or abroad. Although there is no such son of heaven as Shu Ren, is there a hierarchy between the president and the citizens? The first lady is an birthright, but is this birthright for everyone? Another example is the modern enterprise. How many levels are there from president to employee? Can the president's name be abused?