中国古代以“下”为“上”称谓文化现象探析

An Analysis of the Appellation Culture in Ancient China:a Case Study of Xia (Inferiority) to Be Taken as Shang (Superiority)

作为礼仪之邦的中国,有着时代烙印的各类称谓可以说繁若星辰。其中词尾为"下"的一组称谓名词,如"足下"、"阁下"、"陛下"等,既体现了中华民族文化中谦逊的一面,又蕴含着产生它们的特定历史文化内涵,并且还起到了"因卑达尊"的交流沟通功能。就上述这组称谓术语的起源、本义、指代含义以及各个称谓的演化轨迹等,通过征引史料分别进行分析与考证,可有助于认识它们的历史渊源及其文化含义。

There has been a great range of appellation forms since ancient China. The suffix xia （a sign of inferiority）, when used to form a series of appellation terms, can well show the modesty on the part of the speaker in Chinese culture. On the other hand, it functions to achieve superiority by means of inferiority. This paper explores the origin, original meaning and changed meaning of those terms by studying historical materials.