Why is Yu Ying called the little master in War and Beauty?

Zhu Xiao is the name of a woman to be recruited or a junior concubine in the Qing Palace drama. Its name comes from Jin Yi's Talk about Maids, and the TV series that make this term accepted by ordinary audiences are War and Beauty and Queen of the Palace.

The source of the word "little master" is Jin Yi's "Notes on Maids", in which the word "little master" appears many times, and several main excerpts are as follows:

"No, only the emperor, the queen mother, the master and the young master call it the official residence."

"Zhen master kowtow to enter, auspicious on the road. After that, I have been kneeling on the ground and bowed my head to listen to the training. "

Judging from the above two original texts, the word "young master" in "A Talk about Maids" probably has several points:

1: According to the hierarchical order, the harem is divided into three levels: Empress Dowager, Master and Little Master.

2. As far as addressing is concerned, small business owners can be addressed in three ways: small business owners, small business owners and title+small business owners.

This is the "little master" mentioned in "Talk about Maids", and it is also the name in many Qing Dynasty dramas and novels.

The problem is that many people are superstitious about "Notes on Maids", but the credibility of this book is actually mixed.

Author Jin Yi, original name, was born in 19 17. According to his preface, he contacted Rong Er, an old maid-in-waiting nearby in the forties and fifties, and listened to many stories told by her, which were recorded by the author when he recalled the eighties and nineties. Forty years, the mistakes in memory are self-evident, and the author himself is not familiar with the Qing system, and there are many problems in it.

Of course, there are mistakes, which does not mean that there are no complete mistakes, nor does it mean that there is no meaning of adoption. So we need other evidence. Among the more credible materials, the word "young master" is also mentioned, which is the murder of Zhen Fei by Shang. The original text is as follows:

"According to Xin Ming Xiu ... ZhenFei has a reward for the eunuchs in the palace. The eunuchs have some small favors, and they all try their best to flatter her, calling it" little advocate "and" little advocate "generous. The above is the knowledge of New Ming Xiu. "

This record itself is a good proof. Shang, a native of Panyu, Guangdong Province, was a scholar in Guangxu period and gave lectures in imperial academy. Shang was his younger brother. This statement comes from the records of business, which shows that it has a certain basis.

However, one thing is that the "little master" in this article has become a "little master". Although there is only one more consonant, its meaning has changed a lot, which will be introduced in detail later. Secondly, the business article says that this statement comes from the Record of Confidence, but in fact, the Record of Confidence denies this statement. Shin, whose real name is Shin, studied since childhood, but failed to become famous. After he got married and had children, he was forced to castrate himself and enter the palace. This palace is called the "fairy palm" (New Ming Xiu replaced a eunuch when he entered the palace, so he called it this way). In his book Memories of the Old Eunuch, the original text describing the situation that Zhen Fei likes is as follows:

"Pearl Krabs money is very good, often give benefits to the group. People close to her praised her master's generosity. " It's called "master" here, not "little master".

So to sum up the word "little master", there are roughly three possibilities:

1: In fact, there is a word called "Little Master", and the prototype is "Little Master". The only basis of this statement is the conversation and records of maids, which is isolated evidence, unreliable in source, and different from the names in the archives and memories of Qing palace personnel, so the credibility is not high. On the other hand, according to the flexible use of spoken language and the changes of the times, if the prototype of "Zhu Xiao" is indeed "Zhu Xiao", then the possibility of it as a spoken address is not zero, but evidence is needed.

2. In fact, there is a word called "little master", which just means "little master". This statement is based on the records of Shang, but the biggest problem is the new negation recorded by Shang as an information source. However, since he met someone new, maybe his oral English pronunciation is different. Then if it is pronounced as "small proposition" in spoken language, the word will be re-examined. According to the characteristics of Beijing dialect, in respectful and formal occasions, it is rare to add a vowel at the end of the word, let alone call it humility and respect, and it is even more impossible to add a vowel to the title. Therefore, if the title of "small opinion" really exists, it is also a playful title, such as teasing children, rather than respecting others. At the same time, just as a maid-in-waiting can't call her "the queen's master" regardless of her relationship with the queen, this title is not the embodiment of "intimate relationship".

In fact, the word "little master" does not exist. The word "maid-in-waiting talks to record" and business articles appear because of the memory gap or the difference of slip of the tongue.

Judging from the available information, the third possibility is more likely.