Textual research on historical materials of Yan state

After consulting relevant historical materials, dictionaries and official website, there are three ancient countries related to Zeng in ancient times, one is Qi in Fangcheng County, Henan Province, the other is Qi in the northwest of Cangshan County, Shandong Province, and the third is Zeng in Suizhou, Hubei Province. An ancient place name related to Zeng, namely Chunqiu Zhengdi, is called Tan, which is located in the north of Zhecheng County, Henan Province.

But the problem is that Fangcheng County, Henan Province and Lanling County, Shandong Province both claim that Qu Lie was founded in this county, and they are contending with each other. It is impossible to examine this point in detail, but it is a fact that ancient countries did exist in the history of the two counties. Of the above two countries, the latter is the birthplace of the Zeng family. The author's point of view tends to be that Qu Lie was founded in Lanling County, Shandong Province, for three reasons:

First, from the source of surnames, Fangcheng, Henan Province failed the exam. Lanling, Shandong Province is a country of surnames, and Zeng's family originated from surnames.

2. As far as the title is concerned, the monarch of Fangcheng, Henan Province is the marquis, and the monarch of Lanling, Shandong Province is the viscount, with different status. Weekly enfeoffment began with King Wu and finally became king. Titles are divided into five grades (princes below grade five), namely "Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi, Gong", but posthumous title, the monarch, is always called "Gong", and the object of enfeoffment is the imperial clan, heroes and the previous generation nobles. Although Zhou Tianzi respected the etiquette of the former king, he did not have a high title to the tribal kingdom that existed in ancient times. At best, he just kept his aristocratic status. Only his relatives or heroes can become earl, marquis or duke. For example, Jiang Ziya was made a marquis in Qi, when he was just a marquis, while Qi Huangong was a nine-member vassal who claimed to be the duke.

Third, in terms of time, Fangcheng in Henan is much later than Lanling in Shandong. Orchid was founded in the middle of Xia Dynasty, with a history of more than 4,000 years. However, Henan Province was first sealed in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, and across the Shang Dynasty, another theory that "Shandong Province was a part of Henan Province and moved back" could not be established.