Dai [Dai, pronounced as
There are two main sources of surnames: one is from occupation and the other is from official position.
The first origin: from the Tang Dynasty, from the famous ink maker in the Tang Dynasty, belonging to the business.
"Dai" refers to blue-black pigment in ancient times, which is mainly used for dyeing cloth.
Black ink, that is, black ink, is a unique black ink made by adding three parts of pomegranate peel and three parts of cyanine pigment to four parts of raw material powder made of rush or pine. After adding precious spices such as musk, borneol, gold foil, clove, pig gall and yellow gelatin, it can be used for authoritarian painting or boudoir women.
Dai Mo with rush as the main material is mainly used for thrush, while Dai Mo with pine as the main material is mainly used for painting. The ancients often used "Daijuan" to name paintings, or "Daijuan" to refer to women. This is the unique expression of China's first ink "Xi Mo" in the Tang Dynasty, which is loved by later literati, painters and boudoir women.
Among the descendants of the famous Mohist writers Chao and Chao Xuan in the Tang Dynasty, some people thought their surnames were Dai's.
The second origin: from the official position, from the Han and Tang dynasties, it belongs to the official title as the surname.
Waiting for Zhao, also known as waiting for Zhao, originated from seven servants at the end of the Warring States Period. It was originally called a servant waiting inside, not a formal name. In the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu, often recruited literary scholars and was summoned to Jinmen, waiting to solve the puzzles about the emperor's literature, history, etiquette, medicine, painting, calligraphy and divination. Known as "Golden Gate Waiting for Calling", it later became a custom of the Han Dynasty. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Northern Qi Dynasty, the court introduced literati as constant attendants, which was called "waiting for a letter".
In the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, set up a "Hanlin Daizhao", which began to become a fixed official position. Hanlin was appointed to be in charge of literary works in order to serve the emperor's consultation, and later changed its name to "Hanlin Sacrifice". During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were six "to-be-called" officials in imperial academy, whose ranks ranged from nine to eight, who were in charge of school seals and literature and history respectively.
In the prosperous Tang dynasty, a group of people were always on standby to worship the palace, which is also commonly known as waiting for the imperial edict. In addition to those who have studied the classics, they also run hospitals, give food, rice and salaries to those who have the ability, and let them wait for imperial edicts, such as paintings, poems and medicines. This situation was followed by later dynasties, especially in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The imperial court has great respect for people with special skills, which is called "waiting for letters".
In the Tang Dynasty, when Emperor Zetian was in power, Wu Zetian appointed a large number of talented women to serve in the palace, which was called "Dai Zhao" to distinguish it from men. For example, the famous Shangguan Waner, who is familiar with poetry books, can not only recite poems and write articles, but also be knowledgeable and intelligent. In the second year of Tang Yifeng (AD 677), Shangguan Waner was summoned to the palace by Wu Zetian and put forward a proposition on the spot, asking her to write an article according to the topic. Shangguan Waner's words were written in an instant, without any points, and they were fluent in meaning, flowery in words and beautiful in language, which really seemed to be formed by rewelding. When Wu Zetian saw the great joy, she immediately ordered him to be exempted from his handmaiden status, put him in charge of the imperial edict in the palace, and gave him the title of "Dai Imperial Decree". Soon, Shangguan Waner was sentenced to death for violating her will, but Wu Zetian spared her literary talent and gave her Amnesty, which was just a slap in the face. In the future, Shangguan Waner served meticulously and catered to Qu Yi, which won the favor of Wu Zetian. From the first year of Emperor Taizong's reign (AD 698), Wu Zetian asked Dai Zhao Shangguan Waner to deal with the best thoughts and play the table, and participated in government affairs, with increasing power.
In the first year of Shenlong in the Tang Dynasty (AD 705), after the restoration of Tang Zhongzong, many imperial edicts were removed from the palace. Among their descendants, people who take the official title of their first grandmother as their surname are called Dai Zhaoshi, which is simplified to a single surname Dai Zhaoshi in provincial literature and passed down from generation to generation.