Abstract:
In ancient China, childbirth was often regarded as a filthy thing that should be avoided. The image of the ancient Chinese character “Zi”(字) consists of a child under a coof, which is the reflection of the common belief of the delivery room in the ancient Chinese character configuration, based on the taboo of women’s childbirth. The delivery room is the place for pregnant women to wait for delivery, and also the place for their temporary residence postpartum.Therefore, the original meaning of the word “Zi”(字) in ancient Chinese is fertility, which extends the meaning of love, nurture, and multipling. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, due to scholars’ misunderstanding of the literal meaning of “The woman gave her a new name after the rite of passage, indicating that she could marry”, in “Quli Chapters in the Book of Rites”, the word “Zi”(字) derived the meaning of “allowed to marry”.
