10. A good name starts from conception
It is difficult to come up with a name, especially a name that is perfect in all aspects of sound, shape and meaning.
What’s so difficult about naming it? The difficulty lies in conceiving. Although most literate adults have had the experience of naming themselves, very few of them do it well. Although some people quoted classics and spent a lot of time and effort, the final name was still unsatisfactory. There are also many people who have been thinking hard about changing the name of their children for several years but failed to find the name. Some parents even consider their children for their entire lives. The name problem. Even after spending so much effort, the names may not come out well. As long as you open the rosters of various departments, you will still find people with the same or common names everywhere. Why is this happening? This shows that it is difficult to come up with a name, but it is difficult to conceive.
Ideation is the most important stage in the naming process and is an internal gestation activity. The birth of a good name is formed in the conception stage.
Many people like to use language such as "conception", "pregnancy" and "childbirth" to describe the artistic creation process. As Belinsky said: "The artist loads and nurtures the creative process and birth process of the work. There are many similarities, and there is quite a bit of pain similar to this physical action. Of course, what I am talking about here is mental pain. "In fact, this is mainly focused on the conception. Naming is like literary creation. Although a person's name only has a few words, which is much simpler than literary works or handicrafts, it is also inseparable from conception. Speaking of the name "simple", it's just that compared to "complex" things, this "simple" does not mean "easy", and its conception process is also "painful". Some people can write large articles and design complex handicrafts, but if they are asked to come up with a meaningful, tasteful, distinctive and loud name, they may not be able to do it well.
Generally speaking, the mental activity of naming a name has the following characteristics:
(1) Holistic characteristics. That is to say, the process of conception is often a process of need and communication at the same time. After thinking hard, it can be done in one go to prevent interference, otherwise the inspiration or interest in naming will disappear or be unsatisfactory. The integrity of the mental activity of conception determines In order to ensure the organic integrity of the name, what is usually felt when naming is a complete image, an independent and complete content, not just the several Chinese characters that make up the name.
(2) Automatic characteristics. That is to say, not to be bound by external interference factors, to open one's own thinking, not to be influenced by others, not to succumb to rigid "dogma", but "like a spring of thousands of dendrobiums, springing out from nowhere", "always doing what you should do, always doing what you should do" Stop when you can’t stop, that’s all.” Without thinking, the writing comes naturally.
The automaticity of mental conception activities makes naming very efficient. Because the name maker does not need to think hard and weigh repeatedly, the imagination rushes out like a flood that has opened a floodgate. Of course, the automaticity of conception is not absolute. It is inseparable from a lot of proactive efforts by the namer. It not only requires extensive knowledge, but also requires wit, thoughtfulness, and natural wit in order to achieve anything.
(3) Fuzziness characteristics. The ambiguity mentioned here is not a lack of understanding of names caused by superficial tastes, nor is it a hazy understanding of names caused by looking at flowers in the fog, but because of objective things (names). Its own complexity and the cognitive limitations of the namer make it difficult for him to fully grasp the object.
In the psychological activity of naming, it is based on feelings and experiences, driven by emotions and emotions, with imagination and fantasy as the main method. The intuitive and rational naming awareness is better than logical reasoning and rationality. It is vague in terms of analysis, but it is rich, concrete and full of vitality. It can make the name include the ambiguity of social life, and may make the name penetrating.
Above we have learned about the characteristics of conception: integrity, automaticity and ambiguity. So, where does the idea start? It starts with analyzing surnames. The surname is an immutable established and prerequisite factor. It has appeared first and is the title of the "article" on the name. It is also a "proposition composition", which stipulates that your naming activities should not exceed it and forget it.
Just like a proposition composition, before conceiving and writing, the first step in naming must start with analyzing the surname.
Judging from the external form of the name, the surname is the door and the name is the courtyard. To enter the courtyard, you must open the door first. Analyzing and analyzing the surname is the act of knocking on the door and asking for directions to enter the idea.
How to perform surname analysis? In other words, how to start surname analysis?
First of all, we should know that semantic analysis and structural analysis are two aspects of surname analysis. The semantic analysis mentioned here is mainly about semantic characteristics and types, not about examining its content. Based on the investigation, the semantic characteristics and types of Chinese surnames in my country can be roughly divided into the following four types:
(1) Type with clear meaning. Such as: Wang, Chen, Zhou, Xu, Sun, Gao, He, Guo, Luo, Xie, Xiao, Cheng, Fu, Ding, Yu, Dai, Xia, Jiang, Fan, Fang, Lu, Kong, Cui, Kang, There are 37 surnames: Shi, Gu, Wan, Duan, Tang, Li, Yi, Chang, Wu, Qiao, He, Lai and Wen. Among them, Wang, Sun, Luo, Guo, Xie, Xiao, Fu, Jiang, Duan, Yi, Lai and other surnames usually do not borrow the semantics of their surnames.
(2) The semantics are not specific, unclear, and difficult to grasp. It is usually difficult to consider the meaning of this surname when choosing a name, such as: Hu, Tang, Cao, Yuan, Deng, Xu, Zeng, Peng, Lu, Su, Lu, Jiang, Wei, Yan, Du, Ren, Liao, Zou, Qiu , Hou, Shao, Yin, etc.
(3) The image is concrete and distinct. Such as: Li, Zhang, Yang, Huang, Zhu, Lin, horse, leaf, bell, sea, Wang, Tian, ??ox, stone, bear, gold, button, chestnut, white, Mao, Jiang, dragon, thunder, money, etc. surname. Among them, the surnames such as Mao and Xiong are usually not named according to their images.
(4) When naming, the name usually appears in the form of using homophony to transform the meaning. For example: Liu Yiliu, Liu, Song Yisong, Song, Zhao Yizhao, Zhao, Gua, Wu Yiwu, Wu, Wu, Liang Yiliang, Liang, Liang, Feng Yifeng, Yu Yiyu, Yu, Yu, Shen Yi Shen, Jia Yijia, price, fake, Pan Yipan, Pan, Yao Yiyao, Tan Yitan, Tan, Hao Yihao, Qin Yiqin, Qin, Meng Yimeng, Xue Yixue, Xue, Zheng Yizheng, Zheng, Han Yihan, Han, Gong Yi*** and other 19 surnames. The homophonics and transformed meanings of these surnames are often flexible and colorful, and we can choose them according to our needs and interests.
It should be pointed out that the semantic characteristics of surnames are different, and their word-formation abilities and word-formation methods are also different. Among the hundreds of surnames listed above, surnames with clear meanings and vivid images have the strongest word-forming ability. They can directly participate in word formation, and can be named using the surname-conjoining method. In this way, a name composed of several interconnected and coordinated Chinese characters has a broader field of expression. Not only is the semantic content relatively substantial and rich, but it can also maximize its artistic skills to create a profound, vivid, and implicit , a novel and unique ideal name.
The way of forming words differs depending on the semantics of the surname. Vivid surnames are characterized by vivid, concrete and lively images, and the names they give are often vivid, public and lyrical. Names such as Zhang Tianyi, Lan Tianwei, Ma Hequn, Niu Decao, Coast Feng, Zhu Yan, Lin Fengmian, Ma Zichen, Ye Weilin, and Bai Ruxue are representative works of this type of surname.
Although surnames with clear meanings are slightly less vivid in terms of image, they are unique in narrative reasoning and can give full play to their advantages in this area and develop a reputation according to local conditions. Names such as Fang Weiai, Chen Moxiang, Cheng Menxue, Shi Kefa, Gu Xiaoyan, He Mingyan, Cheng Qian, Lu Lu, Xiang Zhen, Wen Jieruo, etc. are representative works of this type of surnames.
The word-forming ability of homophonic surnames is obviously not as strong as the above two types of surnames, and their actual usage and transformation meanings are often unstable. Sometimes the homophony is used to transform the meaning, and sometimes the original meaning or another homophony is used to transform the meaning. You should grasp the timing when using it and don't be too rigid. For example, "Liang Feng" is obviously a homophone of "Liang" or "Liang", which means a good harvest of grain. The "Liang" in "Liang Zhidong" is based on its original meaning, which is the "Liang" in "Liang Zhidong". "Liang Jiamin" is obviously another homophonic pronunciation of "Liang" - "Liang", which means "good people". Another example is "Wu Yin", which uses "Wu" as "wu", which means "borderless"; and "Wu Wangwo", which uses Wu as "wu", which means "not forgetting myself". Such surnames There are strong limitations when choosing a name, so try to make the meaning clear. It is best not to use words that can easily cause ambiguity to avoid confusion.
Surnames with unclear semantics generally only have one syllable to match the name that follows. A three-character name actually only has two characters of meaning. The content is obviously simple, and the idea when choosing the name is relatively simple. Easier. However, some of these surnames sometimes show certain semantic meanings and can be fully utilized. Such as: Hu, Dong, Peng, Du, Jia and other surnames. The "Hu" surname of "Hu Feng" has a certain ability to form words. "Hu" refers to the ancient ethnic minorities outside the Great Wall and in the border areas, and later generally refers to the north. Therefore, the name "Hu Feng" has Beifeng and Shuofeng. The meaning of "Huma Yiyi North Wind" is rich in meaning; the "Dong" surname in "Dong Minsheng" takes the meaning of "understanding"; the "Hou" in "Hou Deshan" takes the meaning of "monkey" . Although this is an individual usage, it cannot be ignored.
The structural analysis of surnames is the basis for generating knowledge-based and interesting names. Among the Chinese surnames, the surnames that can be analyzed structurally are as follows:
① Li: Muzi;
② Wang: Qian Yi or Yi Tu;
③ Zhang: Chang Bow;
④Huang: Tian***;
⑤Wu: Tiankou;
⑥Sun: Xiaozi;
⑦ Hu: Ancient Moon;
⑧Zhu: Ox and Eight;
⑨Lin: Double Wood;
⑩He: Keren;
Luo: Si Xi;
Xie: To shoot or to seek revenge;
Feng: Erma;
Xiao: Xiaoyue;
< p> Cheng: He Cheng;Xu: Wu Yan;
Fu: Fu Fu;
Lu: Shuangkou;
Lu: one household;
Jia: Xibei;
Ye: ten households;
Yu: He people;
Du: Civil engineering;
Xia: Baiyou;
Zhong: Jinzhong;
Tian: Koushi;
Ginger: female sheep;
Fang: Ten Thousand Points;
Yao: Female omen;
Kang: Guangli;
Lei: Yutian;
Chang: Shangjin;
Wu: Zhi Ge;·
He: Gabei;
Gong: ***Long;
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Button: Jin Chou;
Shu: Giving;
Gu: Gu Xin;
Li: Western wood;
< p> Other surnames can also be cited, but these are the more common ones.Conceiving based on the semantic and structural analysis of the surname can effectively reduce the error rate and increase the beauty of the name.
July 20, 2021
Warning to readers: Starting from July 2, I will continue to publish the criteria for good names, ideas for naming, Methods of naming, but how to come up with a good name? For details, please read "Practical Encyclopedia of Naming".