Because the scholars in ancient China were farmers regardless of class, they could also read and be literate (whether they could read or not would be a different matter), and there were no hard and fast rules for names. They were generally chosen according to family tradition or education level. . (There were no aristocrats passed down from generation to generation in ancient China, and the change of dynasties was all over)
However, the quality of the name reflects the cultural level. For example, when Comrade Zhu Yuanzhang was a child and was begging for food and working as a monk, his name was relatively peasant, called Chongba. (But they still have names) Basically, they are named according to numbers. Later, I worked hard and changed my name, pretending a lot.
In older times, for example, before the Zhou Dynasty, it was still a slave society. Names were not as standardized as they are now, and there was generally no surname before the name. A large number of surnames were formed in the Zhou Dynasty. In addition, only nobles at that time had a surname, which was similar to a title. The poor and humble had names but no surnames, and the surname became a unique symbol of the nobility.
During the Qin Dynasty, the nobility of the Zhou Dynasty declined, especially during the reign of Liu Bang, the number one mud-legged emperor of the Han Dynasty, the old aristocratic system basically collapsed. (Comrade Xiang Yu was the old aristocrat) It was replaced by the Liu Xing aristocracy. However, due to the fighting between the Liu family themselves, they were enfeoffed by Emperor Wu. The aristocracy gradually became in name only. This system was challenged by the system of relatives passed down by Empress Lu. But fortunately, there are benefits to having more seeds. There was Emperor Guangwu, until the last King Jing of Zhongshan, Liu Bei. (Stop it)
Sweat, I realized that I was asking about words.
It was popular in the Zhou Dynasty and later formed a system. According to "Book of Rites Tan Gong", when a person reaches adulthood, he needs to be respected by the society. It would be disrespectful for his peers to call him by his first name, so he needs to choose a word for himself to use when interacting with others in society. Use to show mutual respect. Therefore, after the ancients reached adulthood, their names were only used by their elders and themselves. Calling themselves by their own names showed humility, while the words were used to address people in society.
This is almost the same as the name. It’s still a question of studying. Anyone can choose it. But if you don’t know the word and ask someone to pick it for you, is it too pretentious?