In ancient my country, names and names were not the same thing. A name was a given name, a word was a character, and a nickname was a nickname. They were all names for a person, but the rules were different. Zi, also known as Biaozi, is an alias that ancient Chinese people gave themselves in addition to their given name, which is related to the meaning of their real name. According to their origin, the title can be divided into self-title, gift title, posthumous title and nickname.
1. Characters
According to records, in ancient times, men were given characters when they were 20 years old, and women were given characters when they were promised to marry.
According to the "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 just call him by his first name, so he needs to choose a word for himself. Used when interacting with others in society 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.
Yan Zhitui of the Northern Qi Dynasty believed that names distinguish people from each other, while characters reflect a person's virtues. Most people's names and characters are related in meaning. ?
Second, number
1. Self-number. Self-number is the number you choose for yourself. ?
2. There are three main situations for giving a number: First, the number is based on anecdotal characteristics. For example, Li Bai was called a banished immortal; secondly, the title was based on official position, appointment or birthplace, such as Wang Anshi who was called King Linchuan; thirdly, the title was based on a title or posthumous title, such as Zhuge Liang was granted the title of Marquis of Wuxiang, and was called Wuhou.
Because the number can be picked up and given as a gift, it is free and changeable. As a result, many literati have many nicknames, and the number can reach dozens or hundreds. "Too many nicknames will cause confusion" (Zheng Banqiao's collection of paintings. Jin Qiu's paintings on the four lines). Therefore, after modern times, especially after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Since then, the use of pseudonyms by literati has greatly diminished. Many people publish their works using their real names instead of pen names.
3. Posthumous title. In ancient my country, after the death of emperors, princes, ministers and other people with a certain status, they would be evaluated and praised based on their life stories and moral cultivation, and given a title that contained goodwill evaluation and guidance. There are judgmental titles and they become a system. This system is called posthumous law, and the title given is called posthumous title.
4. Nicknames are also called nicknames, nicknames, and nicknames. The primary difference between them and nicknames and nicknames seems to be that almost all of them are taken by others, and then they are recognized and have complete usability. It does not depend on the wishes of the person in charge.
Extended information:
In ancient times, due to the special emphasis on etiquette, the names and characters were very particular.
In interpersonal communication, first names are generally used as modesty, condescension, or as a term of address for superiors versus inferiors, or for seniors versus juniors. Peers only call each other by name when they are familiar with each other. In most cases, it is considered impolite to refer to each other or to be called by his or her first name. It is considered polite among peers to address each other by name.
When you are writing or calling someone from a humble position to a superior, you can use names, but you must not use names, especially the names of the monarch or your parents and elders. You cannot even mention the names, otherwise it will be " "Disrespectful" or "rebellious", so my country's unique "taboo" system came into being.
There are four categories of taboo objects:
The first is the emperor. The names of contemporary emperors and previous emperors of the dynasty are tabooed, which belongs to the "national taboo" or "public taboo" at that time. . For example, during Liu Xiu's period, Xiucai was changed to Maocai; Qianlong once issued an edict not to include the four characters "五福 came to the door" in the couplets, in order to avoid the taboo of the name of Emperor Shunzhi Fulin. Sometimes the queen's name is even taboo. For example, Empress Lu was named a pheasant, and the courtiers had to change their name to a pheasant when they encountered a pheasant.
The second is to avoid tabooing the name of the superior, that is, the subordinates must conceal the names of the superior himself and his fathers and ancestors. Even some arrogant officials strictly ordered their subordinates and people to avoid their names.
There is a story in "Notes of Laoxue'an" compiled by Lu You: A state official named Tian Deng did not allow his subordinates and the people in the state to call him by his name or write his name. On the tenth day of the first lunar month, As a rule, the lights must be left on for three days. The clerk who wrote the notice did not dare to write the word "lamp", so he changed it to "set fire in this state for three days according to regulations." Hence the joke that "only state officials are allowed to set fires, but common people are not allowed to light lamps."
The third is to avoid sages, which mainly refers to avoiding the names of the sage Confucius and the sub-sage Mencius. Some dynasties also avoid the name of the Yellow Emperor, the ancestor of the Chinese nation, and some even avoid the name of Zhou Gong. Avoid the name of Lao Tzu.
For example, Confucius, whose name is "Kong Qiu", the Northern Song Dynasty court issued an order that whenever the character "Qiu" is read in a book, it should be read as "someone", and at the same time, a red pen must be used to mark "Qiu". Circle the word "Qiu".
This is especially true in the Qing Dynasty: from now on, anyone with the surname "Qiu" in the world must add the word "er" next to it and change their surname to "Qiu". They are not allowed to pronounce it as "Qiu" and must be pronounced as "qiu".
As a result, people with the surname "Qiu" in the world changed their surname to "Qiu" from then on. Today, there are people with the surname "Qiu" and others with the surname "Qiu". The reason is that some have changed it, and some have changed it back to the original "Qiu" character.
The fourth is to avoid elders, that is, to avoid the names of parents and grandparents, which is the "family taboo" or "private taboo" of the whole family. When interacting with others, you should avoid the other party's elders, otherwise it will be extremely rude.
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