The long-standing name culture always keeps up with the pulse of the times, and the names of each era are deeply marked by the times. It reflects the fashion of the times from a special perspective. People's concepts, folk customs, and fashion trends will be reflected in the evolution of name culture in each era.
In the old society, poor families all hoped that their children could grow up safely and be as well-educated as pigs, cows, dogs, horses and other tenacious animals, so they gave their children "mean names" and " "Ugly names" such as bull, puppy, pig, and horse. This is influenced by the backward consciousness of "low reputation and long life", and is a reflection of unscientific and uncivilized fashion. Nowadays, with the development of the times, people are advocating cultural taste. It would be inappropriate to revive this name.
Another ancient custom is to carry on the family line. Every family hopes to have a son to inherit the family. For example, parents who gave birth to a girl but did not have a son wanted to have a son, so they named their already born daughters Zhao Di, Pan Di, and Laidi. This is a feudal idea that favors sons over daughters. It would be inappropriate to mention such a name now.
During the period of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea, names such as "Resisting U.S. aggression" and "Aiding Korea" were popular; during the Great Leap Forward period, many people were named "Great Leap Forward"; during the Cultural Revolution period, there were many names similar to "Cultural Revolution" and "Red College" . These names bear obvious marks of the times and just catered to the needs of the times at that time. But if we still call them that, I'm afraid it would be out of place. The above are the most typical examples of naming with the color of the times.
Through the above example, we should understand two issues. 1. There are two situations when one is born at the wrong time: First, the name is not born at the right time at that time, and it is unknown whether the name will be born at the wrong time in the future. The second reason is that the name was suitable at the time, but it was not suitable later. Second, it is impossible to keep up with the pace of social development all your life just for the sake of your own name. Because once the name is decided, it will remain unchanged for life. Society is always developing and changing, and the "unchanged" must also change. How can this "unchanged" be consistent with "change" step by step? Unless you give it a name that is not characteristic of the times.
Therefore, when dealing with the relationship between naming and timing, we must pay attention to the following principles:
1. Do not use words that are anti-social, anti-human, anti-public, anti-government, etc. name.
2. Words that deliberately follow the trend of the times should not be used in naming.
3. It is best to name it with a word that has no obvious characteristics of the times, because such a name will never go out of style and will not be out of place.
Note: This article is excerpted from Chapter 6, Section 14 "Name and Time" of my clumsy book "The True Interpretation of the Book of Changes 3. Chinese Nameology".