The ancients attached great importance to people's names, and they were also very particular about choosing names.
Moreover, their naming method is different from now. A person not only has a famous surname, but also takes a different word and number.
What are the differences and connections between the names, characters and numbers of the ancients? Today, let's learn with you ...
What are the names, characters and numbers
In ancient times, after a person was born, his elders would give him the first name, which was the "baby name".
when he grows up, he will take another word besides his name.
The Book of Rites: "If you are crowned, you should respect its name. Your father called his name before, while others called his name. "
According to the ancients, a person's "name" can only be used in front of kings or elders, while "word" is used to address peers or younger generations.
After entering the society, most colleagues and friends should call him by his name instead of his first name.
Scholars often give themselves a "nickname", which can be used as a pronoun when singing in an article or as a self-name.
The so-called "the name is correct, the word is moral, and the number is pregnant", which contain all personal qualities.
How did the ancients name it?
Everyone's name will follow him all his life, so naming is a very important thing. In order to be cautious in naming, the Spring and Autumn Period also pays attention to the "naming method".
regarding the principle of ancient people's naming, Zuo Zhuan Huan Gong Six Years clearly states: "There are five names, which are faithful, righteous, figurative, false and classified."
▲ letter refers to some marks and characteristics that people are born with, such as a birthmark with a special shape and a distinctive appearance. In A Dream of Red Mansions, Jia Baoyu was born with jade, so he was named "Baoyu". Of course, this has a mythical color.
▲ righteousness refers to the auspicious phenomenon that accompanies someone's birth.
▲ Elephants are named after similar things. Confucius was named "Qiu" because the top of his head was concave after he was born, so-called "Wei Ding", and his father named him after it.
▲ False refers to the name of everything. After Confucius had a son, Lu Zhaogong gave him a carp, so he named his son "carp", following the principle of "taking things as false".
▲ Class means that you can take a name similar to your father.
In addition, the ancients also put forward six taboos to avoid in naming names, namely, not to use the country, not to use officials, not to use mountains and rivers, not to use hidden diseases, not to use animals, and not to use coins.
If people's names have the same names as these things, it will cause a lot of inconvenience.
the name of Nuo Hou in the state of Jin was "Situ" and that of Song Wugong was "Sikong", which abolished the official names of Situ and Sikong, while Lu Xian's name was "Ju" and Wu Gong's name was "Ao", which abolished the mountain names of Ju and Ao.
Since the Song Dynasty, more attention has been paid to naming names, including family generation, birthdates and zodiac sign.
Chen Yinke, a famous historian, ranks "Ke" in his family. He was born in Yinshi, so he was named "Yin Ke".
In the names of the ancients, the blood of the family is passed down, which embodies the ardent expectations of the elders, symbolizes the identity and status of people, and is an important support for a person to settle down.
What about the ancient Chinese characters?
The word "Zi" of the ancients is a name other than a name, and the number of words can be 1-2. In most cases, the choice of words is related to the name. There are several kinds of relationships between names and words:
▲ juxtaposition, that is, names and words have the same or the same meaning, which is a juxtaposition relationship. For example, Qu Ping, etymology. As the old saying goes, "Guangping said the original", so they have the same meaning. Another example is Meng Ke, the word Zi Yu. Dong and Yu both mean both cars in Chinese.
▲ auxiliary means that the meaning and name of a word are similar, but not exactly the same, and they can complement each other. For example, Lu Ji, the word Shiheng. Machine and scale are the names of the big dipper stars, which complement each other.
▲ contradiction, that is, the meaning of a word and a name is opposite. Zhu Xi, the character is dark, light means morning light, which means dawn, while dark means darkness, which means darkness.
▲ Complementarity, which means that the meaning of a word and a name are inherited, mutually causal or can be used to explain a name, such as Zhao Yun and Zi Zilong.
The Book of Changes says, "Clouds follow dragons, while winds follow tigers." Belonging to the same sentence, the meaning is consistent; Yu Qian and the word Tingyi come from the "modest benefit" in Shangshu, and the two are mutually causal.
▲ extended expressions, such as Li Bai, the word Taibai, Taibai refers to Taibai Venus, which is an extension of the meaning of white characters.
Moreover, ancient Chinese characters can be used by both men and women, not exclusively by men. In A Dream of Red Mansions, Jia Baoyu asked Lin Daiyu, "What about the words?" Daiyu replied, "No words."
On the one hand, it shows that Daiyu is not yet fifteen years old and unmarried, and she is not old enough to take characters. On the other hand, it also shows that ancient women can take characters.
how to get another name?
Compared with names and characters, the choice of nicknames in ancient times is more free, and there are no restrictions on the number of words, the number of words or the choice of words.
As mentioned above, nicknames are generally used by scholars and gentlemen to call each other or call themselves. They place more emphasis on their masters' feelings, character, hobbies and life experiences, which is the embodiment of their pursuit of life.
For example, Su Shi's "Dongpo Jushi" shows that he believes in Buddhism, and he once took care of a wasteland in the east of Huangzhou City. "Dongpo" is the pronoun of that wasteland.
Sometimes, you can also use the official position, hometown, etc. as the number, such as Wang Wei's name "Wang Youcheng" and Liu Zongyuan's name "Liuhe East".
emperors, scholars and officials were also dubbed "posthumous title" and "Temple Name" after their death, which is also a kind of nickname. Such as Fan Wenzheng Gong, Zeng Wenzheng Gong and Qin Mugong.
The ancient people's names, characters and numbers contain their cultural implications and attitudes towards life.
after understanding these exquisite things, you can choose a special number for yourself when you have nothing to do, which is not only pleasant and nourishing, but also between square inches, making you elegant.