According to Chinese custom, people’s names fall into two categories: nicknames and official names.
In rural Shanxi, the main sources of nicknames are as follows: nicknames used by parents in laughter, such as Big Head Ghost, Er Hard Eye, Fatty, Xiaoshanzi, etc.; for the healthy growth of children, Especially for babies who are weak, the names given to them for disaster prevention are mostly related to animals, such as Gou Sheng, Gou Er, Goubuli, Wolf Shi Wan, etc. Random nicknames that are the same as the names of festivals are also an important source of nicknames; There are also many nicknames attached to the huge mountains, rivers and buildings. For example, there is Cetian Reservoir near Xicetian Village in Datong County. There are as many as 12 people in the village with Xiaoku as their nickname. The hidden meaning here is obvious. , which expresses parents’ hope that their children will be strong and strong. As a symbol of continuing the family line and continuing the incense, some nicknames are often named directly after the age of the grandfather when the child was born, such as 59, 63, etc., which are mainly limited to boys.
Among the people, nicknames are often made with unpleasant words. It is commonly believed that the advantage of this is that it is conducive to the upbringing of the parents. Due to the old era of poverty and extremely high infant mortality, farm parents only hope that their offspring can be like those dogs, cows, sheep, donkeys and other livestock, regardless of food. No matter how hard or tired you are, you can live a humble life and live a safe life. Therefore, it is not surprising that many people name them after words such as dogs, sheep, cows, tigers, and even urine, dung piles, and wooly eggs.
In addition, there is a folk belief that ghosts can be deceived by using nicknames. Farmers think that ghosts and monsters like good-sounding names, so they use such ugly names, names that do not even scream ghosts, to avoid ghosts. There is also a ring bolt, which means that the Stove Lord will tie the child. When naming, you have to go to the Stove Lord to pull a red-headed rope and tie it to the child's leg to prevent ghosts from snatching the child.
Nicknames also express the wishes and ideals of parents and ancestors. If there is blessing, blessing comes, and the warehouse is full. The message expressed is obvious at a glance. Three joys means that the third generation is happy, and root also means that there are successors. If the first and second children are girls, some people often give her the name "brother" or "brother". Names such as "Gaizhuan", "Gaigai" and "Flip" are used by parents hoping to "drag", "gai" or "turn" a boy with such nicknames.
Families that believe in yin and yang and the five elements often give names such as Detu, Runtu, and Xiaokui to children who are short of earth. Those who are short of gold are named Tiedan. , iron pillar.
A child’s official name, also known as a daimyo, is more formal and is usually given by an elder or a scholar. Paying attention to the meaning of words is a traditional Chinese custom of naming babies in the Book of Changes. The custom is often to name babies with meaningful names based on parents' different wishes, expectations, hobbies and fashion.
In the past, people’s names were greatly influenced by their families and clans. For larger families, in order to show the integrity and systematicity of the family, and to distinguish between generations and ranks, they had been stipulated in advance for future generations. A word in a name. So in life we ??often hear that people of the same generation in the same family always have one word in common. Moreover, inheriting the ancestors, initiating the descendants, respecting the ancestors, extending the ancestors, and prospering and prospering are the main points of the naming of Zhouyi, such as Guangzu, Yaozu, Jizu; Jixian, Shaoxian, Yanxian; Sida, Jinda , Zhongda, Maoda and other names are like this.
In some places in rural Shanxi, the "following grandson" method is popular when naming, that is, the grandson's name is determined based on the grandfather's name. For example, grandfather has a three-character name, father can only have two characters, and grandson has a three-character name, and only one character is different from grandpa, which makes the two look a bit like brothers to outsiders.
A name is a symbol that represents a person, and is a symbol of appellation. The name has no necessary connection with the person, but because it is a code name for a person, for those who are familiar with it, it is easy to recognize the name once they hear it. Just like when you smell the person, you will immediately think of the person's gender, age, personality, image and social role. In this way, there is a connection between people and names. Because of this, the quality of a child's name is very important. Folks generally believe that it has a great relationship with a person's destiny. In this way, the name is closely related to social value orientation, parents' expectations, and social fashion. We can get a glimpse of social changes from people's names.
The Chinese Character Reform Commission’s statistics on the names of 174,900 people in seven provinces and cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Guangdong and Fujian, show that Chinese people often use Zhouyi when naming their names. The six characters have changed as follows: Before 1949: Ying, Xiu, Yu, Zhen, Hua, Lan.
From 1949 to May 1966: Hua, Ying, Jade, Ming, Xiu and Guo.
From June 1966 to October 1976, that is, during the Cultural Revolution, the Red, Chinese, Military, Wen, Ying and Ming.
From 1976 to 1982: Hua, Li, Chun, Xiao, Yan and Hong.
Among them, the names with the most characteristics of the times are the names during the Cultural Revolution, which reflect the fashion of the time. The small names are the footprints of social progress.