1. The time of naming and character selection are different
Name first and then choose the character. According to the etiquette regulations of the Zhou Dynasty, the father will name a child three months after he is born. Males in their twenties The character is chosen when the crown ceremony is held at the age of 15, and the character is chosen when the hairpin ceremony is held at the age of fifteen.
2. Different meanings of words
"Name" means the real name, and "Zi" means the name. The ancients used surname plus "name" and "zi" to refer to a person. A name is a social symbol of a person and expresses the person's existence. "Zi" is a complement to "name", and is usually filled with words similar to or opposite to the original meaning of the name. For example, Li Bai, whose courtesy name is Taibai; Han Yu, whose courtesy name is Tuizhi, etc.
3. Different functions
In ancient times, when people reached adulthood, society would give them corresponding respect. At this time, elders can call them by their first names, but this is not suitable for peers. According to "Book of Rites·Tan ??Gong": "At the age of twenty, there is a way to be a father. Friends and the like are not allowed to call him by his first name." Therefore, only elders can call him by his name or use it as a modest address. General friends of the same generation can use his name. The word he would call him.
Extended information:
The names and characters of the ancients are closely related in meaning, or have synonyms, or complement each other, or have relative meanings, and they also have some structural differences. Certain rules.
The format is roughly as follows:
1. (Parallel type) that is, the name and the character have the same attribute. For example, Zhou Yu's courtesy name is Gong Jin, and both Yu and Jin are jade objects;
2. (Continuous form) that is, the beginning and end of a two-syllable word are used as a name and a character respectively. For example, the word "Bangu" is Mengjian, and the word "firm" is used;
3. (Annotated form) that is, the name and the character It has the function of mutual annotation, such as Sun Ce's character Bofu, Ce is the yarrow used for divination, which can be interpreted as a fortune teller;
4. (Opposition form) that is, the meaning of the name and the word are contrary to each other, such as Lu Meng's character is Zi Ming, and Meng and Ming are positive and negative;
5. (Vertical and horizontal style) That is, the name and character are respectively the longitude and latitudinal directions. For example, the character "Zhangchang" is "high", which means "spacious" means "lofty";
6. (Causal type) is the causal relationship between names and characters. For example, the character "Bao Zhao" is bright far away. The reason why it is bright far and near is because the sun and moon are shining in the sky;
7. (Inferential type) That is, one can infer from the name what kind of appearance the character represents. For example, Li He’s character is long and auspicious, and his auspicious place is always present. Why is it not worthy of celebration?
8. (Borrowing formula) ) That is, there is an allusion between the name and the character, such as the word "Guan Yu", the word "Yun Long", Zhuangzi's "Xiaoyaoyou" has a gunpeng spreading its wings for ninety thousand miles, and its cloud journey is as long as the fog road;
9. (Same style ) That is, the name and the character use the same character, such as Li Bai's character Taibai;
10. (Comprehensive form) That is, there are multiple relationships between the name and the character, such as Cao Cao's character Meng De, both Cao and De Juxtaposition can also be coherent. Bai Juyi's word is Lotte, which is both cause and effect and reasoning...
Reference materials:
Baidu Encyclopedia - name
Baidu Encyclopedia - word