However, the tradition of attaching importance to names does not seem to have existed since ancient times. Judging from the Oracle bone inscriptions in the Yin Dynasty, only the names of emperors named after cadres can be verified, such as Wu Ding, Taijia and Pan Geng. Looking at history casually, the names of those extraordinary people who will appear in the picture will be as thick as "vulgar and powerful". For example, our nicknames are dog, brick, stone and so on. These great men have even fewer nicknames than you.
Of course, this is actually the same as the naming custom that is still popular among the people. It is better to raise children by calling them cheap. In addition to tacky names, the ancients did not pay much attention to the difference between men and women when naming names. Today, as long as we see names like Wu Xiong and Wang Gen, we know that they must be seven feet tall. When you hear the names of Shu Zhen and Li Mei, you will imagine that this is a lovely and elegant lady. But this association may not come true in ancient times. Like Mencius? It is mentioned in Dedication that the name of the warrior who fights the tiger empty-handed turned out to be "Feng Fu"; Lu Yingong, the first king in Zuozhuan, was actually called "Xi Gu". If you only imagine these two guys by their names, you will only think that they are disguised as women. How can you tell whether they are men or women?
I don't know when people began to pay attention to their names. They always hope that they are developed and will not be looked down upon by others because of their names. Especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, all ordinary people, whether they were nouveau riche who made a fortune or local rich people with favorable geographical position, were artfully changing their nicknames and creating some posthumous title or official names in an attempt to impress people. Therefore, the popular ditty at that time sang like this: "Call Liang Zi to cook rice, call Zhongfu to sell meat, call Junbao to open a shop to sell rice, and call Defu to grind noodles."
It is precisely because of the popularity of "name" in society that truly rich and powerful people naturally don't want ordinary people who should be called Tom, dick and Harry to be confused, and even ordinary people are not allowed to mention their own names in their speeches or writings, and even similar voices are not allowed. The most famous example is the idiom widely circulated in later generations: "Only state officials can set fires, and people are not allowed to light lamps".
The most famous article against taboos in history is probably the debate on taboos of Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty. According to legend, Li He, Empress Zheng of the Tang Dynasty, lived a long and auspicious life. At the age of seven, he was able to write poems, and his name caused a sensation. Han Yu therefore advised him to take the Jinshi exam. However, after Li He was admitted to Jinshi, some people slandered him, saying that Li He's father's name was "Jin Su". Because of the taboo of "Jinshi", Li He should not take the Jinshi exam, so Han Yu defended him with the article "Debate on Taboos". In fact, as early as in the Book of Rites, there is a saying that "two people are not partial to taboo", which means that as long as the two words are not exactly the same, they can be taboo, not to mention that "Jin Su" and "Jinshi" are just close in sound.
In the feudal society in the past, we should not only pay attention to pronunciation when naming names, but also guard against improper associations such as "offense" or "rebellion" caused by word meaning. Even in modern times, there are still some stories about becoming famous from time to time. For example, during the Cultural Revolution, there was an incident of being convicted of fame and fortune. 1949 when new China was founded, a farmer surnamed Li named his son. Later, when his second son was born, didn't he think that the new China emphasized that the people were masters of the country? So it was named Li Aimin. When he named his third son, he thought that the people could be masters of their own affairs, and all this was due to the party, so he called it Li Ai Party. These three names seemed good at first glance, but at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, the family was in great trouble. Some people accuse his three sons, Li Aiguo, Li Aimin and Li Aidang. It was obvious that he still loved "* * *", so he criticized them and asked them to explain their dirty ideas. It was not until the downfall of the Gang of Four and the end of the Cultural Revolution that the peasants regained their freedom. However, the lives of myself and my three sons have left scars that will never heal because of these three names with too strong political flavor.