According to Chinese tradition, everyone has a name, a surname, and a nickname, which are very particular and complicated. If you are not careful, you will use it improperly and cause big mistakes.
1. How did the ancients choose names?
Names follow people throughout their lives, so naming is a matter worthy of attention. Regarding the principles of naming by the ancients, "Zuo Zhuan·Huan Gong Sixth Year" wrote: "There are five types of names: trust, righteousness, image, falsehood, and type."
The so-called trust means that It is named after the special mark that is born at birth;
The so-called meaning is named after the auspicious phenomenon at birth;
The so-called Xiang is named after similar things. ;
The so-called false refers to the false name of all things;
The so-called class refers to the name that can be similar to its parent.
In addition, the ancients also put forward six taboos in naming, namely: not based on country, not based on official, not based on mountains and rivers, not based on hidden diseases, not based on animals, and not based on tools and coins.
2. There is a lot of emphasis on the relationship between names and characters
The ancients had a kind of "beyond the name", that is, the character. As the saying goes: "The name is the correct form, and the word is the symbol of virtue." The names are given to distinguish each other, and the words are chosen to indicate the superiority and inferiority. In many cases, there is a certain correlation between "name" and "character".
Parallel expression: The word and name have the same or similar meaning, which is a parallel relationship. Qu Ping, courtesy name Yuan. Guangping said Yuan, meaning the same. Meng Ke, courtesy name Ziyu. Ke and Yu both mean cars.
Auxiliary: The word and name have similar meanings, but are not exactly the same, and can assist each other. Lu Ji, courtesy name Shiheng. Ji and Heng are both the names of stars in the Beidou, and they assist each other. Li Yu, courtesy name Li Weng. The coir rain hat is the symbol of the fisherman.
Contradiction: A word and a name are related with opposite meanings. Zhu Xi, Yu Yuanhui. Xi is the dawn, Hui is the night. Wang Ji, named Wugong. Achievements and reactive efforts are exactly the opposite.
Expanded form: The word and the name often come from the same sentence, and their meanings are consistent. The word is a supplementary explanation or modification of the meaning of the name. Zhao Yun, courtesy name Zilong. "Book of Changes" says: "The clouds follow the dragon, the wind follows the tiger." The names and characters in one sentence have the same meaning. Yu Qian, courtesy name Tingyi. "Shangshu" says: "Modernness benefits." The name and the word are in one sentence, modesty is the prerequisite, and benefit is the consequence of modesty.
Extended form: The meaning of the word is an extension of the meaning of the name. Li Bai, also known as Taibai. Taibai refers to Taibai Venus, which is an extension of Taiyi. Du Mu, also known as Muzhi. Muzhi means grazing, which extends the meaning of animal husbandry.
3. How to use names and characters?
Because the ancients attached great importance to etiquette, they were very particular about the names and characters. Generally speaking, there are the following principles.
The first name is generally used as a term of humility, or as a term of address from top to bottom, or from senior to junior. However, there are also situations where people are addressed by "word" when they are above or when they are long, to show respect.
It is polite for peers to call each other names; only peers who are very familiar with each other will call each other names.
When you are writing a letter or calling someone from a humble position to a superior person, you can address them by name, but never by name. In particular, the names of the monarch or your parents and elders are not allowed to be mentioned at all, otherwise it will be "disrespectful" or "treasonous"
Whatever name you choose depends entirely on your preference
The titles of ancient emperors can be divided into honorary titles, temple titles, posthumous titles, and reign titles. They generally have specific meanings. Among them, posthumous titles have the meaning of finalizing the merits and demerits of their lives and cannot be chosen casually. However, people among the people take numbers much more casually. Except for titles and posthumous titles, the generation of titles is all based on hobby.
In ancient times, middle- and upper-class people, especially literati, always liked to give themselves a nickname to freely express and flaunt their ambitions and feelings. Famous examples include:
The patriotic poet Lu You, who was cynical about the world, was ridiculed by the powerful for not observing etiquette and law. He simply called himself "Fang Weng" to express his contempt for them;
Zheng Sixiao, a native of the Song Dynasty, lived in seclusion in Suzhou after the fall of the Song Dynasty and named himself "Suonan" to commemorate the Song Dynasty;
Zhu Da, a painter in the late Ming Dynasty, took the nickname "Suonan" when the Ming Dynasty died. Bada Shanren". The two characters "Bada" written in succession seem to be crying but not crying, and seeming to be smiling but not smiling. It expresses the sorrow and indignation of missing the motherland.
Some nicknames are created by others and are recognized by others, such as "nickname", "humiliated nickname", etc. It has a strong symbolic meaning and is often a reflection or portrayal of the character's appearance and personality.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, Baili was ridiculed as the "Five-Leaf Doctor" because after he fell to the State of Chu, the king of Qin used five pieces of Heep (black ram) skins to redeem him from the State of Qin.
In the Song Dynasty, there was a "Prime Minister with Three Edicts" because he only did three things during his tenure as prime minister for more than ten years: taking edicts, receiving edicts, and delivering edicts.
The black whirlwind Li Feng, the leopard-headed Lin Chong, the green-faced beast Yang Zhi, the flower monk Lu Zhishen...the vivid nicknames of one hundred and eight generals in "Water Margin" have left a very deep and unforgettable impression on readers.
4. Other ways of addressing
In addition to the above-mentioned characters and numbers, there are many ways of addressing people in history.