The principles and methods of naming by the ancients
The principles and methods of naming by the ancients. Give your baby a unique name; it can be said that it takes a lot of effort to give a name that has auspicious meanings. The name also has a strong suggestive effect on a person's future health, marriage, and career. Let's take a look at the principles and methods of naming by the ancients. Principles and methods of naming by the ancients 1
(1) "Building names with trust" (the principle of "having trust")
According to the annotation of "Zuo Zhuan": "For example, Shu Yu of Tang Dynasty, "Ziyou, Mr. Lu."
This is based on legend. When Tang Shu Yu was born, he had a palm print that resembled the character "Yu", so he was named "Ri Yu". This kind of myth emphasizes that when a ruler is born, his name comes from nature and has the mystery of his name. < /p>
This is also based on historical legends, that is, when the father of King Wen of Zhou (Ji Chang) saw a good omen, he was very happy and said: "There should be prosperity in my world, and it will be in Changsheng." Huh?" That is to say, he pinned his hope of reviving the Zhou Dynasty and destroying the Zhou Dynasty on Prince Chang.
Later, Ji Chang gave birth to a son, Ji Fa, who became King Wu. He also thought that the time had come when "he must send troops to kill King Zhou (overthrow King Zhou)", so he named him Rifa. This is the origin of the naming of King Wen of Zhou (Ji Chang) and King Wu of Zhou (Ji Fa).
(3) "Name the image after the category" (the principle of "there is an image")
According to the "Zuo Zhuan" note: "If Confucius, "The first image is Niqiu."
This is a legend about the naming of Confucius. Confucius' parents prayed on Mount Niqiu to have a child, and they gave birth to Confucius. Because when Confucius was born, his head was like a sweat top (high on both sides and low in the middle), like a small hill, "hence the name Riqiu and the courtesy name Zhongni. This is like Niqiu."
(4) "Taking things as false" (the principle of "falseness")
According to the annotation of "Zuo Zhuan": "Ruo Bo. When Confucius gave birth to a son, someone gave him a fish, so he named his son "Carp". This is a random coincidence, the meaning of borrowing something, and it is also a naming principle of the ancients.
(5) "Taking the same kind from the father" (the principle of "having kind")
According to the annotation of "Zuo Zhuan": "If the son is born at the same time, there will be one with the same father. "This means that the son of Duke Huan of Lu had the same birthday as him, so he was named "Tong". Principles and methods of naming by the ancients 2
1. The ancients had the following principles for naming:
1. The consonants of the name should be crisp and smooth.
2. Shape: The font structure must be stable and smooth.
3. Meaning: The name chosen must have a certain meaning.
4. Combination: It is consistent with the five elements of the person named.
5. Taboo: The name cannot be the same as the name of the elders or have the same sound. If there is a difference in the time of writing, it must be written.
6. The pronunciation does not have the same sound. This is respect for the elders. These are the main principles.
2. The most common way to choose a word is that the name and the word have the same or similar meaning.
They can explain each other. For example, Qu Yuan's name was Ping and his courtesy name was Yuan; "Guang Ping Yuan" is explained in "Erya Shidi". Zhuge Liang, whose courtesy name is Kongming, and the meanings of "Liang" and "Ming" are very similar; Ban Gu, whose courtesy name is Mengjian, both of which mean "firm and unshakable"; Du Fu, whose courtesy name is Zimei, and the interpretation of "Fu" is "The title of a beautiful man in ancient times"; Northern Song Dynasty essayist Zeng Gong, whose courtesy name is Zigu, and Gong and Gu have the same meaning.
3. The meanings of names and characters are exactly opposite. For example, Han Yu, one of the eight great masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, had the character Tuizhi, and Yu means "healing, getting better and better"; the poet Yan Shu of the Northern Song Dynasty, whose courtesy name was Tongshu, and "different and the same" have opposite meanings; another example is the famous Song Dynasty poet The Neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi, whose name is Xi, has the character Hui, "Xi" means bright, and "Hui" means dark. Huangshui, the word Yizhi, Xucui, the word Jinzhi, "loss" and "benefit", "retreat" and "advance" can all form antonyms. Although there are not many of these, it is interesting to taste them carefully.
4. From here to there, recognize elegance through association.
Like Guan Yu, the word "Yun" is long, which is associated with the feathers of birds and the floating clouds in the sky. Jia Dao, whose name is Langxian, comes to mind from the island to the white freedom of the waves. Lu Long, whose courtesy name is Zaitian, Qian Qian, whose courtesy name is benefit, Gaoming, whose courtesy name is Zecheng, and Li Zongren, whose courtesy name is Delin. This one is based on a certain idiom: such idioms are: "Seeing a dragon in the field", "Modility benefits", "Clearness leads to sincerity", "Virtue is never alone, there must be neighbors".
From the perspective of cultural analysis, this article reveals the ancients’ psychology of fashion, desire, and expectation when naming names, as well as the social value orientation in a specific era... The principles and methods of naming by the ancients 3
First of all, it must be explained that in ancient China, "name" and "character" were separate. In ancient China, people had "surname, first name, and number" to complete their appellation.
In the traditional Chinese literature "Book of Rites Tan Gong Shang", it is proposed that "the name of a child, the crown character, the same as fifty years old, the posthumous title of Zhou Daoye", which translates to: "the name used when I was young After the crowning ceremony is held at the age of twenty, the person will be given a posthumous title, such as Bo, Zhong, Uncle or Ji after his death. "This is the system of the Zhou Dynasty. A person's life is well arranged.
The childhood name is the nickname, which is what we call the nickname today. After studying, you will be given a formal name called your scientific name. Some people's scientific name is the same as their real name. Many poor people are uneducated, and their children have been working in the fields since they were young, so their nicknames last a lifetime.
The word "guan" refers to the word "guan" when performing the crowning ceremony. There are 20 crowning ceremonies in ancient China. In fact, most people get their first name earlier than 20 years old. In the Tang Dynasty, it was called Yuanfu. After Prince Shotoku of Japan fully studied the Tang Dynasty, it was also called Yuanfu.
After a woman reaches the age of 15, she performs the "hairpin ceremony", also known as the "hairpin year". The hairpin is the same as the hairpin, and the hairpin is the age when the hairpin can be inserted. This means that you are of age and can get married.
Posthumous titles are used after a person dies. Posthumous titles were actually very important in ancient times. Because our Chinese nation pays attention to "closing the coffin and finalizing the conclusion", and taking responsibility for the events during one's lifetime is to "win one's reputation after death." Of course, not everyone can use the posthumous title. Generally, only emperors and ministers (first rank or above) can use it.
What we generally use now is more names. Let’s focus on names.
In the ancient pre-Qin period, names were not very particular. Duke Huan of Qi was called Xiaobai.
Confucius was called Kongqiu. When he was born, the top of his head was sunken, like a pit. Confucius' son was named Kong Li because the king of Chu State where his son was born sent a big carp to congratulate him. Therefore, in Chinese culture, "carp" has always been a symbol of good luck and beauty. In many areas in northern China, carp is also a famous dish.
King Wu of Qin was called Ying Dang. .
For example, Emperor Yi of Chu recommended by Xiang Yu had a surname of Mi and Xiong, and his name was Xin, so he was called Xiong Xin. There is a very popular professor recently. His surname is Jin, his surname is Ying, and his given name is Zhong, so he is called Ying Er.
The upper class of society is like this, and the people at the bottom are even less particular.
In ancient times, names were rarely used. In ancient life, each other was called "Zi"
For example, in the Three Kingdoms, they called each other "Zi" because many of the Three Kingdoms were officials and nobles. Instead, they called each other "Zi". Many people in "Water Margin" call the characters by their first names, or even by nicknames.
In the TV series "Toward Japanese Peace", Rong Lu called Yuan Shikai "Weiting", and Weiting was Yuan Shikai's name.
So what’s the point of naming your child? There are certain taboos in naming names in ancient China, and there are several principles:
The first is not allowed to refer to the country: cannot be called Wang Fafa, Zhao Mei, Xu Syria, Zhong Konggang
The second is not With mountains and rivers: The ancients believed that mountains and rivers are the residence of gods, and calling them mountains and rivers is arrogance.
The third is not based on official positions: there is no one named Secretary Zhang, Chief of Horse,
The fourth is not based on animals: such as cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs, dragons, tigers, leopards, rhinoceros, elephants, honey badgers, silly roe deers
Fifth, don’t treat hidden diseases: no one will call them COVID-19, enteritis, colds, or diarrhea.
After the rise of the aristocracy, the aristocrats became the county magistrates. The so-called county magistrates were the prominent aristocrats in the county.
The Liu family in Pengcheng, the Wang family in Taiyuan, the Li family in Longxi, the Yao family in Wuxing, and the Yuan family in Runan. The naming is not only elegant, but also uses "tongzi", which means that people of a generation use a single word, such as Langya Wang's,