(1) Nicknames based on animal names: * * Eleven tigers, six dragons, two snakes, one unicorn, one eagle, one lion, one crocodile, one peng, three leopards, one beast, one stork, one ape, one dog, one mouse, one scorpion, one turtle and one flea.
They are: Eleven Tigers: Chen Da, Tigger, Lei Heng, Wing Tiger, Yan Shun, Short-legged Tiger, Wang Ying, Liu Yun, Smiling Tiger, Zhu Fu, Gong Wang, Arrow Tiger, Ding Desun, Mother Bug Gu Dasao, Pest Xue Yong, golden eye Tiger (Tiger refers to Tiger, the first nickname in ancient Chinese novels is Water Margin).
Six "dragons": Yunlong Gongsun Sheng, Jiu Wenlong Shijin, Hunjiang Long Lijun, Lin Long Zou Yuan, Qilin Long Zou Run and Jiaodong Tongwei (Jiaodong is a kind of dragon).
Three "leopards": the leopard head Lin Chong, the leopard Yang Lin and the leopard Tang Long; Two "snakes": white snake Yang Chun, two-headed snake Jie Zhen; A "unicorn": jade unicorn Lu Junyi (Kirin is not only a famous stone in the "flower stone class", but also a folk god beast, as mentioned above); A "carving": flying Mars; A "lion": Deng Fei (lion); "Crocodile": Zhu Gui, dry land (called crocodile by the ancients); A "Peng": Ou Peng with golden wings in the desert cloud (golden wings refer to Dapeng bird in ancient times); A "beast": Yang Zhi, a green-faced beast; A kind of "slug": slug is fierce (slug refers to giant clam, and it is also said to be a kind of slug); An "ape": the armless ape Hou Jian; A "dog": Duan, Jin Mao; A "mouse": Bai Sheng, a mouse for a day; A "scorpion": Jerbo, a two-tailed scorpion; A "turtle": Tao Wangzong, nine-tailed turtle; A flea: The flea on the drum moves from time to time.
(2) Nicknames based on the physical characteristics of characters: such as monk Lu (whose nickname is named after flowers embroidered on his body); Shi Jin, a dragon with nine patterns (named after his body is embroidered with Jiulong flowers), and Lin Chong, the head of the leopard (named after his looks like Zhang Fei and his superb martial arts); Liu Tang, the red-haired ghost (named after brown hair); Yang Xiong and Sun Xin (both named after their yellow faces); Jinbao Yanglin (named for its round head, big ears and splendid scenery); Zhang Hu San Niang (named after her slender and beautiful figure, Zhang is a common saying in the Song Dynasty to describe beautiful women); Gong Wang (named after the flowers embroidered on his neck) and Deng Fei (named after the red eyes); Zhu Tong, bearded (named for his long beard and long belly); Zheng Tianshou, white-faced husband (named after his white face); Meng Kang (named for its tall and white); Du Xing's grimace (named after his ugly face); Tang Long, leopard (named after its pockmarked face); Duan Zhu Jing, Golden Hair retriever (named after his red beard); Huangfu Duan with purple beard (named after his blue eyes, heavy pupils and yellow beard, which looks like a fan); Cai Qing, a flower (named after a flower on her head for decoration); Zhang Shun with white stripes in Langli (named for its white skin and ripe water).
(3) Take the weapon as the number: Hu, Li Lingzhen, golden gunner Xu Ning, broadsword Guan Sheng, double gunner Dong Ping, no arrow.
(4) posthumous title after the strange star: Song Wan in the clouds, Liu Tang with red hair, short-lived Ruan Xiaoer, short-lived Ruan Xiaowu, Ruan, Cao Zheng with a knife, Sun Erniang with a dragon, Kong Liang alone, Kongming with a hairy head, Marin with an iron flute, Ina Xiang Chong with eight arms, Fan Rui, a demon on earth, and Li Qiu, a flying fairy.
(5) Take the nicknames of the characters: Suochao, Thunderstorm Qin Ming, Mu Hong, Chun Mu, Yan Qing, Jiao Ting, and jy, a black whirlwind.
(6) Nicknamed after the occupation or skill of the character: Zhang Qing, a vegetable garden (because he is a farmer); Ship Anger Zhang Heng (he was the leader and was called Ship Anger in the Song Dynasty); Daizong (Jiangzhou Senate and House of Representatives) was imprisoned at the section level. Because of its quickness and "skillful armor", it was mostly responsible for delivering letters. Dai Zong was called Taibao 21) in the Song Dynasty because he was dressed like a temple and had different skills. Xiao Rang, a master scholar (good at copying calligraphy); Jade arm craftsman Jin Dajian (good at carving); God operator Jiang Jing (good at calculation); Iron face Pei Xuan (made a case hole before becoming an outlaw); Tiejiaozi music harmony (good at singing, "Jiaozi" is an ancient entertainment gadget 22); Xuanzan, ugly county horse (strong and brave, once protected the holy horse with his bare hands and was named county horse); An Daoquan, an imperial doctor (doctor, with excellent medical skills); General Shan Tinggui of Shengshui (general rank, good at attacking with water); Shenhuo General Wei Dingguo (general title, good use of fire attack); Cai Fu with an iron arm (executioner, strong hand); Wang (good at jumping). Xiao Li Guang Hua Rong (good at archery).
(7) posthumous title after the name of the ancients: Li Huaguang and Rong Xiao (based on Li Guang, the general of the Western Han Dynasty, because Huarong and Li Guang are proficient in archery); Xiao Hou Wen Lu Fang (based on the nickname of Lu Bu, a fierce soldier in the late Eastern Han Dynasty); Sai Guosheng (according to posthumous title of the famous Tang Dynasty Xue); Yang Xiong (nicknamed Guansuo, the youngest son of Guan Yu of Shu State); The seriously ill Wei Chi Sun Li and Wei Chi Sun Xin (both based on the nickname of the famous Tang Dynasty Weichi Gong)
Shi Naian's intention to design nicknames and the connection between design nicknames and performers Through the classification of Liangshan heroes' nicknames in the above aspects, we can see that Shi Naian has certain intentions when designing nicknames. My research results are as follows:
(1) It can be seen from using animal names as nicknames that these nicknames have been influenced by the totem of the Chinese nation for thousands of years. Since ancient times, all ethnic groups in China have their own totems, such as dragons and tigers. Influenced by this, Shi Naian also added this factor to his creation to show the symbolic meaning of nicknames. On the second hand, Shi Naian's comparison with animals (especially beasts) shows the intrepid and inviolable strength of characters, which is a manifestation of image thinking, and makes readers feel the heroism of Liangshan heroes from nicknames and think of characters in parallel. This can deepen the image of the characters.
(2) We can know that there are 18 heroes with physical characteristics as nicknames. It seems that besides taking animals as nicknames, the physical characteristics of characters are often another important basis for writers to design nicknames for characters. Writers' grasping the physical characteristics of characters often makes the characters more vivid and intuitive.
(3) Weapons are nicknamed because most of these weapons are related to the weapons held by the characters, and some of them are related to the gun names of the State of Jin at that time. The author designed this way to let readers know clearly the weapons of these characters' fame. Some of them let readers know some social backgrounds at that time, and some of them have been analyzed and introduced above, so I won't repeat them here. In addition, the weapons held by Liangshan heroes can be described as varied, some even existed in the Song Dynasty, some were grotesque, and some had changed their uses. The era of weapons was from the Spring and Autumn Period, Qin and Han Dynasties to the Song and Yuan Dynasties. It can be said that Water Margin is a showroom of ancient weapons.
(4) Taking the name of Qixing as posthumous title, we can see that when Shi Naian designed the character posthumous title, he was fully influenced by the feudal meaning. Most of these strange stars were "fierce stars", which indicated that Shi Naian wanted to use the names of some scary strange stars in folk feudal superstitions to add fierce and rebellious colors to his characters, and also added comments to the theme that Liangshan heroes gathered righteousness as "Heaven should obey destiny, and the stars should trust the world". On the other hand, it also shows the true temperament of Liangshan heroes by contrast, and people are ugly and honest.
(5) Shi Naian is also a writer who is good at describing and expressing characters. Above, he has made a detailed analysis on how to express characters by nicknames, so I won't go into details here.
(6) From the nicknames of people's occupations or skills, we can see Shi Naian's concern for the civic class and civilian life in the society at that time. Many of these characters are common images of ordinary people in society. Treating these civilians as Liangshan heroes not only shows that Liangshan heroes come from all walks of life, but the whole Liangshan is a microcosm of society; On the other hand, it is to attack the social reality of "officials forcing the people to rebel" and strengthen the ideological tendency of Liangshan heroes against corrupt officials.
(7) Nicknamed after the ancients, because Shi Naian wants to connect those who have similarities with Liangshan heroes, and explain their similarities through the nicknames of the ancients, such as Xiao Lihua Guangrong (nicknamed Li Guang, the general of the Western Han Dynasty, because Huarong and Li Guang are proficient in archery); Xiao Hou Wen Lu Fang (nicknamed Lu Bu, a valiant soldier in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, because both Lv Fang and Lu Bu painted halberds with the same surname as Tian Fang and Lv Fang); Sai Guo Sheng (nicknamed Xue, a famous soldier in the Tang Dynasty, because both Guo Sheng and Xue painted halberds); Guan Suo Yang Xiong (nicknamed Guan Suo, the youngest son of Guan Yu in Shu, because soldiers in Song Dynasty like to use Guan Suo as the number); Sick Wei Chi Sun Li and Chi Sun Xin (both nicknamed Weichi Gong, a famous soldier in the Tang Dynasty, because their brothers were all familiar with flogging and were burly). On the other hand, taking posthumous title as the name of the ancients also reflected the phenomenon that the outlaws at that time admired ancient heroes and competed to imitate them.
Some nicknames of characters in the book cannot be translated literally.
The nicknames of some characters in Water Margin cannot be translated literally. Don't unilaterally understand the actual meaning of people's nicknames literally. Some nicknames cannot be understood literally. For example, in Yang Xiong and Sun Li, "disease" here does not mean "disease", but refers to the yellow faces of the characters. Another example is a young man who wants to be with San Niang. Don't think that Sanniang is really ten feet tall. This "ten feet" only means that San Niang is tall, not really ten feet tall. Another example is Jong Li, a tiger fighter. Jong Li has never hit a tiger in his life, and his martial arts is very average. He is just a man running around the river playing with guns and sticks to buy plasters. He was called "Tiger Fighter" because Jong Li boasted that he had the ability to fight tigers, but in fact he had never fought tigers, and he didn't have such ability.