From ancient times to the present, no matter ancient people or modern people, the role of names is the same, which is the code used by a person to distinguish others in social communication.
Like modern people, the ancients were named by their parents at birth. Educated parents will give their children an elegant and pleasant name, while uneducated parents will give their children an easy-to-remember name. No matter what kind of name it is, it has placed the expectations of parents.
For example, Xin Qiji, a great writer in the Southern Song Dynasty, was born weak and sick, and his parents wanted him to stay away from the disease, so he got the name of "abandoning the disease".
The ancients were deeply influenced by "culture of rites and music" and "culture of filial piety", and thought that "parents are people who suffer from skin damage", and all their own things, including life and name, were given by their parents. Therefore, in the eyes of the ancients, names can only be called by parents and elders, and it is considered very impolite to call a person by his or her first name among peers. Unless two people of the same age are very close, it's okay to call them by their first names once in a while.
So, what did the ancients call themselves?
For the convenience of others, the ancients gave themselves names and numbers when they were adults. The name font size and * * * are isomorphic to a person's address, and each has its own uses.
The ancients were very particular about the use of "characters", and they could not remember them casually. They often choose one or a word with rich connotations from classic ancient books as their own words. Generally speaking, words are the complement of names and have strong relevance.
In terms of specific operation methods, the ancients like to use "complementarity" and "parallelism" to name them.
"Complementarity" means that there is a causal relationship between the meanings of words and names, which is very close. For example, Zhao Yun, the famous star of the Three Kingdoms, was called Zilong. The Book of Changes has a cloud: the cloud follows the dragon and the wind follows the tiger. "Cloud" and "dragon" are all things in the sky. Yu Qian, a famous minister in the Ming Dynasty, once used the word "Tingyi". There is a saying in Shangshu called "modesty and benefit", and "modesty" and "benefit" are mutually causal.
"Coordinates" means that names and words have the same or similar meanings. For example, Qu Yuan, a great poet of Chu State in the Warring States Period, was named "Ping" and the word "Yuan". As the old saying goes, "Guangping said Yuan", these two words had the same meaning in ancient times. Another example is Zhuge Liang, a famous soldier in the Three Kingdoms. The words "Kongming", "Liang" and "Kongming" have similar meanings.
"Hao" is also called another name. In fact, when the ancients named "Hao", it was not as strict as this word, so it was more free and casual. There is no limit to how many numbers a person can take and how many words a number can use.
However, not all the ancients gave themselves nicknames, only those literati gave themselves one or more nicknames, which represented their personality ideals, life attitudes and hobbies.
In ancient times, a few people gave themselves nicknames, but most of them were given by others, because these people were outstanding in personality, knowledge, morality and ability and made great contributions to the country and society. In order to show respect for these people, others will give them some nicknames.
Under normal circumstances, when people choose nicknames, they will choose them according to their official names, hometown names, personality characteristics, living habits, strength, etc. The nicknames that meet my interests are good nicknames.
For example, Li Bai's nickname "Qinglian Jushi" was named because he was born in Qinglian Township, Mianzhou, Jiannan.
Wang Wei has several nicknames, the nickname is "Mosha layman", because he believes in Buddhism and lives like a layman. There is no "Wang Youcheng" because he used to be a senior minister.
Liu Zongyuan's nickname "Liuhe East" was called by others because he was from Hedong (now Yongji area in Yuncheng, Shanxi).
Su Shi's name is "Dongpo Jushi", which shows his status as a layman. He once cultivated on a barren slope east of Huangzhou, hence the name "Dongpo Jushi".