Cao Cao is named Mengde, Liu Bei is named Xuande, and Wu Bai is named experience.
People born after the 20th century have relatively simple names. On the premise of adhering to the surname of the ancestors, taking one or two characters as the first name is enough. For them, "name" is a simple word whose meaning cannot be divided. However, for ancient Chinese people, a name is a name and a character is a character. Each has its own independent meaning and cannot be confused together. Here we focus on the "words" of the ancients.
Since the Zhou Dynasty, people have also given other names to their names. "Book of Rites·Tan ??Gong" says: "The name of the child is the crown character." The explanation of this sentence is: "The name is added after the first three months of birth, so it is said that the name of the child is; at the age of twenty, there is a way to be a father, and friends and the like cannot be replaced. When calling his name, add the word "the way to be a father at the age of twenty", of course, it refers to a man; for a woman, it is "given a hairpin and the word", when it is time to get married. (15 years old) Add "zi". People are given names as soon as they are born, in order to distinguish each other, otherwise they will not be able to enter the existing social order system with an independent identity. There is no scruple in calling a child by his or her first name, but it does not seem to be respectful enough to an adult. The name is chosen to solve this problem. Therefore, the names of the ancients were mainly used to refer to themselves; the characters of the ancients were mainly used to refer to others. Of course, this does not mean that it is necessary to address people by their names in all cases. This depends on the mutual status of the two parties in the conversation. Those of equal status should respectfully address others by their names instead of their names, and humbly address themselves by their names instead of their names. Elders can also address their juniors, teachers to their students, and superiors to their subordinates by their names, which makes them appear more cordial. If the purpose of naming is to distinguish each other, then the choice of words is to indicate superiority and inferiority. This is the basic difference between the functions of names and words.
The word is independent of the name, but it is closely related to the name. According to ancient texts
The ancients had both names and characters. For example (Cao Cao was called Mengde, Liu Bei was called Xuande). So what was the name of Li Shiming, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty? Why can't anyone mention his name?
Not recorded. Li Shimin was less than 20 years old when he was named King of Qin. After that, Li Shimin was ordered to conquer the east and west, and was busy with the war to unify the country. It is unclear whether he had time to go home and hold the "Crown Ceremony". For civil and military officials and subordinates, they probably would not have any chance to call him by his name, because at that time, only Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng were higher in his status. It can be said that he is below the two and above ten thousand people. . Except for Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng who can be called "Erlang" (the original text of "Datang Entrepreneurship and Living Notes" is contained in the original text), others are only qualified to be called "His Royal Highness King Qin". Therefore, it is very likely that there is no need for His Highness the King of Qin to take the "word" anymore, or if he takes the word, no one is qualified to call him with the "word", and he will be forgotten for a long time. As for after becoming the emperor, the emperor's name must not be called casually, and etiquette must avoid it. However, Li Shimin is relatively open-minded in this regard and does not pursue vanity. After he ascended the throne, he issued an edict stating that as long as the words "Shimin" are not used together in words, there is no need to avoid taboos: "The order said: "According to etiquette, the two names are not taboo. In modern times, both words have been avoided, and there have been many obsolescences. Acting on one's own will is contrary to the classics. If the official title, personal name, and public and private documents contain the word "Shimin" that is not consecutive, there is no need to conceal it. " (Old Book of Tang Dynasty, Second Annals). The "Six Ministries" in the ancient Three Provinces and Six Ministries system were originally the six agencies of "officials, people, rituals, soldiers, punishments, and workers". Among them, the "Ministry" did not exist during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. The name was changed to avoid the taboo word "Min" for Li Shimin. However, after Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, came to the throne, in order to show his filial piety and respect, he ordered the "Minbu" to be changed to "Hubu". Li Yuan, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, took the word "Jiguan" When he was an ordinary magistrate, he was called "Shu De" for many years. By the time he became emperor, he was already well-known, so the word "Shu De" has been passed down.