How do Bai people get their names?

Today, Xiaobian will take a look with you at how the Bai people choose their names. According to experts, among the 55 ethnic minorities in China, only three ethnic groups have surnames at the earliest, namely, Yao, Russian and Bai in Liannan, Guangdong. Except for the relatively isolated Nama branch, all Bai people have surnames, which is obviously influenced by the Han nationality, that is, surnames have always been the symbol of distinguishing blood relationship between Han and Bai people. Heman, an ancestor of the Bai nationality who lived near Erhai Lake in the late Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty, had dozens of surnames, with Li, Zhao, Yang and Dong as famous people. Up to now, we can generally see four inscriptions on the zhaobi of the Bai people's houses, including "Purple Gas Coming from the East" and "Canger Yuxiu", as well as "Family Style of Endurance" (Zhang), "Innocent Family heirloom" (Yang) and "Family Voice of the Ministry of Industry" (Du), and so on. Their classics are from the legends of Han celebrities. This is the same as the saying "from Yingtianfu, Nanjing", and they all want to pull their ancestors to the Han nationality. Bai people like to use words that symbolize strength and beauty, such as gods, sun, moon, mountains, sea, flowers, birds, etc. The commonly used words in Bai names are the honorific titles of Buddha and Bodhisattva, while Prajna and Bodhisattva. Since the mid-Nanzhao period, especially during the Dali period, Achili Sect, a Buddhist tantric sect, has become a religion believed by the whole people. Many devout Achili, even ordinary believers, recite Buddhist scriptures and practice their deities. Therefore, it is often named after the name of the deity or the Buddhist scriptures. Among these names, Guanyin is the most famous one, which is also the result of the special worship of Guanyin by Buddhist tantric sects. In a word, the custom of naming one's own deity or classic is deeply influenced by the tantric Buddhism Sect, and it is a great change caused by the naming custom of the Bai nationality after the popularity of the tantric Buddhism Sect. Bai people have no surnames, and Bai ancestors first adopted Han surnames, when they were in the Han and Jin dynasties. According to historical records, when Zhuge Wuhou traveled south, he gave Sun Long, the ninth of Bai Wang Renguo, the surname Zhang, and called Zhang Long Youna. In the early Tang Dynasty, Zhang Long helped Zhang Lejin, a descendant of that descendant, to be granted by the Tang Dynasty as the chief general of Sanhuo White. Liang Jianfang's Notes on the Customs of Xi 'er River states that there are hundreds of tribes and dozens of surnames around Erhai Lake, and Yang, Zhao, Li and Dong are famous. Man Shu contains a collection of Zhao (imperial edict), and the most common surnames are Wang, Yang, Li and Zhao Si. It serves to show that during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Han surname became more popular among the white people around Erhai Lake. There are 5 recognizable Han surnames in the inscription of Nanzhao Dehua Monument and 16 in Nanzhao Tu Zhuan, which shows that the adoption of Han surnames has long been very popular in Nanzhao era. From the system of father and son with no surname to the system of "father and son with Guan Han surname", it is the great influence of Chinese culture on the naming custom of Bai nationality. The naming of Guan surname gradually formed the naming custom of Bai people, especially Guan Han surname is the most. In the father-son joint name system of Guan and Han surnames, due to the syllable characteristics of Bai language, there are "three-character names" or "four-character names" in the names recorded in Chinese characters. For example, in the inscription of Nanzhao Dehua Monument, the three-character names are Zhang Gaoda Mountain, Qin Aibo Luo, Lee Hung Meili and Zhou Tian * * *, while in Nanzhao Tu Zhuan, Wang Xi is enterprising and Liu Wanggui is noble, and in Man Shu, Liu Wangsheng, Meng Dajuan, Fei Li Lejin, Xu Buluo Fei, Zhang Huaxin Mao and Yang Li are included. Among these names, the first word is Han surname, and the middle two words often represent a meaning, such as "Xin Yu" for prince, "Le Jin" for tiger king and "Polo" for tiger. In the middle and late Nanzhao period, another three-character name with Buddha name appeared among the three-character names of Bai nationality. That is, the first word is the Han surname, the middle two words are the honorific names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas or Buddhist names, and the last word is the real name. This naming method was quite popular in Dali period, and it was also practiced in Yuan and Ming dynasties, which was found in many records. For example, the Inscription of Jiaoyuan Pagoda (founded in the 16th year of Tiankai in Dali, AD 1221) is the calligraphy of "Suna Tuozhi", in which there are three names such as "Gao Guanyin politics"; There are "high Guanyin politics and high Guanyin Ming" in the building of the Dizang Temple in Dali, Kunming. There are "Liu Jingang Tian, Li Fahua Yong, Zhou Da Qiao Lin" in the epitaph of Dong Shi's genealogy in Fengyi North Tangtian, Dali. On the inscription of the stone-carved Buddha statues unearthed in Chihiro Pagoda, there are "Liu Yaoshi Xiang, Chen Guanyinjin and Zhao Zhutianlun" and so on. In addition, four-character names like "Chen Yaoshi Qi Ming" are not uncommon.