We all know that in the customs of the ancients, both men and women not only have names, but also their own "characters". So what exactly is the word "take"? What's the point?
In ancient times, men were 20 years old and had haircuts, and women were 15 years old. Even if they are adults during this period, they will have their own "characters" when they become adults. "Book of Rites, Qu Li" says: "A man's 20th haircut is his alias, and a woman's 15th hairpin is her alias." "Zi" is given by the elders in the family, and the choice of "Zi" is also very particular. When choosing a word, you should choose a good word and a meaningful word. The elders will look through the information and finally select a satisfactory "word". This word represents the elders' expectations for the children who are about to grow up, hoping that it will be a good sign.
Because there were a lot of red tape in ancient times, the ancients paid great attention to etiquette. Therefore, there is a saying of "taking the first name". When two people meet for the first time and between two or three friends, they are called by the first name. This seems to be more respectful. Only those with close relationships and family relatives should be called by their first names.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei was named Xuande, Guan Yu was named Yunchang, and Cao Cao was named Mengde. When they address each other, they always use the word "pian" directly, which represents their respect for each other. For example, Cao Cao was called "Cao Mengde". The "Cao Mengde" name could be chosen by an elder or chosen by oneself. ?The word? is a symbol that represents oneself and one's own identity. In the eyes of ancient literati, writing is a kind of spirit. The poets of the Tang Dynasty not only chose words for themselves, but also gave themselves titles. Different "characters" and different titles express one's ambitions to outsiders.
The culture of taking the word ? has been used since the Shang Dynasty and has endured for a long time. It has been used until modern times, such as Lu Xun's alias Yucai and Hu Shi's alias Shizhi. Because the distinction between names and characters was too complicated, this culture was gradually forgotten by people.