Chinese people attach great importance to names, whether they are names of people or places, and they heartily resist names that make people uncomfortable. Confucius once said: If the name is not justified, the words are not correct. This sentence has a great influence on the thinking of the Chinese people.
Looking through Chinese history, we can see that the names of ancient people include single names and compound names. For example, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Huan of Qi Xiaobai and Duke Wen of Jin Chong'er had compound names, while during the Warring States Period Bai Qi and Li Mu had single names. Liu Bang and Xiang Yu in the Qin and Han Dynasties, Cao Cao and Liu Bei in the Three Kingdoms period all had single names, and Li Shimin and Zhao Kuangyin in the Tang and Song Dynasties had compound names. Nowadays, single names are not common, and they are mostly compound names. It can be seen that single names and compound names have different characteristics in various historical periods.
Why was it more common for ancient people to use single names, such as Xiang Yu, Liu Bang, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei, but now it is rare? 1. In the pre-Qin era, both single names and compound names were common
In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, or even in older times, Chinese civilization had no taboos on naming. Both single names and compound names were common, and There is no rule about a single name being noble and a compound name being humble. At that time, many monarchs or leaders had compound names. Legend has it that Yao was named Fang, with a heavy Chinese name, and Dayu was named Wenming. His descendants, the kings of Xia, also had compound names. The kings of Shang were all named after Tianqian. The emperor of Zhou and the princes of the Spring and Autumn Period also mostly had compound names, such as the Duke of Zheng, Wusheng, Duke Huan of Qi, Xiaobai, and Duke Wen of Jin, Chong'er, who we are all familiar with. 2. In the Qin Dynasty, taboos became a necessity
After the unification of the Qin State, naming matters were still the same as those of the predecessors. There was not much difference between single names and compound names. But the difference is that Qin was the first unified dynasty in China. In order to maintain his divine power, the first emperor ordered that citizens must avoid the emperor's name when naming. This rule has been followed by later generations. 3. During the Han and Jin Dynasties, a single name dominated the world
From the Han Dynasty, a single name began to dominate, and it is difficult to find traces of multiple names. Except for Liu Fuling and Liu Jizi (Liu Title), 21 of the 23 emperors of the Han Dynasty had single names. Among the many romantic figures in the Three Kingdoms, it was even harder to find a compound name. Since then, the royal family has been like this, and the upper class has been flocking to it, and single names have become a social trend.
The Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 years) and the Three Kingdoms (220-265 years) period lasted about 240 years. If the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316 years) when the Three Kingdoms were unified was added, this stage accounted for about 240 years. 300 years. From the investigation of the history of Chinese names, these 300 years were the peak period of the popularity of single names among Chinese people.
Why were there so many single names during this period? Ancient and modern commentators have different opinions on this phenomenon.
The general explanation is that at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang established the new dynasty and reformed the system, "forcing China not to have two names." However, this explanation is not reasonable. Single names were already popular before that.
The reason why the emperor chose a single name was mainly to avoid taboos, "because it is difficult to keep taboos with two names." The taboo began in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The names of monarchs and elders were not allowed to be written or stated directly. They had to be avoided in other ways. If the emperor had a compound name, he would need to avoid two words, and if he had a single name, half of it would be reduced. This is also for the convenience of the masses.