For the ancient Chinese, 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. Starting from the Zhou Dynasty, people used other names in addition to their given 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 in the third month after the birth, so it is called the name of the child; in the second and tenth year, there is a way to be a father, and friends and the like cannot be repeated. 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 the 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 there will be no way to enter the existing social order system with an independent identity. There is no scruple about calling children by their first names, but it does not show respect for adults. 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 in all cases it is necessary to address people by their names but not by their names. This depends on the mutual status of the two parties in the conversation. Those of equal status should address others respectfully by their names instead of their names, and modestly 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 naming is to distinguish each other, then choosing words is to indicate superiority and inferiority. This is the basic difference between the functions of names and words. The character is independent of the name, but it maintains close contact with the name. According to ancient philology, "character" has the meaning of breeding. Therefore, Omen can also be understood as the characters of the ancients, which are derived from names. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people's names and characters generally had special meanings. Wang Yinzhi, an exegesis scholar of the Qing Dynasty, summarized and revealed the five types of relationships between names and characters in the Spring and Autumn Period, which was comprehensive and accurate. Now add examples, listed as follows: Synonyms and mutual training. Fan Xu, a student of Confucius, also had the courtesy name Zichi. Xu and Chi both mean waiting. Min Sun, courtesy name Ziqian. Loss and Qian both mean loss. Yan Hui, courtesy name Ziyuan. According to "Shuowen Jiezi", "Yuan means Huishui. Hui means Yuanshui." The antonyms are relative. Duanmuci, a native of Wei, named Zigong. The reward given by the superior to the subordinate is called "ci", and the offering from the inferior to the superior is called "tribute", which has exactly the opposite meaning. Tang Mei, a general of Chu, had the courtesy name Ziming. Ambiguity means darkness, which is the opposite of light. Inference by analogy. Nangong Kuo, a disciple of Confucius, also named Zirong. "Kuo" means including; inferring "bearance" means tolerance. Chu Chen Zhonggui, named Zijia. From returning home to returning home, it is a matter of course. According to the meaning, it means the truth. Qi Gongzi Gu, named Zicheng. From the meaning of solidity, it refers to the tall and solid city wall. A native of Lu, Ran Geng, named Boniu. From the meaning of farming, it refers to the specific farming cattle. Distinguish things into categories. Sui Yuan, a native of Wei, had the courtesy name Boyu; Chen Guan, a native of Qi, had the courtesy name Ziyu. Yuan and Guan are both types of jade. Kong Li, son of Confucius, was given the courtesy name Boyu; Prince Li of Chu was given the courtesy name Ziyu. Carp and bream are both types of fish. The "characters" of the people listed above all consist of two characters, but the first character has no real meaning. For example, the "zi" of Zi Chi and Zigong was a good name for men in ancient times. The "Bo" in Bo Niu and Bo Yu is the first among the characters Bo, Zhong, Shu and Ji. Therefore, this type of two-character "zi" is actually one word "zi". This is also one of the characteristics of early life characters. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, the two-character "zi" gradually increased and became the mainstream. Also, the order in which words and names are used together also changes. In the pre-Qin period, people were given names first and then names. For example, the Chu general Baili Meng Mingshi, Baili was his surname, Mengming was his character, and Shi was his name. After the Han Dynasty, it was changed to name first and then character. For example, when Cao Pi discussed the "Seven Sons of Jian'an" in "Dianlun Wen", he called Kong Rong Wenju, Chen Lin, Kong Zhang, Wang Can and Zhongxuan...here Kong Rong and Chen Lin , Wang Can are names, Wen Ju, Kong Zhang, and Zhong Xuan are their characters respectively. In addition, the way of selecting characters inherits the synonyms, antonyms, analogies, and object distinctions from the pre-Qin period. There have been some new developments in the traditional methods of unifying categories and using rankings and names, such as the inheritance of traditions, such as: Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu, whose courtesy name was Kongming; Tao Yuanming, the poet of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, whose courtesy name was Yuanliang; Sikong Shu, one of the "Ten Sons of Li", had the courtesy name Wenming. (synonymous mutual training) Luo Yin, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, had the courtesy name Zhaojian; Han Yu, the first of the "Eight Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties", had the courtesy name Tuizhi; Zhu Xi, a great scholar in the Song Dynasty, had the courtesy name Hui ; Wang Niansun, a phonological exegesis expert in the Qing Dynasty, was given the courtesy name Huaizu; Guan Tong, a writer of the Tongcheng School, was given the courtesy name Dizhi (opposite meanings); Huang Buzhi, a writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, was given the courtesy name Wujiu; Southern Song poet You Mao was given the courtesy name Yanzhi; Southern Song Ci. Liu Guo, whose name was changed; Qing Dynasty historian Zhang Xuecheng, whose name was Shizhai (connected analogy); Zhou Yu, the general of the Eastern Wu Dynasty, named Gongjin; Zhuge Jin, the elder brother of Zhuge Liang, named Ziyu (Bianwu Tonglei), a writer of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Cai Yong, whose courtesy name was Bojie; Tang Dynasty poet Qian Qi, whose courtesy name was Zhongwen; Northern Song poet Yan Jidao, whose courtesy name was Shuyuan; Ming Dynasty writer Wang Siren, whose courtesy name was Jizhong (named after row). Secondly, in terms of new developments, the main There are: Zengmei words. In addition to the honorific words such as son and father in the pre-Qin era, a large number of words with rich meanings, such as Gong, Weng, Qing, Qian, Yan, Wei, Xiu, Dao, Xiao... became the words for choosing words. Popular choices. For example: Dou Rong, a minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was named Zhou Gong; Huang Gai, a general of the Eastern Wu Dynasty, was named Gong Fu; Guo Xie, a powerful man in the Western Han Dynasty, was named Weng Bo; Kong Chaofu, an official of the Tang Dynasty, was named Weng Weng. Those who used the beautiful words of the Western Han Dynasty, Su Wu, the envoy of the Western Han Dynasty, had the courtesy name Ziqing; the general Wei Qing, had the courtesy name Zhongqing; the Western Han Dynasty writer Dongfang Shuo had the courtesy name of Manqian; the grandson of Cao Pi and the Wei Emperor Cao Mao, had the courtesy name of Yanshi.

To use descriptive words, Xu Qian, one of the "Seven Sons of Jian'an", had the courtesy name Wei Chang; Ying Xu, a litterateur in the Wei Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms, had the courtesy name Xiulian. The person who used the beautiful words of virtue was Yin Zhen, a scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty, whose courtesy name was Daozhen. Liu Bei's latent scholar Fazheng was named Xiaozhi. Collect classics. Pick out the meanings of wonderful famous sayings and aphorisms in classics and use them as expressions with elegant meaning. Cao Cao's courtesy name is Mengde, and his words come from "Xunzi Encouraging Learning": "Those who learn must stick to the same learning. ... Therefore, power cannot be dumped, the masses cannot be moved, and the world cannot be shaken. Life is based on this, and death is the same." Therefore, this is called virtue. "Shangshu Dayu Mo" states that "fullness brings harm, modesty benefits." From this, Qian Qianyi, a scholar in the late Ming Dynasty, was named Shouzhi; Wang Xianqian, a gentry in the late Qing Dynasty, was named Yi. I. Express admiration. Expressing admiration for the sages and sages of the past is one of the important ideas of the ancients in naming and choosing characters. Yan Zhitui, a writer in the Northern Qi Dynasty, admired the integrity of Jie Zitui, a Jin person in the Spring and Autumn Period, so he was named after him and his surname as his surname. Gu Yewang, a literary exegesis expert in the Southern Dynasties, admired Feng Yewang, a doctor of the Western Han Dynasty. He not only copied his name, but also gave it the courtesy name Xifeng. Gu Zuyu, a novice in the late Ming and Qing Dynasties, admired Fan Zuyu, a historian in the Song Dynasty and known as "Tang Jiangong", so he was named after him, and he also had the courtesy name Jingfan. Send feelings. Lu You said in "Notes of Laoxue'an": "Words represent a person's virtue." Just as words are the voice of the heart, words are also a means for people to express their feelings. Kang Youwei, the leader of the modern reform movement, had the nickname Guangsha, which was intended to express his broad mind of fighting for an enlightened and free existence "Guangsha" for the people under the dark dictatorship. Huang Yanpei, a famous modern democrat named Renzhi, himself explained the meaning of "Renzhi": "One is to resolutely and bravely shoulder the responsibilities that one should do and the responsibilities that the country and society should bear, and let it go; The second is to ignore insignificant things, boring rumors, etc., let them go, and let them go. This is my creed in life." Analysis of Famous Essays. There is a close connection between names and names. This connection can be either in a literary sense or in a text structure. The poet Xie Ao of the Southern Song Dynasty, whose courtesy name was Gaoyu; the traitor Qin Hui, whose courtesy name was Huizhi; the "Jingling School" literati Liu Tong of the Ming Dynasty, whose courtesy name was Tongren; and the Qing writer Mao Qiling, whose courtesy name was Dake. The use of both names and characters is one of the unique traditions of Chinese name culture, and this was still the case until the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Take celebrities as an example: Lu Xun, whose original name was Zhou Shuren and whose courtesy name was Hencai. Li Dazhao, courtesy name Shouchang. Hu Shi, named Shizhi. Mao Dun's original name was Shen Dehong, and his courtesy name was Yan Bing. Zhu Ziqing, courtesy name Peixian. Chen Yi, courtesy name Zhonghong. The Revolution of 1911 overthrew the autocratic monarchy that had existed for thousands of years. Later, with the impact of the May 4th New Culture Movement, the traditional order of superiority and inferiority was completely negated. Therefore, the characters with the main function of clarifying superiority and inferiority lost their existence. Basic basis. With the development of the times, the pace of life has accelerated, interpersonal interactions have become more and more frequent, and the system of complex titles and stacked names and characters is obviously no longer necessary and possible to restore.

But knowing a little bit about this knowledge can at least avoid jokes like Yang Liulang calling himself "Yang Jing Yang Yanzhao" in front of the emperor in the storytelling "Yang Family General"