Chinese Name Culture: Text and Images

Author: Wanyan Shaoyuan
Author Country: China
Editor: Ancient Culture
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-06-01
Features: It is said that foreigners name their children by simply flipping through a dictionary and directly translating the "Name List" in the appendix, so they are either called TOM or MARY. But Chinese people are not so crude. Who doesn’t put their heart into naming their child as if facing a major challenge? So, Chinese names have always been elegant and refined. Just a name isn’t enough; there are also characters and titles, like Jiaxuan or Yian. You don’t need me to tell you who they are? Over time, names have become a culture, and a very pure and fun one. From ancient times to the present, from emperors to commoners, from prime ministers to woodcutters, from the obscure Tangtai Miming, Yao, Shun, and Yu to the dust of "Yuanyuan flying and Yan Yan fading," those Shishis, those Weihongs—names that can record a lifetime in just a few characters, to the thin book in our hands, Chinese name culture is an integrated whole composed of internal historical and logical connections. Due to the distinctions of primary and secondary, the Five Elements (Wuxing), and the inside and outside, it shows clear layers and a three-dimensional sense of perspective. The strong sense of tracing roots and seeking origins is the core of this whole, or what can be called its spiritual essence. Whether it’s identifying bloodlines and the derived surnames and family names, or names and characters used to "rectify the body" and "express virtue," as well as related hall slogans, ancestral records, and other various naming styles, all follow the trend of tracing the same origin and ultimately converge toward the of Yan and Huang. This sense of seeking roots and origins carried by traditional name culture has gradually accumulated into the common psychology of the Chinese people. In national identity, enhancing national vitality, and boosting national confidence, it plays an irreplaceable role. This is also the fundamental charm that has made it influential to this day.
As a product of ancient Chinese society in a specific historical context, traditional name culture is also a vast repository for people to study the long history of the Chinese nation from a new perspective. For example, starting with the origins, distinctions, and merging of surnames, one can deepen the understanding of the characteristics of different social forms in ancient times. Moreover, by examining specific phenomena such as genealogies, lineages, hall slogans, and joint clans, one can reveal the historical role of bloodline ties in the development and daily life of ancient society. For instance, by analyzing the basic methods of naming, the trends in character selection, and the taboos in naming during a certain historical period, one can gain valuable insights into the political policies, spirit of the times, and social customs of that era. In summary, the essential characteristics of ancient Chinese society, such as the autocratic system, the family-based social structure, and the moral and ethical norms centered on loyalty to the ruler and filial piety, are far from fully revealed through it. This is also the reason why it has increasingly attracted the attention of academia.
Traditional name culture is also one of the most nationally distinctive components of ancient Chinese spiritual civilization. Based on a comprehensive understanding of the universal characteristics of Chinese cultural traditions, explaining and analyzing its strong national traits has become an important way for us today to critically inherit traditional cultural heritage. Take a phenomenon that has already been noticed as an example: in ancient Chinese literature and various works of art, people’s names are often used flexibly, breaking free from their specific, symbolic, or structural norms (see Guo Wenrui’s "The Flexible Use of Ancient Names," in 《》Issue 143). This is also true for name-based games like puns, character (deconstruction), name-based drinking games, poetry riddles, and couplets—all of which are related to the basic forms of Chinese characters. The exploration of these topics is undoubtedly a highly meaningful endeavor to uncover the treasures of national culture and restore their brilliance under new historical conditions, allowing them to bloom anew.
Excerpt: In the not-so-distant past, a friend of mine who taught Chinese at a university told me a story. He said there was a European student in his department who had a solid foundation in Chinese and could even read 《》 (Dream of the Red Chamber) with the help of a dictionary. However, the title of the 27th chapter, 《》 (The Jade Green Pavilion: Yang Fei, the Empress, Jokes with a Butterfly; The Fragrant Grave: Fei Yan, the Beauty, Weeps Over Fallen Red), left him baffled. He read it over and over again but couldn’t find anyone in the chapter named "Yang Fei" or "Fei Yan." Later, someone explained to him that both Yang Fei and Fei Yan were famous beauties in Chinese history. Yang Fei was known for her plump figure, like Baochai, while Fei Yan was slender, like Daiyu. They were used in the chapter as nicknames for these two characters. Only then did the student understand. In fact, the confusion the student felt was a fundamental pattern in Chinese linguistic customs. When a real person or artistic figure receives a strong response from the public, their original personal name or other forms of address (such as courtesy names or nicknames) may transform into a public symbol, representing or referring to a certain social characteristic or phenomenon. For example, Zhao Feiyan and Yang Guifei were originally specific names of noblewomen from the Han and Tang dynasties. Due to historical records of their physical appearances, they became public symbols representing slender and plump figures, respectively.
In general, the understandability of such public symbols is quite strong. For instance, Zhuge Liang, as the name of a historical figure from the Three Kingdoms period, has transformed into a public symbol for wisdom and intelligence in Chinese linguistic customs. Phrases like "" (Zhuge Liang after the fact), "" (compared to Zhuge Liang), and "，" (three mediocre cobblers are equal to one Zhuge Liang) have greatly enhanced the vividness and liveliness of the language due to the use and ease of understanding of this symbol.
In 《》 (Water Margin), when Zhuge Liang () first appears, the author introduces his courtesy name as "" (Mr. Added Brightness). In 《》 (Xiao Erhei’s Marriage), one of the protagonists is introduced by his nickname "" (Er Zhezi). During the Qing Dynasty, Zuo Zongtang "was fond of self-praise and often signed his letters at the end as ‘’" (Old Brightness) (from 《·》). In the Republican era, Yang Yuting, the chief of staff of Zhang Zuolin, was also self-assured, so he chose a courtesy name called "" (Next to Zhuge), meaning "next to Zhuge Liang."
This series of nicknames, aliases, self-designations, and courtesy names all follow a single thread: a person’s name becomes a public symbol, and a symbol then gives rise to more names and aliases. Moreover, without exception, they all point to wisdom and cleverness, making it clear at a glance. Clearly, this is a distinctive display of the achievements of Chinese name culture. It not only enriches the vividness and liveliness of folk language customs but also provides material for further enriching the culture of names itself.
Looking at the vast repository of Chinese names throughout history, countless names have become public symbols, and countless examples can be cited where they have become shining points in folk language customs. For example, Xi Shi is a symbol for beauty, leading to phrases like "" (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder). Lu Ban is a symbol for skillful craftsmanship, leading to phrases like "" (Dancing a great axe in front of Lu Ban). Zhang Fei is a symbol for fierceness, leading to phrases like "" (Zhang Fei sells tofu—his goods are hard but his attitude is soft). Confucius is a symbol for scholars, with a touch of pedantry, leading to phrases like "——（）" (Confucius’s moving truck—full of books (loss)). Similar to this trend, the integration of Chinese name culture into folk customs also includes many specific names becoming general references for people’s daily life, clothing, food, and housing, as well as for rituals and utensils. For example, in the old days in Chaoshan, women traditionally wore a silk scarf or coarse cloth (now a waistband called "") called "," said to be a legacy of Han Yu. In southern rural areas, there was a custom of wearing hats made of bamboo leaves, known as "," said to have been created by Emperor Gaozu of Han when he was a local official. Others include "," "," "" (in Minnan and Taiwan, Zheng Chenggong is called ""), "," and "," all of which reflect the long history of Chinese clothing culture through the naming of surnames and titles.