Chapter 24 Chapter 5 How to Call Names

Generally speaking, it is self-proclaimed and named, but it also depends on who it is for, not everyone. The feudal society advocated the unity of the monarch and the father. The son should be named in front of his father, and the ministers in front of the monarch, or the envoys of the emperor.This is what "Book of Rites · Qu Lishang" says "the name of the father before the son, the name of the emperor before the minister".It is common for a son to be named in front of his father, which is understandable, so we won't discuss it, let's talk about naming the monarch. "Zuo Zhuan Xigong Nine Years" Zhou Tianzi sent envoys to give Qi Huan Gong 胙 [zuo Zuo] meat, and announced: "Because uncle is old, the emperor will not let you bow down at the steps."Duke Huan claimed his name and replied: "Xiaobai, I dare to covet the life of the emperor, and I have no bow!" "Xiaobai" is the name of Duke Huan of Qi.In the feudal era, only ministers and powerful ministers who had made special meritorious deeds could enjoy a kind of honor called "praise without name".That is to say, when worshiping the Son of Heaven, you don't have to call yourself by his name and perform the ceremony of the emperor and his ministers like other courtiers.There are many records in history books.Such as Cao Cao, Sima Yi, Liu Yu, etc., have all enjoyed this special courtesy.In front of the monarch, not only do you have to call yourself by name, but you also have to call other people by name. Even when it comes to your father and ancestors and previous ancestors, you have to call them by their first names. The minister's father and the first minister so-and-so".In the feudal era, the power of the monarch was paramount, and "could not be the king's subjects on the coast of the land", and it was not allowed to show respect to one's elders in front of the monarch.It can be seen that in the pre-Qin period, when talking about your peers in front of your elders, you also called them by their first names.All the disciples of Confucius, in front of Confucius, called each other by name, not by name.

What's more, if the son becomes the emperor, Lao Tzu has to become a minister in reverse. "Historical Records Gaozu Benji" records that after Liu Bang became emperor, he visited his father once every five days.The old man didn't understand the great rituals of the emperor and his ministers, and he still regarded himself as an old man. His family order enlightened him, saying that you should not abolish the royal and ministerial rituals because of the relationship between father and son, and you should do your best as a minister.From then on, the Taigong became a minister to his son, and Liu Bang was very happy.It is a classic classic that everyone is familiar with. The eighteenth chapter is about Jia Yuanchun returning home to visit her relatives. When her father Jia Zheng came to see her, Yuanchun shed tears because she had lived in the deep palace for a long time and could not often talk about family happiness with her family.Although Yuanchun was the eldest daughter of Jia Zheng, after she became the emperor's concubine, the relationship between father and daughter changed to the relationship between monarch and minister. Therefore, when Jia Zheng comforted his daughter, he had to call herself by name, saying: "The noble concubine should not be cruel as a political couple. The year is the memory." This is "the name of the emperor's former ministers".

It is a sign of respect, and it is very logical, to call oneself by one's name, and by extension, to the venerable, to the senior members of the family and relatives, and to the elders.In the anthologies of many masters, there are quite a few letters to famous officials and officials, all of whom are self-proclaimed names.For example, the great poet Li Bai, after leaving Sichuan, wanted to be promoted by Han Chaozong, the governor of Jingzhou, when he was in Jingzhou, so he wrote a letter. This is the famous "Shanghan Jingzhou Book".At the beginning of the letter, it said: "Bai heard that the world was talking about scholars, and when they got together, they said: I don't want to be a marquis of ten thousand households, but I hope to know Han Jingzhou." "On the Prime Minister's Letter", they all call themselves "Han Yu".This is the general etiquette of the feudal era.

In the family, it is natural to respect people of the father and grandparents and call themselves names when they meet them.But the ancients still regarded the elder brother as the elder, and it has always been regarded as a kind of virtue and good tradition has been preserved.There is a folk saying that "an older brother is like a father, and a sister-in-law is like a mother".In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ma Yuan respected his widowed sister-in-law, which was said to be a good story.That's why Han Yu also named himself in the "Worship of Mrs. Zheng", and Mrs. Zheng is Han Yu's sixth sister-in-law.

It is also reasonable to call the elders of relatives by their names.In the eighth chapter, Wu Jingzi from the Qing Dynasty said the following when he wrote that the prefect of Qu (ququ) bid farewell to his two nephews: The two virtuous nephews went back to the mansion, went to the cemetery of Lingxian Taibaogong and Naizun Wenke, and mentioned my name, saying that I am old and old, and I can't come to visit the tomb in person. This Taibaogong is the father-in-law of the prefect of Yun, and Wenkegong is his brother-in-law or brother-in-law. "Bringing my name" means asking the two nephews to call him by his first name directly in front of the tomb, which is his respect for his former father-in-law and his first brother-in-law.

Literati and officials in ancient China, in their friendships, regardless of whether the other party was older or younger than themselves, they always called themselves by name, unlike later popular literature about the bourgeoisie and the people in the rivers and lakes, where the elders called themselves "Brother Fool" ", and the younger ones are called "Xiandi".Regardless of their age, even brothers from the same ancestors, the elders also call themselves names.In the "Book of Yu Congdi Jun Miao Junzhou" in the Three Kingdoms, it is called "Qi Bao" at the beginning and "Qi Bai" at the end.In the Tang Dynasty, courtiers still referred to themselves by name to their peers and friends.For example, in "Jiahua of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", it is recorded that Changsun Wuji hosted a banquet for his colleagues. The position of a minister is extremely extreme. The public regards riches and honours, so what is the difference with Yuegong?'” If it is said that this is for groups in public, what about for individuals?In the same volume, it is also recorded that Lou Shide and Li Zhaode entered the court together, "Lou's body was fat and slow, and Li repeatedly waited for him to come, so he said angrily: "You can't kill people, Tianshehan!" Lou heard it, and Xu laughed and said: 'The morality of a teacher is not Tian Shehan, but who is it?'" Many court ministers in the Tang Dynasty called themselves by their names. There are also many examples in "New Words of the Tang Dynasty".For example, in "Kuang Zan", Su Ting (Ting Ting) is a member of Zhongshu Sheren, who is in charge of making edicts. Said [yueyue] commented on Lu Jian, which is also a self-proclaimed name.In their letters to friends, Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan all call themselves first names, whether they have deep friendship or ordinary friends; and whether they are similar in age or younger than themselves.This tradition of calling themselves names has been maintained by literati and bureaucrats.Gu Yanwu, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, cited several examples of self-proclaimed characters in letters to friends in the second and third volumes of "Self-proclaimed Characters".Although this is a fact, it is not enough for training.It's not surprising that friends and confidants forget each other, don't stick to any etiquette, and occasionally call themselves characters, but it can't be regarded as a normal way of making friends.

The elders call themselves names for the humble, which originated from ancient times.From the point of view, when Confucius talked with his disciples, he always called himself a name, such as "Yiu is like Qiu, he is not as good at learning as Qiu" in "Gongye Chang", and "Qiu is lucky, if there is a mistake in Shuer". , people must know it", "Qiu's prayers have been going on for a long time" and "Qiu also heard that there are people who have a country and a family" in "Ji Shi", etc., are all self-proclaimed names.During the Three Kingdoms period, this trend still prevailed.For example, in Cao Pi's "Book with Zhong Yao [You You]", Cao Pi was already the prince's son at that time, and Zhong Yao was a minister, but the beginning and end of the letter were "Pi Bai".Cao Zhi is honored as a noble son, and he also calls himself a name in "Book with Yang Dezu". The volume of "Jiahua of Sui and Tang Dynasties" was uploaded, and Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty "was the first heir to the throne, and he talked with Zheng Gong (Wei Zheng), and he kept his name".After the Tang Dynasty, especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the emperor called himself a name for his ministers, and there was no such thing at all.It is not so fashionable for princes, sons, and princes to call themselves by their names.The imperial power is supreme, and the status of the royal family members has also risen.

In the family, the elders call themselves names to the younger generation, which can still be seen in the Three Kingdoms era.For example, Cao Hong and Cao Pi called themselves "Hong Bai" in their letters.Cao Hong is Cao Pi's uncle.In the Tang Dynasty, Han Yu called himself "Ji Fu Yu" in "Ji Twelve Lang Wen".This is not very common in later generations.If it is for a group, it may still be able to name itself, but it is relatively rare for a person to be named. It must be emphasized here that the immediate elders, such as father and grandfather, do not call their children and grandchildren by their own names.There is a well-known "Water Margin" story that can prove this point. The thirty-ninth and fortieth chapters of "Water Margin" write that Wu Yong of Liangshan, in order to save Song Jiang from the danger of Jiangzhou, ordered Xiao Rang to write a letter in imitation of Cai Jing's handwriting, affix it with Cai Jing's seal engraved by Jin Dajian, and asked Dai Zong to take it with him. Back in Jiangzhou, the letter ordered Cai Jiuzhi to escort Song Jiang to Bianliang, so that when he passed Liangshan, he could rescue him up the mountain.After Dai Zong left, Wu Yong suddenly remembered that there was a big flaw in the fake letter. Not only would he not be able to save Song Jiang, but it would drag Dai Zong to suffer.When everyone asked about the flaws in the letter, Wu Yong explained:

Now the prefect of Cai Jiu in Jiangzhou is the son of Taishi Cai, how can the father write books and the son make a book with taboo words?So bad. It turns out that what Jin Dajian engraved was common in the folk, and Cai Jing used a "Hanlin Cai Jing" seal script stamp in jade (zhuzhu) when he was a Hanlin scholar in his early years.This is the stamp that Cai Jing used when he wrote for others and signed social articles. It is inappropriate to use it for his son's home letter.So as soon as Dai Zong arrived in Jiangzhou, he was seen through by the alert and cunning Huang Wenbing, and analyzed to Cai Jiuzhi:

Now that he is promoted to grand master and prime minister, how can he use Hanlin books?What's more, it is also a book sent by the father to the son, so it is necessary to improperly use books with taboo characters.Your father, grand master, Enxiang is a person who knows the world poorly and has great foresight. Can he make a mistake and use it wrongly? This "knowledge of the poor world, brilliant foresight" means knowing that fathers should not call themselves names for their sons.Until 1949, when father, grandfather, uncle, and uncle wrote letters, they did not write their names at the end, but only wrote "father's letter", "ancestor's word", "uncle's handwriting" or "uncle's handwriting", etc.Of course, there are also those who write "Uncle XX" and "Uncle XX".

The following introduces the problem of pronouncing words.