Why did the ancients call numbers?

Nowadays, most people have a "name" without a "word", so when we say "name", we usually mean only a person's name, or a name. But in ancient times, most people, especially officials and intellectuals, had both "names" and "characters", and some names and characters had "numbers" in addition.

(1) What are names and words?

The so-called "name" is the special name of individuals in society, that is, the symbols used by individuals in society. "Zi" is often the explanation and supplement of a name, also known as "ideograph". "Book of Rites Talking about Bows" says: "Young name, crown word." "Shu" says: "Born in March, it was given a new name, so it has a young name. When you are twenty years old and you can't name it, add words to your crown. " Yi Li Guanshi Lee: "If you are crowned, you should respect its name. Your father used to call him by his name, and others called him by his name. " Therefore, this name is from an early age for elders to call. When a man reaches the age of 20, he will hold a coronation ceremony, which means that he wants to be an official and enter the society. When a woman grows up, she will leave her family and promise to marry. Those who are not allowed to get married are called "Wei Zi" or "Dai Zi". When you get married at the age of fifteen, you should also call your friends.

In ancient times, the names of early figures were generally simple, such as Kong Jia, Gui Lu, Waibing, Yongji, Pan Geng, Wu Ding and Xiao Xin. All of them were named by cadres, which may be related to people's concept of attaching importance to time at that time. Later, with the progress of society, the development of language and the strengthening of consciousness, people's names became more and more complicated, and naming people became a science. When naming a name, you should carefully consider its connotation and think it over and over again. "Zuo Zhuan Huan Gong Six Years" recorded five principles of naming in the Spring and Autumn Period: "There are five names, faithfulness, righteousness, image, falsehood and category." This was put forward by Shen Ru, a doctor of the State of Lu, when answering the question of Huan Gong's name, which meant that he should be named according to his birth characteristics or from the aspects of pursuing Mu Xiangrui, expressing ambition, praising virtue and pinning his parents' expectations. And put forward seven noes: "not named after countries, officials, mountains and rivers, hidden diseases, animals and coins."

The ancient naming convention that emphasizes meaning and connotation has continued for thousands of years. For boys and girls born, because of their physiology. Personality and occupation are different, so names are different. For men, words are brave, strong and resolute; for women, words are virtuous, gorgeous and beautiful.

In addition, naming also reflects the characteristics of the times. The Xia and Shang Dynasties mentioned above like to use the names of the main branches as a typical example. Later, in the long-term feudal society, rich families of officials were mostly named after loyalty, filial piety, loyalty, longevity, health, promotion and wealth, so many people were named after benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, faith, music, virtue, longevity, promotion, step-ancestor, honor-ancestor and continuation. People also want to live a good life and look forward to having many children and grandchildren and going to school, so there are many names called Fu Gui, Telford, Jincai, Zhixue, Ping 'an, Changshun, Man Cang, Mantun, Baocheng, Jinsuo and Shuanzhu.

After the founding of New China, many new names appeared, such as founding the country, aiding Korea, protecting the family, supporting the army, building the army, supporting Vietnam, staying in the Soviet Union, Weidong, Hongwei, Cultural Revolution, studying engineering and supporting agriculture.

Since the reform and opening up, the phenomenon of taking foreign names has begun to rise again, which is undesirable and should not be advocated.

(2) What is the relationship between ideographic characters and names in meaning?

The ancients were very particular about the choice of ideographs, and the situation was very complicated, but there were rules to follow, which could only be discovered through careful investigation, analysis and research. For example, it is common to choose words according to the ranking of the oldest and youngest brothers. For example, Confucius is the second child, so he is lame, and he has an older brother. The most typical is Wu Dong's younger brother Sun Shi during the Three Kingdoms period. Sun Ce took the word Fu Bo as his eldest son; Sun Quan took the word Zhong Mou as his second son; Sun Yi ranked third, taking the word Bi Shu; Sun Kuang ranked fourth, taking the word Ji Zuo.

There are also many cases of using "Zi" at the dinner table, because "Zi" was a good title or honorific title for men in ancient times. So people like to use it, such as hole pile and word thinking; Zhong You, Hippo Chef Road; Sima Qian, word length; Cao Zhi, Zi Zijian; Su Shi, the word Zizhan; Du Fu, beautiful words; Yuan Mei is a genius.

Although these ideograms are common, they have little connection with real names. In fact, Bo, Zhong, Shu, Ji and Zi are not real ideograms, and the words behind them, such as strategy, integrity, thinking, smoothness and beauty, are the main components of ideograms. This main component is related to the meaning of the original name, which is introduced as follows:

1. Synonymy: that is, ideographic characters and names have the same meaning, are interlinked, and are in a parallel relationship, so they are also called "parallel type". For example:

Qu Ping, etymology. Guangping said the original text, meaning the same.

Yan Hui, the word Zi Yuan. Deep and backwater have the same meaning.

In Yu, the word "I" means the same thing to me.

Xu Fan, this word is too late. Being late and being late both mean "waiting".

Zhang Heng, the word Ping Zi. Equality and fairness are the same.

Lu you, the concept of word service. Tourism and righteousness are the same.

Ceng Gong, this word is solid. Gong and Gu Yi are the same.

Ban Gu, the word Meng Jian. Strong and real mean the same thing.

Monk, the word Yu Zi. Tui and Yu are both cars.

2. Similarity of meaning: that is, ideograms and names are similar in meaning, but not exactly the same, and can complement each other, which is called "auxiliary type". For example:

Loud, the word "Luan". Luan and Wen are both birds, but they are not the same species. Beauty and husband and wife can complement each other.

Lu Ji, the word Shi Heng. Machine and scale are the stars in the Beidou, which complement each other.

Zheng Qiao, Yu Yuzhong. Wood is wood, and fishing is fishing. They are often companions and help each other.

Li Yu, word Li Weng. Fishermen often wear hats.

Chen Lin, the word Kong Zhang. Lin and Zhang are jade articles, which complement each other.

3. The opposite meaning: that is, the ideograph is opposite to the name, which can be called "contradiction", such as:

Ceng Dian, the word Xi. The spots are black and dirty, and the face is white.

Zhu and Yu. Light is morning and darkness is night.

Liu Guo, change the word. It wouldn't be wrong if you changed it.

Ji Wang, this word is useless. Achievement and reactive power are just the opposite.

4. Consistent meaning: that is, ideographs and names often come from one sentence, which is consistent with the meaning of the name and supplements or modifies the meaning of the word. This situation can be called "inflation". For example:

Xu Gan, word length. Confucius said, "Do it." Names and words have the same meaning in one sentence, and words are supplementary explanations of names.

Cao Cao, the word Meng De. The article "Xunzi's exhortation to learn" says: "Life depends on reason, death depends on reason, and husband is called virtue." In a word, the combination of words and names into moral conduct is moral conduct, and word-to-name is a decorative explanation and supplement.

Zhao Yun, Zi Zilong. The Book of Changes said, "Clouds follow dragons and winds follow tigers." A name in a sentence has the same meaning as a word.

Lu Yu, the word hung-chien. Zhouyi Ri: "Hung-chien can be an instrument of Lu Chyi Yu." This word explains the name.

Smart and honest words. "Book of Rites" Day: "Honesty is clear." In a word, honesty is the premise of Ming, and Ming is the consequence of honesty.

Yu Qian, the word Ting Yi. "Shangshu" said: "Modesty." In a word, modesty is the premise and interest is the result of modesty.

5. Meaning extension: that is, the extension of the meaning of a name. This situation can be called "extension". For example:

Li Bai, the words are too white. Taibai refers to Taibai Venus, which is an extension of Taiyi.

Du Mu, the word Mu Zhi. Mu Zhi is grazing, which expands the meaning of grazing.

Yang Da, the word Shida. Scholar, that is, the meaning of scholar's progress, further extends the meaning of achievement.

Qiu, the word forever. Yongxi is a provincial contract of "not tin but not old", which comes from the Book of Songs Truffles and extends the meaning of tin.

Ray's words are too simple. It is also an extension that emphasizes simplicity.

(3) How to address names and words in ancient times

In ancient times, due to special attention to etiquette, names and characters were very particular. In interpersonal communication, first names are generally used as polite terms, courtesy names, respectful names and long names. Peers only call each other by their first names when they know each other well. In most cases, it is considered impolite to call each other or others by their first names. It is considered polite to compliment each other among peers. When writing letters or making phone calls from the bottom up, you can call them by their first names, but you must never call them by their first names, especially the names of the monarch or parents and elders, or even mention them, otherwise it would be "disrespectful" or "out of line", thus resulting in the unique "taboo" system in China. I won't say it here for the time being, but I will introduce it in detail below.

In ancient times, names and words were called together to show respect. There are two situations that deserve our attention:

The first situation is that in the pre-Qin period, when a name and a word are linked together, the word should follow the name. For example:

Confucius' father Jia, the ancestor of Confucius in the Song Dynasty, "Confucius' father" is a word; Jia "is a name; The surname is "Gongsun".

Shu is the father of Confucius, and "Ge" is a surname. Liang Shu is a word; Last name is Kong.

Meng is the son of Priscilla, and "history" is the first name; Meng Ming is a word; Last name is "Baili".

The son of Xiqiao Shujian, "Shu" is a name; "Xiqiao" is a word; The surname is Jian.

Bai, the son of uncle Jian, "C" is the first; "Bai Yi" is a word; The surname is Jian.

The second situation is that after the Han Dynasty, when people's names are connected, the "name" comes before the "word". For example:

"Lu Kongju, Guangling Chen Zhang, RoyceWong, Beihai Xu Gan Weichang, Liu Chen Zhang Dejin, Runan Yingchang, Dongping Liu Zhen are on business ..." This is a passage in Cao Pi's Dian Lun Paper, and the names of "Jian 'an Seven Sons" are all said first, then said.

(4) Alias number

In ancient times, some people were removed from the list. In addition to this word, there was a "number". No. is another name for people, so it is also called "nickname", which is very practical. Besides being called, it is also used as the signature of articles, books and calligraphy. Such as Lu Tong's poem Yuchuanzi, Du Mu's Collected Works of Fan Chuan, Song Xue's Six-body Thousand-character Essay, and Lao Lian's Lotus and Yuanyang Picture. If you are not familiar with the nicknames of ancient literati writers, it is difficult to know who the authors of these works are. Therefore, for ancient literati writers, we should not only master their names and characters, but also remember their numbers.

The origin of 1

When did the bugle rise? There is no detailed record in the literature, probably in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Such as "Lao Dan" and "Guiguzi" can be regarded as the earliest nicknames of China. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Tao Yuanming took the name "Mr. Wuliu", and in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, more people took the name. A general atmosphere was formed in the Tang and Song Dynasties and reached its peak in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Not only does everyone have a number, but also a person can say many numbers. For example, Chen Hong, a painter in the Ming Dynasty, has four titles: Lao Lian, Lao Chi, Regret Late and Yunmen Monk. In modern times, the custom of using numbers has been enduring, such as Su's Schumann. Double Rev. "White Stone"; He Xiangning's "Shuangqing Landlord". In modern times, the names of literati have been gradually replaced by pen names.

2. How are numbers generated?

The formation of "number" has two situations:

(1) is the user himself. The middle and upper classes in feudal society, especially the literati, always like to give themselves a number. Just because "number" is created by itself, it is not restricted by family, patriarchal clan system, etiquette and peers like names and ideographs, and it can freely express and flaunt users' wishes and interests, so there are many different nicknames. But after careful analysis and in-depth investigation, we can still sum up some characteristics of * * * *:

First, the distinctive imprint of the times, such as:

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Buddhism prevailed in China, which had a far-reaching influence on middle and upper-class intellectuals, so many people took the name of "lay man". Li Bai's "Violet Lay Man"; Bai Juyi calls himself "Xiangshan laity"; Su Shi was named "Dongpo layman" and Fan Chengda was named "Shihu layman"; Li Qingzhao named herself "Yi 'an Jushi".

In the Yuan Dynasty, when Taoism was advocated, there were many literati in the name of "Taoist". Like Feng Zizhen's Strange Road; George is a "Taoist"; Ren Renfa nicknamed' Mingshan Taoist'; Wuzhen Nuo Road flyover plum blossom; Road flyover cedar by Zhao Mengfu.

After the Opium War, imperialist aggression and slaughter, the Qing government was corrupt and incompetent, resulting in national suffering and national crisis. Opposing aggression and patriotism became the main theme at that time, so many people numbered themselves according to this tone. Like Tan Sitong's "Flying North"; Huang Shao is entitled "descendants of the Yellow Emperor"; Chen Tianhua's "Thinking of Yellow"; Qiu Jin's Xiong Jing and so on.

B, strong lyrical color, such as:

Zheng Sixiao, a native of the Song Dynasty, lived in seclusion in Suzhou after the death of the Song Dynasty, calling himself "Sonan" to show that he did not forget the Song Dynasty. The poet Xin Qiji attached great importance to agriculture. When he was an official, he advocated and rewarded farming. In his later years, he retired to the countryside and "learned crops from old farmers", calling himself "Jia Xuan". Lu You, a patriotic poet, is concerned about the country and the people, and his resentment is vulgar. He was laughed at by the dignitaries as being impolite, so he called himself "letting loose" to show his contempt for them. In his later years, Ouyang Xiu named himself "Six-One Jushi", taking a thousands of books, a volume of epigraphy, a piano, a chess game, a pot of wine and an old man himself as the prototype, expressing a typical literati interest. Tang Bohu, a romantic genius in Ming Dynasty, called himself "Liu Rushi". "Six Rus", according to his own statement, means that life is like an illusion, a dream, a bubble, a shadow, a dew and electricity. It is just the expression of negative emotions of frustrated literati; Yang Wanli, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, was encouraged by Zhang Jun, a famous anti-gold star, and was given the word "Chengzhai" by Emperor Guangzong himself, hence the name "Chengzhai". This "sincerity" not only shows his "sincerity" in learning, but also includes his "sincerity" to the country.

C, profound meaning

Zhu Da, a painter in the late Ming Dynasty, was nicknamed "Badashanren" when he died. The word "Eighth National Congress" is written in series, which seems to cry rather than cry, and seems to laugh rather than laugh. It is to express the grief and indignation of remembering the motherland in distress and distress. Fu Shan, a famous scholar in Taiyuan in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, called himself "Zhu Yi Taoist". After the death of the Ming Dynasty, he was disheveled and lived in a cave. The Qing court invited him to Beijing several times to take the Bohong Xueci exam, but he refused, and resolutely refused to cooperate with Manchu. "Zhu Yi" is red on the surface, but it is actually a symbol of the Ming Dynasty, because the emperor of the Ming Dynasty surnamed Zhu, and red means Ming, which reflects the deep feelings for the Ming Dynasty. Dai Fugu, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, calls himself a "Shiping Mountain Man", which also contains a kind of spirit. It can be seen from his poems. The poem "Feeling" says: "People will be golden dock, and I will take stone as the screen." "Stone" is as hard as "gold"; Although "stone" is not as expensive as "gold", it is simple, Gu Zhuo and has a high meteorological peak, which is a portrayal of the author's personality spirit. Zhang Yong, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, called himself a "kidnapper". In his own words, "the kidnapper is against the public, and the cliff is unfavorable." In the name of the kidnapper, talk about showing virtue. " It can be seen that the name "kidnapper" embodies his character, ambition and moral integrity.

D, the use of specific nouns

The ancients often used some specific nouns to name other names. Mr. Wuliu (Tao Yuanming), Mr. Lifu (Lu Guimeng), Mr. Donglai (Lv Zuqian), Mr. Longchuan (Chen Liang) and Mr. Gu Lan (Bai Pu) are called "gentlemen"; There are Shi Gong (Yuan Hongdao), Mei Gong (Lu Jifu), Ren Gong (Liang Qichao) and Jian Gong (Gao Xu) who are called "Gong". Those who call "Zi" are You Youzi (Lu), Zhi Feizi (Si Kongtu), Gui (Chao) and Lu Fei Zi (Huang Jingren); There are "Shaoling Night Old Man" (Du Fu), "Lao Quan" (Su Xun), "Yan Qian Old Man" (Xiao Dezao), "Huanghua Old Man" (Wang Tingjun), "Xiyan Old Man" (Zhang Zhihan), "Suiyuan Old Man" (Yuan Mei) and "Yingbin Old Man". Those who call Weng, such as Sang Xuanweng (Lu Yu), Zuiweng (Ouyang Xiu), Fu Weng (Huang Tingjian), (Lu You) and Li Weng (Li Yu); Those who call "Lao" are Zheng Zhai Lao (Guan Hanqing), Qing Chi Lao (Shandong cuisine), Lao (He) and Lao (Qian). Those who call it "Waishi" are: Haiyue's Waishi (Mi Fei), Huiji's Waishi (Wang Mian) and the Waishi who hates others (Liang Chenyu); Known as "mountain people" are: Jiuhuashan (Du Xunhe), Shaoshishan (Hu Yinglin) and Sheyangshan (Wu Cheng'en); Known as "San Ren", such as "Hu Hai San Ren" (Luo Guanzhong), "Gu Qu San Ren" (Feng Menglong) and "Du Qing San Ren" (Zhao Nanxing); The "fishing firewood" are: Yidong fisherman (Kang Hai), Oudang fisherman (Yan), Hubei Taohuayu (), Yandang Mountain firewood (Chen Chenhu), Mountain firewood (Ruan Dacheng) and Tianmu Mountain firewood.

(2) being recognized by others. This kind of "number" is called "posthumous title", "nickname" or "mixed number" and "muddled number", which is very expressive, not only can enhance people's memory of all kinds of characters, but also is a supplement to names, words and numbers, and is often a portrayal or refraction of people's five senses and personality characteristics. The vivid nickname "The Story of Water and Rain" left a deep and unforgettable impression on readers. Nicknames such as Black Cyclone Li Feng, Leopard Head Lin Chong, Blue-faced Beast Yang Zhi, Flower Monk Lu, Thunderstorm Fire Qin Ming, Wing Tiger Lei Heng, Desperable Shi Xiu and Langli Baitiao Zhang Shun vividly and accurately describe the characters' personalities, specialties or physiological characteristics.

Many "nicknames" and "posthumous title" come from joking with each other in real life, so they often contain derogatory meanings of irony and ridicule. For example, during the Spring and Autumn Period, the people of Qin called Priscilla "the Five-Period Doctor" because after he was banished to Chu, Qin Mugong redeemed the State of Qin with five (black rams) skins and became a doctor. In Tang Gaozong, people call Li Yifu "the bait hides the hook", also known as "human cat". Because when he was prime minister, he acted like a soft agent; In the Song Dynasty, people nicknamed Wang Jue as the "Prime Minister of Three Orders" because during his ten years as prime minister, he did nothing but accept orders, accept orders and convey them.

In rural areas, nicknames are more popular, such as big donkey, two-cylinder jar, three yellow dishes, four pigeons, eight dogs, red dates and peach slave. Nicknames such as "Dayanpear", "Walnut with Skin", "Five Hemps", "Dry Food", "Erhu Apricot", "Sanshe Rough", "Fairy Family", "White Bald", "Yellow Hair", "Duck Board" and "Unreliable" are very common. Of course, there are more tacky than this, so I won't mention it here.

There are also some nicknames that are not derogatory. For example, in the Song Dynasty, people called Song Qi "the history of an apricot coming out of the wall" because he wrote a poem "An apricot is full of branches and springs"; Tang Dynasty poet Wen, with quick wit and eight rhymes, was called "Wen Bajiao". Li Bai, a great poet, was so talented that when he wrote the next chapter, people called him "Li Chenxian". The same is true of modern times. Li Ji, a poet, called Bing Xin "Yu Taijun", which reflected the high prestige of this old grandmother in the literary world. This nickname appeals to all tastes.

The above is a nickname.

(5) Be rich and have hope.

In interpersonal communication, in addition to address, character and number, you should also be addressed as "rank" and "geography", which the ancients thought was the most respected. Such as "Guanjue":

Du Gongbu, Du Fu (Du Fu) and Wang Youcheng (Wang Wei)

Dr. Cai Zhonglang (Cai Yong) (Qu Yuan)

Jia Taifu (Jia Yi) Zhang (Zack Zhang)

Gao Changshi (Gao Shi) Zhang (Zhang Ji) Zubu

Qian Kaogong (Qian Qi) Zhang (Zhang Ji)

Such as "ground view":

Du Shaoling (Du Fu) Han Changli (Han Yu)

Liu Hedong (Liu Zongyuan) Kong Beihai (Kong Rong)

Cenjiazhou (Cen Can) Bai Xiangshan (Bai Juyi)

Wang Jiangning (Wang Changling) Jia Changjiang (Jia Dao)

Wei Suzhou (Wei) Liu Suizhou (Liu Changqing)

In this way, "Guanjue" and "Wang Di" became another nickname besides names, figures and figures.

(6) Rare numerical names

In ancient China, some people used numbers as their names. Although the number is small, it will be encountered in ancient books, so it needs to be mentioned here to attract our attention. There are three situations where numbers are used as names:

1. Last name is a number, for example:

Yishan: A native of Dingzhou, Hebei Province, was a county magistrate in Hao Ming during Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty.

Erzhi: During the Kaiyuan period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, he served as an assistant general in the palace.

March 8: Yuan Dynasty, you Cheng, a province in Yunnan.

Wuliang: Annan, the admonition officer of Shu and Han in the Three Kingdoms.

Qi Xixian, a native of Shizhouwei, taught in Yongchun County during Zheng De's reign in Ming Dynasty.

Batong: He was the director of etiquette department in Zhengde period of Ming Dynasty.

Jiujia: A native of Xiajin in Tang Dynasty, a bachelor of Hanlin during the reign of Emperor Gaozu Wude.

Shi Hua: a scholar during the reign of Ganxing in Song Dynasty.

2. The name is a number, for example:

Chyi Chin: Qin Shaoyou.

Boss Huang: Huang Tingjian

Liu Ba: Liu Zongyuan

Yuanjiu: Yuan Zhen

Cui Jiu: Cui Xingzong

Li Xi: Li Gouzhi

Zhang 12: Zhang Jia

Li XII: Li Bai

Han XVIII: Han Yu

Li XX: Li Shen.

Bai Ershi: Bai Juyi

3. Last name and first name are numbers, for example:

June 17: People in Qing Dynasty wrote Poems on Grass Abroad and Poems on the Sun.

July 1 1 day: he was a scholar during the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty and wrote "The Story of the Western Regions".

August 16th: During the Qianlong period, General Feng was appointed.

September 10th: During Jiaqing's reign, he served as the magistrate of Guangxi.

It became a fashion in the Tang Dynasty to name numbers, and Manchu people in the Qing Dynasty preferred to name them this way. According to incomplete statistics, only during the Qianlong period, the digital names written in the official history books were 1 10, not counting the people. Such as sixty-seven, seventy-five, eighty-six, etc. So what are these numerical names based on? Most children are named after their grandparents' age or the sum of their parents' ages.

In the Tang Dynasty, those numerical names indicated the rank between grandparents or great-grandparents and brothers.