Why did the ancients have names and words? What does "word" mean?

For ancient China people, a name is a name, and a word is a word, each of which has its own meaning and should not be confused. Here is a special talk about the "word" of the ancients.

Since the Zhou Dynasty, people have taken other words besides names. The Book of Rites talks about the public: "Young name, crown word." The explanation of this sentence is: "The name was added in March, so the cloud was young; At the age of 20, there is a way to be a father, and friends and other classes can no longer call their names, so they add words to the crown. " When the word "20-year-old father" is added, it certainly refers to men; For women, it is the word "allowed to get married", and when you can get married (15 years old), add "word". People should have names when they are born, so as to distinguish each other, otherwise they will not be able to enter the existing social order system as independent people. I have no scruples about calling children by their first names, but it is also disrespectful to adults. We chose words to solve this problem. Therefore, the names of the ancients were mainly used to claim themselves; Ancient Chinese characters were mainly used for other names. Of course, this does not mean that names should not be named under all circumstances, which depends on the mutual status of the two parties to the dialogue. Those who treat each other equally, respect others without leaving a name, and humbly call themselves without leaving a name; Older people are kind to younger generations, teachers to students, and superiors to subordinates. They can also call each other by their first names instead of words. If the name is to divide each other, then the word is to show respect and inferiority. This is the basic difference between the functions of names and words.

Words are independent of names, but closely related to names. According to ancient philology, "word" has the meaning of reproduction. So we can also interpret it as an ancient Chinese character, which is derived from the name. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people's names and characters generally have special meanings. The Biography of Names in the Spring and Autumn Period, written by the exegetical master Wang in Qing Dynasty, summed up and revealed five relationships between names and characters at that time, which was comprehensive and accurate. Now add an example, as shown below:

Synonyms and mutual training Xu Fan, a student of Confucius, is a late writer. Be sure to be late, both of them intend to wait. Min loss, word money. Both losses and losses have the intention of losing money. Yan Hui, the word Zi Yuan. According to "Shuo Wen Jie Zi", "Deep, backwater also. Back, deep water. "

Antisense opposition. Defender Duanmu Ci, named Zi Gong. The reward of the upper level is called "gift" and the gift of the lower level is called "tribute", just the opposite. Chu will not know Tang, and his words will be clear. Ignorance and darkness are the opposite of light.

Continuous reasoning. Confucius disciple Nangong Kuo, the word Zi Rong. "Including" includes: inference of "capacity" and tolerance. Gui Zhong, Chen Chu, Zizi Family. It is logical to go home from home.

Righteousness refers to reality. Qi Gongzi is solid and sincere. In the sense of solidity, it refers to a tall and solid city wall. Ran Geng, a native of Shandong, is called Bo Niu. From the meaning of farming reclamation, it refers to a specific cow.

Distinguish between things and categories. Ren Wei Jia Zhen, the word Apollo; Guan, the word man. Jane and Guan are all kinds of jade. Kong Li, the son of Confucius, was named Bo Yu; Prince Chu is a fish. Carp and snapper are both fish.

All the words listed above are composed of two words, but the first word has no real meaning. Such as Zi Chi and Zi Gong's "Zi", are the laudatory names of ancient people. The word "Bo" in "Bo Niu" and "Apollo" is the first in the ranking of "Bozhong, Shu and Ji". Therefore, this "word" is actually a "word". This is also one of the characteristics of early life words.

After Qin and Han Dynasties, the word "Zi" gradually increased and became the mainstream. And the order of words and names has also changed. In the pre-Qin period, the word was called first, and then the name was called. For example, the Chu River is bailimeng, and baili is a surname and a word, and it is used as a name. After the Han dynasty, it was changed to first by name and then by word. For example, when talking about the "seven sons of Jian 'an" in Dian Lun Papers, Cao Pi said Kong Rong Wenju, Chen Linzhang and Wang Can ... Here Kong Rong, Chen Lin and RoyceWong are names, and Wen Ju, and are words. In addition, in the way of word selection, it not only inherits the traditional practices of synonymous mutual training, antonym opposition, continuous reasoning, distinguishing things by class, and entering words by rank beauty, but also has some new developments.

Let's talk about inheriting traditions, such as:

Zhuge Liang, Shu Xiang, the word Kongming; Tao Yuanming, a poet in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, has a distinct personality. Si Kongshu, one of the "Ten Talented Scholars in Dali Period" in Tang Dynasty, was civilized in character. (synonymous with mutual training)

Luo Yin, a poet in Tang Dynasty, was remonstrated; Han Yu, the first of the "Eight Masters in Tang and Song Dynasties", withdrew his words; Zhu, a great scholar in Song Dynasty, was depressed. Wang Niansun, the phonological exegesis master in Qing Dynasty, was pregnant with his ancestors; Tongcheng school writers have different opinions. (antonym)

The writers of the Northern Song Dynasty made up for it, and the words were beyond reproach. You Mao, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, extended his words; Liu Guo, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, changed his words; Zhang Xuecheng, a historian of the Qing Dynasty, has a solid word. (continuous reasoning)

Zhou Yu, a general of Soochow, was named Gong Jin; Zhuge Liang's brother is named Yu. (Classification of things)

Cai Yong, a writer in the Eastern Han Dynasty, was a famous uncle; Tang Dynasty poet Qian Qi, Chinese characters; Yan, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, was originally named; Wang Siren, a writer in Ming Dynasty, had a strong word. (Enter words by line)

Secondly, in terms of new development, there are mainly:

Praise. In the pre-Qin era, a large number of words with rich meanings appeared, such as gong, Weng, Qing, Qian, Yan, Wei, Xiu, Dao and Xiao. , has become a popular choice for word selection. For example, Dou Rong, the minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty, used the beautiful word "respect for the elderly". Dongwu general Huang Gai, the word Gongfu; Guo Jie, a strongman in the Western Han Dynasty, was named Weng Bo; The father of the Tang Dynasty spoke weakly. Su Wu, the envoy of the Western Han Dynasty, gave his title with kind words. General Wei Qing, Zhong Qing. Dong Fangshuo, a writer in the Western Han Dynasty, used the word Manchu to put it beautifully; Cao Mao, the grandson of Cao Pi and Di Wei, is a strict teacher. Xu Gan, one of the "seven sons of Jian 'an", has a long word; In the Three Kingdoms period, the Wei writers responded, and the word Xiulian. Yin Zhen, a scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty, used "virtue" to express his words beautifully. Liu Bei's counselor, the law is just.

Collect classics. The meaning of wonderful famous sayings and epigrams recorded in ancient books is elegant and interesting as ideographic characters. Cao Cao's word Meng De said in Xunzi's exhortation to learn: "Those who learn are solid in learning. ..... So the rights can't fall, the masses can't move, and the world can't swing. Life depends on reason, death depends on reason, and husband is called virtue. " "Shangshu Dayu Mo" says "full loss, modest benefit." It can be seen that scholars' money in the late Ming Dynasty was influenced by this word. Wang Xianqian, a gentry in the late Qing Dynasty, benefited me a lot.

Show admiration. Expressing respect for the sages is one of the important thoughts of the ancients in naming and choosing words. Yan Zhitui, a writer in the Northern Qi Dynasty, admired Jie Zhitui's moral integrity in the Spring and Autumn Period, so he repeated his name and took his surname as the word. Gu, an exegetist in the Southern Dynasties, highly praised Feng, a famous doctor in the Western Han Dynasty. He not only copied his own name, but also took the word "Xifeng". Gu Zuyu, who studied at the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, praised Fan Zuyu, a historian of Song Dynasty. He was called "Tang" and was also famous for his style after imitating his name.

Send feelings. Lu You said in Notes on the Old Learning Temple: "Words show people's virtue." Just as words come from the heart, words are also a means for people to express their feelings. Kang Youwei, the leader of the modern reform movement, used the word "Guangsha" to express his intention to strive for an enlightened and free broad mind for the people under the dark dictatorship. Huang Yanpei, a famous modern democrat, let it go. He himself explained the meaning of "letting go": "One is to resolutely and bravely shoulder what you should do and the responsibility to the country and society; The second is to ignore unimportant things, boring rumors, etc. And let it go. This is my creed. "

Analysis of famous articles. There is a close relationship between names and words. This connection can be semantic or structural. Xie Ao, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, was named Gao Yu; Qin Gui, the word will, treacherous court official; Dong Liu, a scholar of Jingling School in Ming Dynasty, is a homonym; Mao Qiling, a writer in Qing Dynasty, has a large vocabulary.

Until the turn of the 20th century, it was one of the unique traditions of China's name culture to take both names and characters. Take celebrities as an example:

Lu Xun, formerly known as Zhou Shuren, was a talented man.

Li Dazhao, the word is constant.

Hu Shi, this word is just right.

Mao Dun, formerly known as Shen Dehong, formerly known as Yan Bing.

Zhu Ziqing, word Pei County.

Chen Yi, the word Hong Zhong.

The Revolution of 1911 overthrew the autocratic monarchy for thousands of years, and with the impact of the May 4th New Culture Movement, the traditional pecking order was completely denied, so the words with the main function of Ming pecking lost their basic basis for existence. With the development of the times and the acceleration of the pace of life, interpersonal communication is becoming more and more frequent, and the complicated system of appellation and repetition of names and words is obviously not necessary and possible to be restored. But a little knowledge of this aspect can at least avoid Yang Liulang's joke of calling himself "Yang Jing Yang Zhaoyan" in the storytelling "Yang Jiajiang" before the emperor.