Английская Википедия:Courtesy name
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:For Шаблон:More footnotes needed Шаблон:Chinese
A courtesy name (Шаблон:Zh), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name.[1] This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.[2]
A courtesy name is not to be confused with an art name, another frequently mentioned term for an alternative name in East Asia, which is closer to the concept of a pen name or a pseudonym.[1]
Usage
A courtesy name is a name traditionally given to Chinese men at the age of 20 sui, marking their coming of age. It was sometimes given to women, usually upon marriage.[1] The practice is no longer common in modern Chinese society. According to the Book of Rites, after a man reached adulthood, it was disrespectful for others of the same generation to address him by his given name.[3] Thus, the given name was reserved for oneself and one's elders, whereas the courtesy name would be used by adults of the same generation to refer to one another on formal occasions or in writing. Another translation of zi is "style name", but this translation has been criticised as misleading, because it could imply an official or legal title.[1]
Generally speaking, courtesy names before the Qin dynasty were one syllable, and from the Qin to the 20th century they were mostly disyllabic, consisting of two Chinese characters.[1] Courtesy names were often based on the meaning of the person's given name. For example, Chiang Kai-shek's given name (Шаблон:Lang, romanized as Chung-cheng) and courtesy name (Шаблон:Lang, romanized as Kai-shek) are both from the yù hexagram of I Ching.Шаблон:Citation needed
Another way to form a courtesy name is to use the homophonic character zi (Шаблон:Lang) – a respectful title for a man – as the first character of the disyllabic courtesy name. Thus, for example, Gongsun Qiao's courtesy name was Zichan (Шаблон:Lang), and Du Fu's: Zimei (Шаблон:Lang). It was also common to construct a courtesy name by using as the first character one which expresses the bearer's birth order among male siblings in his family. Thus Confucius, whose name was Kong Qiu (Шаблон:Lang), was given the courtesy name Zhongni (Шаблон:Lang), where the first character zhong indicates that he was the second son born into his family. The characters commonly used are bo (Шаблон:Lang) for the first, zhong (Шаблон:Lang) for the second, shu (Шаблон:Lang) for the third, and ji (Шаблон:Lang) typically for the youngest, if the family consists of more than three sons. General Sun Jian's four sons, for instance, were Sun Ce (Шаблон:Lang, Bófú), Sun Quan (Шаблон:Lang, Zhòngmóu), Sun Yi (Шаблон:Lang, Shūbì) and Sun Kuang (Шаблон:Lang, Jìzuǒ).Шаблон:Citation needed
Reflecting a general cultural tendency to regard names as significant, the choice of what name to bestow upon one's children was considered very important in traditional China.[4] Yan Zhitui of the Northern Qi dynasty asserted that whereas the purpose of a given name was to distinguish one person from another, a courtesy name should express the bearer's moral integrity.Шаблон:Citation needed
Prior to the twentieth century, sinicized Koreans, Vietnamese, and Japanese were also referred to by their courtesy name. The practice was also adopted by some Mongols and Manchus after the Qing conquest of China.Шаблон:Citation needed
Examples
See also
- Cognomen, the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome
References
Шаблон:Personal names Шаблон:Portal bar
- ↑ 1,0 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Ulrich Theobald. Names of Persons and Titles of Rulers
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
