Courtesy name

2025-06-04T06:18:29Z

69.167.28.5:

{{Short description|Name given to adults in East Asia}}
{{for|European nobility|courtesy title}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| title = '''Courtesy name (''Zi'')'''
| pic = Chữ tự.png
| t = (表) 字
| p = (biǎo) zì
| w = (piao)-tzu
| kanji = 字
| hiragana = あざな
| revhep = azana
| hangul = 자
| hanja = 字
| rr = ja
| mr = cha
| qn = biểu tự <br> tên tự <br> tên chữ
| hide = no
| chunom = 𠸜字 <br> 𠸜𡨸
| chuhan = 表字
}}

A '''courtesy name''' ({{lang-zh|s=字|p=zì|l=character}}), also known as a '''style name''', is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name.<ref name="Wilkinson">{{cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Endymion Porter |title=Chinese History: A New Manual |date=2018 |publisher=Harvard University Asia Center |isbn=978-0998888309 |location=Cambridge, MA |pages=143–145}}</ref> This tradition is prevalent in the [[East Asian cultural sphere]], particularly in [[China]], [[Japan]], [[Korea]], [[Taiwan]] and [[Vietnam]].<ref>Ulrich Theobald. [http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Terms/titles.html Names of Persons and Titles of Rulers]</ref> Courtesy names are a marker of adulthood and were historically given to men at the age of 20, and sometimes to women upon marriage.

Unlike [[art name]]s, which are more akin to [[pseudonym]]s or [[pen name]]s, courtesy names served a formal and respectful purpose.<ref name="Wilkinson" /> In traditional Chinese society, using someone's given name in adulthood was considered disrespectful among peers, making courtesy names essential for formal communication and writing.

Courtesy names often reflect the meaning of the given name or use homophonic characters, and were typically disyllabic after the [[Qin dynasty]]. The practice also extended to other East Asian cultures, and was sometimes adopted by [[Mongols]] and [[Manchu people|Manchus]] during the [[Qing dynasty]]. The choice of a courtesy name was significant, intended to express moral integrity and respect within the cultural context.

==Usage==
A courtesy name is a name traditionally given to Chinese men at the age of 20 [[East Asian age reckoning|''sui'']], marking their [[coming of age]]. It was sometimes given to women, usually upon marriage.<ref name="Wilkinson"/> 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 [[Chinese given name|given name]].<ref name="Rites">{{cite book |script-title=zh:禮記 |trans-title=[[Book of Rites]] |title=Lǐjì |script-chapter=zh:曲禮上 |trans-chapter=Summary of the Rules of Propriety Part 1 |chapter=Qū lǐ shàng |chapter-url=https://ctext.org/liji/qu-li-i#n9516 |at=Line 44 |quote=A son at twenty is capped, and receives his appellation....When a daughter is promised in marriage, she assumes the hair-pin, and receives her appellation.}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Wilkinson"/>

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 character]]s.<ref name="Wilkinson"/> Courtesy names were often relative to the meaning of the person's given name, the relationship could be synonyms, relative affairs, or rarely but sometimes antonym. For example, [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s given name ({{lang|zh-hani|中正}}, [[romanized]] as Chung-cheng) and courtesy name ({{lang|zh-hani|介石}}, romanized as Kai-shek) are both from the ''yù'' (豫) hexagram 16 of [[I Ching]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Language Log » Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong |url=https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=53453 |access-date=2024-08-05}}</ref>

Another way to form a courtesy name is to use the homophonic character ''zi'' ({{lang|zh-hani|子}}) – 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 ({{lang|zh-hani|子產}}), and [[Du Fu]]'s was Zimei ({{lang|zh-hani|子美}}). 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 ({{lang|zh-hani|孔丘}}), was given the courtesy name Zhongni ({{lang|zh-hani|仲尼}}), where the first character ''zhong'' indicates that he was the second son born into his family. The characters commonly used are ''bo'' ({{lang|zh-hani|伯}}) for the first, ''zhong'' ({{lang|zh-hani|仲}}) for the second, ''shu'' ({{lang|zh-hani|叔}}) for the third, and ''ji'' ({{lang|zh-hani|季}}) typically for the youngest, if the family consists of more than three sons. General [[Sun Jian]]'s four sons, for instance, were [[Sun Ce]] ({{lang|zh-hani|伯符}}, Bófú), [[Sun Quan]] ({{lang|zh-hani|仲謀}}, Zhòngmóu), [[Sun Yi]] ({{lang|zh-hani|叔弼}}, Shūbì) and [[Sun Kuang]] ({{lang|zh-hani|季佐}}, Jìzuǒ).<ref>{{Cite book |title=(孫破虜吳夫人，吳主權母也。 ... 與弟景居。 ... 生四男一女。) Sanguozhi vol. 50.}}</ref>

Reflecting a general cultural tendency to [[Rectification of names|regard names as significant]], the choice of what name to bestow upon one's children was considered very important in traditional China.<ref name="Adamek">{{cite book |last=Adamek |first= Piotr |date=2017 |title=A Good Son is Sad If He Hears the Name of His Father: The Tabooing of Names in China as a Way of Implementing Social Values |location=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn= 9780367596712}}</ref> [[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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

Prior to the twentieth century, [[sinicization|sinicize]]d [[Korea]]ns, [[Vietnam]]ese, and [[Japan]]ese were also referred to by their courtesy name. The practice was also adopted by some [[Mongols]] and [[Manchus]] after the Qing conquest of China.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

==Examples==
{| class="wikitable"
! Chinese !! Family name !! Given name !! Courtesy name
|-
| [[Laozi|Lǎozǐ]] {{lang|zh-hani|老子}} || Lǐ {{lang|zh-hani|李}} || Ěr {{lang|zh-hani|耳}} || Bóyáng {{lang|zh-hani|伯陽}}
|-
| Kǒngzǐ ([[Confucius]]) {{lang|zh-hani|孔子}} || Kǒng {{lang|zh-hani|孔}} || Qiū {{lang|zh-hani|丘}} || Zhòngní {{lang|zh-hani|仲尼}}
|-
| Sūnzǐ ([[Sun Tzu]]) {{lang|zh-hani|孫子}} || Sūn {{lang|zh-hani|孫}} || Wǔ {{lang|zh-hani|武}} || Chángqīng {{lang|zh-hani|長卿}}
|-
| [[Cao Cao|Cáo Cāo]] {{lang|zh-hani|曹操}} || Cáo {{lang|zh-hani|曹}} || Cāo {{lang|zh-hani|操}} || Mèngdé {{lang|zh-hani|孟德}}
|-
| [[Sun Quan|Sūn Quán]] {{lang|zh-hani|孫權}} || Sūn {{lang|zh-hani|孫}} || Quán {{lang|zh-hani|權}} || Zhòngmóu {{lang|zh-hani|仲謀}}
|-
| [[Guan Yu|Guān Yǔ]] {{lang|zh-hani|關羽}} || Guān {{lang|zh-hani|關}} || Yǔ {{lang|zh-hani|羽}} || Yúncháng {{lang|zh-hani|雲長}}
|-
| [[Liu Bei|Liú Bèi]] {{lang|zh-hani|劉備}} || Liú {{lang|zh-hani|劉}} || Bèi {{lang|zh-hani|備}} || Xuándé {{lang|zh-hani|玄德}}
|-
| [[Zhuge Liang|Zhūgé Liàng]] {{lang|zh-hani|諸葛亮}} || Zhūgé {{lang|zh-hani|諸葛}} || Liàng {{lang|zh-hani|亮}} || Kǒngmíng {{lang|zh-hani|孔明}}
|-
| [[Zhao Yun|Zhào Yún]] {{lang|zh-hani|趙雲}} || Zhào {{lang|zh-hani|趙}} || Yún {{lang|zh-hani|雲}} || Zǐlóng {{lang|zh-hani|子龍}}
|-
| [[Li Bai|Lǐ Bái]] {{lang|zh-hani|李白}} || Lǐ {{lang|zh-hani|李}} || Bái {{lang|zh-hani|白}} || Tàibái {{lang|zh-hani|太白}}
|-
| [[Su Shi|Sū Dōngpō]] {{lang|zh-hani|蘇東坡}} || Sū {{lang|zh-hani|蘇}} || Shì {{lang|zh-hani|軾}} || Zǐzhān {{lang|zh-hani|子瞻}}
|-
| [[Bao Zheng|Bāo Zhěng]] {{lang|zh-hani|包拯}} || Bāo {{lang|zh-hani|包}} || Zhěng {{lang|zh-hani|拯}} || Xīrén {{lang|zh-hani|希仁}}
|-
| [[Yue Fei|Yuè Fēi]] {{lang|zh-hani|岳飛}} || Yuè {{lang|zh-hani|岳}} || Fēi {{lang|zh-hani|飛}} || Péngjǔ {{lang|zh-hani|鵬舉}}
|-
| [[Yuan Chonghuan|Yuán Chónghuàn]] {{lang|zh-hani|袁崇煥}} || Yuán {{lang|zh-hani|袁}} || Chónghuàn {{lang|zh-hani|崇煥}} || Yuánsù {{lang|zh-hani|元素}}
|-
| [[Liu Bowen|Liú Jī]] {{lang|zh-hani|劉基}} || Liú {{lang|zh-hani|劉}} || Jī {{lang|zh-hani|基}} || Bówēn {{lang|zh-hani|伯溫}}
|-
| [[Tang Yin|Táng Yín]] {{lang|zh-hani|唐寅}} || Táng {{lang|zh-hani|唐}} || Yín {{lang|zh-hani|寅}} || Bóhǔ {{lang|zh-hani|伯虎}}
|-
| Sūn Zhōngshān ([[Sun Yat-sen]]) {{lang|zh-hani|孫中山}} || Sūn {{lang|zh-hani|孫}} || Démíng {{lang|zh-hani|德明}} || Zàizhī {{lang|zh-hani|載之}}
|-
| Jiǎng Jièshí ([[Chiang Kai-shek]]) {{lang|zh-hani|蔣介石}} || Jiǎng {{lang|zh-hani|蔣}} || Zhōutài {{lang|zh-hani|周泰}} || Jièshí {{lang|zh-hani|介石}}
|-
| [[Mao Zedong|Máo Zédōng]] {{lang|zh-hani|毛澤東}} ||Máo {{lang|zh-hani|毛}} || Zédōng {{lang|zh-hani|澤東}} || Rùnzhī {{lang|zh-hani|潤之}}
|-
|[[Ho Chi Minh|Hồ Chí Minh]] 胡志明　|| Nguyễn 阮 || Sinh Cung 生恭 || Tất Thành 必誠
|-
|[[Yi Sun-sin|I Sunsin]] 李舜臣 || I 李 ||Sunsin 舜臣 || Yeohae 汝諧
|-
|[[Arai Hakuseki]] 新井白石 ||Arai 新井 || Kimiyoshi 君美 ||Hakuseki 白石
|}

==See also==
* ''[[Cognomen]]'', the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Personal names}}
{{Portal bar|Asia|Language}}

[[Category:Chinese names]]
[[Category:Japanese names]]
[[Category:Vietnamese names]]
[[Category:Korean names]]
[[Category:Chinese language]]
[[Category:Culture of Japan]]
[[Category:Culture of Korea]]
[[Category:Culture of Vietnam]]

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Courtesy name