What does the "zi" after the names of ancient Chinese people mean?

Character words, also known as words, are names given by people in the old days other than their real names to express virtue or the meaning of their real names. An alias given to you by your parents or teachers that is related to the meaning of your real name.

An epithet refers to a name other than the original name that expresses virtue or the meaning of the original name. In ancient times, it was inconvenient to call a man 20 years old and a woman 15 years old by their first names. Therefore, another alias related to the meaning of the original name was chosen and called a word to express its virtue. When people call each other respectfully, they must call them virtuous words. The latter word is called table word.

In ancient times, when men were adults, it was inconvenient to call them by their first names. Therefore, another alias related to the meaning of the original name was chosen and called a word to express its virtue. When people call each other respectfully, they must call them virtuous words.

Extended information:

Origin

It originated in the Shang Dynasty, became popular in the Zhou Dynasty, and later formed a system. Until modern times, it was still used by many people in the intellectual and cultural circles, such as Hu Shi's courtesy name Shizhi, Sun Wenzai's courtesy name, and Mao Zedong's courtesy name Runzhi.

In modern times, except for everyone in the intellectual and cultural circles who still use it, very few ordinary people use it. However, China has a population of 1.3 billion and the incidence of the same name is too high. The cultural circle is now interested in restoring expressions. According to the character system, some people who love history have the pseudonym, such as Li Haoran, Zitan, Zhou Qixing, Chengqi, and Zhang Ce, Zhuhao.

According to the "Book of Rites·Tan ??Gong", when a person reaches adulthood, he needs to be respected by the society. It seems disrespectful for his peers to call him by his first name, so he needs to choose a word for himself. Used when interacting with others in society to show mutual respect. Therefore, after the ancients reached adulthood, their names were only used by their elders and themselves. Calling themselves by their own names showed humility, while the words were used to address people in society.

Yan Zhitui of the Northern Qi Dynasty believed that names distinguish people from each other, while characters reflect a person's virtues. Most people's names and characters are related in meaning.

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