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''ZI'' The ''zi'', sometimes called the ''biaozi'' or 'courtesy name', is a name traditionally given to Chinese males at the age of 20, marking their coming of age. It was sometimes given to females upon marriage. As noted above, the practice is no longer common in modern Chinese society. According to the '' Book Of Rites '' (礼记), after a man reaches adulthood, it is disrespectful for others of the same generation to address him by his given name, or ''ming''. Thus, the given name was reserved for oneself and one's elders, while the zi would be used by adults of the same generation to refer to one another on formal occasions or in writing; hence the term 'courtesy name'. The ''zi'' is mostly disyllabic, i.e., comprises two Characters , and is usually based on the meaning of the ''ming'' or Given Name . Yan Zhitui (颜之推) of the Northern Qi Dynasty believed that while the purpose of the ''ming'' was to distinguish one person from another, the ''zi'' should express the bearer's moral integrity. The relation which often exists between a person's ''zi'' and his ''ming'' can be seen in the case of Mao Zedong (毛泽东), whose ''zi'' was Runzhi (润之). These two characters share the same Radical - 氵, which signifies water. Both characters can mean 'to benefit' or 'to nourish'. Another way to form a ''zi'' is to use the homophonic character ''zi'' ('s ''zi'' was (子产), and Du Fu 's Zimei (子美). It is also possible to construct a ''zi'' by using as the first character one which expresses the bearer's birth order among male siblings in his family. Thus Confucius , whose Chinese name was Kong Qiu, who was the second son in his family, was given the ''zi'' Zhongni (仲尼), where the first character ''zhong'' indicates that he was the second brother. The use of ''zi'' began sometime during the Shang Dynasty and slowly developed into a system, which became most widespread during the succeeding Zhou Dynasty . During this period, women were also given ''zi''. The ''zi'' given to a woman was generally composed of a character indicating her birth order among females siblings and her surname. Prior to the 20th Century , Sinicized Koreans , Vietnamese , and Japanese were also referred to by their ''zi''. The ''zi'' of some famous people:
''HAO'' ''Hao'' ('s ''hao'' Dongpo Jushi (i.e., 'Resident of Dongpo' ('Eastern slope'), a residence he built while in exile). An author's ''hao'' was also often used in the title of his collected works. EXTERNAL LINKS SEE ALSO |
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