Three Kingdoms History: Style Names

Explanation of Officer Names

Presenting an explanation of the parts of an officer’s name and how they are used:

Each officer has a family name or surname (Xing) and a given name (Ming). For example, Liu Bei’s family name (Xing) is Liu and his given name (Ming) is Bei. The family name or surname (Xing) is comes from their family while the given name (Ming) is given to them at birth.

Some officers also have what we frequently refer to as a style or familiar name (Zi), a name which is picked out for them by a parent or grandparent, and formerly bestowed upon them at the coming of age ceremony (age 20). On occasion, a person will select a style name for themselves, or will change their style name to reflect a change in their life when this is older (this is rare, and detailed below). For the most part, only literary people, or those raised by educated families, will have a style name. This is because only they can appreciate their given name (Ming), and from that derive an appropriate and pleasing style (Zi).

For this reason uneducated commoners will only have a family name (Xing) and their given name (Ming), but will not have received a style (Zi), or given themselves one. Many given names are the result of uneducated or illiterate parents, for example a child might be named with a number Zhang San (Zhang Three) or they may have a common word for their given name such as Lu Niu (Li Buffalo).

In addition to these three names an officer may also have additional names. Possibilities include a baby name such as Ru Ming (Ah Man) as in the case of Cao Cao or Ah Dou as in the case of Liu Shan. You may also see Taoist titles like Dao Hao (Wolong) for Zhuge Liang.

To make things even more interesting there are a few reasons by which an officer’s name might be changed. For example, as the result of a significant event someone might change his or her style (Zi). An example of someone changing his style would be when Guan Yu changed his name from Changsheng “prolonged life” to Yunchang “permanent (or fleeting) as a cloud”.

An officer may also change his name after reaching a certain point in the nobility (e.g. Lu Xun changing his name to Lu Yi). A general’s name may also be changed after their death to honor their deeds in life.

Introduction Sources: Mingyue, a knowledgeable member of SOC; , my partner for the Novel and History section; the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Moss Roberts translation; for some excellent clarification and error correction, and additional research on my part.