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Many officers mentioned in these pages may be referred to by different names. For this reason I have created this section. I will start with an explanation of the different names which an officer may have and after that you will find a table for cross referenceing an officers surname and given name with their style. You may also find this page useful when you see a name you do not recognize in a book or in a forum. If you have any names to add to this list please send them to me via email.
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.
You can use this table to cross-reference an officer’s surname (Xing) and given name (Ming) with their style (Zi). You can use the first reference list to search by surname and given name in alphabetical order and the second reference list to search by style, again in alphabetical order.
Search for information on over one thousand officers with the tools above.
| Xing and Ming | Zi (Style) | Zi (Style) | Xing and Ming | |
| Cao Cao | Mengde | Benchu | Yuan Shao | |
| Cao Pi | Zihuan | Bofu | Sun Ce | |
| Cao Ren | Zixiao | Boyan | Lu Xun | |
| Dong Zhuo | Zhongying | Boyue | Jiang Wei | |
| Gan Ning | Xingba | Fengxian | Lü Bu | |
| Guan Yu | Yunchang | Gongfu | Huang Gai | |
| Huang Gai | Gongfu | Gongji | Ling Tong | |
| Huang Zhong | Hansheng | Gongjin | Zhou Yu | |
| Jiang Wei | Boyue | Gongming | Xu Huang | |
| Ling Tong | Gongji | Hansheng | Huang Zhong | |
| Liu Bei | Xuande | Junyi | Zhang He | |
| Lü Bu | Fengxian | Kongming | Zhuge Liang | |
| Lü Meng | Ziming | Lingming | Pang De | |
| Lu Xun | Boyan | Mengde | Cao Cao | |
| Ma Chao | Mengqi | Mengqi | Ma Chao | |
| Pang De | Lingming | Miaocai | Xiahou Yuan | |
| Pang Tong | Shiyuan | Shiyuan | Pang Tong | |
| Sima Yi | Zhongda | Wenchang | Wei Yan | |
| Sun Ce | Bofu | Wentai | Sun Jian | |
| Sun Jian | Wentai | Wenyuan | Zhang Liao | |
| Sun Quan | Zhongmou | Xingba | Gan Ning | |
| Taishi Ci | Ziyi | Xuande | Liu Bei | |
| Wei Yan | Wenchang | Yide | Zhang Fei | |
| Xiahou Dun | Yuanrang | Youping | Zhou Tai | |
| Xiahou Yuan | Miaocai | Yuanfang | Zuo Ci | |
| Xu Chu | Zhongkang | Yuanrang | Xiahou Dun | |
| Xu Huang | Gongming | Yunchang | Guan Yu | |
| Yuan Shao | Benchu | Zhongda | Sima Yi | |
| Zhang Fei | Yide | Zhongkang | Xu Chu | |
| Zhang He | Junyi | Zhongmou | Sun Quan | |
| Zhang Liao | Wenyuan | Zhongying | Dong Zhuo | |
| Zhao Yun | Zilong | Zihuan | Cao Pi | |
| Zhou Tai | Youping | Zilong | Zhao Yun | |
| Zhou Yu | Gongjin | Ziming | Lü Meng | |
| Zhuge Liang | Kongming | Zixiao | Cao Ren | |
| Zuo Ci | Yuanfang | Ziyi | Taishi Ci |
Style (Zi) Reference Chart Credits: Romance of the Three Kingdoms translated by Moss Roberts, countless people in online forums, many who wrote in with information and corrections, our biography writers, and LiuBei98 who had a style name list that helped a lot in the original formation. The style name reference list is now database driven and updated.
Copyright © 2001–2008 James Peirce
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May 21, 2008