Nowadays, many people have joined the trend of changing their names because their names were chosen according to their family's seniority and do not suit their liking. The older they grow, the more they dislike their rustic names.
The tradition of naming according to seniority gradually emerged from the Song Dynasty and has been circulating for more than a thousand years. The original intention at the beginning was to rank the members of the entire family in order of seniority, in order to better pass on the inheritance between families.
There are many branches in every family. In order for these branches to unite and help each other from generation to generation, everyone is named according to their seniority. The names of these people are only different in one word. Even if they are very remote branches, they can know that they are one of them by naming them.
This tradition has been passed down to this day, and has been followed in rural areas. However, many people have begun to change this tradition and want to give their children a nice and meaningful name. The naming method that has been used for a long time is now slowly becoming less popular.
Naming according to seniority has always been a tradition.
The origin of naming according to seniority can be traced back to Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty. He gave the characters to the ministers he liked, and the ministers used the characters given by the emperor to name the children in the family in order of age.
Later, this rule passed through dozens of generations and gradually formed a custom of a large family. It was passed down from generation to generation. In this century, it has become a tacit tradition that every family must abide by.
As we all know, the speed at which rural people accept new things and new ideas is very different from that of urban people. In fact, from the very beginning, the whole country was naming their children according to their seniority. However, as the times progressed, people's thinking slowly changed, and urban people began to no longer abide by this tradition, but named their children according to their own expectations.
Rural people are more stubborn in their conservative thinking. Until now, many people still have their names based on their seniority. Perhaps your next generation is the same as you and cannot get rid of the "words" that your family has determined in advance to use for your generation.
Even some stubborn old people in the family have an unwritten rule about naming according to seniority: People who are irregularly named according to seniority cannot be included in the family tree. Such rules force the younger generations to choose names according to the characters given by their ancestors, even if they have different opinions. The tradition of
has been continued, which shows that the younger generations still recognize this way of naming. However, as the times progress, so do people's thoughts. Whether this tradition is still accepted by modern people is a question worth thinking about.
Why should names be given according to seniority?
Strictly speaking, naming according to seniority has a history of more than a thousand years. This tradition can be passed down to the present and even in the future, and it must have the meaning of existence. The good and useful crystallization of the wisdom of our ancestors has been passed down by people from generation to generation.
The genealogy of each family can be felt by the clan members from generation to generation. In order to make it easier to write everyone neatly into the genealogy, each generation has one character in common and the same surname. Only one character can be chosen by oneself.
Naming according to seniority can also make family members more cohesive. In ancient times, family consciousness was relatively strong, and everyone prospered and suffered losses. People belonging to the same family would help each other and overcome difficulties together when they encountered difficulties.
Such a naming method can also allow people to better identify themselves. According to generation, everyone has a character that belongs to their own generation. Even if you meet someone from the same family, you can tell which generation he is from through his name even if you don't know him.
Many people began not to name according to seniority.
Although the tradition of naming according to seniority has been used by people to this day, there are also many disadvantages, so that people began to abandon this naming method. Parents in the new era have gradually begun to ignore this tradition and believe that everyone's name should have its own meaning.
Moreover, it is easy to duplicate names with this way of naming. Only one of the three-character names can be chosen by parents. Many parents with limited education only know a few words with good meanings. It is difficult to choose a name that is unique and not the same as others.
Names are chosen according to seniority, especially girls' names. There are not many good-sounding names. Many seniority names are "zhen", "shan", "guo", and so on. Among these words and surnames, it is really difficult to give a girl a delicate and nice name.
I believe that many people have encountered the embarrassing seniority problem. A child of seven or eight years old has a very high seniority in his family, even higher than some elderly people. In this case, according to seniority, he is just a child, but he is indeed ranked first in seniority.
A few years ago, Shandong people’s New Year greetings became an overnight sensation on the Internet. Many people must remember it. What impressed me deeply was that there was a child who kowtowed to his elders in order of seniority. The child was ranked in front of many people and was of the same generation as the elders.
Netizens laughed and said: "I have become a grandfather at a young age." Although it is a joke, it very straightforwardly shows the importance of seniority in the hearts of rural people. Such things happen one after another. I am of a high seniority and became an aunt when I was a teenager. It is really laughable.
But now, generations of parents have gradually begun to pay less attention to this naming method. Many novel naming methods have also appeared in people's field of vision. Recently, it has been popular to name children with words from Book of Songs . It is indeed fashionable and nice-sounding, and has special meaning. It is very popular among parents.
Some naughty parents hope that their children's names will be different. They give their children four or even five-character names, abandoning the naming method left by their ancestors. With the development of the times, the name has become a meaningful exclusive product for the child, rather than a way to inherit family culture. Summary of
:
With the development of the times, people's thoughts are subtly becoming more advanced. Good traditions should continue to be learned, and traditions with drawbacks should be discarded reasonably. Names accompany everyone throughout their lives. It is a very lucky thing to have a name that you like and has its own unique meaning.
The naming method based on generation has gradually been eliminated by the times. These young parents want to choose a unique name for their children, either to express their expectations and blessings for their children, or to represent the crystallization of their parents' love. Naming methods like
will definitely become a general trend, and naming based on seniority will slowly be eliminated by the times. Young people in rural areas also actively responded to the call of the times and joined the army of free naming.
