Courtesy name

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Courtesy name (Zi)
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese (表) 字
Hanyu Pinyin (biǎo) zì
Wade–Giles (piao)-tzu
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese tên chữ (tự)
Korean name
Revised Romanization ja
McCune–Reischauer cha
Japanese name
Hiragana あざな
Revised Hepburn azana
See also: art name

A courtesy name (Chinese zi (pinyin: Chinese: )), style name,[1] or appellative, is a name bestowed upon a person at adulthood in addition to one's given name.[2] This practice is a tradition in East Asian cultures, including China and China-influenced countries such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.[citation needed]

Formerly in China, the zi would replace a male's given name when he turned twenty, as a symbol of adulthood and respect.[citation needed] It could be given either by the parents or by the first personal teacher on the first day of family school.

Females might substitute a zi for their given name upon marriage.

One also may adopt a self-chosen courtesy name.

Popularity of the custom has seen a decline in China to some extent, however, since the May Fourth Movement in 1919.[citation needed]

A courtesy name is not to be confused with an art name (hào, Chinese: ), another frequently mentioned term for an alternative name in Asian culture-based context. An art name is usually associated with art and is more of a literary name or a pseudonym that is more spontaneous, compared to a courtesy name.


The , sometimes called the biǎozì 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. The practice is no longer common in modern Chinese society. According to the Book of Rites, after a man reaches adulthood, it is disrespectful for others of the same generation to address him by his given name, or míng. Thus, the given name was reserved for oneself and one's elders, while the 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 is mostly disyllabic (consists of two Chinese characters) and is usually based on the meaning of the míng or given name. Yan Zhitui of the Northern Qi dynasty believed that while the purpose of the míng was to distinguish one person from another, he asserted that the should express the bearer's moral integrity.

The relation which often exists between a person's and míng may be seen in the case of Mao Zedong (毛泽东), whose was Rùnzhī (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 is to use the homophonic character (子) – a respectful title for a male – as the first character of the disyllabic . Thus, for example, Gongsun Qiao's was Zǐchǎn (子產), and Du Fu's: Zǐměi (子美).

It is also common to construct a by using as the first character one which expresses the bearer's birth order among male siblings in his family. Thus Confucius, whose name was Kǒng Qiū (孔丘), was given the Zhòngní (仲尼), where the first character zhòng indicates that he was the second son born into his family. The characters commonly used are bó (伯) for the first, zhòng (仲) for the second, shū (叔) for the third, and jì (季) typically for the youngest, if the family consists of more than three sons.




Family name Given name
Laozi 老子 Lǐ (李) Ěr (耳) Bó Yáng (伯陽)
Zhuangzi 庄子 Zhuang (庄) Zhou (周) Zi Xiu (子休)
Confucius 孔子 Kong (孔) Qiu (丘) Zhòngní (仲尼)
Cao Cao 曹操 Cao (曹) Cao (操) Mengde (孟德)
Liu Bei 劉備 Liu (劉) Bei (備) Xuande (玄德)
Sima Yi 司馬懿 Sima (司馬) Yi (懿) Zhòngdá (仲達)
Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮 Zhuge (諸葛) Liang (亮) Kongming (孔明)
Li Bai 李白 Li (李) Bai (白) Taibai (太白)
Yue Fei 岳飛 Yue (岳) Fei (飛) Pengju (鵬舉)
Tang Yin 唐寅 Tang (唐) Yin (寅) Bohu (伯虎)
Sun Yat-sen 孫逸仙 Sun (孫) Deming (德明) Zai zhi (載之)
Mao Zedong 毛澤東 Mao (毛) Zedong (澤東) Runzhi (潤之)
Chiang Kai-shek 蒋介石 Chiang (蒋) Zhongzheng (中正) Kai-shek (介石)


  1. ^ Tianjun Liu, Xiao Mei Qiang (2013). Chinese Medical Qigong. p. 590. ISBN 1848190964. "Mencius (371—289 BCE), born in Zou county (Shandong province), first name Ke, style name Zi Yu, was a famous philosopher, educator, politician, and expert on the Qigong life nurturing of Confucius in the Zhanguo Period." 
  2. ^ Origins of Chinese Names. 2007. p. 142. ISBN 9812294627. "In ancient times, besides having a surname and a given name, one would have a courtesy name "Zì" as well. The courtesy name was the proper form of address for an adult. On reaching 20 years of age, young men would "put on the hat" as ..."