me trying to explain how chinese names work for non-chinese writers: look its very simple. you must NEVER EVER EVER refer to anyone by their last name OR first name ALONE. this is a cardinal sin and will have you laughed out of the rednote comment section. The sequence is SURNAME FIRST NAME, and it is SACROSANCT. unless you're writing dialogue from the 21st century, then most people can refer to your character by their first name in conversation. but only if it's a two-character name. if the name is one character long, the surname HAS to be added, otherwise it sounds Weird. also this only works for dialogue, the narration must ALWAYS use the full name. that is, unless, mayhaps, you're writing about the classical-to-medival period, then historians will sometimes refer to people by their single-character given name. or the person in question will use their single-character name in the third person during a conversation. they will just throw that in when vibes are correct. also, in premodern china, its very common for women to be named shit like "Big [surname of father] or Little [surname of father]" based on birth order and this is the rare instance where the name goes before the surname. look its very self-explanatory, when in doubt you just need to go with your gut. now tune in tomorrow where i explain how courtesy names work--
#wait im chinese and idk this#maybe I need to read more c media#like irl (in sg) its just given name usually#never really really learnt abt courtesy names etc beyond a brief lesson#this is useful advice tho!!
@shrimpsicality dont worry man the courtesy name mainly applies to characters from Ye Olde Times. it started going out of fashion during the latter half of the 20th century, and is almost never used in the 21st century. so good news! you won't really need it unless you're preparing to get waist deep in the historical rpf/fantasy genres.
i, for one, think we should bring back the courtesy name. social interactions simply are not challenging enough, we need to add an extra spot quiz for every person we meet to keep it funky and fresh. the people of tumblr say they are sick of the Pronoun Circle. well, get ready for the Proper Noun Circle. I will be the one to reach across the aisle and come up with a decision that makes everyone equally aggravated. "here is the Backup Name I go by in public, and here is my Real Name. NEVER call me by this. EVER. not even if you're the fucking emperor. unless ☝️ you're older than me." i want the ability to revoke my name privileges. there are too many people in my life that i simply do not want to be Known by. people at work. hiring reps from networking events. everyone from highschool. people who ask to connect on linkedin. those fucking spam emails for services that i have no recollection of subscribing to, but inexplicably have my full name, blood type, zodiac sign and the last three digits of my social security number.*
A Chinese history text: "Big Honcho and Other Big Honcho had a severe falling out after the former referred to the latter in public by his name. This was an offense that Other Big Honcho would never forgive and which led to the fracturing of the Horse Alliance"
Me prior to getting into cdrama fandoms: What does this mean? It's his name? 🤨 Why would he get offended by being called by his name, what else would he call him??
Me after getting into cdrama fandoms: Ooooff big faux pas 😬 honestly Big Honcho was lucky that Other Big Honcho didn't challenge him a duel on the spot. RIP Horse Alliance they're never coming back from that one 😔
Get ready for the other names past that. There’s also the names you are given after you become a well known figure in society, usually titles given by others based on the location you are from or where something significant happened to you. For instance, famous Song Dynasty poet Su 苏 birth name Shi 轼, courtesy name Zizhan 子瞻, alternative title dongpo jushi 东坡居士 which means something like the one who lives on the east slope. So you may see him referred to as Su Shi 苏轼, Su Zizhan 苏子瞻, Su Dongpo 苏东坡, etc. I think primarily in the tang dynasty people might also be referred to as surname + number denoting their birth order in that generation of their family (Gao Shi 高适 being Gao 13 高十三 for instance). There’s so many names you can choose from depending on what type of message you are trying to send.
In historical settings it’s crucial to keep in mind in a conversation 1) relative status of speakers 2) context of the conversation when determining how someone is referred to and what message they are sending by choosing that particular term of address (self address also sends a message as to how the speaker perceives themselves relative to the addressee).
Things that can affect what name to use for someone (let’s use famous early Ming Dynasty statesman Yu Qian 于谦 as an example):
