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| Generation name | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Chinese: | 字辈 | ||||||||
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| Korean name | |||||||||
| Hangul: | 돌림자 or 항렬자 | ||||||||
| Hanja: | 돌림字 or 行列字 | ||||||||
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Generation name, variously zibei or banci, is one of the characters in a traditional Chinese name, and is so called because each member of a generation (i.e. siblings and cousins of the same generation) share that character, unlike surnames or given names. Western names do not have an equivalent custom.
This table illustrates an example.
| Unit | Chinese form | Western form | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family name | Generation name | Given name | ||
| Father | Xia | Zhou | Jin | Zhoujin Xia |
| Father's sibling | Xia | Zhou | Sui | Zhousui Xia |
| Mother | Shang | Qin | Tang | Qintang Shang |
| Mother's sibling | Shang | Qin | Song | Qinsong Shang |
| First child | Xia | Han | Zheng | Hanzheng Xia |
| Second child | Xia | Han | Li | Hanli Xia |
| Third child | Xia | Han | Yong | Hanyong Xia |
Where used, generation names were usually given only to males, although this does vary from lineage to lineage and has changed over time.
The generation name is a single character and is typically prescribed by a generation poem (banci lian 班次聯 or paizi ge 派字歌 in Chinese) specific to each lineage. These poems can vary in length from around a dozen characters to hundreds of characters. Each successive character becomes the generation name for successive generations. [1] After the last character of the poem is reached, the poem is usually recycled though occasionally it may be extended.
Generation poems were usually composed by a committee of family elders whenever a new lineage was established through geographical emigration or social elevation. Thus families sharing a common generation poem are considered to also share a common ancestor and have originated from a common geographical location.
Generation names may be the first or second name to follow the clan name. Normally its position is consistent for the associated lineage. However some lineages alternate its position from generation to generation. This is quite common for Korean names. Sometimes lineages will also share the same radical in the non-generation name.
Important examples are the generation poems of the Kong and Meng family. During the Ming Dynasty, emperor Zhu Yuanzhang respected Confucius and Mencius so much that he honored their families with generation poems. These generation poems were extended with the permission of the Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the Tongzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and the Ministry of Interior of the Beiyang Government.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Michener, James A. [1959]. "IV: From the starving village", Hawaii, Fawcett Crest Book. New York: Ballantine Books, pp.480-485. ISBN 0-449-21335-8.
- ^ 孟
External links
- Ten untranslated poems: the Cantonese Lee family
- Poem of the Nguyen of Vietnam
- Generation Poem of the descendants of Huang Qiaoshan (871–953) of the Chinese Huang Clan.
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 26 July 2008, at 03:54.
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