Chapter 129: Courtesy Name

The Book of Rites: “A man at twenty wears the cap and receives a courtesy name.” This means that when a man reaches the age of twenty, he formally becomes an adult. From then on, he must bind his hair and wear a cap, and an elder bestows upon him a courtesy name; henceforth, calling him by his given name directly is no longer appropriate.

For two thousand years, people have largely followed this ancient custom, though with the passage of time, strict adherence has waned. For example, as soon as Su Lu and his peers entered the academy, they were required to bind their hair and wear headscarves, styling their hair in an adult manner to show respect.

Similarly, when they graduate, the academy’s teachers may bestow courtesy names upon them. This is entirely voluntary; if the students insist on following the ancient custom by not receiving it early, the teachers will not press the matter.

But who would refuse the honor of receiving a courtesy name ahead of time? It is something they have longed for since childhood.

For instance, last year, Brother Chun received the courtesy name “Yingzhi.”

Furthermore, requesting a teacher to bestow a courtesy name also signifies respect for the teacher. It means that no matter where life takes you, no matter how high an official you become, you will never forget your teacher.

Mr. Zhang was naturally very pleased but shook his head and politely declined: “It’s better to wait until you go to Heshan Academy to have their teachers bestow your courtesy name. It will carry greater significance there.”

A name is a name; a courtesy name is as important as the given name and naturally becomes an emotional bond between the two. Such an opportunity to forge a connection is both dignified and lasting. Therefore, it is often the case that one would invite a scholar or even a successful candidate of the imperial examinations to bestow the name, and the chance comes but once...

“No, I want you to bestow my courtesy name,” Su Lu said firmly. Though he was a pragmatic man, he was not so petty as to scheme over his own name.

“Ah, no, no…” Mr. Zhang declined repeatedly but ultimately could not resist Su Lu’s insistence. He pulled a sheet of gold-flecked paper from the desk and handed it over:

“Look at this one.”

“Hongzhi?” Su Lu read aloud the two characters whose ink had long since dried.

“That’s right!” Mr. Zhang nodded heavily, his face full of excitement:

“A courtesy name derives from the given name; they cannot be disconnected, like a title and its explanation. There are naturally many methods to choose from, but mainly three—”

Mr. Zhang’s teacherly zeal flared up, as if he wanted to start from the creation of heaven and earth to explain. Su Lu listened patiently, taking it as his teacher’s final lesson.

“The most common is ‘synonymous correspondence,’ where the courtesy name and the given name share similar meanings to reinforce the significance of the name. For example, Zhuge Liang’s courtesy name is Kongming; Cao Cao’s is Mengde; Zhou Yu’s is Gongjin—these are all this type.”

“Then there is ‘antithetical complement,’ where the courtesy name’s meaning contrasts the given name, tempering any extreme connotations in the given name. For example, Han Yu’s given name ‘Yu’ means to surpass or excel, so his courtesy name is Tuizhi; Zhao Mengfu’s ‘Mu’ means to look downward, so his courtesy name is Zi’ang.”

“Third is ‘extension and elevation,’ where the courtesy name extends the original meaning of the given name to a loftier ideal. For example, Lu You’s courtesy name is Wuguan. The saying goes, ‘Focus outward without neglecting inward reflection,’ reminding him to observe changes externally while cultivating internal self-awareness.”

Mr. Zhang glanced at Su Lu and said, “And your esteemed ancestor, Su Dongpo, whose given name ‘Zhi’ means the crossbar on a horse carriage held by the hand. His courtesy name ‘Zizhan’ derives from this function—helping one to hold on and look far ahead—thus implying foresight and vision.”

“In reverence to heaven and ancestors, I have given you the courtesy name ‘Hongzhi’ in the same manner. ‘Lu’ means to record, but the purpose of recording is not merely preservation, but to ‘magnify’!” Mr. Zhang shook his head and explained the meaning to Su Lu:

“You are now in the learning phase, the time to record and remember. I wish that when you succeed in your studies, you will not let your knowledge gather dust on a shelf, merely seeking livelihood. Rather, you should carry forward what you have learned. Even if you cannot ‘establish the heart for heaven and earth, inherit the teachings of ancient sages, and open peace for all generations,’ you should at least ‘establish destiny for the people’ and promote the righteous path among men!”

“Yes, disciple Hongzhi will earnestly remember the teacher’s teachings!” Su Lu bowed deeply and accepted the lesson with reverence.

“Good, good, Hongzhi. From now on, your full name will be Su Lu, Su Hongzhi!” Mr. Zhang wore a look that seemed to say, “Now isn’t it time to praise me?” and asked, “Are you satisfied?”

“Satisfied, of course satisfied.” Su Lu nodded hastily but could not help whispering, “But doesn’t this name conflict with any taboos?”

“What taboo?” Mr. Zhang looked puzzled.

“The current era’s reign title,” Su Lu whispered, “Hongzhi... Hongzhi—isn’t that a bit sensitive...?”

“Hahaha, you’re overthinking this, young man!” Mr. Zhang laughed heartily. “Reign titles are for calling, not imperial names to be avoided. Why should you avoid them? Besides, even imperial names, our dynasty only treats them with slight care in writing. For example, the scholar you will pay respects to, the third brother of the academy head, guess his name?”

The hint was clear; Su Lu thought: “It must be two characters, with the ‘king’ radical, and related to an imperial name... Could it be the character ‘Zhang’?”

“Yes, Hongzhi, you are indeed clever!” Mr. Zhang laughed again. “His name is Zhu Zhang. Didn’t he pass the county exam and the provincial exam? No one dragged him out to be executed!”

Su Lu smiled awkwardly: “I have not forgotten the rules of naming taboos.”

“Rest assured, our dynasty’s naming taboos are very lenient. The imperial given names are few. You only need to remember two principles: first, the second character of an emperor’s personal name must be avoided; second, if the two characters of the name are not used together, there is no need to avoid either character separately.”

“So, when ‘Yuan Zhang’ is together, the character Zhang is written with a missing stroke, but using Yuan or Zhang alone doesn’t require avoidance,” Mr. Zhang added, teaching him another tidbit useful for exams.

Su Lu suddenly understood: “No wonder they dared to call him Zhu Zhang. Then my ‘Hongzhi’ is all the more harmless.”

“Of course! Would I, as your teacher, ever trick you?” Mr. Zhang laughed. “Rest assured, Yang Pu among the Three Yangs has the courtesy name Hongji; the triple champion Shang Lu’s courtesy name is Hongzai; the last champion of the Chenghua era was Fei Hong; and there’s Wang Hong, a vice censor in Nanjing! When those big figures change their names, you can change your courtesy name later.”

“Yes,” Su Lu finally felt at ease.

~~

After bidding farewell to Mr. Zhang, Su Lu headed to the Hongyun Hall to have a farewell meal with his classmates, where the bittersweet bonds of youthful friendship needed no elaboration.

After lunch, all the teachers gathered in the Daonan Hall to prepare for the last grading session of the year.

When everyone was present, Chief Qian stepped out from behind the screen with measured steps.

“Chief...” the teachers greeted him with clasped fists.

“Well, thank you all for your hard work again,” Qian Huairen’s voice deepened. Settling firmly in the seat of honor, he sipped the fragrant tea offered by his attendant and slowly said, “Let’s begin.”

“Yes,” the teachers responded, sitting down to start grading.

Yet, the group of bookish men couldn’t help but grumble quietly: What’s with this so-called acting chief putting on airs?

Mr. Zhu distributed the exam papers to the teachers; no one received more than a handful.

“This few papers?” Mr. Niu, seeing only five in his hand, felt it insufficient.

“Normal, half were eliminated by Chief Zhu this year,” a nearby teacher replied irritably. Naturally, the disparaging title for Zhu Liu shifted to Chief Zhu.

The teachers had never liked Zhu Liu, and now that he had abandoned them midway to take the imperial exam, their disrespect grew.

But it was understandable why the teachers were upset. From the sixty students admitted through multiple rounds of selection, only thirty-one remained after a year—sixteen in the Shengshen Study, and only fifteen combined in Mingzhi and Duxing Studies after their merger!

Next year’s tuition would be halved, and many teachers would find themselves without work...

“Damn it, only thirty-one children left! If he messes things up another year, there will be more teachers than students!” Mr. Zheng, who taught the Book of Rites, complained bitterly. Next year, he would have only one student, Ma Qianli, and he was so frustrated he swore aloud.

“Thirty-one? It’s twenty-nine!” Mr. Niu, even worse off, retorted angrily. “The two best students in the academy were taken away by him! What a disaster...”

“Alright, you two, watch your tongues,” Chief Qian let them vent a bit before admonishing, “A single coin of tuition doesn’t shortchange you—why get so worked up?”

“Is it about the money? We are here to teach and nurture!” The two teachers, with only one student between them, were understandably full of grievance.

“Who wants to teach for free?” Mr. Niu said.

“True, so have your tuition halved?” Chief Qian nodded.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Mr. Niu smiled awkwardly, “Still need to save a dowry for my daughter.”

“But Chief, next year, let’s not do this system anymore,” the teachers, feeling a sense of loss, urged Qian Huairen to restore order.

“No, school regulations are no joke; they cannot be changed on a whim!” Fortunately, Qian Huairen was experienced in officialdom and understood priorities. He allowed the teachers to grumble but would not let them drag him down.

A bunch of clueless bookworms. Didn’t they consider that if the chief went to the capital to take the exam, either he would fail and return to find all his policies changed, or he would pass and have others fawn on him—would he then change his own rules? Are they out of their minds?

So Chief Qian had repeatedly assured Chief Zhu that his policies would remain steadfast. To soothe the teachers, he added, “At most, from now on, we can be a bit more lenient when setting questions and grading.”

“Alas, that’s the best we can hope for…” The teachers were somewhat satisfied and ceased their complaints to focus on grading.

“Everyone, listen to how our prodigy wrote his final essay in this academy,” Mr. Zhu deliberately held onto Su Lu’s paper. When no one found it, he announced loudly.

“Oh, you kept it? Read it, read it!” The teachers eagerly urged. “The greatest pleasure of grading will soon be gone.”

“Yes, the next time we hear his essays will be when he takes the county exam,” Mr. Niu sighed. “Such a fine child. Too bad he can’t marry my daughter.”

“Listen carefully!” Mr. Zhu cleared his throat, and the Daonan Hall grew utterly silent as he recited:

“All things rely on their foundation; the inner and outer are both important; all affairs follow order, with beginning and end equally necessary!

“A thing is firm because of its root; without root, it scatters; affairs proceed smoothly by order; without order, chaos ensues. When inner and outer have no gaps, and beginning and end have no hierarchy, this is the Way!

“This Way is the constant path of heaven and earth, the essence of sages. The constant path of heaven and earth means that things arise with a root; the root is firm, awaiting external manifestation; affairs have order; order depends on completion. The essence of sages is clear virtue and renewing the people; governing the nation and administration requires foresight and attention to results. To hold the root lightly and neglect the external is like discarding branches and leaves and causing the root to wither; to guard order but ignore the end is like forgetting the home and losing one’s way. Therefore, those who understand this Way know that inner and outer are one, beginning and end connected; following it accords with the laws of heaven!”

[Note: The next chapter has not yet been reviewed.]