A Study Of Chinese Non-official Names From A Cultural-Anthropological Perspective

Personal names are both linguistic and cultural phenomena. Traditional Chinese naming system is quite complex, besides surnames and given names which are called official names in this paper, it also includes various categories of pet name, style, sobriquet, nickname, posthumous title, pen name and stage name which are the focus of this paper and called non-official names.The logical structure of this paper consists of two levels: the explicit level including the origins, forms, features of Chinese non-official names, and the implicit level including the cultural connotations embodied in the various non-official names.The paper consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 makes an introduction to the present study of Chinese names by giving the definitions and general forms of name; the related previous studies are reviewed; the topic of non-official names is raised by distinguishing from official names. In Chapter 2, the related theoretical foundations of the study of naming are discussed. Chapter3, traditional accounts of Chinese non-official names are systematically studied from the aspects of origins, naming ways and features with illustrative examples. In Chapter 4, cultural connotations are analyzed. Chapter 5 draws a conclusion for the whole study.The study of Chinese non-official names aims at providing an anthropological perspective and a better understanding of the traditional Chinese culture and society.