A courtesy name ( Chinese : 字 ; pinyin : zì ; lit. 'character'), also known as a style name , is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere , particularly in China , Japan , Korea , and Vietnam . Courtesy names are a marker of adulthood and were historically given to men at the age of 20, and sometimes to women upon marriage.
41-631: Sun Fu ( fl. 190s–200s), courtesy name Guoyi , was a cousin of Sun Quan , a Chinese warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and later became the founding emperor of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period. Sun Fu was the second son of Sun Qiang (孙羌), the full elder brother of Sun Quan's father Sun Jian ; Fu had an elder brother, Sun Ben . He followed Sun Ce (Sun Jian's eldest son and successor) in his later campaigns against Yuan Shu and Liu Xun , earning great merits by raiding Lingyang and Lujiang. When Liu Xun
82-443: A band of pirates dividing up their spoils on land. Sun Jian jumped on shore with a sabre in hand and pointed in different directions as if commanding a detachment of soldiers to surround the pirates. Seeing this, the pirates were deceived and fled. Sun Jian pursued, and only after taking the head of every pirate did he return (or just the leaders according to some accounts). His name henceforth spread. In 172, he became acting major for
123-468: A brilliant victory and killed the enemy commander Hua Xiong in battle (191). At this time, someone told Yuan Shu that if Sun Jian defeated Dong Zhuo and took over Luoyang, he would no longer submit to anyone. Feeling doubtful, Yuan Shu stopped providing food supplies to Sun Jian's army. Sun Jian rode the hundred odd li from Yangren to Luyang overnight to see Yuan Shu, whereupon he told the latter, "I put myself in danger during battle, firstly to eliminate
164-582: A coalition against him. Sun Jian also raised an army and joined Yuan Shu , one of the leaders of the coalition at Luyang (魯陽; present-day Lushan County , Henan ). On his way, he killed Inspector of Jing Province Wang Rui and Administrator of Nanyang Zhang Zi. Yuan Shu appointed Sun Jian as General Who Destroys Barbarians (破虜將軍, also translated as "General Who Smashes the Caitiffs") and Inspector of Yu Province ( 豫州刺史 ). Sun Jian then began training and preparing his troops at Luyang. A force sent by Dong Zhuo
205-426: A coalition to oust Dong Zhuo , a tyrannical warlord who held the puppet Emperor Xian in his power. Although he controlled neither many troops nor much land, Sun Jian's personal bravery and resourcefulness were feared by Dong Zhuo, who placed him among Yuan Shao , Yuan Shu and Liu Biao as the most influential men at that time. After the coalition disbanded in the next year, China fell into civil war. In 191, Sun Jian
246-570: A general cultural tendency to regard names as significant , the choice of what name to bestow upon one's children was considered very important in traditional China. Yan Zhitui of the Northern Qi dynasty asserted that whereas the purpose of a given name was to distinguish one person from another, a courtesy name should express the bearer's moral integrity. Prior to the twentieth century, sinicized Koreans , Vietnamese , and Japanese were also referred to by their courtesy name. The practice
287-428: A man – as the first character of the disyllabic courtesy name. Thus, for example, Gongsun Qiao 's courtesy name was Zichan ( 子產 ), and Du Fu 's was Zimei ( 子美 ). It was also common to construct a courtesy name 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 Kong Qiu ( 孔丘 ), was given the courtesy name Zhongni ( 仲尼 ), where
328-466: A marriage to cement the alliance. However, Sun Jian rejected the proposals with harsh words and continued to lead his troops towards Luoyang. In late 190, his army was merely 90 li away from the capital when Dong Zhuo retreated west to Chang'an after ordering the destruction of Luoyang by fire. Entering the ruins of Luoyang, Sun Jian ordered his men to reseal the tombs of Han emperors that were excavated by Dong Zhuo, after which he returned to Luyang. It
369-575: A memorial to the imperial court that he was 17 (by East Asian reckoning) when his father died. In this account, since Sun Ce died in 200 at the age of 26 (by East Asian reckoning), Sun Jian should have died in 191. Sun Jian's biography in Sanguozhi recorded that he was sent by Yuan Shu to attack Jing province in the 3rd year of the Chuping era of Liu Xie's reign. This account was also found in Book of
410-437: A plot to eliminate the powerful eunuch faction . Before Dong Zhuo arrived, however, He Jin was assassinated by the eunuchs and Luoyang fell into chaos following a clash between supporters of both sides. Dong Zhuo then seized military control of the capital and deposed the young emperor for the puppet Emperor Xian . However, his tyrannical ways incurred the wrath of many and in the following year, warlords from eastern China formed
451-640: Is removed!" and consequently usurped more power in the imperial court. Sun Jian is featured as a playable character in Koei 's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series. He also appears in Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series. He is a playable warlord in the 2019 game Total War: Three Kingdoms by Creative Assembly . In the SD Gundam series BB Senshi Sangokuden , which
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#1732766241329492-538: The Yellow Turban Rebellion led by Zhang Jiao broke out across the country. Sun Jian joined the general Zhu Jun to quell the rebellion in Yu Province (covering roughly present-day southern Henan and northern Anhui ). The soldiers fought hard, forcing the rebels to retreat to Wan (宛; present-day Wancheng District , Nanyang , Henan). Sun Jian placed himself in the forefront and climbed onto
533-461: The 7th day of the 1st month of the 4th year of the Chuping era. This corresponds to 25 February 193 in the Julian calendar. Four of Sun Jian's sons – Sun Ce , Sun Quan , Sun Yi and Sun Kuang – and one of his daughters (her identity is unrecorded) were born to his wife Lady Wu , who was Wu Jing 's elder sister. Lady Sun married Liu Bei . In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of
574-709: The Inspector of Yu Province to replace his uncle. Sun Jian was buried in the Gao Mausoleum in Qu'e (曲阿; in present-day Danyang , Jiangsu ). He was survived by at least five sons and three daughters. His eldest son, Sun Ce , became a warlord and conquered several territories in the Jiangdong region. Like his father, Sun Ce died at a relatively young age and was succeeded by his younger brother, Sun Quan . Sun Quan built on his brother's legacy and eventually established
615-670: The Later Han (volume 09 ) and Annals of the Later Han (compiled by Yuan Hong; volume 27 ). Pei Songzhi in his commentary found in Sun Ce's biography of Sanguozhi noted that Sun Jian dying in 192 as recorded in his Sanguozhi biography should be an error, noting that Zhang Fan's Annals of Han and the Wu Li both recorded that Sun Jian died in 191. Sima Guang , in his Zizhi Tongjian Kao Yi , agreed that Sun Jian died in 191. Wang Can 's Records of Heroes recorded that Sun Jian died on
656-572: The Three Kingdoms , some events of Sun Jian were romanticised by Luo Guanzhong . Sun Jian first appears the novel in Chapter 2 as a great warrior and descendant of Sun Tzu who takes part in suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Later, he joins the coalition against Dong Zhuo. In the battle against Hua Xiong, the commander of the enemy army, Sun Jian took off his own red scarf and handed it to Zu Mao ( 祖茂 ) when Sun Jian's army
697-401: The age of 20 sui , marking their coming of age . It was sometimes given to women, usually upon marriage. The practice is no longer common in modern Chinese society. According to the Book of Rites , after a man reached adulthood, it was disrespectful for others of the same generation to address him by his given name . Thus, the given name was reserved for oneself and one's elders, whereas
738-459: The battle and barely escaped. When he later launched a revenge attack upon Jing Provence, in accordance with the order of his senior, Yuan Shu, he was lured under a cliff where he was shot dead by arrows from the above. Sun's camp reclaimed Sun Jian's corpse using a captive, Huang Zu, who was Liu Biao's brother-in-law. When Dong Zhuo heard of Sun's death in Chang'an, he said, "One of my greatest enemies
779-598: The city walls alone. The rest then swarmed in and defeated the rebels. Around this time, Bian Zhang and Han Sui colluded with the Qiang tribes and rebelled in Liang Province (涼州; present-day western Gansu ). After Dong Zhuo failed to put down the rebellion, the central government sent in his place the Minister of Works Zhang Wen , who invited Sun Jian along as an adviser. When Zhang Wen summoned Dong Zhuo to
820-460: The coalition. Hua Xiong was unrivalled until he met the unfamed Guan Yu . After Dong Zhuo retreated to Chang'an, Sun Jian was the first to enter Luoyang and ordered to put off the fires set by Dong Zhuo. Seeing the destruction of the imperial capital and Han dynasty, Sun Jian sighed and shed a tear. However, when his men found a jade seal, which was proven to be the imperial seal , Sun Jian grew ambitious and requested to retreat to his base. The news
861-601: The courtesy name would be used by adults of the same generation to refer to one another on formal occasions or in writing. Another translation of zi is "style name", but this translation has been criticised as misleading, because it could imply an official or legal title. Generally speaking, courtesy names before the Qin dynasty were one syllable, and from the Qin to the 20th century they were mostly disyllabic , consisting of two Chinese characters . Courtesy names were often relative to
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#1732766241329902-425: The encampment at Chang'an , Dong Zhuo procrastinated and took a long time to arrive. When he did, he showed little respect for Zhang Wen. Sun Jian then advised Zhang Wen to execute Dong Zhuo, but Zhang Wen declined as Dong Zhuo held high reputation in the west. Despite scoring a major victory against the rebels at Meiyang, Zhang Wen could not press their advantage and the rebellion was still not quelled. Zhang Wen and
943-522: The enemy across the Han River to Xiangyang . While he was travelling alone through Xianshan ( 峴山 ), Huang Zu's troops ambushed him and shot him to death with arrows. The Record of Heroes ( 英雄記 ) by Wang Can , however, claims that Sun Jian died in 193 and that he was crushed to death by boulders while pursuing the enemy commander Lü Gong ( 呂公 ). Sun Jian's nephew, Sun Ben , gathered his uncle's troops and returned to Yuan Shu, who then appointed him as
984-472: The first character zhong indicates that he was the second son born into his family. The characters commonly used are bo ( 伯 ) for the first, zhong ( 仲 ) for the second, shu ( 叔 ) for the third, and ji ( 季 ) typically for the youngest, if the family consists of more than three sons. General Sun Jian 's four sons, for instance, were Sun Ce ( 伯符 , Bófú), Sun Quan ( 仲謀 , Zhòngmóu), Sun Yi ( 叔弼 , Shūbì) and Sun Kuang ( 季佐 , Jìzuǒ). Reflecting
1025-491: The meaning of the given name or use homophonic characters, and were typically disyllabic after the Qin dynasty . The practice also extended to other East Asian cultures, and was sometimes adopted by Mongols and Manchus during the Qing dynasty . The choice of a courtesy name was significant, intended to express moral integrity and respect within the cultural context. A courtesy name is a name traditionally given to Chinese men at
1066-419: The meaning of the person's given name, the relationship could be synonyms, relative affairs, or rarely but sometimes antonym. For example, Chiang Kai-shek 's given name ( 中正 , romanized as Chung-cheng) and courtesy name ( 介石 , romanized as Kai-shek) are both from the yù (豫) hexagram 16 of I Ching . Another way to form a courtesy name is to use the homophonic character zi ( 子 ) – a respectful title for
1107-624: The pro-government militias which fought against Xu Chang's rebellion in Kuaiji Commandery . He raised a militia of about 1,000 men and served with distinction, whereupon he was recommended to the court by Yang Province Inspector Zhang Min. Sun Jian was consequently rewarded with a post as assistant magistrate in Guangling Commandery , and later in two counties in Xiapi . This allowed him to gather many followers. In 184,
1148-467: The rebel leaders Ou Xing ( 區星 ), Zhou Chao ( 周朝 ) and Guo Shi ( 郭石 ), and suppressed both rebellions. The Han imperial court enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Wucheng ( 烏程侯 ) in recognition of his contributions. In 189, Emperor Ling died, leaving his young son in the care of Empress Dowager He and General-in-Chief He Jin . He Jin then summoned Dong Zhuo to lead troops into the capital to assist in
1189-617: The rest returned to the capital Luoyang in disgrace and thus no honor was accorded. Meanwhile, another local-scale rebellion broke out near Changsha Commandery and the rebels besieged the city. Sun Jian was then appointed as the Administrator of Changsha Commandery. Within a month upon taking up office, Sun Jian had quelled the rebellion. Meanwhile, rebellions also broke out in the neighbouring commanderies of Lingling (零陵; around present-day Yongzhou , Hunan ) and Guiyang (桂陽; around present-day Guiyang County , Hunan). Sun Jian defeated
1230-415: The scarf onto a half-burnt pillar, and hid himself in the tall grass nearby. The enemies surrounded the pillar and approached cautiously till they realised they had been fooled, whereupon they retreated. After regrouping his troops, Sun Jian pressed his troops towards Luoyang and engaged in battle against Dong Zhuo's forces at Yangren (陽人; believed to be near present-day Wenquan, Ruzhou , Henan ). He scored
1271-599: The state of Eastern Wu in 229, with himself as its founding emperor, during the Three Kingdoms period. Lady Sun later married the warlord and founder of the state of Shu Han, Liu Bei, in an attempt to forge an alliance to defeat Cao Cao after the Battle of Red Cliff . After ascending the throne, Sun Quan honoured his father with the posthumous title "Emperor Wulie" ( 武烈皇帝 ). There are multiple differing accounts on Sun Jian's death date. A Wu Lu annotation in Sun Ce's biography in Sanguozhi recorded that Sun Ce stated in
Sun Fu - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-481: The villain (Dong Zhuo) for the Han Empire, and secondly to avenge the deaths of your family members. I have no personal grudge against Dong Zhuo. Yet you believe slanderous talks and suspect me!" The words put Yuan Shu to shame and he immediately ordered his men to continue delivering food supplies to Sun Jian's army. Fearing Sun Jian, Dong Zhuo then sent his general Li Jue as an emissary to seek peace and propose
1353-493: Was allegedly a descendant of Sun Tzu , the author of The Art of War . No more immediate records survive, indicating his family probably played a very small part during the Han dynasty. Even his father's name is unrecorded, although a folk tradition gives it as Sun Zhong ( 孫鍾 ). Sun Jian was a civil official in his home county during his youth. When he was 16, Sun Jian travelled with his father to Qiantang , where they encountered
1394-476: Was also adopted by some Mongols and Manchus after the Qing conquest of China. Sun Jian Sun Jian ( Chinese : 孫堅 ; pinyin : Sūn Jiān ) ( pronunciation ) (155–191? ), courtesy name Wentai , was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed
1435-511: Was defeated, Sun Fu was put in charge of rebuilding the city walls, which he accomplished very well. He earned the title of General Who Pacifies the South. Before the Battle of Red Cliffs , Sun Fu decided to surrender to Cao Cao . To this end, he sent a letter to Cao, proclaiming his intent to surrender, but this letter was intercepted. Sun Quan angrily stripped Sun Fu of all rank and imprisoned him, but spared him on account of filial duty. Sun Fu
1476-577: Was killed in battle during an offensive campaign against Liu Biao. Sun Jian was also the father of Sun Quan , one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms era who eventually established the Eastern Wu state and declared himself its first emperor in 229, whereupon Sun Jian was given the posthumous title Emperor Wulie ( 武烈皇帝 ). Sun Jian was born in Fuchun County ( 富春縣 ), Wu Commandery , around present day Fuyang , Zhejiang . He
1517-440: Was leaked, to Sun Jian's miscalculation. When Yuan Shao, the leader of the coalition, interrogated Sun Jian, the latter swore by saying, "Should I have hid the treasure, I shall die miserably under arrows!" Under the protection by his guards, Sun Jian left Luoyang immediately. On the way to his base, Sun Jian passed through Jing Province , where the governor, Liu Biao , was asked by Yuan Shao to attack Sun Jian. Sun Jian badly lost
1558-436: Was raided. Having distracted Hua Xiong and let Sun Jian escape, Zu Mao was chased after by Hua Xiong, so he hid himself in woods after hanging the scarf on a half-burnt pillar. When Hua Xiong found himself to be fooled, he killed Zu Mao who dashed out of his hideout to challenge him. Hua Xiong then launched an attack on Sun's army, which lasted for a whole night. Sun Jian could not resist Hua Xiong, so he called for assistance from
1599-497: Was released and died a few years after the battle, never again having a military command. His sons, however, all received rank. Courtesy name Unlike art names , which are more akin to pseudonyms or pen names , courtesy names served a formal and respectful purpose. In traditional Chinese society, using someone’s given name in adulthood was considered disrespectful among peers, making courtesy names essential for formal communication and writing. Courtesy names often reflect
1640-558: Was said in the Book of Wu ( 吳書 ) by Wei Zhao that Sun Jian found one of the emperor's jade seals in a well south of Luoyang and kept it. Later, when Yuan Shu declared himself emperor, he held Sun Jian's wife Lady Wu hostage in exchange for the seal. In 191, Yuan Shu sent Sun Jian to attack Liu Biao , the Governor of Jing Province (荆州; covering present-day Hubei and Hunan ). He defeated Liu Biao's forces led by Huang Zu and pursued
1681-545: Was so impressed with the strict discipline of Sun Jian's troops that they gave up the plan to attack Luyang. When Sun Jian moved out to Liangdong (梁東; east of present-day Linru County , Henan), he was outnumbered by Dong Zhuo's forces. With several dozen horsemen, Sun Jian broke out of the encirclement. He took off the red felt scarf he had always been wearing and handed it to his trusted aide Zu Mao ( 祖茂 ), whom Dong Zhuo's soldiers then chased after while Sun Jian escaped. Unable to shake off his pursuers, Zu Mao then dismounted, hung