Choosing Names from Poetry: The Most Romantic Tradition of Naming in China

📝 TL;DR Summary
Choosing characters from long-transmitted poetry is one approach to Chinese naming. Like sampling classic lyrics, it calls for checking the original context, meaning, sound, and everyday use. The age of a poem does not establish how long this naming practice has continued.

I. Introduction: Choosing a Name from Poetry

Imagine choosing words from Shakespeare or familiar lyrics to express something about yourself. Allusive Chinese naming has a similar idea: selecting characters from the Book of Songs, Chu Ci, or Tang and Song poetry, bringing an image into a name. This analogy explains the selection process; individual naming stories still need evidence.

II. Core Analogy: You Already Know the Poem—All You Need to Do Is Choose Two Characters

The essence of using poetry in naming is similar to how music lovers draw life mottos from lyrics: you already know that line by heart. The poet has already tuned the rhythm for you (see The Beauty of Phonetics for details), the imagery is already in place, and the emotions are fully developed—everything you need to do is pick out two characters. In music terms, this is called sampling: instead of composing a melody from scratch, one takes a classic segment and makes it resonate anew through their own voice.

Fang Lichen categorizes such names under “name creation using classical references,” describing it as “one of our country’s cultural traditions with profound cultural significance.” He also dedicates a whole chapter to “changing names using essays and poems,” stating that it is “extremely effective” but requires “a deep understanding of culture” (Zhengming Daoxing). The table below shows several examples of successful “sampling”:

Regarding “Wàngshū,” Fang Lichen provided detailed research: “Wang Shu comes from Li Sao written by Qu Yuan, a poet from the Chu State... Wang Shu is the mythological deity who drives the moon chariot, later becoming a symbol for the moon itself.” (Zhengming Daoxing) As for Tú Yōuyōu, it wasn’t until she won the Nobel Prize in 2015 for her research on artemisinin that people realized the deer eating mugwort in The Book of Songs had, over two thousand years earlier, “prewritten” a forecast of her discovery.

III. Returning to Chinese Names: A Good Name Comes with Three “Preinstalled” Features

Names derived from verses inherently come equipped with three “preinstalled” qualities:

Preinstalled Feature 1: Visual Imagery. The moment you hear the name “Jiang Shuying,” images of plum branches by the moonlit river instantly appear in your mind—these are the vivid scenes already crafted by poets like Lin Bu; parents simply adopt them.

Preinstalled Feature 2: Rhythmic Quality. Poets have long tested names for their musicality: patterns of tone, pitch, and syllable flow have been refined over millennia through poetry. Names extracted from such works rarely sound off-key—this aligns perfectly with the principles of melody discussed in The Beauty of Phonetics.

Preinstalled Feature 3: Storytelling Potential. When asked about a name’s origin, a simple statement like “It comes from Li Sao” speaks volumes. A name functions as a cultural business card one can carry everywhere, offering endless stories to share throughout life.

How ancient is this tradition? He Rongzhu cites Yan’s Family Instructions in his textbook Textbook of Name Studies: “In ancient times, names were chosen to reflect one’s true nature, while courtesy names served to express virtues.” Scholars in the past often had both a given name and a courtesy name, with the latter typically drawn from classics such as The Analects and The Book of Songs, qualities described as “elegant and thought-provoking” (He Rongzhu, Textbook of Name Studies, China Materials Publishing House, 2012). Fang Lichen offers a practical approach: first select a verse, then pick characters from it—Xie Bingxin’s name comes from the famous line “A pure heart like ice lies within a jade pot,” Hu Qiaomu’s from The Book of Songs·Famu with the phrase “Coming from deep valleys, it climbs to tall trees,” and Zheng Banqiao’s from the lyric “Along the spring river, thousands of willow branches stretch—twenty years ago, there was an old board bridge” (Zhengming Daoxing).

As for the notion that “girls are tied to The Book of Songs while boys are tied to Li Sao,” it is more of a general aesthetic guideline than a strict rule—modern parents no longer choose names based solely on gender.

IV. Back to Reality: A Single Copy of The Book of Songs Nurtures Half a Kindergarten

Scene 1: The Book of Songs on the nightstand. On the bookshelves of soon-to-be parents, alongside parenting encyclopedias, there is often a copy of The Book of Songs, its pages covered in sticky notes—much like music lovers selecting their life’s theme song, trying out different lines and discarding them until they finally find the phrase that “belongs to our family.”

Scene 2: The moment someone asks, “Is your name from ‘A Plum Blossom in the Mountain Garden’?” In social settings, when someone discovers where a name originates, two strangers can instantly become close friends—just as if they recognize a niche band printed on each other’s T-shirts. The origin of a name has thus become one of the social currency items among Chinese people.

Scene 3: The hassle of naming conflicts caused by popular verses. However, overly famous lines are often overused: having three or four children named “Jìng Shū” in a single class is similar to too many people setting a hit song as their phone ringtone—still pleasant to hear, but no longer unique.

💡 Cultural Note: What is described here reflects the aesthetic traditions and preferences of Chinese people, not an assertion that names determine destiny. Different regions and families also place varying levels of importance on drawing inspiration from classical texts.

V. Practical Tips for You

If you’d like to draw inspiration from poetry to create a great name, keep these three steps in mind:

1. Choose a line that holds deep meaning for you. Think of it like picking the theme song of your life—consider the season of your birth, the scenery of your hometown, or your hopes for your child. Only when the poem resonates with your own experiences can the name go beyond being merely “pleasant to hear.”

2. Consider the overall context of the entire poem. Some famous lines originate from melancholic backgrounds—for example, Zhang Henshui’s given name was taken from Li Yu’s sorrowful verse in Wu Yeye Ti: “Life is full of regret, just as the river flows eastward forever.” Read the whole poem first before deciding which two characters to select.

3. Say it together with your surname. While the poetic line itself is ready-made, pairing it with your surname might alter its rhythm. Repeat the combination of “surname + name” five times to ensure it doesn’t sound awkward or create strange homophones before finalizing the choice.

Looking for a name drawn from classic literature that also matches the phonetics and meaning of your surname? Give GetHanName a try—we’ll help you verify the source, pronunciation, and symbolism all at once.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Can I use this method even if I don’t understand classical Chinese?
Sure. Start by reading versions that include modern translations, first grasp the meaning of the translation before selecting characters—only when you understand the overall idea can you feel confident using the two characters chosen. If unsure, ask someone knowledgeable or use professional tools to verify their origins.

Q2: Which classic is best to begin with?
It depends on the desired personality traits. The Book of Songs features plenty of descriptions of plants, animals, and natural scenery, with short sentences and clear imagery, making it suitable for a gentle and reserved style; meanwhile, The Songs of Chu boasts splendid diction and imaginative expressions, ideal for a grand and romantic vibe—this is where the saying “women choose from The Book of Songs, men from The Songs of Chu” comes from. Keep in mind, though, that these are just references, not strict rules.

Q3: Can Tang poetry or Song ci-poetry be used as well?
Absolutely. Xie Bingxin’s name draws from a famous line from Tang poetry, Jiang Shuying’s from the Song poem “Little Plums in the Mountain Garden,” and Zheng Banqiao’s from the lyric-style work “Willow Branches”—classics aren’t limited by dynasty, and poems, ci-poems, songs, and prose essays can all be used for names (Fang Lichen, Zhengming Daoxing).

Q4: Will it make me seem pretentious or overly artificial?
The key lies in knowing when to reveal the reference. Fang Lichen cited a counterexample: one naming agency claimed their name “Zhà Shí Chéng Yáng” was derived from The Biographies of Immortals and carried profound meaning, but since no one could understand it, they had to add a more straightforward signboard instead. A well-chosen name with a literary reference should be subtle enough to be understood and explained, rather than so obscure that it leaves people confused.

VII. Further Reading

• 📖 The Beauty of Phonetics: Why Some Chinese Names Sound So Pleasant? —— Exploring how the rhythm of poetic verses blends with surnames to reveal the “melody” behind a name.
• 📖 “What Does Your Name Mean?” —— A Question Everyone Asks When Meeting in China —— Delving into the meanings and stories behind names, and why they hold such significance for Chinese people.
• 📖 Top 10 Styles of Naming in Chinese: From the Three Elements Approach to the Zodiac Method —— An overview of naming traditions based on poetry, helping readers understand different styles before choosing a method.

Research biography: Tu Youyou — NobelPrize.org.