Options
Personal Chinese names ending in “ nu ” (slave) among the Khitan and Han during Khitan - Liao (907 – 1125): A historical sociolinguistic study
Author(s)
Date Issued
2024
Citation
Yang, R.,& Ho, K. (7 June 2024). Personal Chinese names ending in “ nu ” (slave) among the Khitan and Han during Khitan - Liao (907 – 1125): A historical sociolinguistic study. 13th Historical Sociolinguistics Network Conference, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
This study examines personal Chinese names in the Khitan-Liao (907-1125) from the perspective of historical sociolinguistics, focusing on names ending in “nu” (slave) to discuss the sociocultural concepts and practices of the time they reflected. Although there have been a number of studies on modern and ancient Chinese names (e.g. Du et al. 2021; Yu 2019; Zheng 2011), and a few studies on Khitan names (e.g. Liu 2017), so far, no research has paid attention on names ending in the Chinese character
"nu". Using "nu" as a personal name had appeared in earlier Chinese historical records, but it became
popular during the Khitan-Liao. Not only the Han Chinese used it, but also the Khitans at that time; not just ordinary people, but also the Khitan emperors, the royal family and the upper class in the society, as their Chinese name. The popularity of Chinese name ending with "nu" lasted until after the Mongolian-Yuan, and then gradually decreased. This is a very interesting phenomenon and worth investigating. Based on a collection of more than 200 personal names ending with ‘nu’ from hand down historical documents and stele inscriptions/epitaphs, this study identifies the conceptual and social functional elements of the “nu” as a marker of linguistic and socioc ultural diversity in Khitan-Liao. Findings show that the character "nu" in end of a Chinese name did not reflect its original meaning of ‘slave’ as a person’s social status, nor did it represent parents’ desire their children to have such a status. It can be classified into four types of functions and implications. The first is an extension of the original meaning, which could mean "loyalty" or "service" or “worship” making superficial meaning of the name was closely related to religions (mostly to Buddhism, also for Taoism and folk religions) or emperors (khans), etc.. The second is related to the Khitan language and was used as a syllable that simultaneously translated sound and meaning. The third type is an inherited custom of the Han Chinese and was used as a nickname that meant being humble and making the bearer easier to survive, and the fourth is an indicator or a mark of male gender. The study reveals the richness of the cultural concepts with personal names in Khitan-Liao society. It provides some new resources and references for studying Han-Khitan language and cultural contact, transcultural practice and language development in the medieval period in the area of northeastern Mongolia
Availability at HKSYU Library
