A style name, also called courtesy name (字), is a name usually given to a man when he reaches twenty years of age. Style names are either given by the parents or chosen by the man later in life. Since the style name respects the owner's adulthood, it was used in place of their given name by people born in the same generation. Calling someone by their given name was considered rude if the speaker was the same age as the addressee. After a man had his style name, his given name was reserved for his elders and himself. Creating these names was a common practice in Imperial China and was not largely extended to other cultures.
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