Chinese Style Name

A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name (Chinese: 字; pinyin: Zì), is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect. Primarily used for male names, one could be given a zì by the parents, or by their first personal teacher on the first day of family school, or one may adopt a self-chosen zì. The tradition of using style names has been fading since the May Fourth Movement in 1919. There are two common forms of style name, the zì and the hào.