These thirty works come with short notes on what they are — a starting point for choosing a name with a story behind it. Each note gives the author and the period, so you can tell where a name comes from before you give it to a child. For guidance on choosing a name, see our comprehensive guide to Chinese names.
- “Changhen Ge” (Song of Eternal Sorrow) — a long Tang poem by Bai Juyi, about Emperor Xuanzong and his beloved Yang Guifei.
- “Liangzhou Ci” (Song of Liangzhou) — a Tang frontier poem by Wang Zhihuan, written at the northwestern border.
- “Meng Jiangnv Waits for her Husband” (Folk Tale) — the legend of Meng Jiangnu, who searched for her husband, a labourer sent to build the Great Wall.
- “Qu Yuan’s Lament” — a poem by Qu Yuan, the exiled poet of the Warring States period, best known for the Li Sao below.
- “Shijing” (The Classic of Poetry) — the oldest surviving collection of Chinese poetry, from the Zhou dynasty.
- “The Lute Song” (Ballad about Unrequited Love)
- “The Song of the Pipa” (Ballad about a Musician) — Bai Juyi’s Pipa Xing, a Tang poem about a pipa player met on a riverbank at night.
- “Tian Wen” (Heavenly Questions) — a poem by Qu Yuan, asking questions of the heavens about myths, history and the world.
- “Xue Tao’s Poems” (Poems by a Female Poet) — Xue Tao, a Tang dynasty woman poet, known for her short, polished verses.
- “Yan Ge Xing” (Song of the Yan Country) — a Tang frontier poem by Gao Shi, about soldiers on the northeastern border.
- “You Lan” (Lonesome Orchid) — an ancient melody for the guqin, the seven-stringed zither, and one of the oldest surviving pieces for the instrument.
- “Zhaojun’s Lament” (Ballad of the Princess) — the story of Wang Zhaojun, a Han dynasty court lady sent to marry a Xiongnu chief.
- “Bai Juyi’s Poems” (Poems by a Tang Dynasty Poet) — Bai Juyi, the Tang poet behind the Song of Eternal Sorrow and the Song of the Pipa.
- “Ci Yuan” (Sources of Words) — China’s first modern word dictionary, first published by the Commercial Press in 1915.
- “Dongpo’s Poems” (Poems by a Song Dynasty Poet) — Su Shi, also called Su Dongpo, one of the great poets of the Song dynasty.
- “Feng Shen Yan Yi” (Investiture of the Gods) — a Ming dynasty novel of gods, heroes and the fall of a dynasty.
- “Gao Shi’s Poems” (Poems by a Tang Dynasty Poet) — Gao Shi, a Tang frontier poet and the author of the Song of the Yan Country.
- “Jing Fang’s Music Theory” (Theory of Ancient Chinese Music) — the work of Jing Fang, a Han dynasty scholar who studied pitch and musical theory.
- “Li Bo’s Poems” (Poems by a Tang Dynasty Poet) — Li Bai, the Tang poet of wine, the moon and wandering, and one of the most loved poets in Chinese.
- “Ode to the Goose” (Poem about a Goose) — a Tang poem by Luo Binwang, said to have been written when he was a boy.
- “Qin Shi Huang’s Laws and Decrees” (Laws of the First Emperor) — the legal codes of the First Emperor, who unified China in 221 BCE.
- “Quiet Night Thoughts” — a short Tang poem by Li Bai, one of the most recited poems in Chinese, about moonlight and missing home.
- “Tang Yin’s Paintings” (Paintings by a Ming Dynasty Artist) — Tang Yin, a Ming dynasty painter counted among the Four Masters of the Ming.
- “The Li Sao” (Encountering Sorrow) — Qu Yuan’s long lyric poem of exile, from the Warring States period.
- “The Nine Songs” (Ancient Chinese Ballads) — Qu Yuan’s set of songs written for rituals and spirits.
- “The Red Chamber Dream” (Classical Chinese Novel) — Dream of the Red Chamber, the Qing dynasty novel by Cao Xueqin and one of the Four Great Classical Novels.
- “The Story of the Western Wing” (Classical Chinese Play) — Romance of the Western Chamber, a Yuan dynasty drama by Wang Shifu.
- “The Tale of the Pipa” (Ancient Chinese Folk Tale) — a Yuan dynasty play by Gao Ming, about a faithful wife and a scholar who forgets her.
- “Wang Wei’s Poems” (Poems by a Tang Dynasty Poet) — Wang Wei, a Tang poet and painter known for quiet landscapes in words and ink.
- “Zuo Zhuan” (The Chronicles of Zuo) — a chronicle of the Spring and Autumn period, and one of the earliest works of Chinese history.
A name taken from one of these works carries its story with it — a frontier poem, a faithful wife, a moonlit night away from home. If a work here catches your eye, read the poem or the tale first, then take the name. The meaning will be yours to explain to your child one day.
Related reading: Discovering the Top 50 Popular Chinese Names and Their Meanings
