Chinese honorifics

Chinese honorifics (Chinese: 敬語; pinyin: Jìngyǔ) and honorific language are words, word constructs, and expressions in the Chinese language that convey self-deprecation, social respect, politeness, or deference. Once ubiquitously employed in ancient China, a large percent has fallen out of use in the contemporary Chinese lexicon. The promotion of vernacular Chinese during the New Culture Movement (新文化運動 or 五四文化運動) of the 1910s and 1920s in China further hastened the demise of a large body of Chinese honorifics previously preserved in the vocabulary and grammar of Classical Chinese.

Although Chinese honorifics have simplified to a large degree, contemporary Chinese still retains a sizable set of honorifics. Many of the classical constructs are also occasionally employed by contemporary speakers to convey formality, humility, politeness or respect. Usage of classical Chinese honorifics is also found frequently in contemporary Chinese literature and television or cinematic productions that are set in the historical periods. Honorific language in Chinese is achieved by using honorific or beautifying alternatives, prefixing or suffixing a word with a polite complement, or by dropping casual-sounding words.

In general, there are five distinct categories of honorific language:

Because of its widespread usage as a Lingua Franca, Mandarin Chinese is used herein synonymously with the term "contemporary Chinese". Variations in honorifics used and their usage exist in the other Sinitic languages, as well as among the various Mandarin dialects.

The term 知書達禮 (Literally -- one who knows the books and achieves proper mannerism) has been used to praise and characterize those of high academic and moral accomplishments and those of proper manner and conduct. Using the proper honorific or humble forms of address and other parts of speech toward oneself and toward others is an important element or requirement in the proper observation of 禮儀 (lǐyí, etiquette, formality, and rite). Honorific parts of speech include pronoun substitutes, modified nouns, proper nouns, and pronouns, modified verbs, honorific adjectives, honorific 成語 (chéngyǔ, "canned phrases/idioms"), and honorific alternatives for other neutral or deprecating words.

In ancient China, myriad humble and respectful forms of address, in lieu of personal pronouns and names, were used for various social relationships and situations. The choice of a pronoun substitute was often in adherence to the concepts of 尊卑(zūnbēi) (Lit. above-beneath / superior-subordinate, “social hierarchy”), 貴賤(guìjiàn) (Lit. worthy-worthless, "social class"), and 輩分(bèifèn) ("seniority") or 輩(bèi) for short.

In the Confucian philosophical classic of 易傳·繫辭上(yìzhuàn xìcí shàng) or "Yizhuan - Xici"—a latter day commentary on the book of 易經(yìjīng) or "I Ching" ("Book of Changes"), it is stated "天尊地卑，乾坤定矣。卑高以陳，貴賤位矣。" -- it was believed in ancient China that both the order of nature, i.e., 天尊地卑 (heaven be above, earth be beneath), and from it the derived order of man, were long predetermined and dictated by the heavens, e.g., 君尊臣卑 (king be above/superior, court officials be beneath/subordinate), 男尊女卑 (man superior, woman subordinate), 夫尊婦卑 (husband superior, wife subordinate), and 父尊子卑 (father superior, son subordinate) etc. Every king and their subject, every man and woman, every husband and wife, and every father and son, should naturally follow this predetermined order and practice proper 禮儀(lǐyí) and conduct. As a large part of 禮儀(lǐyí), proper speech was of great importance.

Therefore in speech, among other forms of 禮儀(lǐyí) and social behaviors, the "subordinate" or "inferior" would employ self-deprecating and humble language towards self and respectful language towards the "superior" as a recognition of their relative places in the "natural" hierarchy. On the other hand, the "superiors" would often also use humble language as a display of humility and virtue. Unsurprisingly, the characters 尊~ and 卑~ also became honorific and humble prefixes, respectively. For example, the humble substitute 卑下(bēixià)(this inferior one below) would be used, among other deprecating substitutes, in place of the pronoun "I", and the honorific substitute 尊上(zūnshàng) (the superior one above) would replace the pronoun "you" (later also used for "your parents").