ABSTRACT
The violation of a taboo name was considered a big offence, and there were continuously persons trying to use it for their own intrigues. There were for instance two officials at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries in China who disliked each other: Lu Wenji 盧文紀 and Cui Xie 崔協 (d. 929). Cui Xie knew the taboo name of the father of Lu Wenji – Siye 嗣業 – and he managed to use it against Lu. He appointed Yu Ye 於鄴 as a subsidiary clerk of Lu Wenji. The second characters of names of the clerk and the father of Lu had the same pronunciation and similar notation. Lu was of course infuriated, often hearing his taboo name in his office. He gave Yu Ye a hard time and coerced him to resign. In the end, Yu Ye could not bear up under the pressure and committed suicide. Lu was subsequently demoted.1 In such a way the tabooing of name determined the life of people.
