Rectification of names

The rectification of names (Chinese: 正名; pinyin: Zhèngmíng; Wade–Giles: Cheng-ming) is originally a doctrine of feudal Confucian designations and relationships, behaving accordingly to ensure social harmony. Without such accordance society would essentially crumble and "undertakings would not be completed." Mencius extended the doctrine to include questions of political legitimacy.

When Confucius was asked what he would do if he was a governor, he said he would "rectify the names" to make words correspond to reality.