It comes from a famous saying in classical Confucianism:
太上有立德，其次有立功，其次有立言，雖久不廢，此之謂「三不朽」。 It roughly translates as "The ultimate ideal is to prove one's self through his virtues, and the next best through his accomplishments, and the next best through his words (or teaching). Regardless of how long time has passed, these ideals will never be out-done. These are the so-called 'Three Non-withering.'" Here 立 means "establish" in the sense of leaving a legacy to show the world. "Non-withering" is a twisted way of describing something that lasts forever. There must be a better translation, but it escapes me at the moment. 三不朽 is usually referred to as 三立 in modern Chinese.
As you can imagine, 立德, 立功, 立言, and even 三立 are all popular Chinese names for men by Chinese customs (even though they are semantically gender-neutral).
As you can imagine, 立德, 立功, 立言, and even 三立 are all popular Chinese names for men by Chinese customs (even though they are semantically gender-neutral).
