| [current issue] | [back issues] | [submissions] | [links] | [staff] | [mail us] |
|
 |
Review - Lin Shan 'What's In A Chinese
Name' - Singapore: Federal Publications,
1995. 200 + iv pages
|
|
Deepsouth
v.5.n.2 (Summer 1999)
|
|
|
Copyright
(c) 1999 by Jyh Wee Sew
|
Jyh Wee Sew - University of Otago, Department of Linguistics |
| All
rights reserved.
|
| The major part of this book is a list of about 900 Chinese characters
that have been selected as being particularly favourable from which to
choose personal names. Wu Teh Yao in the foreword stresses that,
"In the Chinese-speaking world the choosing of names for a person is all
and everything - from cradle to grave and long ever after" (iii).
This point is further reinforced when Lin cites the Chinese saying, "One
is not afraid to be born with a bad destiny, but to be given a bad name".
(This point is most saliently captured in the movie 'The Blade' where the
orphan called 'black head' was eager to know if her real name was mentioned
in the charred manuscript, the only thing salvaged from her burnt-down
house) As a reason for the importance of Chinese personal names,
Lin delves into the psychosomatic: "...a name will have an implicative
impact upon a person's mentality in an invisible philosophical manner.
A child's intelligence and spirit, [is] lodged with the meaning of the
words which make up the child's name...As the child...listen[s to], writes
and remembers his own name, his character and emotions will be unconsciously
changed or moulded by the meaning inherent in his name" (3). In comparing
Western names with Chinese names, Lin feels that western names are like
mass produced clothes because names like Elizabeth, Lucy, Martin, or Mary
are readily available and can be selected, so to speak, off the shelf.
On the other hand, Chinese names are like custom-made clothes because they
are selected after much thought from a rich resource of Chinese characters
(4).
The book offers suggestions when deciding on a Chinese personal name. I group these into three main categories: the pleasant, the convenient, and the advantageous. The first dictates that a Chinese name should be auditorily and visually pleasant; the second emphasises the ease with which a Chinese name may be written and recalled; and the last requires that a name should be should aspire to be propitious and have good connotations (4). A Chinese name when spoken should be clear and when written it should be elegant. The sound of a name is highly important as it determines the impression made on someone else when one is introduced to them. A well-written Chinese name is also crucial in sending the right semiotic signals. According to Lin, free flows in a Chinese signature can induce a feeling of ease and gentility. It is also important to select a Chinese name which is easily remembered, unique yet not outlandish, as the name could be associated with the person's physical disposition while alive (6). A good reason why a Chinese name should have good connotations could be exemplified by the name, Wu Chai Fatt. Wu is the surname while Chai and Fatt form the personal name. The personal name denotes wealth (Chai) and surge (Fatt) hence together they come to mean ' a surge of wealth'. Unfortunately this sound symbolic meaning of Chai Fatt is negated by the surname Wu, which has the meaning 'without', thus bringing the prosperous personal name back to zero. Examples of a good Chinese name can easily be found in the movie world. Chen Long who is better known as Jackie Chan is an excellent name. The first designates the meaning of 'become' and the second denotes 'dragon'. And indeed the person characterised by this name turns out to be a dragon in Chinese cinematography. Contrary to the traditional Chinese belief that Chinese surnames have come from the period of Three Emperors and Five Kings (2550 B.C.), Lin expounds the view that the origin of Chinese surnames can be traced to a much earlier period during the time of matriarchal society. This is shown specifically in the character for Chinese surname which is a compound of two individual characters, i.e., woman and birth (16). This book provides two and half pages of single-word surnames and 18 double word surnames in Chinese. This followed by over a hundred pages of Chinese characters arranged alphabetically from A-Z, in Hanyu Pinyin. (Hanyu Pinyin is the phonetic system used to romanise Chinese characters) Each entry of a Chinese character is supplied with its English equivalent. Not only will a non-Chinese reader find such layout helpful, but it also aids those Chinese who speak but not write Chinese. The latter could thus transcribe the words into Hanyu Pinyin and then zoom into the character log to decide if it looks or sounds enticing based on the visual and audio criterion discussed above. I particularly enjoyed reading the chapter on 'Your Name and Your Animal Sign' (145-152). This section presents the Chinese zodiac signs and the appropriate name-words that work in tandem with good fortune. A person's zodiac sign together with the right personal name could enhance one's life. Lin's explanation is convincing, at least to many Chinese, and qualifies as a semiotic guide par excellence. The next section (154-200) provides Chinese equivalents of English names. This quick name log functions as a good resource for those Chinese speakers who have zero knowledge of the Chinese language. As such, this section is a reminder of the phenomenon of language shift and language loss in Chinese. Contrary to the general linguistic belief that Chinese is a widely spoken language hence safe from language attrition, the younger generation of Chinese immigrants in English speaking countries becomes the statistics of Chinese language loss. I think the book is very handy especially to overseas Chinese who knew lesser spoken and/or written Chinese by the year. As each Chinese character comes with an English equivalent and a Hanyu Pinyin representation, the book is useful to students of Mandarin as a second or foreign language. Acknowledgment I thank Prof. Wolfgang Ahrens for his comments to this review although
I am
|