Fact one. The surname is written first.
The Chinese have their surname written and pronounced first, that is, the head of China, Xi Jinping, has his surname Xi and his first name Jinping. The surname is not declined. For the Chinese, all the most important things are “moved forward” - from important to less significant, both in dates (year-month-day) and names (last name-first name). The surname, belonging to the clan, is very important for the Chinese, who draw up family trees up to the “50th generation.” Residents of Hong Kong (South China) sometimes put their name forward or use an English name instead of a Chinese name - for example, David Mak. By the way, about 60 years ago in Chinese studies the use of a hyphen was actively practiced to indicate the boundary of Chinese syllables in names: Mao Tse-tung, Sun Yat-sen. Yat-sen here is a Cantonese recording of the name of a southern Chinese revolutionary, which often confuses Sinologists who are unaware of the existence of such a dialect.
Fact two. 50 percent of Chinese people have 5 main surnames.
Wang, Li, Zhang, Zhou, Chen - these are the five main Chinese surnames, the last Chen is the main surname in Guangdong (Southern China), almost every third Chen is here. Wang 王 - means "prince" or "king" (head of the region), Li 李 - pear tree, the dynasty that ruled China in the Tang Dynasty, Zhang 张 - archer, Zhou 周 - "cycle, circle", ancient imperial family, Chen 陈 - “old, aged” (about wine, soy sauce, etc.). Unlike Westerners, Chinese surnames are homogeneous, but the Chinese give free rein to their imagination when it comes to names.
Fact three. Most Chinese surnames are monosyllabic.
Two-syllable surnames include the rare surnames Sima, Ouyang and a number of others. However, a few years ago, the Chinese government allowed double surnames, where the child was given the surname of both the father and mother - which led to the emergence of such interesting surnames as Wang-Ma and others. Most Chinese surnames are monosyllabic, and 99% of them can be found in the ancient text "Baijia Xing" - "100 surnames", but the real number of surnames is much larger, almost any noun can be found among the surnames of the 1.3 billion Chinese population.
Fact four. The choice of a Chinese name is limited only by the parents' imagination.
Chinese names are mainly selected according to their meaning, or according to the advice of a fortuneteller. It’s unlikely that you would guess that each hieroglyph belongs to one or another element, and all of them together should bring good luck. In China there is a whole science of choosing a name, so if the name of the interlocutor is very strange, then most likely it was chosen by a fortuneteller. It is interesting that previously in Chinese villages a child could be called by a dissonant name in order to deceive evil spirits. It was assumed that evil spirits would think that such a child was not valued in the family, and therefore would not covet him. Most often, the choice of name preserves the old Chinese tradition of playing with meanings, for example, the founder of Alibaba is named Ma Yun (Ma - horse, Yun - cloud), however, "yun" in a different tone means "luck", most likely his parents invested His name has this exact meaning, but sticking out anything or speaking openly in China is a sign of bad taste.
Fact five. Chinese names can be divided into masculine and feminine.
As a rule, for male names they use hieroglyphs with the meaning “study”, “mind”, “strength”, “forest”, “dragon”, and female names use hieroglyphs to denote flowers and jewelry, or simply the hieroglyph for “beautiful.”
China is a country of unique culture. Their religion, traditions and culture are so far from ours! In this article we will talk about Chinese names, the choice of which in the Celestial Empire is still treated with special trepidation.
Exclusivity did not save the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire; they did not escape the fashion for borrowed names. But even in this, the Chinese remained true to their traditions. They famously adjusted the “imported” names to match the tone of their own. Elinna - Elena, Li Qunsi - Jones. There are even names with Christian origins. For example, Yao Su My means Joseph in translation, and Ko Li Zi Si means the name George.
In China, there is a tradition of giving posthumous names. They sum up the life lived and reflect all the deeds committed by a person in this world.
How to contact a resident of the Middle Kingdom?
Chinese addresses are somewhat unusual to our ears: “Director Zhang”, “Mayor Wang”. A Chinese person will never use two titles when addressing a person, for example, “Mr. President.” He will say "President Obama" or "Mr. Obama." When addressing a saleswoman or maid, you can use the word “Xiaojie.” This is similar to our "girlfriend".
Chinese women do not take their husband's surname after marriage. This does not interfere with “Mistress Ma” and “Mr. Wang” in life at all. These are the laws of the country. Foreigners are most often addressed by name, adding a polite title if they do not know the person’s profession or position. For example, "Mr. Michael." And no middle name! He's simply not here!
The Chinese are the bearers of the great ancient culture. Although China is a developed country and occupies not the last place in the world market, it seems that the inhabitants of the sunny state live in some special world, preserving national traditions, own way of life and philosophical attitude towards the environment.
In ancient times, the Chinese knew two types of surnames: family names (in Chinese: 姓 – xìng) and clan names (氏 – shì).
Chinese surnames are patrilineal, i.e. are passed on from father to children. Chinese women usually keep their maiden name after marriage. Sometimes the husband's surname is written before one's own surname: Huang Wang Jieqing.
Historically, only Chinese men possessed xìng (surname), in addition to shì (clan name); women only had a clan name and took a xìng husband after marriage.
Before the Warring States Period (5th century BC), only the royal family and aristocratic elite could have surnames. Historically there was also a distinction between xing and shi. Xing were surnames borne directly by members royal family.
Before the Qin Dynasty (3rd century BC), China was largely a feudal society. As fiefs were divided and subdivided among heirs, additional surnames known as shi were created to distinguish seniority of descent. Thus, a noble could have both shi and xing. After the states of China were unified by Qin Shi Huang in 221 BC, surnames gradually passed down to the lower classes and the distinction between xing and shi became blurred.
Shi surnames, many of which survive to this day, originated in one of the following ways:
1. From xing. They were usually kept by members of the royal family. Of approximately six common xing only Jiang(姜) and Yao(姚) have survived as common surnames.
2. By imperial decree. During the imperial period, it was common practice for subjects to be given the surname of the emperor.
3. From the names of states. A lot of ordinary people took the name of their state to show their belonging to it or their national and ethnic identity. Examples include Dream (宋), Wu (吴), Chen(陳). It is not surprising that, thanks to the mass of the peasantry, they are one of the most common Chinese surnames.
4. From the name of the fief or place of origin. Example - Di, Marquess of Ouyanting, whose descendants took the surname Ouyang(歐陽). There are approximately two hundred examples of surnames of this type, often two-syllable surnames, but few survive today.
5. On behalf of the ancestor.
6. In ancient times, syllables Meng (孟), zhong (仲), shu(叔) and zhi(季) were used to denote first, second, third and fourth sons in a family. Sometimes these syllables became surnames. Of them Meng is the most famous.
7. From the name of the profession. For example, Tao(陶) – “potter” or Wu(巫) – “shaman”.
8. From the name of the ethnic group. Such surnames were sometimes taken by non-Han peoples of China.
Surnames in China are unevenly distributed. In northern China the most common is Wang(王), worn by 9.9% of the population. Then Lee (李), Zhang(张/張) and Liu(刘/劉). In the south the most common surname Chen(陈/陳), covering 10.6% of the population. Then Lee (李), Zhang(张/張) and Liu(刘/劉). On South Chen(陈/陳) is the most common, being shared by 10.6% of the population. Then Lee (李), Juan (黄), Lin(林) and Zhang(张/張). In the main cities on the Yangtze River, the most common surname is Lee(李) with 7.7% speakers. Followed by Wang (王), Zhang (张 / 張), Chen(陈/陳) and Liu (刘 / 劉).
A 1987 study found that there were more than 450 surnames widely used in Beijing, but there were fewer than 300 surnames in Fujian. Despite the presence of thousands of surnames in China, 85% of the population bears one of the hundred surnames, which make up 5% of the family stock.
A 1990 study found that 96% of people in a sample of 174,900 had 200 surnames, 4% had 500 other surnames.
The three most common surnames in mainland China are: Li, Wang, Zhang. They are worn by 7.9%, 7.4% and 7.1% of people respectively. This is about 300 million. Therefore, these three surnames are the most common in the world. In Chinese there is an expression "three Zhangs, four Lis" which means "any".
Most common surnames in China have one syllable. However, about 20 surnames have two syllables, e.g. Sima (司馬), Ouyang(歐陽). There are also surnames with three or more syllables. By their origin they are not Han, but, for example, Manchu. Example: last name Aisin Gyoro(愛新覺羅) of the Manchu imperial family.
In China, all namesakes are considered relatives. Until 1911, marriages between namesakes were prohibited, regardless of the existence of real family relations between them.
© Nazarov Alois
Fact one. The surname is written first.
The Chinese have their surname written and pronounced first, that is, the head of China, Xi Jinping, has his surname Xi and his first name Jinping. The surname is not declined. For the Chinese, all the most important things are “moved forward” - from important to less significant, both in dates (year-month-day) and names (last name-first name). The surname, belonging to the clan, is very important for the Chinese, who draw up family trees up to the “50th generation.” Residents of Hong Kong (South China) sometimes put their name forward or use an English name instead of a Chinese name - for example, David Mak. By the way, about 60 years ago in Chinese studies the use of a hyphen was actively practiced to indicate the boundary of Chinese syllables in names: Mao Tse-tung, Sun Yat-sen. Yat-sen here is a Cantonese recording of the name of a southern Chinese revolutionary, which often confuses Sinologists who are unaware of the existence of such a dialect.
Fact two. 50 percent of Chinese people have 5 main surnames.
Wang, Li, Zhang, Zhou, Chen - these are the five main Chinese surnames, the last Chen is the main surname in Guangdong (South China), almost every third one is Chen. Wang 王 - means "prince" or "king" (head of the region), Li 李 - pear tree, the dynasty that ruled China in the Tang Dynasty, Zhang 张 - archer, Zhou 周 - "cycle, circle", ancient imperial family, Chen 陈 - “old, aged” (about wine, soy sauce, etc.). Unlike Westerners, Chinese surnames are homogeneous, but the Chinese give free rein to their imagination when it comes to names.
Fact three. Most Chinese surnames are monosyllabic.
Two-syllable surnames include the rare surnames Sima, Ouyang and a number of others. However, a few years ago, the Chinese government allowed double surnames, where the child was given the surname of both the father and mother - which led to the emergence of such interesting surnames as Wang-Ma and others. Most Chinese surnames are monosyllabic, and 99% of them can be found in the ancient text "Baijia Xing" - "100 surnames", but the real number of surnames is much larger, almost any noun can be found among the surnames of the 1.3 billion Chinese population.
Fact four. The choice of a Chinese name is limited only by the parents' imagination.
Chinese names are mainly selected according to their meaning, or according to the advice of a fortuneteller. It’s unlikely that you would guess that each hieroglyph belongs to one or another element, and all of them together should bring good luck. In China there is a whole science of choosing a name, so if the name of the interlocutor is very strange, then most likely it was chosen by a fortuneteller. It is interesting that previously in Chinese villages a child could be called by a dissonant name in order to deceive evil spirits. It was assumed that evil spirits would think that such a child was not valued in the family, and therefore would not covet him. Most often, the choice of name preserves the old Chinese tradition of playing with meanings, for example, the founder of Alibaba is named Ma Yun (Ma - horse, Yun - cloud), however, "yun" in a different tone means "luck", most likely his parents invested His name has this exact meaning, but sticking out anything or speaking openly in China is a sign of bad taste.
Fact five. Chinese names can be divided into masculine and feminine.
As a rule, for men's names they use hieroglyphs with the meaning of "study", "mind", "strength", "forest", "dragon", and for women's names they use hieroglyphs for flowers and jewelry, or simply the hieroglyph "beautiful".