Chapter 5 Chinese Names中国姓名
1.Name Culture
Name，as a sign or cultural symbol that indicates the blood tie within a certain social structure，has very complex and rich implications and，as system culture，possesses comprehensive cultural characteristics．Due to the difference in race，language，faith，etc．，the name system in different countries and races will undoubtedly be greatly varied，Chinese name system being，in particular，worth mentioning．
As we all know，every person has his or her name since he or she was born and one may bring his name into the social activities．However in ancient Chinese society，the names have a far deeper meaning．
In the long history of China，the culture of Chinese name has been an important part of Chinese life．In the fields of politics，culture and social activities，the name is crucial．As early as one million years ago，Chinese began to be the residents on the ancient land and the relevant materials have already proved it．The history of the family name dates back to the matriarchal clan society，which is 5，000 to 6，000 years ago．The feature of matriarchal clan society means that in the clan the women are the leaders of important issues．And marriages are allowed only among different clans．
1)Xing，Shi and Ming
In ancient China，one person usually had several names，and naming involved xing，shi，ming，and zi．Today，people use xingshi to refer to a person's surname，mingzi to refer to one's given name．Xing and shi，ming and zi are not used separately．In ancient times，however，each of these four words meant a different thing．Study of ancient Chinese documents shows that xing originally referred to the names of different matriarchal tribes．It also had something to do with the place where people lived．Therefore，family names，which are used to judge the different places and clans，emerged．
For example，according to historical record，Shennong Yandi's mother lived by the Jiang River，so her xing was Jiang;Xuanyuan Huangdi's mother lived by the Ji River，so her surname was Ji．The other source was the totems ancient tribes worshipped．For instance，the names of some animals that ancient tribes worshipped， such as long(dragon)，xiong(bear)and feng(phoenix)were adopted as names for certain tribes and therefore became xing．People within a tribe shared a common xing．The purpose of adopting xing was to clarify one's race and ancestry and to determine whether it was appropriate for one person to marry another．
Xing and shi were closely related，and shi had the following sources:zhuhou had the names of their territories as their shi，for instance，Chen shi，Song shi．Normally，zhuhou's sons were called Gongzi，Gongzi's sons were called Gongsun，Gongsun's sons took their grandfather's zi as their shi．Officials had the names of their titles as their shi，for instance，Sima Shi，Sikong Shi;common people only had names，without shi．Even influential common people did not have shi;they could only add their profession before their names such as Butcher Ding，Mason Shi，Doctor He，etc．Later some professions became common surnames．
Xingshi was related to one's clan name or family name，and ming and zi were one's given names．Xingshi was shared while ming and zi were for individuals．People got their xingshi(surnames)the moment they were born，while they got their ming and zi(given names)later．
2)Evolution of Names
According to the research of Gu Yanwu of Qing Dynasty，there are about 22 oldest family names in China．Maybe there are more，but a lot of them disappeared in history．About 4，000 to 5，000 years ago，China entered the patrilineal clan society．During this time the society went from a clan society to a class society．One of the main features of this period is the emergence of the conflict among the clans by different ancestors．The clans that won in the conflict were considered superior to the clans that lost．So the new structure of class society appeared．In addition，a lot of social members who had feats gained new territory and awards．And they were allowed to go to their new territory with their families，affiliates and the captives they got hold of in the conflicts．These people also gained a new symbol related with their territory—clan name．
After the unification of China by Qin，there was a combination of family name with clan name．The condition changed several times during the 2，000 years of feudal society．The dynasties changed and every time there was new territory，new family or clan names emerged．Names became the symbols of class and a special culture was formed around the names．The culture was handed down through the inherent．And the center of the culture is the consciousness of recognizing the ancestors．
3)Significance of Names
In old China，one's surname was revered because the individual bearing it was but a small link in the long history of an illustrious clan．One would never change his name，especially his surname．If a person did so，he or she had probably committed a grave and heinous crime and wanted to sever ties with the past through a name change．Such a person would most likely move away from home to start life anew．
People with the same surname shared a commonality and considered themselves relatives regardless of the number of generations removed，the geographical distance or lack of consanguinity．Since the commonality was derived from a common ancestor at some point in time，it was considered an insult when a person with the same surname disclaimed family or other close relationships．For the same reason，old Chinese custom prohibited marriages of couples with the same surname．
2.Number of Names
It is often claimed that there are approximately 500 surnames in China．This belief seems to derive from a well-known book entitled One Hundred Family Surnames，written by an unknown author in what we know as Hangzhou today at the beginning years of the Song Dynasty．This book was widely used as a vocabulary text for students in old China，and it lists 484 surnames，of which 408 consist of one character and 76 of two characters．This list，however，is by no means exhaustive．At present，according to the latest statistics，there，historically speaking，used to be 11，969 surnames and there are around 200 Chinese surnames commonly used today，only 100 of which are most commonly-seen single-character surnames．Names are derived from many sources，such as the names of ancient states or townships，official titles，given names，posthumous names，and specific localities or trades．
According to the latest statistics issued by the Ministry of Public Security of China in 2007，the most common surnames in China，in descending order，are Wang(taking up approximately of 7．25%of the total Han people)，Li(7．19%)and Zhang (6．38%)．The population of these three surnames is over 270 million．The next seven surnames，of which the population is separately over 20 million，are Liu，Chen，Yang，Huang，Zhao，Wu and Zhou．Xu，Sun，Ma，Zhu，Hu，Guo，He，Gao，Lin，Luo，Zheng，and Liang are the 12 surnames of which the population is separately over 10 million．
3.Naming
1)Given Names
A Chinese may have many given names throughout his life．One month after birth，an infant is given a“milk name”．This name is used by family members，relatives and close friends．The name is usually selected either by the family elder or by a literate friend．Names for boys reflect the parents'wishes for his good health，longevity，prosperity，expected talents，virtues，diligence，filial piety，patriotism or intelligence．Girls are named after exotic flowers，pretty birds，musical instruments or jewels．Girls might also be named for feminine attributes such as beauty，grace，thrift and purity．In some rural families，however，girls are not given names but are simply referred to as the“oldest girl”，“second girl”，“third girl”and so forth．
Frequently，all the boys in one family would be given names that shared the same first character，or adjective．This is sometimes done with the girls in the family as well．Since the two characters of the given name go together，they should be spelled together as a single word or occasionally hyphenated when the name is anglicized．
Another method for selecting a given name is based on the child's horoscope and its relationship to the“Five Elements”．A fortune teller，after studying the month，day and hour of the birth，determines whether the infant has a full complement of the Five Elements of metal，wood，water，fire and earth．If any element is lacking in the child，a character with the radical or root of the missing element is used in the name to correct the deficiency and make the child“complete”．For example，if the child was lacking water，he might be given the name Hai，Yang，Jiang，He，Hu，Bo，etc．，meaning“sea，ocean，river，lake，wave，etc．”because those characters are based on the radical of water．
In comparison，meanings in given names are always chosen to reflect elements of the era．In the old days，characters meaning“wealth”，“fortune”，and“happiness”were very common in names．Characters with the meanings of“gifted”，“handsome”，and“clever”were often chosen by parents as well wishes for their children to be beautiful，capable，and intelligent．During 1950s and 1960s，many boys were given the name with the meaning of“building the country”，“celebrating the nation”，“fighting the American imperialist”，and“surpassing the British”．The reform and opening policies have also provided more choices of characters，such as“bo”meaning“strive”，“si”meaning“thoughtful”，and“yuhang”meaning“aeronautics”．Parents would like to have their children to learn more knowledge，to be more thoughtful，and to have great aspirations．Some people also like to use translated Western names such David，Richard，Lisa and Linda．
There are no“juniors”in Chinese names．A son is never named after his father，nor do parents name their children after relatives．Each child is considered an entirely unique individual．When a child gets enrolled in school，he or she is given a“school name”or“book name”．This name is used by his or her teachers and schoolmates and alluded to his or her intelligence，diligence or scholarship．
In old China，it was considered improper for a married woman to reveal or use her given or maiden name．For example，if her maiden surname was Li and she was married to a man whose surname was Wang，she called herself Wang-Li Shi，which meant Mrs．Wang nee Li．However，since the founding of the People's Republic of China，women have been granted equal rights as citizens with men．They can keep their former maiden name after marriage．
2)Nicknames and Other Names
Nicknames are common．These names are often based on a physical defect，a peculiarity in personality in the individual's life．Some nicknames may be given with good will and used by others without hostility，manifesting the friendly relationships between the addressee and the addresser．But some others may be derogatory or even hostile，aiming at jeering at or ridiculing or hurting the feelings of the addressee．Therefore，it is essential that cautions be taken to those who have the habit of giving and addressing others nicknames just in case that diverse effect may be caused．
Writers，artists and actors used to have“special names”that were equivalent to pen names or stage names．In Chinese history，a scholar who passed the old imperial examination and became a government official was given an“official name”．Some important such as emperors and some privileged people were given a“posthumous name”after they died，and a deceased emperor was usually granted a“temple name”．
Generally speaking，Chinese names usually consist of three characters，which differ from those in the western countries and the spelling of which is also different from that of the English-speaking world，with the first character being the surname and the following two characters，taken together，constituting the given name．The first character of the given name is，in most cases，an adjective modifying the second character，a noun．Now more and more people have single-character given name，such as Jiang Jiang，Shen Yu，Zhang Xin，the first being the surname and the latter the given name．
3)The Spelling of Chinese Names
Anglicization of Chinese names used to have created much confusion，because a name might be spelled in many ways depending on the dialect spoken and how the translator interpreted the sound of the name．Moreover，although Chinese write their surname first and then the two characters of the given name，as in a directory or name file，many Westerners assume that the last character is the surname．In time，through common Western usage，some Chinese have even replaced their surname with the anglicized given name．
Some Chinese living abroad have also changed their surnames and given names to conform to names used in their adopted countries．In the United States，for example，the surname He has been changed to Holt，Luo has become Loew，Xie has become Shea and Zhong has become June．
Currently，overseas Chinese people，still have the tradition to recognize the ancestor in Mainland China．In recent years the culture of Chinese name has become a huge history treasure of China as it can help people to learn Chinese history in a different way．A series of the core features of ancient Chinese society such as the autocracy system，family social system and the rules of act are all shown through the name culture，which is the reason why it is constantly noted in the field of academia．Nowadays，since more and more foreigners are interested in Chinese culture and taking pains to learn Chinese，many of them feel quite proud to have a Chinese name exactly according to the Chinese way，which indicates the charm of the Chinese culture and the fun learning Chinese can bring to people．
Word Bank
matriarchal母系的
clan部落，氏族
surname姓
given name名
totem图腾
patrilineal父系的
affiliate附属人员
heinous十恶不赦的
consanguinity血缘，血亲
single-character surname单姓
official title封号
posthumous name谥号
special name别号
temple name庙号
single-character given name单名
Anglicization英语化
参考译文
1.姓名文化
姓名作为一种文化符号往往标志着社会结构中的一种血缘关系，它所包含的内涵是非常复杂丰富的，作为一种制度文化，它具有综合性的文化特征。由于民族、语言、宗教信仰等因素的不同，各个国家和民族的姓名制度是多种多样的。中国的姓名制度尤其值得一提。
众所周知，每个人从呱呱坠地时起，就有了自己的姓名，然后带着它参与社会活动，使之起到代表自我而与他人相区别的最实际的作用。但是，在古代中国社会里，姓名的意义远远不止如此。
在漫长的历史中，中国人的姓名文化曾是中华民族生活中的重要部分之一，在政治、文化及社会活动诸领域中，都发挥着极其重要的作用。考古资料已经证明，中国人早在100多万年之前就在自己古老的国土上生活栖息了。“姓”的历史从距今五、六千年的母系氏族社会时开始。母系社会的特征，是妇女在氏族内部事务管理中，居于主导地位，同时实行不同氏族间相互通婚、氏族内部禁婚的制度。
1)姓、氏、名
在古时，一个人可有好几个名字，命名通常包括姓、氏、名、字。而今人们用“姓氏”来指姓，“名字”来指名，姓、氏、名、字不分开使用。在古时，这四个字互不相同。古代文献的研究表明姓最初是用来指称不同母系的部落称号，也与人们的居住地有关。为了区别人们的居住地和所属氏族，家族的姓就出现了。
比如，据史料记载，神农氏炎帝的母亲居于姜水，因此就姓了姜;轩辕氏黄帝的母亲居于姬水，因此便姓了姬。姓氏的另一个来源是古代部落崇拜的图腾，例如，有些古代部落用崇拜的动物的名字，如龙、熊、凤等来命名自己的部落，这些动物的名字就成了部落的姓。同一个部落的人都享有同一个姓，目的在于清楚断定每个人的所属、祖宗是谁、能否通婚。
姓和氏紧密相关，氏有以下几个来源:诸侯通常以受封的国名为氏，比如陈氏、宋氏等。诸侯之子称公子，公子之子称公孙，公孙之子则以其祖父的字为氏。此外，官员以官职为氏，比如司马氏、司空氏。普通人只有名而无姓氏，即使是很有影响的普通人，也只能在名之前冠以职业，而无姓氏。比如庖丁、匠石、医和等。后来，有些职业名便成了普通姓氏名。
姓氏是氏族或家族的称号，名字才是个人的称号。姓氏是公共的，名字才是自己的。姓氏是与生俱来的，名字则是后起的。
2)姓氏的演变
根据清代学者顾炎武的考证，中国最古老的姓共有22个，但很可能还有更多的姓随着整个氏族的消失而淹没在历史的波涛中了。大约在距今4 000—5 000年以前，中国人在经过母系氏族社会后，进入父系氏族社会阶段，开始由氏族社会向阶级社会的转变。这个过渡时期的基本特点之一，就是不同祖先的氏族之间的相互影响和相互斗争趋于频繁，由此导致氏族间领导和臣服格局的出现，阶级社会的雏形开始出现。与之相伴产生的是许多有功绩的社会成员得到了占有新领地的封赏，并且被允许带领他们的家人、部属以及在战争中获得的俘虏一起前往，共同开辟新的生活区域。这些派分出去的人还得到了一种与地域有联系的新的标识——氏。
到公元前3世纪，秦统一中国后，最初来源于母系氏族社会的“姓”与来源于父系氏族社会的“氏”开始一体化。此后，在中国长达2 000多年的封建社会中，朝代更迭数十次，而每一次更迭都产生新的封地，新的封地又产生新的姓氏。因此，姓氏成为阶级地位的标志，并以姓名为中心形成了独特的文化，这种文化通过子孙繁衍而传承。而强烈的数典认祖、追宗寻根意识便是这个整体的核心所在。
3)姓名的意义
在古代中国，一个人的姓因其出身而受到人们尊敬，特别是出身名门望族。他决不会改变自己的姓名，尤其是自己的姓。如改了的话，那或许是他犯了严重的不可饶恕的罪行，或是他想通过改变姓名来断绝与过去的联系，很可能他会离家出走以便开始一种新的生活。
共用一个姓的人拥有一个共同点，他们常认为天下同姓是一家，而不管其辈分的久远、处所的不同以及血缘关系的缺乏。而由于这个共同点的产生基于他们拥有一个共同的祖先，所以如果有人否认与家庭的关系或相近的关系，那么他就会被认为大不敬;同样的原因，中国旧习俗禁止同姓人结婚。
2.姓氏知多少
人们经常说在中国大概有500个姓氏，这也许源自《百家姓》。这本由宋代初年今杭州的一位不知姓名的作者编撰的书在过去被用作学生的认字书，收集了当时常见的484个姓氏，其中408个单姓，76个复姓。当然，它并非列举了所有的姓氏。当前，根据最新统计数字，中国历史上共有姓氏11 969个，可是现在常用的姓氏不过200个左右，其中最常用的单姓只有100个。中国的姓氏是从多处派生来的，如古代国家的名称或城镇的名称、官衔名称、起的名字、谥号以及具体的处所或不同的行业。
根据中国公安部2007年对全国户籍人口的一项统计分析显示:王姓是我国第一大姓，占全国人口总数的7．25%;第二大姓是李姓，占全国人口总数的7．19%;第三位是张姓，占全国总人口的6．38%。这三大姓人口总数超过2．7亿。姓氏人口总数在2 000万以上的姓还有7个，依次为:刘、陈、杨、黄、赵、吴、周。徐、孙、马、朱、胡、郭、何、高、林、罗、郑和梁这12个姓氏人口数均在1 000万到2 000万之间。
3.命名
1)起名
中国人一生会有好多名字。满月过后，人们就会给婴儿取个乳名，这个乳名只有家庭成员、亲朋好友能用。名字由家里的长辈或有文化的朋友来取。男孩的名字反映了父母的愿望，希望他健康、长寿、宝贵、有才、有德、勤勉、孝顺、爱国、聪明。女孩的名字一般与奇异的花儿、可爱的鸟儿、动听的乐器、发光的珠宝等有关。女孩名字有时根据女性特有的特点，例如美丽、文静、节俭、纯洁。然而，在一些农村家庭女孩一般不给取名字，而只是简单地依次叫大妹、二妹、三妹等。
通常，在一个家庭里所有男孩名字的第一个汉字都是相同的，有时女孩也一样。由于这两个汉字构成了一个人的名字，因此它们应该被拼在一起作为一个单词，或者当名字以英语的方式拼写时用连字符把它们连在一起。
另一个取名的方式是基于孩子的星宿及其与“五行”的关系。算命先生在研究了婴儿的出生月、日、时后来决定其是否具有完整的五行星宿:金、木、水、火、土。如果缺少任何一行，那么就要为孩子用一个与所缺行相关的汉字来弥补孩子的缺陷，使孩子完整。例如，如果其缺水，就可以取一个与水相关的名字，如“海、洋、江、河、湖、波”等。
相比较而言，名字与时代紧密相关。旧时以“富、发、福”取名的多，因为它们有发财祈福之意;以“杰、俊、才”为名的，是父母希望自己的孩子能美丽、贤能、聪慧。20世纪50年代和60年代，男孩子多取名“建国、国庆、抗美、超英”;改革开放后，取名字的范围更广，叫“博、思、宇、航”的多，是父母希望孩子拥有现代化的知识，有思想有远大的志向。借用外国人名字的也不少，男孩叫“大卫、查理”，女孩叫“丽莎、琳达”等。
中国人的名字里没有与父亲或家中长辈相同的名字，也不与亲戚同名。人们认为每个孩子就是一个完全不同的个体。孩子上学后，会有一个老师和同学使用的“学名”或“书名”。这个名字暗指他的才智、勤勉或学识。
旧时女人结婚后，还用自己出嫁前的闺名就不合适了。因此，如果婚前她娘家姓李，现在嫁给了一个姓王的男子，那么她就被称作王李氏，意思是娘家姓李的王夫人。但新中国成立以后，妇女被赋予了与男子同样的公民权，婚后能继续使用自己的名字。
2)绰号以及其他名字
绰号也很普遍。这些名字一般是源于某人身体的缺陷或怪异的性格。有些绰号是善意的，可以表明被叫者和叫人者之间的亲密关系。但有些恐怕带有贬义甚至敌意，目的是在嘲笑或讽刺或伤害他人。所以，无论是给人起绰号还是叫人绰号都须谨慎，以免带来负面的效果。
作家、艺术家、演员都有别名，相当于笔名或艺名。在古代，书生通过了皇家科举考试后，进入官场，会被封一个官名;帝王或其他有特殊社会地位的人死后追加谥号，死去的皇帝通常被给予庙号。
总的来说，中国人的姓名一般包括三个汉字，第一个汉字是姓，第二个和第三个字合在一起构成一个人的名，这与西方国家不同，且拼写方式也与英语不同。通常名的第一个汉字是形容词，而第二个则是名词，所以第一个常用来修饰第二个。现在，越来越多的人取单名，比如，姜江、沈虞、张欣，前一个字是姓，后一个字是名。
3)中文姓名的拼写
中国人名英文化会引起很大麻烦。首先，根据方言和译员发音的不同，拼写方式也会不同。其次，中国人姓在先名在后，而许多西方人总认为最后一个汉字是姓。有些经常使用英语的人甚至用其英文名字代替了他们的姓。
有些旅居国外的中国人也改变了他们的姓和名字来适应其所在国的命名方式。例如在美国，“何”被转变成“Holt”，“罗”变成“Loew”，“谢”成了“Shea”，“钟”成了“June”。
时至今日，居住在国外的华人华侨仍然有到中国寻根问祖的传统。近年来，中国姓名文化已成为人们从一个新的角度来学习中华民族悠久历史的巨大库藏。中国古代社会的一系列本质特征，如专制制度、家族型社会结构、以忠君孝亲为核心的道德伦理观念与行为准则等，无不通过姓名文化得到充分展示，这也是它越来越受到学术界高度重视的原因。现在，越来越多的外国人对中国文化产生了浓厚的兴趣，并且下苦功夫学习汉语。他们中不少人还为有个中文名字而感到自豪。这些足以证明中国文化的魅力及学习汉语可以给人们带来的乐趣。
Exercises
Section A Thought-provoking questions
1．Do you know any of the superstitions，taboos，and stories relevant to naming in China？
2．Can you figure out what surnames the following indicate:彭城流芳，颍川流芳，太原流芳，汝南流芳，京兆流芳，南阳流芳，范阳流芳，博陵流芳，陇西流芳，荥阳流芳
3．Do you have any idea how Chinese ancient literary men gave themselves or were given hao (literary name)？
4．To what kind of society can you trace the origin of the following surnames:姜(Yan Di，炎帝)，姬(Yellow Emperor，黄帝)，嬴(Shao Hao，少昊)，姚(Yu Shun，虞舜)，姒(Xia Yu，夏禹)
Section B Match the following courtesy name
1．Confucius Mengde(梦得) 6．Su Shi Letian(乐天)
2．Liu Yuxi Zhongni(仲尼) 7．Zhuge Liang Mengruan(梦阮)
3．Sun Wu Li Taibai(李太白) 8．Cao Xueqin Kongming(孔明)
4．Li Bai Changqing(长卿) 9．Cao Cao Yishan(义山)
5．Bai Juyi Zizhan(子瞻) 10．Li Shangyin(李商隐) Mengde(孟德)
※The humble is the basis of honor.The low is the foundation of Tao.
From Laozi:Dao De Jing
(贵以贱为本，高以下为基。)
——老子·《道德经》
※The weak and the tender overcomes the hard and the strong.
From Laozi:Dao De Jing
(柔弱胜刚强。)
——老子·《道德经》