Chinese names are in reversed order, that is they write their last name first and their first name last. Most Chinese names consist of three characters, the first character being the last name and the second and third the given name. For example, the name of Mao Zedong (Mao Tsetung) has three characters. The first is Mao which is his last name, the second and third are Ze and Dong which together are his given name. In the given name, the first and second characters also have their function. The first one (Ze in our example) is really the middle name, is traditionally a name that has been settled in the family or clan registry and is not freely chosen. It signifies temporal sequence and hierarchy. All children on the same genealogical level must have the same middle name. This genealogical`level should be imagined as a horisontal layer in an ancens4ral pyramid, representing the same distance from a common ancestor in generations. Thus all of Mao Zedong's cousins should have the their name starting with Mao Ze...

The third character in a Chinese name is really the given name. This is chosen by the parents or grandparents of the newborn and is designed to somehow influence the child's destiny. Girls often have names that involve flowers and beauty, boys have names related to brightness, intelligence, strength. This is the pattern with the majority of traditional names in traditional China. But there are exceptions to every rule. First of all, there are a few surnames that consist of two characters, not one as the majority. And there are also given names made up of a single character. Moreover, in the last few decades, especially in mainland China, giving names has become a much looser practice. Of course, the surname still stays the same, but otherwise parents name their child however they choose to, using one or two characters at will to form the given name. © 2000 Logoi.com - All Rights Reserved