THE ORIGIN OF CHINESE FAMILY NAME (中国人的姓氏 – zhōngguó de xìngshì)

Family and Given–name in Chinese Tradition are symbol to distinguish people. Same Family Name (clan name) is a symbol indicating same blood relationship or family.

In the beginning (old Chinese tradition) a family name was taken from maternal side. Very old family names (clan names) are generally composed of a nǚ (女 – female) radical (= by which Chinese characters are arranged in dictionaries). For example : 姜 (jiāng)、姬 (jī)、姚 (yáo)、姒 (sì) , etc.

《百家姓 – bǎijiāxìng = Hundred surnames》was written by an anonymous author in Song Dynasty (宋代- sòngdài), which explains and describes The origin and history of Chinese family names (clan names). In this book we find 494 Chinese clan names.

In according to statistic there are actually over 8,000 Chinese clan names (surnames / family names), but recently only 100 Chinese family names are used. Among of them, approximately 19 famous Chinese surnames could be found as following : 李 (lǐ)、王 (wǎng)、张 (zhāng) 、刘 (liù)、陈 (chén)、杨 (yáng)、赵 (zhào)、黄 (huáng)、周 (zhōu)、吴 (wú)、徐 (xú)、孙 (sūn)、胡 (hú)、朱 (zhū)、高 (gāo)、林 (lín)、何 (hé)、郭 (guō)、马 (mǎ)。Three family names: 李 (lǐ)、王 (wǎng)、张 (zhāng) are the most taken surnames in the Chinese population.

Chinese family names can be categorized in two parts: Single-character (单姓- dānxìng) and Double-character (复姓- fùxìng) Surnames. Single-character is favorite in comparison to Double-character Family names. In relation to “《百家姓 – bǎijiāxìng = Hundred surnames》” there are 434 Single-character family names and 60 Double-character surnames.
李 (lì)、王 (wǎng)、张 (zhāng)、刘 (liù)、陈 (chén) are common used Single-character surnames, in the meanwhile we find 诸葛 (zhūgě)、司马 (sǐmǎ)、欧阳 (ōuyáng)、司徒 (sǐtú) , etc. as Double-character surnames and these names still survive in this present time.

In the recent time family or sur-names are taken from paternal side in according to late Chinese tradition.

NOTE :What radical means ?

CHINESE NAMES ( 中国人的名字- zhōngguó de míngzi)

Chinese Name is a name expressed in Han’s (汉- Hàn) character (汉字 - Hànzi) and these names are usually used by Chinese Population living in their own country even overseas Chinese who emigrate to other countries in the world.

Writing Chinese names must follow rules in according to the Tradition and Chinese culture. In general, character of Chinese Name is divided in three sub-characters.The first sub character is normally taken from father’s family name (Last name or surname - Paternal side). The second and third character mostly used to describe given name of the child. Example: Lín Zhēnhóng (林真红) : Lín (林) indicates family name or clan and Zhēnhóng (真红) means given name.

Sometimes we will find Chinese Name with 4 characters, but in this case, the fourth additional name could be picked from other foreign language. Example: Maria is written as 玛丽亚 (mǎlìyā). This is not pure Chinese name. This case is mostly valid for overseas Chinese living in western countries. So, they add western name like Maria Lin, Keith Wang, etc.,on the other side they often neglect second and third name character.

Would you like to change your name into Chinese name? You could find in the following website :http://www.chinese-tools.com/names/search.html

NAMES FOR RELATIONSHIP IN CHINESE TRADITION (关系的称谓) - MATERNAL SIDE

Mother’s father 外祖父 (wài zǔfù) 外公 (wàigōng);公公 (gōnggōng) (maternal) grandfather

Mother’s mother 外祖母 (wài zǔmǔ) 外婆 (wàipó); 婆婆 (pópó) (maternal) grandmother

Mother’s brother 舅父 (jiùfù) 舅舅 (jiùjiù) uncle
* Wife 舅母 (jiùmǔ) aunt

Mother’s sister 姨母 (yímǔ) 阿姨 (āyí) aunt
* Husband 姨父 (yífù) uncle

Son of mother’s sibling older than ego 表兄 (biǎoxiōng) 表哥 (biǎogē) First cousin

Son of mother’s sibling younger than ego 表弟 (biǎodì) First cousin

Daughter of mother’s sibling older than ego 表姐 (biǎojiě) First cousin

Daughter of mother’s sibling younger than ego 表妹 (biǎomèi) First cousin

NAMES FOR RELATIONSHIP IN CHINESE TRADITION (关系的称谓) - PATERNAL SIDE

The word “Family” is a very crucial point in the chinese tradition, so in this society a family relationsship is precisely distinguished and categorized in two parts: Paternal Side (male) and Maternal Side (female) or “Out Side”.

Why is the Maternal Side also pronounced as Outside? The Chinese Tradition regulate: that in a chinese marriage the bride is assumed as a new “entering daughter” for the bridegroom parents and their families. This bride does not “belong” anymore to her origin family.

As below listed are names in regarding to mentioning of families members from Paternal Side:

* Father´s grandfather 曾祖父 (zeng zufu) 太爷爷 (tai yeye) (Paternal)Grandfather

* Father´s grandmother 曾祖母 (zeng zumu) 太奶奶 (tai nainai) (Paternal)Grandmother

* Father’s father 祖父 (zufu) 爷爷 (yeye) Grandfather

* Father’s mother 祖母 (zumu) 奶奶 (nainai) Grandmother

* Father’s older brother 伯父 (bofu) 伯伯 (bobo) Uncle
*Wife 伯母 (bomu) 伯娘 (boniang) Aunt

* Father’s younger brother 叔父 (shufu) 叔叔 (shushu) Uncle
*Wife 婶母 (shenmu) Aunt

* Father’s older
sister (or married) 姑母 (gumu) 姑姑 (gugu) Aunt
*Husband 姑父 (gufu) 姑丈 (guzhang) Uncle

* Father’s younger
sister 姑姐 (gujie) 姑姑 (gugu) Aunt

* Son of father’s
brother older than ego 堂兄 (tangxiong) first cousin

* Son of father’s
brother younger than ego 堂弟 (tangdi) first cousin

* Wife of son of
father’s brother 堂嫂 (tangsao) first cousin in-law

* Daughter of father’s
brother older than ego 堂姐 (tangjie) 堂姊 (tangzi) first cousin

* Daughter of father’s
brother younger than ego 堂妹 (tangmei) first cousin

* Son of father’s
sister older than ego 表兄 (biaoxiong) 表哥 (biaoge) first cousin

* Son of father’s
sister younger than ego 表弟 (biaodi) 姑表弟 (gu biaodi) first cousin

* Daughter of father’s
sister older than ego 表姊 (biaozi) 表姐 (biaojie) first cousin

* Daughter of father’s
sister younger than ego 表妹 (biaomei) 姑表妹 (gu biaomei) first cousin

THE DRAGONS PROVERBS (龙的成语)

THE DRAGONS PROVERBS

There are so many beautiful proverbs in China. Each proverb has so insightful meaning. In following you would find several proverbs in relation to the dragon:

1. 龙飞凤舞 long fei feng wu
Dragon flies, phoenix dances, fig flamboyan ( = very cheerful )

2. 画龙点睛 hua long dian jing

Put a cherry on the top / add the finishing touch ( = making something to be perfect )

The Story:

To bring a painted dragon to life by drawing in the pupils of its eyes

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties Period (420-589), there was a Chinese painter called Zhang Sengyao. Once, he visited a temple and painted four dragons on the wall, but he gave none of them eyes. Onlookers thought this odd, and asked why he hadn't painted in the eyes. He answered: "Eyes are crucial for dragons. With the eyes painted in, the dragons would fly away." Nobody believed this, so Zhang Sengyao took up his brush and added eyes to two of the dragons. No sooner had he finished than the two dragons flew into the sky amid a thunderstorm. The two without eyes remained paintings on the wall.

This idiom is used to describe how, when painting, writing or speaking, the addition of just one or two key brushstrokes, sentences, words or phrases could enhance the content

3. 叶公好龙 ye gong hao long

pretend to like something which one really fears .

The Story:

Lord Ye's Love of Dragons

It is well known that Lord Ye had a particular love for dragons. Ye's house was "covered" in dragons - designs, paintings, carvings - whether on his weapons, bed linen, chairs or walls.
On hearing about Ye's passion for dragons, a celestial dragon was so moved that it decided to honor Ye by paying him a visit. So, it descended to earth and stuck its head into Ye's bedroom window, while the other half of its body swayed in the hall.
The scene that accompanied the dragon's descent to earth was magnificent: dark clouds rolled across the sky, lightning flashed and thunder boomed. The earth shook and a heavy downpour almost devastated the city.
Ye, the dragon lover, was far from flattered. On the contrary, he was so frightened by the dragon's visit that he took to his heels and ran away as fast as he could.
What Lord Ye loved was not the real dragon, but something that merely looked like a dragon.

THE DRAGON STORY (龙的故事)

What is the meaning of Longwang? It means King of Dragon. Do you want to know more about King dragon:

THE DRAGON STORY
The Chinese dragon, unlike its western cousin, is considered to be a benevolent creature, the custodian of rain, river and lakes, and a harbinger of good fortune.
In Chinese mythology the dragon is described as having the body of a SNAKE (蛇), the face of a HORSE (马), antlers of the DEER (鹿) and claws of the EAGLE (鹰). The dragon has the beard of a GOAT (羊) and the scales of a FISH (鱼). So powerful did the emblem of the dragon become that it was adopted by every Chinese dynasty as the Imperial emblem, from Huang Di to the Qing (Manzu) Dynasty without exception.
As early as the Tang and Song dynasties Dragon King Temple's were built where the people could pray for blessings and a good harvest - all in the hands of the dragons as they controlled the rain.

CHINESE LANGUAGE & CULTURE (中国语言文化)

The culture of china is home to one of the world’s oldest and most complex civilizations. China boasts a history rich in over 5000 years of artistic, philosophical, political, and scientific advancement. Though regional differences provide a sense of diversity, commonalities in language and religion connect a culture distinguished by such significant contributions such as Confucianism and Taoism.
Confucianism was the official philosophy throughout most of Imperial China’s history and strongly influenced other countries in East Asia. Mastery of Confucian texts provided the primary criterion for entry into the imperial bureaucracy.
With the rise of Western economic and military power beginning in the mid-19th century, Western systems of social and political organization gained adherents in China. Some of these would-be reformers rejected China's cultural legacy, while others sought to combine the strengths of Chinese and Western cultures.