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Many English surnames appear to have been casually picked up from the surroundings, from plants or animals -- for example: Flower, Forest, Rice, Bush and Wolf. Many given names are chosen for their sound, or because they run in the family, rather than for their meaning. By contrast, when Chinese parents name their offspring they are very serious -- some parents even spend money to get a good name from a scholar or senior person. We can say that behind every Chinese name there is a good story, through which you can trace the changing pace of society.
There are surely many anecdotes behind the names given over China's 5000-year history. It would be impossible to trace them over such a long time. However, in recent history popular names included such things as Golden Dog, Silver Tiger and Golden Dragon -- intended to protect their bearers. Others, such as Bringing Brothers and Leading Brothers, were chosen to attract further male children to the family.
Some names reflected the historical period into which a child was born. Names like Chaos, Turmoil, Continuous Wars and Defeating Japanese were popular during the rule by warlords, the Japanese invasion and the civil wars from the 1920s through the 1940s.
Since 1949 and the founding of the People's Republic of China, the trends of popular names have largely followed the chain of social events. Around 1949 names like Jiangguo (establishing the country), Shengli (liberation), Aiguo (loving the country) and Youdi (gaining land) were very popular, expressing people's feelings over reclaiming sovereignty and establishing a new country.
However, when the Korean War broke out in 1950, happiness changed to resolve, and parents chose names like Weiguo (safeguard the country), Baojia (protect the family), Zhiyuan (volunteer) and Yuanchao (supporting Korea).
Not long after, around 1956, China entered the special era of the "Great Leap Forward." Names like Liantie (refine iron) and Fugang (enrich iron) were chosen, reflecting the national campaign to make steel and iron so as to "catch up with Britain and override America" in the spirit of the slogan of the day. Also during this period names like Gongshe (commune), Hongqi (red flag) and Aishe (love the commune) were also chosen as people blindly followed the idealism of Mao Zedong.
Enthusiasm turned to aggression when an ideological split divided China and the former Soviet Union. Names like Fangxiu (defending against revisionism), Fanxiu (taking the offensive against revisionism) and Pixiu (criticizing revisionism) reflected popular anger at the Soviet "betrayal of communism."
This movement coincided with three movements respectively called "Learning from Lei Feng" -- a soldier who sacrificed his life to save others -- "Learning agriculture from Dazhai village," and "Learning industry from Daqing oilfield." These movements led to names like Xuelei (follow Lei Feng), Ailong (love the countryside) and Xeugong (learning industry). This orientation did not change much until 1966 when China began the "Cultural Revolution," which inspired such names as Wenge (cultural revolution), Douzheng (struggle), Hongwen (red culture), Hongbing (red guard), Zaofan (uprising) and Fanzi (anti-bourgeoisie).
In 1976 this trend finally came to an end when China declared the end of the Cultural Revolution. When Deng Xiaoping came to power in 1978 he initiated an era of nationwide economic construction to replace class struggle. This gave rise to names like Xuexi (learning), Xuezhi (learning knowledge), and Zhuishi (running after time), chosen by parents who hoped their children would compensate for their own lost opportunities to learn and study.
This situation continued until 1992 when China moved toward Westernization because of Deng Xiaoping's famous tour of southern China, during which he called for more opening up to Western investments. This brought a new wave of names such as Fumei (going to America), Xueying (studying English), Baiwan (millionaire), Xianfu (getting rich first) and Qiufu (seeking fortune). These reflected parents' hopes that their children would go abroad and become rich.
Nowadays, there are subtle changes to this tradition of choosing names related to social transformation. There is more diversity among Chinese names and it is becoming more difficult to trace current social trends. This is especially true in cities. Many parents no longer impart social meanings to their children's names, preferring names related to nature, like animals or plants. This is because people have grown bored with social movements. On the other hand, they are expressing more respect for nature, which is part of a growing global orientation.
Chinese names are still changing with the times. However, the tradition and culture that guides the choice of names is not likely to change much.
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(Zhang Quanyi is an associate professor at the Zhejiang Wanli University in Ningbo, China, and a PhD candidate at Shanghai International Studies University, studying policy making and collective identity. He is currently a research fellow at the School of International Studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea, under a grant by the Korea Foundation. He can be contacted at qyzhangupi@yahoo.com. ©Copyright Zhang Quanyi.)
