A USPICIOUS USPICIOUS CHINESE N AMES
FIND OUT WHAT MAKES UP A GOOD & AUSPICIOUS NAME
Learn the Do’s & Don’ts of Selecting a Chinese Name QUICK TIPS CHINESE ANIMAL ZODIAC & WORDS TO AVOID IN CHINESE NAMING
财位
找出我的
Name Prosperity Good Fortune All in the
of
&
Text By: Master Lim Eng Cheong
Lately, I see a surge in the number of parents approaching me to select auspicious Chinese names for their little precious ones. It doesn’t come to me as a surprise as more Singaporean Chinese families are speaking English at home and it becomes more challenging for them to select an elegant and inspiring Chinese name, what’s more an auspicious one. The command of the Chinese language of many young modern parents may have dwindled, but their unwavering love and concern, and their continuous quest to give their children the best things in the world are never doubtful. There’s a common Chinese saying, “Instead of giving your child gold, teach him a skill. Instead of teaching him a skill, bestow a good name upon your child.”
(“
”). Mind you, a good and
auspicious name is the best gift that you can give your child!
. d e v r e s e R s t h g i R l l A . P L L y c n a t l u s n
o C g n a h C f o y t r e p o r p y r a t e i r p o r p e r a y h p a r g i l l a C e s e n i h C l l A
Name is for Life Do not belittle the importance of selecting a good name for your child. It would be absolutely irresponsible if little thought is given to this crucial life chapter. The name stays with the child for life!
Selecting a good and auspicious name has to fulfill 3 main criteria. Firstly, it must be able to supplement and complement the favourable elements of one’s BaZi (also known as Eight Characters
).
The name carries the hope and aspiration of the parents on their children. It is a “brand”. It is an inspiration. It is a motivating vision, a life goal and it has an identification function. On the contrary, if a name is not chosen cautiously and properly, the child will be the target board for mockery and ridicule throughout his lifetime! My advice to all parents who care, be responsible and thoughtful. Do not let your child bear the burden of your unintended miscalculation.
Secondly, emphasis must be given to the underlying meanings of the Chinese characters. Each character is a pictorial illustration that is an epitome of a natural or social phenomenon and it conveys profound passed on message. Choosing appropriate combination of Chinese characters is therefore crucial and should not be taken lightly.
There are 5 main aspects to success in life. They
number of strokes of each character must be taken into consideration and their different combination configurations have to add up to an auspicious figure. Fulfilling these 3 main criteria will lead to choosing a good and auspicious name. Having a good name will eventually bring one closer to success.
are destiny ( name (
), luck (
), Feng Shui (
) and hard work (
),
). One’s name
is therefore closely related to one’s path to success and having a good name is extremely important. A good and auspicious name can positively influence a person’s career, marriage, health and interpersonal relationship.
Thirdly, to add icing to the cake, using “Five Categories Impression Analysis” (
), the
孩子取名
Do’s Don’ts &
of Selecting a Chinese Name
M stands for male, while F stands for female. A good name should clearly depict a person’s gender. A boy should not have a girl’s name, and similarly, a girl should not adopt a boy’s name. Doing so will create gender confusion in our society, hinder proper social interaction, and lead to unnecessary embarrassment. For example, if there is a man by the name of Chen Caifeng (
deemed old school and may not be widely accepted. Do not get me wrong. These are nice sounding names but we have to move on with the times. The Walkman was a fantastic product but MP3 players are more popular now. Just imagine what kind of impression you are giving others when you still use and carry a Walkman in your bag. I’m sure you wouldn’t want others to brand your child as “old fashion” because of his or her name, which may sound dated in modern times.
, “Colourful Phoenix”) or if a , “Great
Superficiality versus Profoundness.
Dragon”), they will definitely leave an impression wherever they go, but in an undesirable manner. Boys’ names should avoid having characters like
In addition to its identification function, a name should invoke a deeper meaning and inner aspiration. Avoid choosing a name that is superficial and lacks dimension. Do not confuse complexity with profoundness. A profound name with a deep meaning does not necessarily mean that it has to be extremely complicated. Founding em-
lady’s name is called Li Weilong (
huā (
, “flower”), xiāng (
“quiet”) or fèng (
,
, “phoenix”). On the contrary,
characters like lóng ( “great”), háo (
, “fragrant”), jìng (
, “dragon”), wĕi (
, “giant”) or xióng (
,
, “heroic”)
are more suitable for boys than for girls. Bear in mind that a gender distorted name will cause disruption to one’s life and lead to undue stress and burden.
Walk away from old ways and seek new paths. What I mean here is to avoid using characters that sound old fashion, tacky or crass.
For example, Lin Facai (
“make a fortune”) or Lin Dafu (
,
, “great
wealth”) may be very popular names in the past but in our modern context, these names are
peror of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang ( ), was initially named as Zhu Chongba (
,
“copy number 8”) as he was the 8 th child in his family. As his natural father was illiterate, he named his son simply by using numbers. The name, Zhu Yuanzhang, was actually bestowed upon him by his foster father. His new name signified a new beginning, a new born man and carried the hope that he would be as virtuous as the jade. He went on to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty and establish Ming Dynasty. Though the characters are simple, they have a deep and profound meaning.
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孩 子
Do’s & Don’ts 名 取
of Selecting a Chinese Name
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More is not always better.
If you are thinking of show-
ing off your literacy skills when choosing a name for your child, that is choosing one that is relatively uncommon and complex to others so as to showcase your superior linguistic competency, I would advise that you think twice before you do that. Imagine the agony that you put your child through in writing his Chinese name by finishing the many strokes required. He or she will also require longer time than the peers to write the name on the scripts during an examination. In addition, others will encounter difficulties in reading or calling his name, thus leading to unnecessary uneasiness. As the character may have many strokes, it may eventually become a lump of messy scribbles if there is limited space to write your name. Take for example, the character xīn (
, “prosperous”). It sounds very elegant and has
an auspicious definition but it may have too many strokes to one’s liking (total 24 strokes).
Sometimes smart stupid things. Yes,
people
do
it’s correct that we
should be imaginative and creative in choosing a name but there should be a limit. I have observed that there are some practitioners who like to use and create new characters that are not found in the Chinese dictionary. They did this by combining 2 existing characters or some parts of existing characters to form a totally alien character. In my opinion, this should be avoided. Every-
one will find it hard to pronounce the name as no one can read that newly created character. Moreover, there is no meaning associated with the character. It is like an empty vessel void of inner substance. Administratively, it is also cumbersome when you like to type your Chinese name in a computer as the software will not be able to recognise and provide the character that you would like to input. This amounts to adding frustration to confusion!
Take note of the tones.
As you are
aware, there are 4 different tones for a single pronunciation in Chinese. Exercise caution when you choose a name for your child. The characters that you have selected may be meaningful and inspirational. However, when you piece them together, the intonation of these characters may sound like something else and may lead to others relating the name to something negative or unpleasant. Take for example, the name Jiécái ( ) has an original meaning that depicts outstanding skills and exceptional talents. sounds too similar like
However, it
, which means robbing
of wealth! What seems to be so elegant and poise initially, can become so inauspicious the next moment.
Drawing Inspiration from the
Chinese Animal Zodiacs It is not uncommon to select Chinese names based on one’s animal zodiac. It is a simple and easy to understand method to select Chinese names. I have included a table here to assist parents in choosing appropriate names based on
Zodiac
Characteristics
your child’s Chinese animal zodiac. However, this is only a rough guide and parents should not adopt this method as the only method. This method is only a subset of a larger and more comprehensive Chinese naming system.
Preferred Character Root
Avoid Character Root
So, What’s in a
Name
Names have more than just identification function. Names have an important role in our society. All good men will die but their good name will live forever. Words have meanings but names have power. There is also a Chinese saying, “
”. It means that if a name is
neither proper nor fitting, what is said will neither be accorded with reason nor justified. So in the name of prosperity and good fortune, choose a name carefully and thoughtfully.
DISCLAIMER: All examples of Chinese names quoted in this article are fictitious. These names are crafted for purpose of illustration and education only. Similar or identical name(s) with actual person(s) is purely coincidental and there is no intention of any mischief, ridicule, mockery and so on.
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Published in November 2010 All information published in this article is co pyrighted by CHANG Consultancy No part of this article may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, without the written permission of CHANG Consultancy. Such written permission must also be obtained before any part of this article is stored in a retrieval system of any nature. All efforts have been made to ensure high quality information and content in this article. CHANG Consultancy accepts no responsibility for any outcome resulting from unguided practice of any of the recommendations in this article. CHANG Consultancy accepts no liability of any kind for any losses or damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly from using the information contained in this article.
