Life, Travel, GRACE

At present, Chinese name is often referred to as 名字 (Ming Zi). In olden days, 名 (Ming) and 字 (Zi) are not the same. Ming is formal name while Zi is familiar name, usually given when the child reaches age 20. Since it is impractical to have more than one names, the 名 (Ming) and 字 (Zi) are now used together to refer to one’s own name. A good name should have the following qualities: 1. The name should have good sounding and it is easy to pronounce. This could be achieved by avoiding similar consonant, vowel and tone. 2. It should have a good meaning. Usually, the meaning of names has auspicious meanings and expresses the hopes and ideals of the parents. 3. It should be easy to remember. 4. It should leave a good impression on people. 5. It should be elegant. An elegant name is not crude or shallow in meaning. 6. The surname and the name in its written form should appear balanced and stable. Imagine if the surname and the name are made up of characters with too many strokes, when viewed f...

Somehow it was originated from totems – animal symbols. During the warring period (period of Five Emperors), troops were deployed where each of them was represented by an animal sign. The descendants of the soldiers then adopted these animal signs as their surnames. Example: Bear (熊). Another study suggested surnames were used during the time when China was a matriarchal society. Surnames were given by mother. Hence surname (姓) is made up of the character girl (女) and 生 (Sheng) meaning “giving birth”. Usually surnames were devised during special events or occasions. For example, 姚 (Yao) could be derived from the event when a mother ate plum. Some surnames were originated due to migration to new place. Some may originate from the official post of one’s ancestor. Others were changed to commemorate certain events. Also there were surnames adopted from an honorary title given by emperor.

So we need to give our child a name. English name as well as Chinese name. Well, literally English name can be derived from the Chinese name. Since we are not knowledgeable in the Chinese naming convention, a friend of us lent us a book - The Book of Chinese Names, a guide to auspicious and elegant names. Wow, elegant name somemore. But first, let's understand how did "name" derived, from the Chinese cultural perspective. Check out the Chinese character for name: 名 (ming) This character was derived from a composition of two words: 夕 (xi) and 口 (kou), which mean evening and mouth respectively. You may wonder why the ancient Chinese created "name" with "evening" and "mouth". Well, after evening time comes night. At night time, it was difficult for them to recognize each other (remember they didn't have lamp yet). So they had to call each other. That's how the name come about. So you know the history of name. Then why Chinese has surname...

During the olden day of the Chinese community, on the side of each main door of the houses, there would be a row of Chinese characters written on a piece of red paper. How did this practice come about? According to the folklore tales, Chinese ancestors originally painted the door with red paint to ward off the monster (so called Nian). How bout this - the middle east version: Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. (Exodus 12:22) Perhaps Chinese ancestors were influenced by Old Testament's Exodus story. Or maybe the story carried its way thru the Silk Road. Whatever it is, new year is the time for appreciation and thankfulness to the Lord for blessing us.

"Lou Sang" with the bible study group....at usual place - New Paris Restaurant.

In memory...

Everyone knows that somewhere in the middle east is having conflict now. Then some folks in this country initiated a boycott on Israel and US products. Yeah, war is not cool. In fact, Christianity promotes peace. So will boycotting certain country's products help? One thing they don't realize.....this is globalization era. How to totally avoid one particular country's products without affecting others? If you say don't go to KFC and McD (not in the boycott list I guess), our people will be jobless. Our chicken poultry will have economy slow down. Our farmers will earn less. Then can the market provide ample job opportunities for them? You see, this is called supply chain. OK, if you can't totally avoid supporting service industry of that targeted boycott country, let's try this: don't buy their physical products. Say Coke (they forgot to include Pepsi in the list). Don't they know, we don't import Coke from US? It's produced locally under the l...

A trip through the past 2008 for the couple: Changed to married status Moved into new home Bought some items which were not in the buying list Pregnant Changed job (for husband only) Graduation (for wife only) Became a regular customer for Starbucks (for husband only) Plan for 2009: Parenting for the new boy Some trips? Education?