英语畅谈中国文化50主题 27

Meanings in a Chinese Name

中国人姓名的含意

A: Unlike in a Western name, the family name in a Chinese name comes before the first name. There are also meanings in a Chinese name.

B:That's correct. The meanings in a Chinese name are reflected in the combination(组合) of the characters ,which are influenced either by elements of culture or era. Usually the cultural influence is stronger in the characters for family names. Any character that has the particle that means"woman" suggests its traces back to the matriarchal society.Some family names originated either in official titles or occupation(职业),or in animals of worship. A few others come from numbers.

A: I see . What about given names?

B: In comparison, meanings in given names are always chosen to reflect elements of the era. In the old days, characters meaning "wealth" ,"fortune" ,and "happiness" were very common in names. Characters with the meanings of "gifted" ,"handsome",and "clever" were often chosen by parents as well wishes for their children to be beautiful,capable ,and intelligent. During the 1950s and 1960s ,many boys were given the name with the meaning of "building the country","celebrating the nation" ,"fighting the American imperialists", and "overtaking the British". The reform and opening policies also provided more choices of characters, such as "bo" meaning "strive" ,"si" meaning"thoughtful" ,and "yuhang" meaning "aeronautics¹" .Parents would like their children to learn more knowledge ,to be more thoughtful and to have great aspirations(抱负,志向).Some people also like to use translated Western names such David, Richard, Lisa and Linda.

A:This is quite similar to English names. Some of the surnames also come from occupations,such as Sheppard ,Smith and Baker².Some Western names also have meanings ."Laura " for example means "laureate" in Latin, and "Samson" means "Sun" in Hebrew.

B: I don't know much about Western names. When translated into Chinese . Westerns names are simply a phonetic³ combinations of Chinese characters. In order for people to remember Western names. Translators in the 1950s and 1960s tried to localize names in literature, such as Scarlett O' Hara and Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. Even a place like Atlanta was translated in such a way .Although it was easier to remember these names,they don't look Western any more. So when some of the literary works were retranslated in the 1990s , phonetic translation was used again.

A: A Western novel with each of its characters having a Chinese name is very similar to a Westerner having a typical Chinese name like Da Shan ,meaning "Big Mountain". It sounds werid(怪). I'd rather have something that can remind me of the original.

1 aeronautics   

n.航空术，航空学

参考例句：

• National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
• He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。

2 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

3 phonetic   

adj.语言的，语言上的，表示语音的

参考例句：

• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。
• English phonetic teaching is an important teaching step in elementary stages.语音教学是英语基础阶段重要的教学环节。