姓名的由来

姓名的由来Origin of Chinese Names

1你能讲讲有关中国姓氏的来历吗?

Could you tellm e som ething about the origin of Chinese surnames?

Prior to the Qin Dynasty，xing and shi(姓氏) functioned as surnames，and each indicated differentmeanings．The xing，the Chinese character(姓)，is composed of a left part and a right part．On the left is the radical nü(female，女)，which offers clues to the semantic part and the right is called sheng(birth，生)．Xing means that“The female gives birth to a child．”The female radical gives a clue to the origin of Chinese surnames，which can trace back to the time when China was a matriarchal society，and also symbolizes sincere respect to themother．According to legend，there was a divine farmer named Shen Nong(神农)whose mother(女登)is the source of all the surnames nü．Examples of her descendentswould be the Yellow Emperor(黄帝) whose surname is ji(姬)and Yu Shun(the Great Shun，虞舜)whose surname is yao(姚)．

The shi surnames began to be used since the Zhou Dynasty(1046 BC－256 BC) in order to distinguish family's background and seniority among royal families and nobility．Most of the shi surnames came from noble rankings，states，official positions，fiefdoms，occupations and residential areas．After the Warring States Period(475 BC－221 BC)，both xing and shi surnames were merged and began to be shared by common people．

Notes:①prior to在之前②surname姓③matriarchal母系的④descendent后裔⑤seniority级别⑥fiefdom封地⑦occupation职业⑧residential居住的

2有些早期的姓氏是怎样出现的?

What are the origins of some early Chinese surnames?

As the population increased，the number of surnames also grew，many of them coming from the land on which people resided．Legend has it that Fu Xi(伏羲) resided in Dongfang(the east，东方)，and his descendentswould take their surname after dongfang．Another example is that during the Western Zhou Dynasty(1046 BC－771 BC)，the king of that time would invest the nobility with territories，and so each lord or prince would go there and set up his state accordingly．Afterwards the nobility's descendents would take their surnames after the names of the states owned by their ancestors．Additionally，the king or lord of each state divided his fiefdoms into rental lands and granted them to his state ministers．The descendents of these ministers would take their surnames from the names of the granted rental lands．For example，Zhan Qin(展禽)，aminister from the State of Lu rented land by the name of liu(柳)．Zhan Qin's descendents later adopted Liu as their surname．The lords and ministers of the State of Qi respectively resided in the four quarters inside the capital of the Qi，including Dongguo(the east quarter，东郭)，Nanguo(the south quarter，南郭)，Xiguo(the west quarter，西郭)and Beiguo(the north quarter，北郭)．Afterwards these noble families'descendents took their surnames after the names of the quarterswhere their ancestors resided．

Some names of official positions of ancient times gradually became surnames．For example，yue(乐)can be traced back from the Zhou Dynasty(1046 BC－256 BC) when the official position responsible formusic was called yuezheng(乐正)．The same goes with the surnames，jia(贾)，which means“business．”The official position responsible for businesswas called jiazheng(贾正)in the Zhou Dynasty．Some surnames have doublecharacters that are also associated with official positions such as sima(minister of military affairs，司马)，sikong(minister of architecture，司空)and situ(minister of personnelmanagement，司徒)．The descendents of these officialswould take the titles as surnames as symbols of nobility．Prior to theWarring States Period(475 BC－221 BC)，only aristocrats had surnames; common people began to have their own surnames later in history．Since the Han Dynasty(206 BC－25 AD)，everyone has his/her own surname．

Notes:①nobility贵族②rental出租③grant授予④respectively分别地⑤architecture建筑⑥personnel management人事管理

3什么是《百家姓》和《千家姓》?

What are The Hundred Fam ily Surnames and The Thousand Fam ily Surnames?

Chinese surnames often confuse foreign visitors．A book printed during the Song Dynasty(960－1279) named The Hundred Family Surnames(《百家姓》) listed all of the known 468 Chinese surnames in use at the time．A similar book was printed during the Ming Dynasty(1368－1644) titled The Thousand Family Surnames(《千家姓》)，which listed 1，968 surnames．At present，there are all together about 3，000 surnames．

Some double-character surnames have been transliterated from names used by ethnic groups in ancient China such as chan yu(单于)，yu wen(宇文) and hu yan(呼延)．There are even some surnames with three ormore characters like ai xin jue luo(爱新觉罗)．

Although there are thousands of Chinese family names，only 100 surnames can be considered common．Based on recent surveys，the three most popular are li(李)，wang(王)and zhao(赵)．To celebrate the 100 most common surnames in China，a special set of stampswere issued featuring a red Chinese knot，which symbolizes unity and luck．

Notes:①transliterate把……译成另一语系中相应的字母、音节或词②celebrate颂扬③feature以……为特色

4请讲一讲“名”的事宜，好吗?

Please tell me something about Chinese given names．

Chinese given names(名字)are usually made up of one or two characters．In ancient times，parents would give their child a name three months after birth．Traditional Chinese culture frowns upon naming a person after someone else．People have the same name most likely due to coincidence rather than intention．Frequently girls will be named after objectswhich reflect feminine characteristics，such as plants or flowers．Chinese personal namesmay also reflect periods of history．For example，many Chinese born during the Cultural Revolution have revolutionary-sounding names like dongfeng(the eastern wind，东风)．

Within families，adults rarely address each other by personal names．When addressing each other，they generally use a family title such as elder sister，second elder sister，third elder sister and so on．This traditional pattern symbolizes obedience and respect that the son should show to his parents; the wife to the husband; the younger to the elder，etc．In addition，there exists a large range of everyday formal titles people use with each other．Personal names are only used when addressing adult friends or children．

Nicknames are usually alterations of the given name sometimes based on a person's physical attributes or speaking style．Nicknames are rarely used in formal or semi-formal settings．

In ancient times，it was common for males to ac-quire a zi(style name，字)at the age of20．Rulers had posthumous names(谥号)and temple names(庙号)．

Notes:①frown upon皱眉②coincidence巧合③intention意向④nickname绰号⑤alteration改变⑥attribute属性⑦posthumous死后的

5在中国，常用的称谓有哪些?

What are some comm on titles and form s of address in China?

In China，the surname is followed by the given name，the exact opposite of Western custom．The Chinese sometimes reverse the order of their two names to conform toWestern practice．Westernersmay be confused upon finding out that in China family names are always placed first．

A woman in China does not take her husband's surname after hermarriage but instead keeps that of her father．The Chinese address for a woman nüshi(女士)or “Ms”sounds rather formal for an unmarried woman．You may address any young woman who is not likely to bemarried as xiaojie(小姐)，translated as“Miss．”If you do not know whether a youngwoman ismarried，address her as nüshi．

Traditionally all Chinese receive a“milk name(乳名)”at birth，a“book name(学名)”upon entering school，and a“style(大名)”or“great name”uponmarriage．Members of the family and very close friends normally use the“milk name．”Teachers and school friends use the“book name．”Both parentsand relativeswould also use a man's new“style name”after his marriage．In feudal days，scholars commonly assumed a“studio name(斋号)，”which they used to sign theirworks．

Old people with no work-related title are commonly given the nickname lao(old or senior，老); younger people with no identifiable name or job titlemay be addressed as xiao(young or junior，小)．To use an example，an old person of any age calls a younger person with whom he and she is familiar Xiao so-and-so; a younger person calls an old person Lao so-and-so．Xiao or lao may be used with persons of either gender．

Notes:①reverse使倒转②conform to符合③assume承担④identifiable可认明的⑤gender性别

6“丈夫”这个称谓是怎样出现的?

What is the origin of zhangfu?

Presently in China the husband is called zhangfu(丈夫)，although this title has not always had thatmeaning．According to the The Guliang Biography(《榖梁传》)，one of the13 Classics，“At the age of20，aman has to go through a ceremony，and it indicates that he has turned into a zhangfu(男子二十而冠，冠而列丈夫)．”Here the zhangfu refers to an adult person．Then how did the zhangfu come to mean“husband?”In ancient times，some tribes had the custom of carrying away aman and marrying him by force．At that time，the man's heightwas themain criterion for a woman to pick her spouse．The basic heightwas one zhang(丈) that equals to 7 chi(尺)，and one chi is about 0．33 meter．People thought that aman of one zhang tallwould be able to resist being carried away by force．Gradually women began to refer to their spouses as zhangfu．

Notes:①biography传记②by force靠力量③criterion标准④spouse配偶

7“太太”这个称谓是怎样出现的?

What is the origin of taitai?

Overseas Chinese use the title taitai(太太) for wife，and the name is becoming popular in Mainland China．However，during Emperor Liu Xin's rein in the Han Dynasty(6 BC－2 BC)(汉哀帝刘欣)，taitai meant a honorific title to the royal ladies of the older generation．Later in the Han Dynasty(206 BC－220 AD)，taitai became a popular title among aristocratic ladies，and the Han imperial family even used huangtaitaihou(皇太太后) to address the empress．During the Ming Dynasty(1368－1644)，taitai was used to addresswomen at age30 and abovewhose spouses had obtained the high ranking status of artists or government officials(凡士大夫妻，年来三十即呼太太)．During the Qing Dynasty(1616－1911)，family male and female servantswould likely use the title to address family hostesses．Gradually this taitai came to be used to address the wives of officials，businessmanagers，school principals，and professors．

Notes:①overseas海外②honorific尊敬的③ranking等级高的④hostess女主人⑤principal校长