Apr 24 2007
Chinese names
Lyons F. Livingston had commented on Philatelist (January 1949 issue) that “no Chinese name can be transliterated exactly”, often occurring in various ways . He was right on the dot, especially pre-1949. ON top of that, we have:
名 ming: the name one was born to
字 zi: a style (or name) taken at the age of 20, by which a man is sometimes called
号 hao: an assumed name; alternative name
晚号 wan hao: an assumed name or alternative name taken at older age
爷爷 奶奶 - Yeye and Nainai:- parternal grandfather/mother
公公 婆婆 (外公,外婆) - Gonggong and Popo (Waigong, Waipo): maternal grandfather/mother
舅舅 - Jiujiu: mother’s brother
小姨 (姨妈) - Xiaoyi (Yima): mother’s sister
伯父 - Bofu: father’s older brother
叔叔 - shu shu: father’s younger brother
姑姑 (姑妈) - Gugu (Guma): father’s sister