China upbeat on growth, India lags behind

[Ray]

i don't have an english name?

who says that chinese are not proud of their names?

You are a rare one!

Why Chinese Like Weird English Names
Jenny Zhu Post in China, musings，Tags: Chinese names, English names, name culture
04 March 2010
51
I recently got to know a guy named 'Cridge', another 'Forrest'. They are grown-up professional Chinese men not hippies. (Forrest even went abroad for his MBA education.)

As some might know, English names chosen by Chinese often range from weird to wacky. Over the years, I have known several girls named 'Kinki', men 'Sky' and even a 'Boot'. They are young cosmopolitan Chinese who want to express personality and individuality through their English names. But they must have a very misconstrued view of English names. I suspect many see it as a name rebirth of the 'tribal' names they were first given by their English teachers, most of who go through a list of top 20 boys' and girls' names. That's how I got my name 'Jenny'. I have thought about switching to names like 'Chloe' or 'Valaria'. But I would have a new favorite name once every month that I was even confusing myself.

I wonder if there is any implication for foreigners choosing a Chinese name. (Stick with transliterations?) I have an ultra-hip friend from Brooklyn whose Chinese name is 张明/Zhang1 Ming2, which could not be a more authentic and average Chinese name. But it was too Chinese of a name for him.

Oh, speaking of weird English names, my little nephew is named 'Navy' (given by his mother to honor our grandfather who served in the Chinese Navy.) Ah, maybe there is a personal story behind every weird name.

Additional thoughts: it dawned on me why so many Chinese have weird English names (and why some foreigners have funny Chinese names). It's because we sometimes lack the cultural awareness and references to interpret names. So the nuances get lost in the process. Someone named 'Cridge' is most likely unconscious of how awkward the name is. And these subtleties take time and sometimes being in a foreign country to develop. So I guess the best way to pick a name is to ask at least 5 native speakers.
Why Chinese Like Weird English Names « Jenny Zhu

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51 Responses to "Why Chinese Like Weird English Names"
Brendan
March 4, 2010 6:50 pm
I've long been against the notion of having to choose another name, whether it's Chinese people picking English names or foreigners picking Chinese names. It's nothing to do with people picking weird names (and of course, for every Chinese student of English who calls themselves "Earthquake," there's at least one Brazilian student of Chinese who names himself "天王") — rather, I just don't see the point. If I were studying Spanish, I wouldn't change my name to "Juan Ramon;" if I were studying Japanese, I wouldn't pretend that I was from the 中田 family.
Back when I was writing a Chinese newspaper column, I wrote a long, reasonably funny rant about the whole topic, and swore a mickle oath that I would never use a Chinese name, ever. I held out for a few years, but then it came time to print up business cards for a project some friends and I were working on, and I had to come up with a Chinese name for the flip-side of the card. Presented with the choice between a clumsy phonetic approximation of my name ("布兰登·奥剀恩" or something equally ugly) and a cod-Chinese name, I went with the cod-Chinese name.
But as a last half-hearted act of protest, I opted to call myself 何毖.
Joe
March 4, 2010 11:08 pm
The funny names are certainly not reserved for the Chinese. I lived in Poland for a little and met a man named 'Kermit'. He was very proud of the name.
A
March 5, 2010 12:40 am
Your note about the American with a too-authentic Chinese name has me wondering if you have any advice for 老外 trying to settle on a Chinese name (besides getting an okay from a native speaker, of course). I recently decided to change my Chinese given name (ie not surname) to something that is a little closer to my English name, and have found myself wishing for a list of characters that are appropriate for names, to help me narrow down the possibilities to a handful that have the general sounds I'm going for.
Any thoughts on 老外 with one-character vs. two-character given names?
Also, does anyone worry about the characters' pronunciation in (say) 广东话 when choosing names?
My Kafkaesque Life
March 5, 2010 2:16 am
I like my Chinese name 尼诺, because it sounds close to my real name, which is Nino. I'm using it since 2 years and I can't imagine to change to something like 张明. I'm a fan of phonetic transliterations, because Chinese has a different way of pronouncing and writing Western names, so it's best to adapt. To pick a random name is not my style, but I'm ok, if others do that. Also if Chinese pick "weird" Western name for themselves. I mean, weird and cool is highly subjective and every name has a history. Let's just be positive about this issue.
Carl
March 5, 2010 8:22 am
I've asked several of my students why they would name them selves "stone" or something similarly strange, but they don't seem to care that its not a normal name. I think its a good thing that today's youth want to express themselves more.
k
March 5, 2010 8:38 am
I think Chinese people often pick names that sound strange (or, frankly, that just aren't names: Sky, Boot, etc.) because they don't understand what goes into the naming process in any of the places where English is spoken. Similarly, I'm pretty sure I've read stories about foreigners picking odd-sounding Chinese names, and I'm pretty sure it's for the same reason. I would by no means trust myself to pick out a Chinese name that wouldn't turn heads.
I think we hear more about odd-sounding English names because Chinese people picking English names often do it in a vacuum of English speakers and as such their strange names stick around. On the other hand, when Westerners pick Chinese names, typically a Chinese person is around to help–also, if they're picking a Chinese name, usually they have some kind of interest in the culture or at least the language, whereas Chinese people pick English names as a perceived convenience to English speakers they may encounter.
Just a hypothesis"¦.
Big Liu
March 5, 2010 9:19 pm
I've heard of "Herbie" and "Coffee" as English names chosen by Chinese businessmen. Crazy!
Steve C
March 7, 2010 1:57 am
Currently, I have students named Elite, Dolphin, and Enjoy. When I first came to Taiwan I thought these unusual English names were strange, but now I like their uniqueness.
I asked some Taiwanese friends to help me choose my Chinese name (required by my employer, and necessary to register my scooter, etc.). I told them I didn't want a typical "foreigner sounding" transliterated name, but I still wanted it to sound somewhat like my English name. I'm pleased with the result (孔書文), and the Taiwanese seem to find it a pleasant name.
Joe
March 9, 2010 4:44 am
Indeed it's pretty strange what funny Western names many Chinese have or use. One can only fear that they have been betrayed by bad friends being asked about the proper names. Dealing every day with Chinese people in business I came up with Ocean, Smile, England. etc.
In earlier years I can understand that there might have been a certain need to have Western people being able to spell and memorize their names better than the Chinese, but nowadays I don't think it would still be necessary.
On the other hand, when learning Chinese, my teacher also gave me a Chinese name: 周. No wonder, it's Joe as well"¦
Xiao Liang
March 9, 2010 5:46 pm
It's not so much weird names, but particularly chinese girls seems to really enjoy choosing English old lady names! For example:
Dorothy, Lily, Vera, Connie, Gloria, Grace, Peggy"¦ that's just some from the chinesepod teachers. All very classic old lady names. Vera is my grandmother's name! Always makes me giggle
Jenny Zhu
March 9, 2010 6:06 pm
Yes, sometimes it does come down to being practical. The reason I have an English name is mostly that my Chinese name is quite unpronounceable to many foreigners. After being called 'zuu ki', I thought 'Jenny' would be better.
Jenny Zhu
March 9, 2010 6:07 pm
'Kermit', cute.
Jenny Zhu
March 9, 2010 6:10 pm
I personally think one-character given names are more contemporary and edgier. But sometimes, it seems a bit odd to me especially when the character has no link to the person's English name if that makes sense. But again, my English name has no link to my Chinese name at all.
Jenny Zhu
March 9, 2010 6:11 pm
Well said. I am along the same line with you, although my English name has no link to my Chinese name.
Henning
March 10, 2010 2:46 am
Why not?
I like it. If you think about it – your name is the choice of your parents, made at a time way before developing your personality . And what is the point of selecting a name from a given list of names anyway – names that actually did mean something. 1000 years ago.
I especially like "Coffee", although I would prefer "Espresso".
However, if I had a daughter I would definately not allow her to name herself "Kinky". Such a name might backfire.
Art
March 10, 2010 4:53 pm
SexyBeijing:::::::::::::::[Home]
Sexy Beijing interviewed a few Chinese a few years ago on the topic of choosing English names. It was culturally educational for me.
草莓山
March 14, 2010 12:38 am
My last name is Berryhill. 10 years ago a Chinese friend gave me the name 草莓山 (Caomei Shan) = Strawberry Hill. I've used it every since.
I echo Xiao Liang's comment on the "old lady" names, although I think of them more as Victorian names. Lydia, Juliette, etc.
Most Chinese people I work with who are under 35 years old (and live in the US) retain their Chinese name and never adopt an English name.
Joe R.
March 20, 2010 9:11 pm
I was once asked by a Chinese colleague if "Seven" was considered a man's name or a woman's name.
I think weird names pop up because Chinese names mean something, whereas English ones really don't (OK they do, but no one really knows the meanings).
jen_not_jenny
April 16, 2010 11:17 am
@A"¦yes, if you live in Southern China or spend any time around Cantonese people, you'll want to take into consideration your Chinese name's Canto pronunciation. My first Chinese name, given to me by my (non-native speaking) tutor was 毕金绯，which any Chinese person will tell you is already awkward enough, especially for a woman's name. Unfortunately, the name in Cantonese is pronounced But GumFei, and this horrific but memorable name is what my ABC friend's father calls me down to this day. He can't for the life of him remember my English name, and even the "proper" Chinese name I chose with the help of a native speaker is eclipsed by my first, really bad, Chinese name.
Jamil Batcha
April 20, 2010 5:40 pm
My Chinese name is kind of an oxymoron.
My name in English is above (my first name is actually Arabic and last name is Indian in origin)
What is My Chinese name? 白佳茗. A perfect name in a phonetic sense, one that flows with my name in English Jia Ming – Jamil or (even if this isn't right) Bai Jia – Batcha. Awesome. Sweet. Cool. What have you. So what's wrong with it?
Well, rather than being a nice caucasian girl/lady (白 – white, ä½³- good/pretty, 茗 – tender tea leaves), I'm actually an Indian dude (ok – born and bred in the US, but for the sake of appearances"¦). I'm sure one could guess the reaction (giggles) at restaurants and hotels when I book a table for "Mr. White" on the phone and then show up in person.
It's pretty funny though and I have my nicknames, so I guess I'll leave it be.
Xyan Minh-Cho
April 26, 2010 12:56 pm
I English name is Britttany, but I Russia name is Dasha. They both popular name to the culture. I wish I have different name because I met boy name Forps and I think that name is nice because nobody else will had that name.
Мое Английское название Бретански, но мое Русское название – это Dasha. Они – об популярных названия к их культуре. Я желаю, чтобы я имел различное название , поскольку я встретил мальчика, названного Forps и я, думаю, что это – хорошее название , поскольку это уникально.
Angelina
May 5, 2010 9:03 am
I went to a university in England where there were many international students from China. I met a Sugar, a Pearl (I don't know the proper transliteration but she was from Hong Kong and her real name sounded like "Pua"?), a Sky, a few fruit names (Orange and Pear especially seemed really popular), and a Michael. These were all girls – including Michael. When the native English speakers explained why we laughed a little when they told us their English names, they all laughed too and it became something we really bonded over. We weren't laughing at their stupidity – they weren't stupid by any stretch of the imagination; most were students of business, law or medicine – we were laughing at cultural differences. I always found it charming to encounter another Chinese student with an unconventional name and admired their imagination in their choice. My favourite will always be Michael, though, she was such a nice girl.
Learn Chinese Online
May 13, 2010 1:35 pm
This is something foreigners would also do. I have a friend from America. He gave himself a Chinese name called "周烟花". His English name is Joe. So he use "周" as his Chinese family name and he likes fireworks very much. That's how he got his name "烟花". Every Chinese hear his name would wonder about it, is sounds weird.
Troy Carter
May 19, 2010 11:34 am
Hey Jenny.. I miss that place to eat that you took me to. I forgot what it was called, but it was good.
Michelle
May 21, 2010 7:41 am
I had a student gave himself an English name called "Turkey" and his family name was "Pan" "Turkey Pan", another one Called "Toyota Fen", this is more related to his Chinese name, because his Chinese name is "丰田"
Matt
June 4, 2010 8:24 am
I can't count the number of Chinese guys I have met named Tiger. Yeah, I suppose they figure there is Tiger Woods, but they really don't get that it still isn't a normal name. I can't take it seriously. And then I met one named Cougar. No no no!
I've met a guy called Ariel. All I could think of was Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'.
I met a girl who picked the name "Hello Beef". Her reason? She like Hello Kitty and she liked Beef. Too weird.
Frances
June 15, 2010 4:43 am
I wonder whether the guy who was asking about the English name "Seven" was thinking of "Steven" (definitely a man's name) or of Star Trek's "Seven of Nine" (definitely a woman, and she went by Seven for short).
If I had a student who had picked a name like "Kinki" or "Enjoy" I would have a really hard time trying to figure out a culturally tactful way to explain that those names sound like strippers' pseudonyms and absolutely should be changed if they plan to associate with English speakers in any capacity that doesn't involve taking their clothes off. In keeping with Jenny's recent post about not discussing sexual matters, I'm never sure what to say to a Chinese person when those issues become important that will stay on the safe side of the line of propriety.
Tools Freak
August 20, 2010 5:43 am
Wow that is an very informative article . I like your blog. Maybe you should write more articles of these type. By the way, sorry for my bad english
Jack
August 28, 2010 11:22 pm
Hi Jenny, you are very right. My chinese colleagues gave themselves names like Sword !! Looks like the cultural awareness is absent"¦..
.....Franch....
October 3, 2010 2:06 am
Is it weird if i chose "Franch"to be my English name??
Earle Isacs
October 11, 2010 7:29 pm
I dont usually comment on blogs but i have to tell you well done
Ema Nymton
October 19, 2010 5:14 am
Well "¦ I really think people who are picking names in a foreign language should really know something about that language. I have a 3-year-old nephew, who has an English name of "Jackal". It might sound catchy, but I don't think his parents wanted to name their son after a hyena derivative. When I pointed that out, like any good uncle would do, they ended up accusing me for calling their son a dog!
Another incident. Some really hot blond chick was walking down the street. She's got one of those Chinese tats on her back. I think she wanted to say "Taurus" but from the translation, it meant "I am a cow." I am sure she would have changed her mind about the tat if she got expert help, and I am sure she would have been a little more sensible than accusing someone of calling her a cow.
Ruth English
November 22, 2010 12:17 am
I find that Chinese people laugh at my name because it says what I am maybe. By the way what do Chinese people like that is English and could be exported?
Chris Hagen
April 6, 2011 7:14 pm
I think it is an incredible show of individuality for Chinese to take different English names or foreigners to take funny Chinese ones. It is refreshing, I hope it never stops. I know a guy named "Debt," "¦ I tried to get him to change it, he refused, "¦ good on him.
In a country that individuality has been suppressed for so long, encourage it when you can.
Jake
May 27, 2011 11:01 pm
Names of some people that I have met at work in Hong Kong:
Credy, Rainbow, Garlic, Jenniful, Apple, Friendly, Honky, Kennis, Cannie, Horna, Cream
Rudy
July 23, 2011 10:59 am
ive been in china for over 3 years now and my given name is Rudy. For my business i had to choose a chinese name and my friend suggested LuDi = 鲁迪。 what do you think about this name? i often get moderate laughs when they see my chinese name and they start repeating it a couple of times"¦
Jenny Zhu
July 25, 2011 12:02 pm
I think you have a great Chinese name! The two characters have very clean, steady and elegant connotations.Maybe that's why Chinese are amused by it because it sounds like an authentic Chinese name.
Jenny Zhu
July 25, 2011 12:03 pm
Garlic!!!
Ya Zhuo
August 29, 2011 12:52 am
Hi Jenny! im going to the US to study for a year as an exchange student and I wonder if i should pick another English name for myself because my current English name is Yolanda. it sounds like an South American name or Spanish one, not that commen in America.
Also, it seems that my original Chinese name is not that difficult to pronounce–卓娅(Ya Zhuo), but i still wonder if people wil be able to pronounce 卓(it seems like "draw" haha!)
and"¦ what do you guys think of the names Mia and Stevie ? Which do u think suits me more?
Jenny Zhu
August 29, 2011 10:41 am
2 things jump out of me:
1. Yolanda is really nice! It's very authentic if you know what I mean.
2. If you wanted to change your name, maybe "Zoe"? It sounds a bit like 卓娅.
But I am not a native ENglish speaker either. Let's see what others say. All the best in your exchange year!
Darcey
September 5, 2011 4:54 pm
I was given a handful of Chinese names over my "studying career", but I'll always be partial to the first one I got: å­” 丽萍 。 I've had variants that are closer to my English name, but"¦ Li Ping was always my first, and is what I prefer to use.
Ya Zhuo – I know someone whose name is Zou Fuying (not sure what characters she uses) and she goes by "Zoey" rather than a variation of her 'first name'. You could go for something like Zoey/Zoe (same pronunciation), or you could look at something that starts with a "Ya" sound. Or just pick something you _like_!
themethodman
October 14, 2011 2:09 pm
My chinese teacher gave me the name "夏恩龙".
Anne
January 6, 2012 12:17 am
As for me, I come from Montreal in Canada, one of the very few french-speaking cities in America. Therefore, chinese people must find a francophone name and they do. I noticed that, on the contrary of english names, they do not try to find a name with a meaning but only go with the nice sonority of a name. But they often end up with old unfashionable names. I've known a Gloria, a Yvonne and even a Jacques which could easily be my grandparents names It makes us laugh a bit but they seem so proud of their name !"¦ Well, maybe my chinese name, An1 Fei1 Li4 is old and funny-sounding too for all I know hehe

 

[Tianshan]

You are a rare one!

i guess hu jintao, wen jiabao, xi jinping, li keqiang and bo xilai are also quite rare.

or when we have high-level military meetings between liang guanglie and ak antony.

 

[Ray]

i guess hu jintao, wen jiabao, xi jinping, li keqiang and bo xilai are also quite rare.

or when we have high-level military meetings between liang guanglie and ak antony.

Must be.

Indeed, if they can keep their Chinese name, just as Mao Tse Dong did, I don't understand the fetish of the majority of Chinese to have English names.

liang guanglie? Does he have a Bengali connection? Bengalis have the surname Ganguli!

 

[Ray]

it's quite rude, so i'll give a link.

shabi | Definition | Mandarin Chinese Pinyin English Dictionary | Yabla Chinese

'

傻逼

So this chap is a stupid C?

At least he is proud of his Chinese name!

 

[nimo_cn]

Must be.

Indeed, if they can keep their Chinese name, just as Mao Tse Dong did, I don't understand the fetish of the majority of Chinese to have English names.

liang guanglie? Does he have a Bengali connection? Bengalis have the surname Ganguli!

The majority of Chinese to have English names, that is new to me.

Sent from Huawei Ascend T8830

 

[Ray]

The majority of Chinese to have English names, that is new to me.

Sent from Huawei Ascend T8830

You must Google to learn that it is so.

I hope Google is now allowed in China.

Pallavi Aiyar, who was teaching English in China, at the Beijing Broadcasting Institute, in her book 'Smoke and Mirrors An Experience of China ', mentions of the Chinese craze for English sounding names.

Here is the review of her book.

Smoke and Mirrors An Experience of China By Pallavi Aiyar 288 pages, 395 rupees, HarperCollins India

Pallavi Aiyar gets all of four pages into her memoir about moving from one Asian superpower to another before the term "Chindia" inevitably pops up.

"Smoke and Mirrors" is a smart, insightful book about modern China - the likes of which seem to come out every month. What sets Aiyar's work apart is that it is not written by an academic or expert, nor is it told from either a Western or Chinese viewpoint.

Aiyar begins her tale as a young Indian woman who takes a job teaching English in China to be with her boyfriend, unwittingly joining the crowds of businesspeople, yoga teachers and restaurateurs from the subcontinent heading in the same direction.

She arrives in Beijing knowing little of Chinese politics, culture or language aside from the stereotypes. Because of this - and because she is not above self-deprecating humor - she puts a new and very human spin on the issue of China's runaway development.

Her first encounter is with her students, who are learning journalism in a country where there is little freedom in that field. It is a big difference from India's messy, but freewheeling, critical media. She is surprised by the earnestness with which her ambitious, diligent, multilingual charges repeat the government line and mistake it for their own free thought. "To be in a university with some of the brightest minds of a country and to detect virtually zero anti-establishment feeling is a deadening feeling," she writes.

Aiyar does not consult or quote media experts; she tells us more by hanging out with her students. She describes a world of only-children, who only see the great material wealth that they have, and their parents did not. The "rights" they care about are those that allow them to dress how they want, date whom they want, get plastic surgery if they want, and buy a new apartment and car - never mind the problems beneath the surface. Aiyar pushes them on controversial topics, only to realize that none knew that the Dalai Lama had won a Nobel Peace Prize.

The author does not make the common assumption that access to international media itself will be enough to open the minds of Chinese youths. Nor does she see a nation clamoring for the democracy the rest of the world thinks it wants. In fact, it is the educated middle class who fear - if a popular vote is indeed given to the vast disgruntled rural poor - that they may lose some of the trappings of their nouveau riche lifestyles.

In one of several telling personal tales, Aiyar describes shopping with a young student when they see a beggar. While Aiyar looks for change, "Grace" angrily whacks the old woman in the face with her purse. She is not disturbed or ashamed that such poverty exists in her country, only that a foreigner had the misfortune to see it. In China, the poor are kept out of sight, largely by a system of residency permits that restricts emigration into the cities. In India, beggars are all over the place. One system is more honest; but the other looks a lot better.

"Smoke and Mirrors" was written before Tibet-related riots and protests earlier this year, but it is obvious from Aiyar's report that it was a conflict waiting to happen. Her best writing is from this region, as it is here that her Indian perspective is best utilized.

In the rest of China, Aiyar was regarded simply as an exotic oddity; in Tibet, she was followed and revered, particularly once it became know than she had met the Dalai Lama. In the rest of China, when people spoke to her of Indian movies, they meant the Bollywood type; in Tibet, they meant bootlegged videos from Dharamsala.

Tibet may be the greatest point of contention between the two nations comprising "Chindia" and it might be where the contrasts between the two are the greatest. Aiyar does away with the largely Western belief that the two giant Asian nations must somehow understand each other or even be similar.

On the Chinese side of the border, there are new highways and trains that run on time; on the India side, there is nothing but "potholed chaos." But in India, there is real political and linguistic freedom. In China, one can be jailed for stating an unpopular opinion. China prides itself on the uniformity of its single language and secular society. India holds its myriad tongues, beliefs and minorities to be a model of multiculturalism.

India has deeply rooted religions that infiltrate every aspect of life. In China, the spiritualism is shallow; even a senior Shaolin abbot has renamed himself the temple's CEO.

Both the West and China have their own set of rules on political correctness, and Aiyar throws all of it out the window. She is frank when she says the Chinese look down on the "rat and monkey worshipping society" of India, while the Indians regard the rapid growth of their "atheist" and frightening pragmatic neighbors with no small sense of apprehension.

In 2002, Aiyar worked in a neighborhood where peasants lived in shacks and sold cabbages on the roadside. By 2007, that area had a Toyota showroom and a cocktail bar. She, too, had changed from a teacher to a China correspondent for an Indian newspaper.

Aiyar might not have found the "Chindia" that theorists talk about; but she has discovered a way of bridging her native and adopted homes. As someone well acquainted with the problems of Asian development, she easily sees past the smoke and mirrors of China's shiny new metropolises.

 

[Singh]

The majority of Chinese to have English names, that is new to me.

Sent from Huawei Ascend T8830

 

[Ray]

Also:

Coming Distractions: Chinese Whiskers
November 30, 2010 in Books, Interview by mcunningham
By Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Pallavi Aiyar's 2008 memoir, Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China, details the six years she spent living in Beijing, first teaching English and then becoming a reporter for The Hindu. Now stationed in Brussels with the Business Standard, Aiyar's articles tend to focus on topics such as Belgium's cultural conflicts and the uneven parallels drawn between India and China. For this reason, I was quite surprised to learn that Aiyar's second book, to be released by Harper Collins India in early 2011, is a story of Beijing narrated by two cats: Tofu and Soyabean, the protagonists of Chinese Whiskers, share the story of their hutong life amidst the backdrop of the SARS epidemic and pre-Olympic construction. In a concise and gripping tale, Aiyar conveys the chaotic and ever-changing landscape of Beijing in the early 2000s as experienced by some of the city's most vulnerable residents, both human and feline. Eager to learn more about this unusual book, I posed a few questions to Aiyar via e-mail:

MEC: How did you come to write a book that views Beijing from a cats'-eye perspective?

PA: I spent five years living in Beijing's hutongs. These were neighbourhoods that reflected many of the tensions generated by the intersection of China's almost remorseless embrace of modernity with persisting forms of a more traditional, communal way of life.

Animals were an intrinsic part of the hutongscape. At twilight you could sometimes spot the elongated silhouette of huang shu lang (黄鼠狼 the yellow weasel), the Beijing equivalent of the city fox, tip toeing across the roofs of courtyard houses sniffing for prey. Regardless of the season old men in patched up Mao suits would sit around corner stores on low stools, their caged song birds proudly on display next to them.

And then there were the dogs. The hutongs were disproportionately peopled with retirees and their pet dogs; the ever dwindling younger generation having taken off for swankier addresses. The aural backdrop to life in these alleyways was therefore punctuated by the yapping of Pekinese dogs who were as pampered and loved by their elderly owners as a favoured grandchild.

This was an environment where people and animals lived cheek to jowl, the cramped spaces of the living quarters forcing everyone out on the street.

In my previous book, Smoke and Mirrors, I wrote extensively about my life in the hutongs and this was one aspect of the book that people across the world, be it in India, China or the US, seemed fascinated by. It seemed natural therefore to situate my novel in this geography and the cats just seemed an intuitive and interesting way to gain entry into this world.

Especially since in 2006 my husband and I adopted two kittens ourselves and through that process became acquainted with a whole new side to Chinese society. We came to meet dedicated cat protection activists, disillusioned veterinarians and wise grandmothers, some of whom ended up as characters in the novel.

That said, I'm also a hopeless anthropomorphiser and have always loved books with animals as principle characters.

MEC: Your website calls Chinese Whiskers "a modern fable." What do you mean by this? Have you read other works that fit into this genre?

PA: A fable is usually defined as a traditional morality tale which uses animal stories to teach a moral. At heart Chinese Whiskers is a fable. Through the eyes of Tofu and Soyabean we are warned of the corruption that can result from a society experiencing fast paced change, where long-established moorings are coming undone, leaving people without a moral compass.

But although it's a fable, it's in an updated form, set in a modern-day context. Beijing in the early 2000s was a time that witnessed a frenetic recasting of the city's topography and also placed strenuous demands on people to come to grips with new ideas and realities. Hence I call it a "modern fable."

In the current context, anthropomorphic works tend to be considered unfashionable and commercially unviable by the publishing world. I was extraordinarily lucky in having my story accepted. But that means I haven't come across other works that fit this genre of late which makes Chinese Whiskers quite a unique attempt.

MEC: In what way is Chinese Whiskers a follow-up to Smoke and Mirrors? In your view, how do the two books fit together?

PA: On the surface the two books are very different. Smoke and Mirrors was a work of non-fiction that blended reportage and memoir to tease out the divergent implications of the choices the modern Chinese and Indian states have made. It was received with some enthusiasm by China watchers, geo-strategic analysts, diplomats, journalists and the general reader with an interest in international relations.

Chinese Whiskers, on the other hand, is a novel with cats in it. Many of those who enjoyed Smoke and Mirrors don't know what to make of this, when I tell them. Cats are not serious. Cats don't make for analytic insight.

To begin with I beg to differ vis-a-vis the imputed lack of seriousness of cats. But the larger point for me is that there is in fact a logical continuity between Smoke and Mirrors and Chinese Whiskers. Several chapters in the former sought to evoke the rhythm and texture of life in Beijing at a particular moment. Themes that came up in Smoke and Mirrors included those of a sense of moral anomie in the wake of fierce materialism, corruption, the role physical architecture plays in moulding social relations. These are all themes and issues that Chinese Whiskers addresses. But I think its appeal is wider than that of Smoke and Mirrors. It is intended for people who may be more interested in cats than China to begin with, but hopefully might end up being drawn to learn more about a country and culture they once knew little of. It also works for a broader age group, including younger readers. And hopefully it will be an entertaining diversion for the more "serious" China watchers as well.

MEC: It's become fairly common for Western reporters to write stories about the growing importance of pets as status symbols for upwardly mobile Chinese, but most of those articles focus only on dogs (here's a recent example from the New York Times). How are attitudes about cat ownership different?

PA: I think despite the surge in popularity of dogs as pets, there is a fairly mainstream attitude in China that persists in seeing them as social pests. The (mistaken) idea that large dogs are aggressive and prone to attack people lies behind the rule in most big cities that specifies the size and breed of dog that one can own. They are also seen as a source of rabies and stories of anti-dog mob rampages resulting in the massacre of animals sporadically emerge.

Cats on the other hand, with the exception of the SARS epidemic, are not seen as a public health menace and there is greater tolerance of them. Their ownership is not restricted in number and there is no cat license fee, unlike for dogs. At the same time they are not seen as a prestigious accoutrement in the manner in which some middle class people look at expensive breeds of dogs.

In the hutongs if they are kept as pets it's for utilitarian reasons; for catching rats rather than as is common with small dogs, as child substitutes.

At the same time there is a sub culture of cat protection societies which are fiercely committed to feline rights and working with stray animals to house and sterilize them. There is no exact equivalent for dogs since stray dogs are so much rarer in an urban context.

Differences apart, both cats and dogs share a similar and uncomfortable middle ground in China, somewhere between pet and food. While dogs are eaten in the north as a warming meal in the winter, cats are consumed quite commonly in southern China.

MEC: How did your own cats react to the move from Beijing to Brussels, and do you see that experience leading to a sequel to Chinese Whiskers?

PA: Our cats have taken to non-hutong life in Brussels' stately maison de maître, as though they were born to a life of cheese and chocolates. I suppose I can envisage a sequel titled from "From Dustbin to Diplomats" detailing the transformation in their fortunes. On the other hand, life in Brussels lacks the elemental drama of hutong existence and Belgium as a whole just doesn't compare as a setting to China at the time of SARS and the Olympics. But who knows? Intrigue in the corridors of the European Commission might just lend itself to a sequel.

 

[cir]

Pls refrain from comparing China's economy with India's, for there is no comparison between the two. The two are on completely different planes.

 

[Ray]

Pls refrain from comparing China's economy with India's, for there is no comparison between the two. The two are on completely different planes.

Refrain?

Why is that a diktat?

But yes they are on two different plane. One is dictate oriented and the other is semi Laissez-faire!

 

[Rage]

The loosening of FDI-retail restrictions [and the associated necessary investment in rural India] is sure to rebalance the equation in our favor. This is the era when India witnesses the growth of Wal mart chains, Tesco stores, [food and other] commodity manufacturing hubs and transport and other back-end infrastructure. It will simultaneously move both up and down the value chain.

 

[Ray]

The loosening of FDI-retail restrictions [and the associated necessary investment in rural India] is sure to rebalance the equation in our favor. This is the era when India witnesses the growth of Wal mart chains, Tesco stores, [food and other] commodity manufacturing hubs and transport and other back-end infrastructure. It will simultaneously move both up and down the value chain.

The Jury is still out.

It may have become a Bill, but then the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Walmart is banned in some US cities and so let us watch and see how it operates here.

To be frank, I like the old chips which we got in cinema halls in the yesteryears than the nitrogen charged and preserved Lay.

US is encouraging Farmers Markets over branded products!

 

[redragon]

why post this "news" when chinese members knew it and said thousands time in this forum, wasting time

 

[nimo_cn]

You must Google to learn that it is so.

I hope Google is now allowed in China.

Pallavi Aiyar, who was teaching English in China, at the Beijing Broadcasting Institute, in her book 'Smoke and Mirrors An Experience of China ', mentions of the Chinese craze for English sounding names.

Here is the review of her book.

Smoke and Mirrors An Experience of China By Pallavi Aiyar 288 pages, 395 rupees, HarperCollins India

Pallavi Aiyar gets all of four pages into her memoir about moving from one Asian superpower to another before the term "Chindia" inevitably pops up.

"Smoke and Mirrors" is a smart, insightful book about modern China - the likes of which seem to come out every month. What sets Aiyar's work apart is that it is not written by an academic or expert, nor is it told from either a Western or Chinese viewpoint.

Aiyar begins her tale as a young Indian woman who takes a job teaching English in China to be with her boyfriend, unwittingly joining the crowds of businesspeople, yoga teachers and restaurateurs from the subcontinent heading in the same direction.

She arrives in Beijing knowing little of Chinese politics, culture or language aside from the stereotypes. Because of this - and because she is not above self-deprecating humor - she puts a new and very human spin on the issue of China's runaway development.

Her first encounter is with her students, who are learning journalism in a country where there is little freedom in that field. It is a big difference from India's messy, but freewheeling, critical media. She is surprised by the earnestness with which her ambitious, diligent, multilingual charges repeat the government line and mistake it for their own free thought. "To be in a university with some of the brightest minds of a country and to detect virtually zero anti-establishment feeling is a deadening feeling," she writes.

Aiyar does not consult or quote media experts; she tells us more by hanging out with her students. She describes a world of only-children, who only see the great material wealth that they have, and their parents did not. The "rights" they care about are those that allow them to dress how they want, date whom they want, get plastic surgery if they want, and buy a new apartment and car - never mind the problems beneath the surface. Aiyar pushes them on controversial topics, only to realize that none knew that the Dalai Lama had won a Nobel Peace Prize.

The author does not make the common assumption that access to international media itself will be enough to open the minds of Chinese youths. Nor does she see a nation clamoring for the democracy the rest of the world thinks it wants. In fact, it is the educated middle class who fear - if a popular vote is indeed given to the vast disgruntled rural poor - that they may lose some of the trappings of their nouveau riche lifestyles.

In one of several telling personal tales, Aiyar describes shopping with a young student when they see a beggar. While Aiyar looks for change, "Grace" angrily whacks the old woman in the face with her purse. She is not disturbed or ashamed that such poverty exists in her country, only that a foreigner had the misfortune to see it. In China, the poor are kept out of sight, largely by a system of residency permits that restricts emigration into the cities. In India, beggars are all over the place. One system is more honest; but the other looks a lot better.

"Smoke and Mirrors" was written before Tibet-related riots and protests earlier this year, but it is obvious from Aiyar's report that it was a conflict waiting to happen. Her best writing is from this region, as it is here that her Indian perspective is best utilized.

In the rest of China, Aiyar was regarded simply as an exotic oddity; in Tibet, she was followed and revered, particularly once it became know than she had met the Dalai Lama. In the rest of China, when people spoke to her of Indian movies, they meant the Bollywood type; in Tibet, they meant bootlegged videos from Dharamsala.

Tibet may be the greatest point of contention between the two nations comprising "Chindia" and it might be where the contrasts between the two are the greatest. Aiyar does away with the largely Western belief that the two giant Asian nations must somehow understand each other or even be similar.

On the Chinese side of the border, there are new highways and trains that run on time; on the India side, there is nothing but "potholed chaos." But in India, there is real political and linguistic freedom. In China, one can be jailed for stating an unpopular opinion. China prides itself on the uniformity of its single language and secular society. India holds its myriad tongues, beliefs and minorities to be a model of multiculturalism.

India has deeply rooted religions that infiltrate every aspect of life. In China, the spiritualism is shallow; even a senior Shaolin abbot has renamed himself the temple's CEO.

Both the West and China have their own set of rules on political correctness, and Aiyar throws all of it out the window. She is frank when she says the Chinese look down on the "rat and monkey worshipping society" of India, while the Indians regard the rapid growth of their "atheist" and frightening pragmatic neighbors with no small sense of apprehension.

In 2002, Aiyar worked in a neighborhood where peasants lived in shacks and sold cabbages on the roadside. By 2007, that area had a Toyota showroom and a cocktail bar. She, too, had changed from a teacher to a China correspondent for an Indian newspaper.

Aiyar might not have found the "Chindia" that theorists talk about; but she has discovered a way of bridging her native and adopted homes. As someone well acquainted with the problems of Asian development, she easily sees past the smoke and mirrors of China's shiny new metropolises.

Many Chinese people to have English names doesn't mean the majority of Chinese to have English names..

Please define "majority of Chinese", there are over 1.3 billion Chinese people now, how many Chinese could be counted as the majority?

It is safe to say the majority of Indians from the rural areas defecate in the open air because the statistics supports that claim.
67% in rural India defecate in open - Indian Express

Please understand that I am not trying to deflect the topics by bringing up the open defecation in India, I am merely explaining what majority really is. So please focus on the topic of "the majority of Chinese to have English names", and prove it that over half Chinese people are having English names.

 

[Snuggy321]

Congrats to China. China has the luxury that it can introduce any kind of change swiftly without much fuss around it. India is the exact opposite., furthermore we currently lack strong leaders in all parties.
But this is the price of democracy. Everything will be slower here.

 

[Ray]

Many Chinese people to have English names doesn't mean the majority of Chinese to have English names..

Please define "majority of Chinese", there are over 1.3 billion Chinese people now, how many Chinese could be counted as the majority?

It is safe to say the majority of Indians from the rural areas defecate in the open air because the statistics supports that claim.
67% in rural India defecate in open - Indian Express

Please understand that I am not trying to deflect the topics by bringing up the open defecation in India, I am merely explaining what majority really is. So please focus on the topic of "the majority of Chinese to have English names", and prove it that over half Chinese people are having English names.

I agree the word 'majority' requires qualification.

Majority as I mentioned meant the Chinese wannabes who want to be acceptable to the world society, more so, to the US and the West, and not the real Chinese who are the peasants and workers.

The peasants and workers have no time to waste because they are busy living their lives without any false dream generated by stash of money earned through legal and illegal means.

 

[Ray]

How to Say: Chinese leaders' names
18:00 UK time, Thursday, 15 November 2012
An occasional guide to the words and names in the news from Jo Kim of the BBC Pronunciation Unit.

The 18th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China has drawn to a close and China has appointed a new generation of leaders. The new Politburo Standing Committee, which is made up of the top leadership of the Communist Party, was led to the stage by newly appointed CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping as the final showpiece.

Here are our recommendations for pronouncing the names of the Standing Committee members. Unlike English names, Chinese names do not appear in the Western order, i.e. given name first. Chinese names, like Korean, Vietnamese and Hungarian names, appear family-name first in the original language. Stressed syllables are shown in upper case, -uh as 'a' in sofa.

Xi Jinping: SHEE jin PING (-sh as in ship, -j as in Jack, -i as in sit, -ng as in sing)
Li Keqiang: LEE kuh chee-AANG (-ee as in street, -aa as in father, -ch as in church, -ng as in sing)
Zhang Dejiang: JAANG duh jee-AANG (-j as in Jack, -aa as in father, -ng as in sing)
Zhang Gaoli: JAANG gow LEE (-j as in Jack, -aa as in father, -ng as in sing, -ow as in now)
Wang Qishan: WAANG chee SHAN (-aa as in father, -ng as in sing -ch as in church)
Liu Yunshan: LYOH yuen SHAN (-ly as in million, -oh as in no, -ue as in French vu)
Yu Zhengsheng: YUE jung SHUNG (-ue as in French vu, -j as in Jack, -u as in bun, -ng as in sing)

The Pronunciation Unit's advice is anglicised so that any word, name or phrase, in any language, is pronounceable by broadcasters and intelligible to audiences. Some of our previous blog posts have discussed why Mandarin Chinese presents challenges in the process of anglicisation. Not only does Mandarin Chinese have a number of vowels and consonants that do not exist in English and have no obvious equivalent but it is also a tone language. Mandarin Chinese has four tones - high level, high rising, fall-rise, falling (and a fifth null-tone) - which are vital, just like vowels and consonants, to differentiating meaning.

Many readers will know the famous example of the four 'ma's: depending on the tone, this syllable can mean "mother", "hemp", "horse" or "to scold". English is not a tone language and English broadcasters are not expected to recognise, much less reproduce, this level of phonetic detail in Chinese, or indeed, in all the world's languages, which is why in the Pronunciation Unit's systematic way of anglicising Chinese syllables, we do not reflect tones.

The mismatch between the English and Mandarin Chinese systems also presents difficulties for Chinese speakers trying to pronounce English words and names. Mandarin Chinese does not have the vowel which appears in the English word cup and London written in Simplified Chinese as 伦敦, is pronounced by Mandarin speakers as luun duun (-uu as in book) with a rising tone on the first syllable and a high level tone on the second syllable.

I should add here that while English isn't a tone language and that's why many native English speakers find it so hard to learn tone languages, English speakers do sometimes use tone and pitch in words to differentiate meaning, although not in the same way as Mandarin Chinese uses lexical tone.

Let us imagine two British people trying to walk through a narrow doorway from either side. One person says a perfunctory "sorry!" but so quietly that the other doesn't quite hear her. "Sorry?" the second woman asks. "Sorry!" says the first woman, earnestly apologising for not speaking loudly enough. If you are a native British English speaker, you might have found yourself saying all these different sorries on any given day, sorries that have a pitch rise as a question, sorries that are apologies and have a big pitch fall.

Hanyu Pinyin, the official transliteration system of Mandarin Chinese in the People's Republic of China, may also present confusion (and, in my particular case, a certain amount of despair in the first week of learning Pinyin) for people unfamiliar with the system because of the seeming discrepancy between spelling and pronunciation: the grapheme 'i' represents the sounds -ee (as in street), as in Pinyin 'xi', -uh (as 'a' in ago), as in Pinyin 'shi' and -i (as in pin), as in Pinyin 'jin'.

However, Hanyu Pinyin's relationship between spelling and pronunciation is not as random as it seems because it is actually syllable-based; the syllable xi is always pronounced shee (-sh as in ship, -ee as in meet), whether in Xí Jìnpíng or móxī (the Chinese name for Moses). Compared with the wide variation one finds for the English syllable she in the words shed, she, fishes and masher, pronouncing Pinyin can suddenly seem much more pleasingly systematic and straightforward.

You can download the BBC Pronunciation Unit's guide to text spelling.

BBC - Magazine Monitor: How to Say: Chinese leaders' names

***************************

OT in service of the public!

 

[VatsaOfBhrigus]

China is an old civilization unlike pakistan, and as a result they are good. India is a old civilization, hence its good, there are some external elements present here that make us slow, but they will go away with time.

 

[no smoking]

How to Say: Chinese leaders' names
18:00 UK time, Thursday, 15 November 2012
An occasional guide to the words and names in the news from Jo Kim of the BBC Pronunciation Unit.

The 18th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China has drawn to a close and China has appointed a new generation of leaders. The new Politburo Standing Committee, which is made up of the top leadership of the Communist Party, was led to the stage by newly appointed CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping as the final showpiece.

Here are our recommendations for pronouncing the names of the Standing Committee members. Unlike English names, Chinese names do not appear in the Western order, i.e. given name first. Chinese names, like Korean, Vietnamese and Hungarian names, appear family-name first in the original language. Stressed syllables are shown in upper case, -uh as 'a' in sofa.

Xi Jinping: SHEE jin PING (-sh as in ship, -j as in Jack, -i as in sit, -ng as in sing)
Li Keqiang: LEE kuh chee-AANG (-ee as in street, -aa as in father, -ch as in church, -ng as in sing)
Zhang Dejiang: JAANG duh jee-AANG (-j as in Jack, -aa as in father, -ng as in sing)
Zhang Gaoli: JAANG gow LEE (-j as in Jack, -aa as in father, -ng as in sing, -ow as in now)
Wang Qishan: WAANG chee SHAN (-aa as in father, -ng as in sing -ch as in church)
Liu Yunshan: LYOH yuen SHAN (-ly as in million, -oh as in no, -ue as in French vu)
Yu Zhengsheng: YUE jung SHUNG (-ue as in French vu, -j as in Jack, -u as in bun, -ng as in sing)

The Pronunciation Unit's advice is anglicised so that any word, name or phrase, in any language, is pronounceable by broadcasters and intelligible to audiences. Some of our previous blog posts have discussed why Mandarin Chinese presents challenges in the process of anglicisation. Not only does Mandarin Chinese have a number of vowels and consonants that do not exist in English and have no obvious equivalent but it is also a tone language. Mandarin Chinese has four tones - high level, high rising, fall-rise, falling (and a fifth null-tone) - which are vital, just like vowels and consonants, to differentiating meaning.

Many readers will know the famous example of the four 'ma's: depending on the tone, this syllable can mean "mother", "hemp", "horse" or "to scold". English is not a tone language and English broadcasters are not expected to recognise, much less reproduce, this level of phonetic detail in Chinese, or indeed, in all the world's languages, which is why in the Pronunciation Unit's systematic way of anglicising Chinese syllables, we do not reflect tones.

The mismatch between the English and Mandarin Chinese systems also presents difficulties for Chinese speakers trying to pronounce English words and names. Mandarin Chinese does not have the vowel which appears in the English word cup and London written in Simplified Chinese as 伦敦, is pronounced by Mandarin speakers as luun duun (-uu as in book) with a rising tone on the first syllable and a high level tone on the second syllable.

I should add here that while English isn't a tone language and that's why many native English speakers find it so hard to learn tone languages, English speakers do sometimes use tone and pitch in words to differentiate meaning, although not in the same way as Mandarin Chinese uses lexical tone.

Let us imagine two British people trying to walk through a narrow doorway from either side. One person says a perfunctory "sorry!" but so quietly that the other doesn't quite hear her. "Sorry?" the second woman asks. "Sorry!" says the first woman, earnestly apologising for not speaking loudly enough. If you are a native British English speaker, you might have found yourself saying all these different sorries on any given day, sorries that have a pitch rise as a question, sorries that are apologies and have a big pitch fall.

Hanyu Pinyin, the official transliteration system of Mandarin Chinese in the People's Republic of China, may also present confusion (and, in my particular case, a certain amount of despair in the first week of learning Pinyin) for people unfamiliar with the system because of the seeming discrepancy between spelling and pronunciation: the grapheme 'i' represents the sounds -ee (as in street), as in Pinyin 'xi', -uh (as 'a' in ago), as in Pinyin 'shi' and -i (as in pin), as in Pinyin 'jin'.

However, Hanyu Pinyin's relationship between spelling and pronunciation is not as random as it seems because it is actually syllable-based; the syllable xi is always pronounced shee (-sh as in ship, -ee as in meet), whether in Xí Jìnpíng or móxī (the Chinese name for Moses). Compared with the wide variation one finds for the English syllable she in the words shed, she, fishes and masher, pronouncing Pinyin can suddenly seem much more pleasingly systematic and straightforward.

You can download the BBC Pronunciation Unit's guide to text spelling.

BBC - Magazine Monitor: How to Say: Chinese leaders' names

***************************

OT in service of the public!

After so long writing, this british gentleman just make a basic mistake: Hanyu Pinyin was created to help CHINESE to pronounce Chinese words as a part of the effort to eliminate illiteracy and promoting mandarin pronounciation after 1949. So, basically, todoay, it is a system to help Chinese kids to study. The people who invented it didn't think what it will do to an English man.

 

[Bhoja]

One of the major problems of India are the current politicians. I really hope that the lion of Gujarat will become the
next PM.