Monday October 31, 2005
Monday October 31, 2005 Updated on 10/31/05 for those of you whose browsers cannot read the Chinese characters below - here is a .jpg of the beautiful, traditional Chinese characters that comprise my Chinese name, ji wei xin:
When ordering new business cards a few months ago, I toyed with the idea of a chinese version. You've probably seen them before - Chinese characters on one side, standard English biz card fare on the other. I consulted with my former boss Sin-Yaw Wang about how to construct the Chinese side of the card, and he waved his hand aside brusquely and dismissed the idea as silly. His criticisms: "The standard practice is to translate the sound of your full name, only expressed in Chinese characters. You will basically hear your name in a weird way and the name has nothing to do with Chinese." And - "Those who receive your card will read English. Your phone, email, and address do not need to be translated. They also understand your title and company in English perfectly."
His advice: "Get a Chinese name. Now that will make an impression!" By making the effort to select a Chinese name - you're showing that you care about the Chinese culture. The suggestion took hold. I was born in Taipei, Taiwan and lived the first year of my life immersed in a decidedly Chinese culture. What a great idea. Sin-Yaw knows me fairly well, and I asked for his help to select my Chinese name. He said he was honored, and I do believe he meant it. With the help of Sin-Yaw, here it is. Thanks, Sin!
紀薇馨
ji wei xin
And here is Sin-Yaw's description of the name he chose for me:
"I like traditional Chinese better. They are more intense and sophisticated to me. In simplified Chinese, this name will be 纪薇馨, the form commonly accepted in PRC.
紀: (ji4) To document, to record. This is your family name. This is chosen mostly for the sound and is a relatively rare Chinese surname.
Two characters are in your given name:
薇 (wei) a flower very similar to rose. It also sounds and shapes like the word meaning subtleness or small in volume. The inspiration come from Claire that I am told is a kind of flower.
馨 (xin) the refreshing floral aroma. Combined, your name may means the floral scent of rose, or a subtle and refreshing aroma."
(2005-10-31 16:43:10.0) Permalink Comments [4]
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Your former boss's suggestion is indeed good, I also enjoy his blog.
And if I may add, the characters in your Chinese name are the same in both simplified and traditional Chinese, which is used in Taiwan, so you got a good name in zh_CN and zn_TW locales :D
Posted by Ivan Wang on October 28, 2005 at 01:24 AM PDT #
Posted by skrocki on November 01, 2005 at 03:26 PM PST #
Posted by nihao on November 12, 2005 at 04:00 PM PST #
Posted by vserson on December 02, 2005 at 06:10 PM PST #