Rich and Handsome

Each year's crop of new students brings an assortment of interesting names. This year's toppers among my lot include children named Rich and Money. Recently, while reading over a communication from a parent, I was amused to discover the array of interesting monikers also extends to the fine folks at home. My favorite so far has been a father named Handsome.

I guess with a name of your choosing that can be easily changed with a say so, there's room to play and be whimful in the selection. In Chinese, however, the name game is serious business. In fact, it is a business. As I learned from 2 students in a recent lesson on the topic of naming a child, in Taiwan there are those whose job it is to select a name or list of possible names for a child. It's practically a science incorporating Gregorian, Lunar, and Chinese calendar systems. I barely understand the process so I'm not about to explain it, however, naming a child right is believed to set the tone for the child's future. I've even had students whose Chinese names have been changed in order to improve their prospects and give them a fresh start.

My naming was more like a hit and run than a science or an art. Part of becoming a foreign resident of Taiwan is taking on a Chinese name that legally represents you. Since this was done during my first few weeks in Taiwan among signing mounds of documents, I had little idea I was being assigned a name. It was selected by a staff member who left the school a few weeks after I began. Basically, she chose a 2 word name that sounds a bit like Kara: ka-la. It literally means "card" "pull" and together, has no real meaning, however, if pronounced in wrong tones, it's the name of a KFC chicken sandwich. Great, my name sounds like fast food, something both friends and students have discovered. I've since acquired a more meaningful Chinese name, however, the former is still technically mine.

During Taiwan: The Early Days, a friend and I asked a Taiwanese chum what some traditional Chinese names were for females. Since males were prized in a family, naming a daughter was of little consequence, and so their names had meanings such as "I guess I will feed you" and "the one who calls after the son." Fortunately, the outlook for females has since improved - at least in Taiwan. A Taiwanese pastor I heard earlier this year spoke on the meaning and weight of names. He was mainly speaking on how Christ changed Peter's name to Peter (Petros, meaning rock, a solid foundation) from Simon (meaning reed, easily bent by the wind). I suppose there are those who hold the idea that a name should not merely define who we are but shape us as well, and so, in some cultures, it's hoped that children will live up to the meaning of their name. The pastor gave another example of the weight of a name, this time from an experience in a hospital waiting area. When the nurse awkwardly called out the name of the next patient, the name translated was "vessel of chicken sh*t". Wow, what a name to give your son. Can't you just feel the love? If you thought your parents stuck you with an awful name, perhaps you're now beginning to reconsider.