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Wheat Golden Farmer? A lesson in a new Chinese name
http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-china-names-20140111,5623601,4946258,full.story
Wheat Golden Farmer? A lesson in a new Chinese name
Our new correspondent in Beijing was excited about picking a Chinese name. Then she heard the choices.
By Julie Makinen
January 11, 2014, 7:00 a.m.
BEIJING — Ms. Wheat Golden Farmer. Was that really the new me?
When I was offered the chance to move to Beijing, I was excited about picking a Chinese name. After all, how often does one get to select a new identity?
<snip>
When I began my application for a press card, part of the process for receiving a working journalist visa, I found I had already been assigned a name. It was Mai Jinnong, a very loose adaptation of my Finnish surname, Makinen. The characters' meaning? "Wheat Golden Farmer."
<snip>
We filed the form with Ma ("Horse"
as my family name. For my given name, we settled on Zhu Li, meaning something like "Pearl Striving."
I felt like a dazed mother who goes into unexpected early labor and scribbles "Banana" on the birth certificate in the delivery room. As I recounted the episode to a Chinese friend, she frowned. "You should go see a fortuneteller," she said. "In China, parents often do this for new babies. Don't leave it to chance."
So in the shadow of Beijing's Lama Temple, I found the cramped office of Zhang Buyuan, a 75-year-old with a Confucius-style beard. Like Chuang, his services start at $50.
<snip>
Unlucky or not, I said, I'm sticking with Ms. Horse Pearl Striving. It's already on the form, and it's better than Banana or Wheat Golden Farmer.
<snip>
Wheat Golden Farmer? A lesson in a new Chinese name
Our new correspondent in Beijing was excited about picking a Chinese name. Then she heard the choices.
By Julie Makinen
January 11, 2014, 7:00 a.m.
BEIJING — Ms. Wheat Golden Farmer. Was that really the new me?
When I was offered the chance to move to Beijing, I was excited about picking a Chinese name. After all, how often does one get to select a new identity?
<snip>
When I began my application for a press card, part of the process for receiving a working journalist visa, I found I had already been assigned a name. It was Mai Jinnong, a very loose adaptation of my Finnish surname, Makinen. The characters' meaning? "Wheat Golden Farmer."
<snip>
We filed the form with Ma ("Horse"
as my family name. For my given name, we settled on Zhu Li, meaning something like "Pearl Striving."
I felt like a dazed mother who goes into unexpected early labor and scribbles "Banana" on the birth certificate in the delivery room. As I recounted the episode to a Chinese friend, she frowned. "You should go see a fortuneteller," she said. "In China, parents often do this for new babies. Don't leave it to chance."
So in the shadow of Beijing's Lama Temple, I found the cramped office of Zhang Buyuan, a 75-year-old with a Confucius-style beard. Like Chuang, his services start at $50.
<snip>
Unlucky or not, I said, I'm sticking with Ms. Horse Pearl Striving. It's already on the form, and it's better than Banana or Wheat Golden Farmer.
<snip>