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Guide to Names
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
- Chapter
- Additional Information
xvi Yang Jiang Chinese names present some difficulty for Western readers. The surname comes before the given name. (We have made an exception in the case of Nina Shi, since she uses a Russiansounding given name.) Women keep their surnames after marriage, though the husband’s name may be used with “Mrs.” (but not her given name), as in the case of Mrs. Yao. Finally, the full name is regularly used in conversation or in referring to people, even when the speakers know each other well. When the given name consists of only one character (one syllable), that name is almost never used alone, even between husband and wife. We have altered this and allowed the young people to address each other by one-syllable given names, since the alternative would seem too strange to Western readers. The prefix “Ah” may be used with a single-syllable name, or one syllable of any name, in family or intimate circumstances. This is especially true in Southern China. The list below presents the major characters roughly in order of their appearance, with family groups kept together. Surnames are in bold type. Yu Nan : Magazine editor and professor in Shanghai. Wanying : His wife. We are not told her surname. Yu Zhao : Their daughter. Hu Yuegu, : Yu Nan’s girlfriend. “Miss Hu” Yao Jian : Scholar and head of the Institute for Research in National Culture, Beijing. Died 1945. Guide to Names Guide to names xvii Mrs. Yao : His wife. Yao Mi : Their daughter. Ma Renzhi : Yao Jian’s assistant, later Director of the Institute. Wang Zheng : Ma Renzhi’s wife. Ding Baogui : A scholar of classical Chinese literature. Xu Yancheng : A young scholar, recently returned from study in England. Du Lilin : Xu Yancheng’s wife. Her given name suggests the English name, Lilian. Little Li : Their four-year-old daughter. Old Mrs. Xu : Xu Yancheng’s mother. Zhu Qianli : An older scholar who lived for several years in France. Fu Jin : Assistant director, later director of the Institute. Jiang Taotao : His wife, a writer. Her given name recalls the Chinese phrase taotao bujue, or “to talk ceaselessly.” Nina Shi : Expert in Soviet literature, recently returned from the Soviet Union. Wang Bo : Her husband, an expert in classical and early modern Chinese literature. Fan Ertan : An administrator and Party official. The name suggests the Chinese phrase, fan fan er tan, meaning to speak in generalities or empty rhetoric. In the original, the name is Fan Fan. We have changed it to avoid difficulties for the non-Chinese speaking reader, who could confuse it with the name of the character Fang Fang. [3.236.55.137] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 19:48 GMT) xviii Guide to names Jiang Min : A young woman university graduate from Shanghai. Chen Shanbao : A young man recently demobilized from the People’s Liberation Army. The name has a peasant, or rustic sound. Luo Hou : A young man from a family related to the Yaos, and friendly with them. The name sounds like the word for “politically backward.” Fang Fang : A young woman who works in the library. ...