Chinese Personal Names Cover Image

Chińskie osobowe nazwy własne
Chinese Personal Names

Author(s): Dariusz Klejnowski-Różycki
Subject(s): Theology and Religion
Published by: Verbinum
Keywords: Sinology; Chinese names; personal names; proper nouns; Chinese theology; Monumenta Serica

Summary/Abstract: Creating names in Chinese is guided by rules different than in the West. The very category of a “name” and a “surname” is a kind of a carbon copy of the Western concept of personal names, applied to the Chinese. Both the formation of names (名字 míngzì) and surnames (姓氏 xìngshì) as well as nicknames (hào 号) has its own tradition. The Chinese use about 200 surnames and an infinite number of names. While creating personal names – the character image is an important element which carries the contents of defining a person called in a specific way, not only the phonetics. The “converting” of the European names into Chinese, using phonetics, can lead to a series of misunderstandings in meaning. The character image often communicates content related to the nature, sensitivity, desires and person’s personality. This has been shown on the example of Roman Malek (马雷凯 Mǎ Léikǎi) and Dariusz Klejnowski-Różycki (柯达 理 Kē Dálǐ).

  • Issue Year: 135/2014
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 74-86
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Polish