Naming Laws in China

It is also considered a bad form to name a child after a famous person, although tens of thousands have a common name such as « Liu Xiang ». [11] Similarly, due to traditional taboos in China, it is highly unusual to name a child directly after a parent, as such children would allow younger family members to use the personal names of older children. Ancestors can leave another type of trace: Chinese naming schemes often use a generational name. Each child recorded in the family books of each generation had an identical character in his name. Sixteen, thirty-two or more generations would be developed in advance to form a generational poem. For example, in 1737 for Mao Zedong`s family:[12] Zhao C (Chinese: 赵C; Pinyin: Zhào C) is a well-known example that has attracted a lot of media attention due to a bizarre case concerning a name change forced by the government due to name regulation.[8][9] As a result, the upper classes of traditional Chinese culture generally used a variety of names throughout their lives, and emperors and sanctified deceased had others as well. Although some terms from the ancient Chinese naming system, such as xìng (姓) and míng (名), are still used today, it was much more complex. Most Chinese follow Chinese naming conventions. However, there may be some differences between these practices among those operating in international or English-speaking contexts (see below). « General principles of civil law » Article 99 guarantees citizens the right to a name and the choice to appear on it. [1] The right to self-designation allows the surname, although of course on the paternal side, to be taken over by each parent if he or she so wishes (as in the case of a dispute between parents) in accordance with Article 22 of the « Marriage Act ».

Thus, the government does not interfere with the will of the person or his or her parents when choosing a surname if it comes from one of the parents. Citizens also have the right to choose their first names and pseudonyms, in which the government does not have the right to intervene. Traditionally, babies were named one hundred days after birth; Modern naming laws in the People`s Republic of China give parents one month before the baby has to be registered. [ref. At birth, parents often use a « milk name » (乳名, rǔmíng; 小名, xiǎomíng) – usually with diminutives such as xiǎo (小, lit. « small ») or double characters – before a formal name is determined, often in consultation with grandparents. The name milk can be dropped, but is often continued as a form of surname. A tradition sometimes associated with the name of milk is to choose an unpleasant name to ward off demons who want to harm the child. [20] The very strict Danish personal name law is in force to protect children from strange names that appeal to their parents. To do this, parents can choose from a list of just 7,000 pre-approved names, some for girls, others for boys.

If you want to give your child a name that is not on the list, you will need to get special permission from your local church, and the name will then be verified by government officials. Creative spellings of more common names are often rejected. The law states that girls and boys must have names that indicate their gender, they cannot use a surname as a first name, and unusual names can be rejected. Of the approximately 1,100 names reviewed each year, 15 to 20 per cent are rejected. There are also laws to protect rare Danish surnames. Since announcing its intention to comply with China`s internet censorship laws, Google China has been at the center of a controversy over what critics see as capitulation to « Project Golden Shield. » Due to self-imposed censorship, whenever people search for banned Chinese keywords on a blacklist held by the PRC government, google.cn displayed at the bottom of the page: In accordance with local laws, regulations, and guidelines, a portion of the search result will not be displayed. Some searches, such as (in June 2009) « Tank Man » were completely blocked, only the message « Search results may not comply with relevant laws, regulations and guidelines and cannot be displayed » was displayed. At least since the time of the Shang Dynasty, the Chinese have observed a number of name taboos that govern who can or cannot use a person`s first name (without being disrespectful). In general, the use of the first name signified the authority and superior position of the speaker over the addressee.

Peers and young parents were not allowed to speak it. For this reason, many Chinese historical figures, especially emperors, have used half a dozen or more different names in different contexts and for different speakers. Those who had names (sometimes even simple homophones) identical to those of the emperor were often forced to change them. The normalization of personal names after the May Fourth movement has generally eradicated pseudonyms such as school names and courtesy names, but traces of old taboos remain, especially within families. The Chinese, with the exception of those who travel or live outside of China, rarely reverse their names in the order of Western names (first name, then last name). Western publications usually keep the order of Chinese names, with the surname followed first and the first name. Beginning in the early 1980s, Western publications concerning the inhabitants of mainland China[23] began to use the Hanyu-Pinyin romanization system instead of earlier romanization systems; this resulted from the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and the People`s Republic of China in 1979. [24] Popular names often reflect the values of the time in which they were chosen. Today, in addition to naming traditions passed down from generation to generation, young parents seek a variety of sources of inspiration, from ancient literature to popular culture. This plan was in his fourteenth generation, when Mao rejected it for naming his own children, preferring to give his sons the generational name An (岸, lit. « Noble », « proud »). [ref.

A similar practice was observed in the stage names of Chinese opera artists: all students who entered a training academy in the same year took the same first character in their new « first name ». For example, Li Yuru adopted a name with the central character « jade » (玉) as part of the class that entered the National School of Dramatic Art in 1933. [13] Wang Daliang, a linguist at the Chinese Youth University for Political Science, said: « Using obscure names to avoid duplicate names or to be unique is not good. Now, many people are baffled by their names. The computer can`t even recognize them and people can`t read them. It has become a barrier to communication. [9] Zhou Youyong, the dean of the law faculty of Southeast University, argued that the ability to choose one`s children`s names is a fundamental right, so the PRC government should be cautious when enacting new name laws. [5] In Japan, a first and last name are chosen for babies, with the exception of the imperial family which receives only first names. Apart from a few examples, it is obvious what the first names and surnames are, regardless of the order in which the names were given. There are a few thousand « name kanji » and « commonly used characters » to name babies, and only these official kanji are allowed to be used in babies` names.

This is to ensure that all names can be easily read and written by the Japanese. The Japanese also restrict names that might be considered inappropriate. Here in the United States, you can tell your child almost anything, but that`s not the case everywhere in the world.