Amusing Anecdotes of Name
The names of Chinese people are usually expressed as family name first and given name second. For example, a man called Zhang Wei has a family name of Zhang and a given name of Wei. Among closer acquaintances, the names of older people are usually prefixed with Lao…which literally means old. For instance, Lao Zhang means Old Zhang.
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Surnames of a Hundred Families(Bai Jia Xing)
The book,Surnames of a Hundred Families, which was popular inChina during the old days, was written more than 1,000 years ago during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). It recorded 438 surnames, of which 408 were single-syllable surnames and 30 were double-syllable surnames. The surnames are arranged in rhymed lines without repetitions.
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Main Sources of Early Chinese Surnames
Following the maternal line. The Chinese have had surnames long before the period of the Three Emperors and Five Kings (21st century BC), that is, during the time when recognition was given only to one's mother and not one's father.
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How Many Names in China?
The full name of a Han Chinese is composed of two parts: the surname and the given name, while the opposite of the arrangement of names is widely practiced in many other countries outsideAsia.
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Chinese Seal Art
Chinese seal art mainly refers to the carving of seals. Seal carving is an integration of calligraphy, composition and the handiwork of the engraver, and it is a unique part of Chinese culture.
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Introduction to Chinese Seals
Chinese seal engraving can be traced back to more than 3,000 years ago to the Shang Dynasty when the inscriptions on tortoise shells and bronze were available for recording happenings and ideas of human being.
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Chinese Seals
The role of seals in the Chinese culture can hardly be underestimated. For the last 3,000 years they have been used in both official and private spheres.
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