Rich in meaning. Rich in visual art form.
Chinese names intrigue me.
I’ve heard some beautiful ones that bring a tear to my eye. And, some very unbeautiful ones that bring a tear to my eye.
Orphans named for their special need–a name that means “blue mouth” for a child suffering from cyanosis due to a heart defect or “missing arm.” Or, perhaps worse, orphans named by some institution staff member for their orphan status alone–for example, a name that means “found with a note.”
As if living in an orphanage is not enough of a reminder of the loss, the child forever carries the stigma of being without a family through his or her name. In a culture where names can define you, they are forever defined as unwanted.
A 32 year-old Chinese woman born missing her hand was abandoned at a few days old in Datong City in Shanxi. She was given the name Dang Ye, meaning she was a ward of the state, cared for by the Party. Later adopted by a Chinese family, they added their surname but kept the name the orphanage gave her.
Even now, as a successful university lecturer, she regrets the name she carries and the story, her story, which is revealed through it.
A lot of people could not help digging up my past when they saw my name for the first time, and then they expressed sorrow or contempt, which made me really upset.
According to China Daily, China’s Ministry of Social Affairs is working so that this doesn’t happen anymore. By the end of this year, they aren’t going to allow political names indicating that the child is in the care of the Party. They aren’t going to allow names that tell the story of the child’s abandonment. And, I’m hoping they too won’t allow names describing a child’s special need.
Because the children in China without families are not defined by their losses. They are more than their losses. They are perfectly created, known by their maker, and not without hope. And, while most have to carry a name given by an orphanage worker rather than the man and woman who held them when they took their first breath, at least they will no longer have to carry a name that brings shame and forever labels them as rejected.
So heartbreaking that children would be named based on their “special need”. I’m so glad to read that they will no longer do so!
This breaks my heart!
We are still very early in the adoption process, so we are still learning a lot. I have struggled – already – with whether or not we should change our child’s name, especially if he or she is on the older end of the age range we have in mind. This definitely gives me more food for thought.
RLR if your child is older you might consider letting her choose or keep her Chinese name and give her a middle New family name There are lots of different ways to do this!
This is great news. We have a Shanxi boy and his first name was Dang which means communist. This is part of the ongoing stigmata orphans who are not adopted must carry with them.
RLR there are many ways to name your child. We gave all our 3 Chinese boys English first names, kept their personal names as a middle name (leaving off the “orphan” last name) and 2 little boys go by English names and older son was 8 at adoption still goes by his Chinese name.
He told me about a year after he was home his American name , Joseph sounds like a Chinese word for dumpling and he didn’t like the name. So now I call
Him my little dumpling!
We decided that we would combine our Chinese children’s first and middle names and keep that as a middle name and give them American first names. We noticed that Chinese Americans rarely went by their Chinese names and had adopted American names. The only exception for us would have been if the Chinese name had a negative meaning. In that case, I had already chosen a Chinese name with a positive to replace it.
Fortunately, both our kiddos had positive Chinese names, and because their names were the only thing they had from their birth culture that was truly theirs, we were grateful to keep them. However, Julia wants to change hers as she thinks it is embarrassing.
I am a Chinese adoptee. I was given a beautiful Chinese name. [name removed for security]。My parents named me [Western name] [2nd character of her Chinese name]. I always liked that I had such a unique middle name. I can’t tell you the number of friends I know who have the middle name Anne or Elizabeth. My Chinese name will always be a part of me, and I am quite happy that my parents decided to incorporate both American and Chinese elements in my name.