Over the last 5 years I have acquired three separate Chinese names, and various interpretations of each, and am not entirely happy with any of them. It's quite difficult to choose a name that has the significance and meaning that you intend it to, and also one that sounds like an actual Chinese name and not some botch anglo-version. It's common to base your Chinese name on the sounds in your own name and this can be a good starting point, though it can also be a curse - Ben's name translates quite easily to Ji Ben, with one unfortunate possible translation of... 'stupid chicken'! Another friend's name, with one vowel sound slightly mispronounced, translated to 'Olympic Games', providing endless entertainment to taxi drivers in advance of the summer 2008 games in Beijing.
The comedy is frequently mirrored in Chinese people's choices of English names - for example, today there are many Enids, Gwynnies and Maudes - and it's always great to meet someone called Cherry, Dirk, or even better - Smile, who was my language partner in 2007. We discussed business English - but even at that stage in his English learning, he was completely unaware of the unsuitability of his name - unfortunately I did not have the heart to break it to him, and I've felt slightly guilty ever since...
Our guide in Tibet is called Sting - another classic name - and he is proving to be possibly the most interesting 26 year old I have ever met. As a young child, he escaped from Tibet with his mother to Dharamsala in Northern India, where he studied the teachings of the Dalai Llama. Twelve years later, he returned to Tibet, as his grandfather was unwell and needed him here. Without any Chinese registration permits, birth certificate or official documents of any kind (which is apparently quite common in rural China), he was classed as a political threat and spent six months in jail. After paying a large amount of money, he managed to acquire the necessary registration documents and has spent the last six or seven years working as a guide in Tibet. He is fiercely proud of his culture and the Tibetan people, and very knowledgeable. Sadly, the fact that he was a political prisoner means that he has a black stamp against his name in the government books, so will never be granted a passport, and will not see his mother again unless Tibet gains independence and she could return here, or he would be allowed to travel abroad.
