Finding My Name @ Taiwanese Dream

Finding My Name

Posted on June 29th, 2009 asiaeast 20 comments
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Dan and Diane
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I needed a Chinese name. Diane and I had gotten married and I needed to sign a document in Chinese to register our household with the government of Taiwan.

For the first character, we started with “Bi” (白), because my family name is “White.” Wanting a simple name, one that could be easily written in Chinese, I suggested something like “Bi Yi Yi” (白一一). Diane laughed. Then I tried something a little more challenging, like “Bi Er Er” (白二二), which got our friends and family laughing, too. Next I considered “Bi Si Ke” (自行車), which means “bicycle” in Chinese. By now, everyone was laughing at me. Finally, someone came up with “Bi Shi Hong” (白士杭). It was the kind of name that sounded eastern. It sounded mystical and far away. And when I told it to my friends back home, they suddenly realized I’d become a part of a culture they knew little about.

I thought it was a foolproof name that no one could make fun of, but little did I know about the genius of children. When I went back to school the next semester, the kids quickly found out. They’d wait for me to enter the classroom, chanting, “Bi Shi Hong! Bi Shi Hong!” I felt a sense of pride as I stood before them. I took their enthusiasm as a good sign. Then, one day, a young girl named Emily approached me after class. “Shao Shao Hong!” (小小杭) she said with delight. I knew right away that it meant “Little Hong,” the kind of name one child might call another.

I resisted the urge to defend myself. I resisted the need to say something back. But at that very moment, something unexpected happened. A little light went on in the back of my mind. This foreign sounding name suddenly meant something to me – it was a name worth standing up for; it was my name. If the kids believed it was a name worth taunting, then it had to be a real name. That was the day I first began to understand the real meaning behind my Chinese name.
Chinese, Culture, Teaching
20 responses to “Finding My Name”
1. AnnaHopn July 3rd, 2009 at 05:48
  
  Hi, I have already seen it somethere…
  AnnaHopn
2. asiaeast July 3rd, 2009 at 20:07
  
  I wrote and published some of these articles last year. Recently I moved my blog to a new address. So you might have read my old blog. Or you might have seen it on my newblog, http://news.asiaeast.org/ I also publish these blog articles in my company newletter. Either way, Diane is really my wife and that’s really my Chinese name. Thanks for asking.
3. GlenStef July 14th, 2009 at 02:59
  
  Super post, Need to mark it on Digg
  GlenStef
4. asiaeast July 14th, 2009 at 08:44
  
  Click on the Share/Save link at the bottom of any article and then choose Digg, if you want to let others know about it!
  
  Thanks for the comment.
5. mercerd July 18th, 2009 at 13:51
  
  interesting material, where such topics do you find? I will often go
6. asiaeast July 19th, 2009 at 08:57
  
  I live in Taiwan and just write about things that happen all the time. I try to find magic everywhere and put it into words.
7. kostenlos downloaden July 19th, 2009 at 09:14
  
  This brings me to an idea:…
8. asiaeast July 19th, 2009 at 09:20
  
  What’s your idea?
9. ElenaLisvato August 6th, 2009 at 06:18
  
  I usually don’t post in Blogs but your blog forced me to, amazing work.. beautiful …
10. ChrisPark September 5th, 2009 at 02:26
  
  Hello. My name is Chris. I’m from USA. I’m new to this forum, i was hoping you could maybe teach me some stuff.
  
  This is me-> http://lmageshack.us/img/chrisP.jpg – Just so you know who i am! feel free to post your own photos. Allways best to know who you talk to!
11. asiaeast September 5th, 2009 at 20:44
  
  Hi Chris, Email me any time with questions! editor@asiaeast.org
12. work at home September 6th, 2009 at 19:14
  
  Cool site, love the info.
13. Bill Bartmann September 7th, 2009 at 13:28
  
  Cool site, love the info.
14. Bill Bartmann- September 10th, 2009 at 20:42
  
  Hey good stuff…keep up the good work!
15. Bill Bartmann- September 13th, 2009 at 14:29
  
  Cool site, love the info. I do a lot of research online on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks,
  
  A definite great read…
  
  -Bill-Bartmann
16. Dryer Vent Cleaning September 18th, 2009 at 18:36
  
  Great site…keep up the good work.
17. Dryer Vent Cleaning September 19th, 2009 at 00:09
  
  Excellent site, keep up the good work
18. DBullock September 23rd, 2009 at 20:11
  
  Your blog is so informative … ..I just bookmarked you….keep up the good work!!!!
19. Earth October 9th, 2009 at 11:19
  
  Good article, thank you
  If you are interesting 2012 year, by the way, welcome to us
  http://2012earth.net
20. tustiogiste October 11th, 2009 at 06:22
  
  Hello, it really interesting, thanks

Welcome to my blog.

Finding My Name

20 responses to “Finding My Name”

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