Comments on: Character Names in Mandarin

By: Susan Blumberg-Kason

Susan Blumberg-Kason — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:35:25 +0000

Yeah, that’s so true. I mean, Mao used to be Mao Tse-tung, but then he became Mao Zedong. Not even sure how to pronounce his name in the specific Hunan dialect he spoke. And then there were places like Peking, Swatow, Canton, and Mukden–now Beijing, Shantou, Guangzhou, and Shenyang!

By: Jeannie Lin

Jeannie Lin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:32:09 +0000

Not at all! I figured with the mix of dialects in China throughout history, it shouldn’t be so odd that a wandering swordsman goes by a dialectical name. It’s interesting how whole surnames can get “re-declared” as new names which fit the alphabet. The politics of language – not to be taken lightly!

By: Susan Blumberg-Kason

Susan Blumberg-Kason — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:31:45 +0000

Sorry! I’ve always been obsessed with how certain modern historical figures in China used Cantonese for their names (Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek), while most others used Mandarin, even from the same period. So you’re actually keeping up with a trend!

By: Jeannie Lin

Jeannie Lin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:32:06 +0000

Yeah, I originally had a disclaimer that the characters were technically Shen Liang as Leung is Cantonese.

By: Susan Blumberg-Kason

Susan Blumberg-Kason — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:33:40 +0000

This is great! I love seeing the names in Chinese characters. Just one tiny correction. In Mandarin, Shen Leung would actually be Shen Liang. Leung is Cantonese.