i have always wanted a chinese name. well, since we are talking here, i also very much wanted a nordic name but that's another matter. possibly another blog.
when i was in s'pore visiting my bloodbrother stavros, we had our own chop(s) made at this specialty shop. of course, neither of our names exist in chinese characters so that lovely & patient man phonetically created our chinese characters based on how our names sounded. it was interesting: he had us each select a piece (selections were pretty vast) then he wrote the name in pencil, then scraped it out with a tool. it was my last day in s'pore too & i was not going to leave without it! one day if i ever figure out how to upload photos/scans, you will see my little-used chop. it is beautiful. i selected a heavy stone with a monk(ey) sitting under a tree meditating. it appealed to me so much i remember & now it makes perfect sense! now that i know some more folks who can read chinese, i should have my chop looked at to see that it in fact says what it does say. i suppose that's due dilligence, huh?
since i don't (yet) read or write in chinese i cannot with any skill duplicate the characters on my chop. although i try & use it often, there are few instances where i write letters or official documents these days. i did go through a period of putting my chop to everything! now, everything is done electronically & so impersonally! ah the lost art of writing! but once again, i digress.
of course when one day i chose to become sifu's disciple, i will put in a letter of intent, shave my head & get a chinese name! these names are taken from a particular sutra that disciples don't often speak about. i wanted a leg up, checking on the list of names but you are not privy to it until you yourself become a disciple. but in my heart i know full well i am not yet ready to be sifu's or anyone's disciple. so that idea of getting my chinese name that way is on hold, at best.
while online i found the above site. it's fairly easy to get a chinese name once you provide your given name, gender, date of birth. it also asks you to choose from all the traits available what the most important is to you. if you do this more than once you will get a different variation on your name each time, especially if you change the trait. i did this 3 times & quan tuo helped me choose by suggesting what he thought best fit me. mind you, each of them highlighted a different aspect or trait again based on your info provided. we chose:
Ao Kai Hui
pronouced OW? KAY HWAY
Ao for my surname
Kai meaning open, intiate, begin
Hui meaning brightness, luster, brilliance
it was hard to choose because one highlighted writing [Han] which i thought appropriate, another stressed magnanimity [Kang] which was sweet.
of course i don't know when i will be using this name, if at all. i just thought it was awesome to get one & still have my hair!
by the by, quan tuo means fist in chinese & if you know him at all, you will understand why i chose that name for him.
see what comes of your name.
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