ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2527 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2527 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 25 Apr 2002 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked our help choosing a name appropriate for a Chinese woman living during the Southern Sung [Song] Dynasty, 1127-1279, preferably using the surname [Zhang1], which you chose for its meaning "to draw a bow". Here's what we've found. You've already read our previous reports 2342 and 2346 [1]; we will use the same notation in this letter. The general remarks in those reports on the Chinese name construction apply equally well to your period. The given names and most of the surnames we discussed are appropriate for you, though of course the selection of names we included in those reports was narrowed by our clients' interests. There was a general trend from very simple to more fanciful or specific names over time; your period is roughly in the middle of that trend. Chinese family names have been inherited, much as our surnames are today, for thousands of years. The name is a good choice for your family name. It is written with a character that means "to draw a bow" [3]. That meaning was certainly apparent to literate people in the Middle Ages, and it might have been used as the basis for word-play or poetic symbolism. However, a person named was no more likely to work with bows and arrows than a modern man named . We have found three other women's names from your period [2]. Recall that we give Wade-Giles transliterations first and then Pinyin in square brackets. In the Wade-Giles forms, the character ^ represents a circumflex (small upside-down 'v') over the preceding character. Our pronunciation information includes numbers (1, 2, 3, or 4) at the end of most Chinese syllables listed here. These numbers, usually superscripted in word-processed documents, indicate a syllable's spoken tone. At their simplest, Tone 1 is high level Tone 2 is high rising Tone 3 is low dipping Tone 4 is high falling Tone combinations in polysyllabic words can be much more complicated. However, such tone combinations can be _roughly_ approximated by treating each syllable as a separate entity. You can learn more about tones and pronunciation, through the web addresses below. (There are no blank spaces in these addresses. If your font underlines web addresses, a space that looks blank is actually a single underscore character.) http://www.wellgot.ca/phonetic/preface-e.htm http://icg.harvard.edu/~pinyin/ http://www.wannalearn.com/Academic_Subjects/World_Languages/Chinese Ch'e^ng2 T'ien1 T'ai4 [Cheng2 Tian1 Tai4], 12th C. pronounced \tch@ng tyen ty\ with the 'y' as in . \@\ stands for the sound of the in . Probably a hao, apparently meaning "holding or enjoying supreme heaven." Its bearer was an imperial concubine and also had a title that included the word "consort," but her emperor called her by this name even in public. Presumably "supreme heaven" refers to the emperor, so this name is not suitable for Society use. But one could use it as a template for creating another hao for the wife or concubine of a less exalted man. For example, a name meaning "holding X" where X is a hao of the woman's man, an inherited surname of her or his family, or title of a particular lower civil office. The characters that compose the name are as follows. Remember that this does not represent the meaning of the name. ch'e^ng translates as "bear; hold; carry; to offer; to receive; to enjoy;to undertake; to flatter" t'ien translates as "heaven, the sky; a day; weather; celestial" t'ai translates as "excessive; very; supreme; epithet of very distinguished persons" Kan3 T'ien1 [Gan3 Tian1], 12th C. pronounced \gahn tyen\ Chinese name of a woman who was second sovereign of Western Liao Dynasty, becoming sovereign in 1135 until succeeded by her son in 1142. She ruled over some 85,000 warriors, which probably explains her name meaning "influencing heaven". As far as we can tell, the Western Liao Dynasty adopted and were eventually assimilated into Han culture. Many modern people see little distinction between them and those who ruled the Southern Sung [Song]. This name, in itself, is probably not suitable for Society use since it carries such a strong implication of imperial rank, but it can be used as a pattern for name construction. For example, a name meaning "influencing X" where X is an inherited surname or a particular lower civil office would be workable. kan translates as "to influence; to be affected by; to be moved; to excite" t'ien translates as "heaven, the sky; a day; weather; celestial" O2 [E2], 2nd C BCE to 16th C pronounced \ah\ or \@h\ Chinese name of several women from ancient to early modern times. Although our examples do not include a woman from the Southern Sung Dynasty, we think it is likely that the name was used at that time as well. O translates as "beautiful, good". If you are interested in using one of these names as a starting point for your own name, we'll be happy to help you further. The name [Zhang1 E2] is a fine choice for your period. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Juliana de Luna, Yin Mei Li, Adelaide de Beaumont, Talan Gwynek, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 25 Apr 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Academy of Saint Gabriel reports 2342 and 2346 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2342 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2346 [2] Giles, Herbert A. A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, in two volumes. Literature House: Taipei, Taiwan (1962). Republication of original edition, Bernard Quaritch; Kelly Walsh Ltd: London; Shanghai (1898). Uses Wade-Giles transliterations. [3] The particular name is said to go back to Hui, 5th son of Emperor Huang Ti [27th C BC], who is credited with inventing the bow. See Sheau-yueh J. Chao _In Search of Your Asian Roots, Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames._ Clearfield Co./Genealogical Publishing Co.: Baltimore, Maryland (2000), under . This story is probably just a legend, but the name really is _very_ old. [4] This Chinese \R\ is similar to one of two common American \r\ pronunciations. Many Americans pronounce it with the tip of the tongue curled up and back, almost touching the roof of the mouth. This pronunciation is similar to the Chinese sound that we've represented by \R\. To make a good approximation to \R\, just curl your tongue back a bit further than normal and increase the friction; the result should sound almost like \zh\. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, Yin Mei Li & Arval, 19 Apr 2003: We originally included in the list of given names, with the following paragraph: Shih4 [Shi4], pronounced \shR\ [4] A ming and tzu used from at least 2nd C BCE through 10th C AD. Apparently given to a very important woman in a family, usually the patriarch's mother, wife or favorite concubine, or a daughter whose hoped-for marriage would greatly advance the family. Also given to women who, through court positions end up teaching imperial concubines or helping historians, and thereby gain honor for their families. The character means "clan, family, sect." Yin has since learned that is a generic form of address meaning "Ms.". We have removed it and replaced it with , which Yin found in subsequent research; and used in place of in an example of an appropriate name.