Compound Words Are Clearer (5-5)

Above, we have talked about the name or title. With them we can put on number for instance first brother, second brother…sixth brother …eleventh brother etc. As ancient Chinese may have few wives, the children born by first wife was called 嫡出 born by other wife was called 庶出. In western world, no such trouble, we just use person’s name directly.

Chinese surnames are around 500. In old days, children start to learn them in mind at 4 years of age. As it was designed like a poem, by the help of rhyme it is not very difficult to learn, they are:

趙錢孫李，周吳鄭王，馮陳褚衛，蔣沈韓楊，朱秦尤許，何呂施張，孔曹嚴華，金魏陶姜，戚謝鄒喻，柏水竇章，雲蘇潘葛，奚范彭郎，魯韋昌馬，苗鳳花方，俞任袁柳，酆鮑史唐，魯韋昌馬，苗鳳花方，俞任袁柳，酆鮑史唐，費廉岑薛，雷賀倪湯，滕殷羅畢，郝鄔安常，樂于時傅，皮卞齊康，伍余元卜，顧孟平黃，和穆蕭尹，姚邵湛汪，祁毛禹狄，米貝明臧，計伏成戴，談宋茅龐，熊紀舒屈，項祝董梁，杜阮藍閔，席季麻強，賈路婁危，江童顏郭，梅盛林刁，鍾徐邱駱，高夏蔡田，樊胡凌霍，虞萬支柯，昝管盧莫，經房裘繆，干解應宗，丁宣賁鄧，郁單杭洪，包諸左石，崔吉鈕龔，程嵇邢滑，裴陸榮翁，荀羊於惠，甄麴家封，芮羿儲靳，汲邴糜松，井段富巫，烏焦巴弓，牧隗山谷，車侯宓蓬，全郗班仰，秋仲伊宮，甯仇欒暴，甘鈄厲戎，祖武符劉，景詹束龍，葉幸司韶，郜黎薊薄，印宿白懷，蒲邰從鄂，索咸籍賴，卓藺屠蒙，池喬陰鬱，胥能蒼雙，聞莘黨翟，譚貢勞逄，姬申扶堵，冉宰酈雍，郤璩桑桂，濮牛壽通，邊扈燕冀，郟浦尚農，溫別莊晏，柴瞿閻充，慕連茹習，宦艾魚容，向古易慎，戈廖庾終，暨居衡步，都耿滿弘，匡國文寇，廣祿闕東，歐殳沃利，蔚越夔隆，師鞏厙聶，晁勾敖融，冷訾辛闞，那簡饒空，曾毋沙乜，養鞠須豐，巢關蒯相，查后荊紅，游竺權逯，蓋益桓公，万俟司馬，上官歐陽，夏侯諸葛，聞人東方，赫連皇甫，尉遲公羊，澹臺公冶，宗政濮陽，淳于單于，太叔申屠，公孫仲孫，軒轅令狐，鍾離宇文，長孫慕容，鮮于閭丘，司徒司空，亓官司寇，仉督子車，顓孫端木，巫馬公西，漆雕樂正，壤駟公良，拓跋夾谷，宰父穀梁，晉楚閆法，汝鄢涂欽，段干百里，東郭南門，呼延歸海，羊舌微生，岳帥緱亢，況後有琴，梁丘左丘，東門西門，商牟佘佴，伯賞南宮，墨哈譙笪，年愛陽佟。

It was designed in Song Dynasty, so the first surname was the emperor’s surname at that time, and followed by the nobleman’s. We have said the normal Chinese characters are around 3,000, half of the characters that used as surname are among the 3,000 normal characters.

The Chinese name normally has three characters. The first one is surname. Some tradition family use the second character for generation. Generation usually is a verse. For instance my family’s verse is: 至诚意修身本 my generation is诚Cheng, my son’s generation should be 意yi. The third character is randomly.

So with 500 surnames and two characters the Chinese people can make 500x3,000x3,000=4500000000 names. It is greater than the current 1.3 billion population. But as people prefer some good meaning of certain combinations, so there are plenty duplicate names now.