Another Step Further into Chinese Culture!

A few weeks ago I was informed by a Supervisor on my team, who is a local national, that I require a Chinese name.  Xuan He (English name; Selina) has become a good friend of mine as I ask her frequently questions on the culture, language, living, and a host of other topics.  Currently our new building is due for completion in three weeks and I will relocate to my new office, for now I am a "cubemate" with Selina and I have enjoyed the time we have been able to get to know one another.  As we relocate all employees have nameplates displayed in English first and then Chinese written below.  So it seemed fitting that the time was now for my Chinese name.  Following tradition Selina requested that I allow her to provide me with my Chinese name, of course I was honored.  The goal of the name is to have it sound similar to my English name but have a relevant meaning based on the Chinese characters used.  So it is with great pleasure I share my Chinese name; 邦杰明.

In Chinese Pinyin, a system which uses Roman characters to transcribe Mandarin Chinese, it is written "Bang Jie Ming".  So let me break down the name by the meaning of each symbol;

邦 (Bang): This name is not common in Chinese culture and not used widely as it has significant historical meaning in China.  In 202 BC Liu Bang became Emperor of China and he named his Dynasty "Han".  He was the first Emperor of the Han Dynasty who practiced Confucianism, stressing the benefits of governing the nation by moral virtue rather than coercive laws.  He became the first to worship Confucius among all later Emperors.  So it is with honor that I have been given the same name as this historical leader of China.

杰 (Jie): The adjectives that describes this name are "bright" and "clear-sighted".


明 (Ming): The adjectives that describes this name are "outstanding", "prominent", and "heroic".

Although it may just be that Selina has not been able to know me very well thus far, in reflection I think she has done a tremendous job ;) 


We are looking forward to our first trip out of the country next weekend as we visit Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand.  We all need a little rest and relaxation, planning to enjoy all that this beach resort will provide.  Thanks for reading, hope to see all our family and friends back in North America real soon!  Until then we are really enjoying the new friendships here in China with people originating from all over the world.  Despite the many challenges that living abroad entails, we are still blessed to have this adventure both professionally and personally.