Name droppers
AneoNazi couple in Britain who named their child after Adolf Hitler were recently found guilty of being members of the banned rightwing group National Action. In Hong Kong, I have so far come across one Adolf, a bank employee. I cannot even begin to speculate on the reasons a Chinese person would call himself “Adolf ”, but if he were in Europe or North America, he would probably get a reaction stronger than an eyeroll from a few of his bank’s customers.
Many countries have laws that prohibit the use of certain words as personal names. The main reason for not giving parents a free hand in naming their children is that certain names can harm a child by subjecting them to ridicule, even causing psychological damage. To preserve their culture and traditions, some countries ban names that are “too foreign”. Often, the consideration is purely bureaucratic: names that cannot be written or spelt in the country’s language are not allowed. Then there are names that are likely to cause offence to the wider society. “Adolf Hitler”, for instance, is banned in Germany for obvious reasons.
In ancient China, names were also subject to proscriptions, as demonstrated by the custom of “name avoidance” (bihui). Names of important people such as rulers, one’s parents and elders, and
venerated historical figures were considered sacrosanct. The names of emperors or sages of great import were not allowed to be used as personal names, even for divine beings. One of the first Chinese names of the Buddhist deity Avalokitesvara was Guanshiyin, a translation from the Sanskrit name, which meant “the lord who gazes down at the world”. It is said that out of consideration for Emperor Taizong of Tang, whose personal name was Li Shimin (598649), the character “shi” was dropped and Guanshiyin became Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy.
The custom fell out of use following the fall of the last imperial dynasty, in 1912, but vestiges remain. While the names of modernday presidents and premiers are not considered sacrosanct, there are still many Chinese families who will not name their children using characters found in the names of their parents, grandparents or even uncles and aunts.