A Passage to China (走近中国) - Female Names

In the past, women were subordinates to men and as such, women’s names were used only before they were married. Once a woman was married, she must change her name from the pattern of family name + personal given name to the pattern of the family name of the husband + personal given name to the pattern of the family name of the husband + her family name + the character of shi(氏); She completely lost her personal given name. For example, if a girl’s name is Zhang Yulan(张玉兰), her name will be Sun Zhangshi(孙张氏) if the man she is married to has Sun as his family name.

As to the characters women’s given names often used, feminine quality or female characteristics are supposed to be conveyed. Roughly there are following types:

1. Character that have the element of nü (女, meaning female) : Du Shiniang (杜十娘), Cheng Yunniang(陈玉娘), Liu Sanjie(刘三姐), Wang Meini(王美妮), Peng Liyuang(彭丽媛), Shu Ting(舒婷), Yang Ximei(杨喜妹), etc. The element 女 is in one character of the given name.
   
2. Characters of jade or jade or jewelry or decorative articles for women: Shangguan Yunzhu(上官云珠), Liu Changyu(刘长瑜), Zhang Yu (张瑜), Lin Daiyu(林黛玉), Yang Yuying(杨钰莹), and Xu Ruyun(许如芸), etc.
   
3. Characters of flowers: Dai Ailian (戴爱莲), Ye Peilan(叶佩兰), Yin Xiumei(殷秀梅), Bai Yang(白杨), He Rulan(何茹兰), Hua Tianxiu(华天秀), Jiang Xinrong(江心蓉), Xie Xiaoyan(谢晓燕), etc.
   
4. Characters of colour: Ma Yanhong (马燕红), Zhang Hong(张红), Lin Qingxia(林青霞), Song Caiyun(宋彩云), Gan Lan(甘蓝), Feng Bai(冯白), Wang Suhua(王素华), etc.
   
5. Characters of fragrance or suggestive of fragrance: Liu Meihui(刘美惠), Wu Jufang(吴菊芳), Li Ruifang(李瑞芳), Tian Qiuju(田邱菊), Qiu Xiang(秋香), Yu Lanxiang(于兰香), Chang Xiangyu(常香玉), etc.
   
6. Characters of beauty or virtues: Wen Meihui(文美惠), He Zhonghui(何钟惠), Qiu Shufang(何淑芳), Li Qingzhao(李清照), He Jing(何静), Diao Chan (貂蝉), Qiu Shuzhen(邱淑贞), etc.

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