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Chinese family names came into being during the clan
society some 5,000 years ago. There are more than 5,000 family names
altogether, but only 300 or so are common. Zhang, Wang, Li, Zhao and Liu are
most populous names. The name of a person generally consists of two or three
Chinese characters, and the family name always comes before the given name.
For example, the family name of a person called Zhang Siying is Zhang.
Chinese forms of address are more or less the same as the Western. A man is
addressed as xiansheng, or mister - such as Mister Li. An unmarried woman is
addressed as xiaojie, or miss. A married woman retains her maiden name and
she may be addressed as either Miss or Mrs. What's-Her-Name. |
