A Name That Symbolizes Your Life
By two thousand years of revolutionary history, China has developed one of the finest linguistic systems in the world. Each Chinese letter is carefully crafted: each word can all be broke down into simple parts but still holds the same meaning. With millions of letter that are available, and thousands combination that are possible, Chinese language has reached to a stage, which a story can be compressed into four words. Parents can use this trait of language to name their child that describe their love and hope for its future.
When a new offspring is born into a family, it is the duty of the father to give it a name. The name is made with one to two letters (not including the family name) each letter is carefully selected from dictionary. After the naming process is complete, the name should be able to represent the vision the parents have for their kids. For thousands of years this tradition continued.
During the time when my father was born, my grandfather was struggling with the policy developed by the new government. Before communism was established in China, my grandfather’s family was the richest in the southern region. The family used to own banks, hotels, food markets, but the family relied too much on the government; in the end the government betrayed them, and pushed the family business to bankruptcy. The family left with nothing but a small shelter made with try mud. So when my father was born, my grandfather had already prepared a well thought name for him --陈更(Chen Geng). Chen was the family name, and Geng was my father’s first name, which meant self-reliance. My grandfather hoped my father could grow up not depending on anybody but himself. As time rolls on, my grandfather’s vision came true. My father now has his own company, and as the chief executive officer he is leading his company to another different level each day.
When I was born, my father went through the same naming process, except this time he had a different background story. His company was not created easily; there was a lot of pain and tears, I remembered once he told me the story in which he slept in the park’s bench because he does not have any money. It was very emotional. So my name has two different explanations. My name is 陈迪凡(Chen Di Fan), Chen is my last name, and Di Fan is my first name. The first explanation my father gave me is “unordinary.” and the second definition is “inspirational and influential.” My father always wanted me to be unordinary, influential, and hard working. When I was young I was a spoiled child, I was lazy and childish. But since coming to United States and facing various challenges, I have changed. Since then I have became a man on a mission—trying to do something remarkable within my lifetime.
In conclusion, a name is a symbol we create for every human being. But for Chinese people, a name is not only a symbol but it is also a vision gave by their parents. As Chinese we live with our names everyday, we see them as motivation and memory. And at the end we hope our life could be the same as our parent’s vision.
