What is in My Name? (By Moh Teck)
What is in My Name?
Contributed by Moh Teck
Background on Pre-1949 Chinese Migration to South East Asia
According to migrationpolicy.org website, pre-1949, people migrated from China to escape poverty “China experienced significant emigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Twenty million Chinese moved to Southeast Asia between the 1840s and the 1920s, building on centuries of regional trading routes; many also went to destinations around the globe, including the Americas. The vast majority of Chinese emigrants were male and came from the southern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. They often went abroad as temporary sojourners rather than permanent settlers. However, about 40 percent never returned to China.” Click here for more information.
My grandparents were migrants from China. So naturally, I am curious of their home country. When my uncle, another Rafflesian retired, he decided to trace his roots and went to my grandfather’s hometown in China with another one of my uncles.
My name in Chinese is 蔡茂竹 The surname is 蔡 The first half of the given name is 茂
In this article I traced the origins of my surname and middle name (part of my given name)
The Surname Chua
The surname 蔡 (Chua in Hokkien, Cai in Mandarin) rank No. 34 in China
Click here for a list of common Chinese surnames
The ancestor of Chua, Cai Shu Du (蔡叔度) was the young brother of first emperor Zhou Wu Wang (周武王) of Zhou (周) Dynasty (1066-771 BC). The original surname was 姬 (Ji in Mandarin), the surname of the Zhou royal family.
Shu Du was conferred by his elder brother Emperor Zhou Wu Wang with title and territory at a place called 蔡 (in Henan 河南 province) and established the state 蔡. It was his son Cai Zhong (蔡仲) who adopted the name of their state as the family surname.
Among famous personalities in China, Cai Lun (蔡倫) (63-121 AD) is worth mentioning: he created one of the four great inventions in China – paper.
Cai Lun lived in East Han (東漢) Dynasty (25-220 AD). He invented the art of making paper from barks, rugs and old fishing nets in 92 AD. He put the process and method of making paper in memorial to the throne and submitted it to the emperor. Thus, he formalized his invention and ensured its dissemination and use throughout China.
Source: Chua in the Philippines, written by Go Bon Juan, Tulay: Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest website. Click on this link
The First Half of My Given Name (Moh)
The middle name in the Chua clan follows a generational cycle. This cyclical list of middle names is shown below and read clockwise.
The Second Half of My Given Name (Teck)
The last part of my given name refers to Bamboo. Possessing the most bamboo of any country in the world, China is well known as the Kingdom of Bamboo. The history of Chinese people planting and using bamboo can be traced back 7,000 years. Ancient Chinese people designated the plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum as the "four gentlemen", and pine, bamboo and plum as the "three friends in winter".Bamboo culture always plays a positive role in encouraging people to hold on when facing tough situations.
Source: Bamboo, A Symbol of Traditional Values, written by chinaculture.org, published by chinadaily.com.cn 19 January 2011. Click here to read more.
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