Last Names, anyone?
In China, most people share ten last names. So imagine if you have to look for a suspect with the last name "Wang" (technically that's the Mandarin pronunciation of "Wong"). Well good luck, because that's the most common last name in China. :D
So now the Chinese government is allowing parents to assign a last name to their newborns in any of the following ways:
- (Father's last name)
- (Mother's last name)
- (Father's last name) (Mother's last name)
- (Mother's last name) (Father's last name)
So let's say that the husband carries the last name of "Mok", and the wife carries the last name of "Fu". Then they would have this huge banner in their marriage ceremony that reads "Mok Fu is getting married!". And now, their baby's last name can also be "Mok Fu".
Not bad, eh? Maybe you would think twice when I tell you that the Cantonese translation of "Mok Fu" would be "stripping off pants".
And unlike English names, most people formally address you by last name first.
So now the Chinese government is allowing parents to assign a last name to their newborns in any of the following ways:
- (Father's last name)
- (Mother's last name)
- (Father's last name) (Mother's last name)
- (Mother's last name) (Father's last name)
So let's say that the husband carries the last name of "Mok", and the wife carries the last name of "Fu". Then they would have this huge banner in their marriage ceremony that reads "Mok Fu is getting married!". And now, their baby's last name can also be "Mok Fu".
Not bad, eh? Maybe you would think twice when I tell you that the Cantonese translation of "Mok Fu" would be "stripping off pants".
And unlike English names, most people formally address you by last name first.