Story of my name | Jason Siu

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Jun 15, 2022 06:01 AM

English name (Jason):

In Hong Kong, a city where I grew up, everyone is expected to have an English name. I think it is for convenience. Or perhaps for a historical reason, as Hong Kong was used to be under British rule which English was mandatory subject.

On the first day of primary school, my English teacher asked everyone in class to come up with their own English name. Having told my teacher that I did not have any preference, she named me as “Jason”. There was a moment when I hated the subject of English at school and I was afraid of my teachers calling my name to answer their questions, so I changed my name several times. But after all, Jason is my name.

The naming convention in Chinese is more formal because culturally Chinese believes that naming is an important part of the birth ceremony; a name can affect your life. I am named by my grandfather. I was told by my family that my Chinese name was clued by a fortune teller (算命師). Essentially, the clues are based on my date of birth and the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Chinese name ( 蕭正源 ):

蕭 (Siu) is my family name.

正 (Ching) means righteousness.

源 (Yuen) means a place where the water flow starts (literally) or gratitude (figuratively). It’s deemed that my name entails something with water so “Yuen” has an element of water. A Chinese idiom goes, “When one drinks water, one must not forget where it comes from.”

In a nutshell, my grandfather’s wish is to lead a life with decentness by following what I think it is right. Meanwhile, do not forget those who help me to get me to where I am today.