As we all know, name is an important part of a certain culture. Therefore, the foreigners who come to learn Chinese in China should know something about Xing and Shi. Generally speaking, women used Xing while what men used was Shi in the pre-Qin period.
It seems a complicated concept for even Chinese people, so if you want to study Chinese in China, you need to know this basic knowledge about Xing and Shi. After the unifying the six states by Qin emperor, Xing and Shi were united as one because a fixed pattern is convenient for a permanent use and heritage which marked an obvious bloodlines.
That Chinese people attach importance to Xing which makes them develop a custom of namesake inhabit. So it is good for you to learn something about Chinese names when you study Mandarin in China. There is a habit of revising a genealogy and finding relationship with other family popular in many areas in China so that the later generations can easily find their original ancestor and family history after a long time.
In ancient times, there were many groups with the same Xing in the same nation. One thing that the foreign students who learn Chinese in China should know is that Xing and Shi has a lot of origins. Many people used Xing from some auspicious animal totems like bear, panther, tiger and Chinese dragon. However, some people used the names of the states such as Qi, Chu, Han, Zhao, Qin, etc.
There are more origins about Xing and Shi that the foreign learners who study Chinese in China may be curious about. Some used official titles like Shangguan, Bu, Qian, Shi and Sima. Zhang, Gu, Tu, Jiang came from certain occupations. Qiao, Ji, Huang and Wu originated from landscapes and Liu, Li, Zhao, Wanyan and Zhu were bestowed by emperors.
What’s more, some of the foreign learners who study Mandarin in China may also have heard about many other strange Xing. Many Xing and Shi they have head maybe named by numbers, season,, location, climate, plants and so forth.
Majorities of Chinese people have the habit of inheriting Xing of father. They give their paternal name generations by generation. In this way, foreigners who learn Chinese in China should know that majorities of Xing and Shi have no sexual difference because they are all from father and inhabit by paternal way, it seems a special genetic gene from chromosome of males.
Xing and Shi make a difference between one group from another. But how did they distinguish each other in the same one group? The answer is Ming (name) which is unique and owned just by one person. When you study Chinese in China, you may be told that it is easier for them to distinguish each other in the group when they use Ming.
If there were different people belong to various group, those who study Mandarin in China may know that Xing and Ming should be used in the same time. When in the social intercourse, there were many groups of people mixed together. As a result, it is hard to call people if just by calling a Ming.
However, with the development of the society, there were many new meanings bestowed into Xing and Ming. Therefore, the present culture of Xing and Shi is formed. When you go to school to learn Chinese in China, teachers may tell you that it is a big branch in Chinese culture and has a long history in bearing. It is also a kind of common sense for Chinese language learners.
Everybody owning a Xing in China, so people greeting to each other by “Ning Gui Xing?” in the formal communication when two people meet for the first time. Nowadays, when foreigners study Chinese in China, they can feel the importance of Xing and Shi for Chinese people. However, they should know it in ancient China was just a symbol of the social communication.
After knowing the information provided above, the Chinese language learners can have a clear idea about Chinese Xing and Shi in ancient times. Since it is important, they will pay more attention to it.