Cultural Belief Behind Chinese Boys Name
In a country that has a limit of one child per family, carrying on the surname gains importance in the scope of family heritage. China has just such a rule, therefore a Chinese boys name takes on greater significance for the families. Since normally conceived births have a 50% chance of being a boy, the families with girls will likely watch their surname die out with the fathers. What might this mean for families?
Words such as lineage, heritage, forefathers, and ancestors are the embodiment of pride in many families. A natural curiosity is to know our family history. Subjects such as genealogy and etymology are studied and taken up as hobbies. Television shows and internet sites are devoted to the ancestry of individuals. To understand what makes a family want a male child, it helps to look at the emphasis placed on the family’s heritage.
Why does having a male heir matter so much? In part, the seriousness of it is a person’s recognition that he or she will one day die. By acknowledging that the time on earth is limited, people want to leave something to show they existed. They project the feeling to the future and want to continue their existence in generations to come. To accomplish this, male children must be born.
Historically, the significance of male heirs has had a role in society. In England’s history, King Henry VIII is remembered for feeling so strongly about having a son that he had a wife beheaded when she didn’t produce one. In literature and film, the importance of having a male child can be found as a theme.
The ramifications of too much significance being placed on the male heir syndrome might be seen in the near future in China. There is a growing fear about what will happen now that the country is overpopulated with men due to selective abortion practices. One can only speculate what will happen when there aren’t enough women to marry the men. It could get primal.
How are the women reacting? A married woman used to be considered the property of a husband. In the modern era, women are independent even as wives. A woman may choose to keep her maiden name or hyphenate it with her married name. The Chinese surname of the child is also hyphenated with both parents’ surnames. Another way women are preserving the family name is having children a single parent.
A Chinese boys name is a reflection of the belief that the family surname continues with the male members of the family. Conventions may say so, but new ideas and progressive thinking is changing those beliefs. The men aren’t the only family members who define the ancestry. In the future, maybe there will be as much mention of foremothers as there are forefathers. Only time will tell.
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