posted July 28, 2006 12:38 PM         

I would like to figure out how to lexigram a Chinese full name effectively- if it's the person's real Chinese name, as far as I know, although I've only imagined this and have not tried as a matter of fact- I think it would be difficult to find even some definitive clues about this person, or enough "hidden secrets", owing to the striking differences between English names and the translated English versions of Chinese names. Also, very often, an ethnic-Chinese person may have quite a few names, such as his/her real Chinese name in the original Chinese characters (and their are at least 2 types- the simplified form and the full-form), his/her real Chinese name in English (and in PRC China they use romanization, in Taiwan we have been increasingly using romanization instead, nonetheless, when it comes to names, we still tend to use the other spelling system which I don't recall what it's called in English), his/her "also known as" foreign name- a foreign given name(s) with his/her Chinese surname, which would not be recognized by the Taiwan government as his/her "official name" but rather his/her original Chinese name; however, it might end up that this person's "foreign name(s) plus his/her surname is the more frequently used name in real life- he/she may have this name on most of his/her official documents, such as credit card(s), and he/she might sign this name more often...many people in Taiwan have their own "foreign" names, but those are only officially recognized if they are included in one's passport. Otherwise, it would only be a "nickname", and consequently will not be signed on any documents, hence its less important influences.

Now, I don't know if you understand my problems- how to "decypher" a person by lexigramming his/her Chinese name? Any idea?

They can be as tricky as "Wang Dan" or "Li Li-Hua"...or am I mistaken?

Thank you in advance.