This used to be a great list

[Goh Lip]

On Wednesday 25,August,2010 01:52 PM, Ric Moore wrote:
> On Wed, 2010-08-25 at 13:41 +0800, Christopher Chan wrote:


>>>
>>>> Heh, yeah, I actually do prefer Christopher but I've given up on that.
>>>>
>>>
>>> OK, next time I'll know. But what throws people is the above order,
>>> "Chan Chung Hang Christopher".
>>>
>>

Right on, Ah Hang! I thought you've been too anglicized to be offended 
by how people call you.  :)

For people not familiar with the chinese culture, which Christopher is 
part of, I hope, the family name comes first and it is proper, in a 
professional or work setting to call them by the family name. But of 
course, no offense will be taken for people not familiar with it, if 
they use the given name.

Only for family and very close friends would the family name be used, in 
Christopher's case, "Hang". "Chung" would be the 'generational 
nomenclature' and his first cousins would also have the same middle name.


>> Welcome to the Chinese/Japanese/Korean way of naming...but I guess I
>> could make it Chan, Chung Hang Christopher or drop my Chinese given name
>> - I rarely get called by that anyway. I'll fix up my thunderbird at home
>> just for you. ;)

For some Japanese who reversed their family and given names after WW2, 
they would also put the family name first in more serious affairs, like 
births, convocations, weddings and deaths.

>
> A lady friend of mine from Taiwan just informed me that she doesn't know
> the correct day of her birth, according to our western calendar. I
> thought the Aussies were strange, living down under and walking around
> upside down. :) Ric
>
>
Ric, you can use the application "lunar" to check the western/chinese 
dates. It runs in the terminal. But I suspect your friend may not want 
you to find out. Taiwanese are particularly superstitious it amazes 
other chinese from other places.

Regards - Goh Lip

-- 
It is bad luck to be superstitious.   :)