If I could change my identity who would I be? J K Rowling? The
money would be pretty damn good! Or Angelina Jolie? Six kids… hmm am not so
sure. But in China I have met Justin Bieber, Jennifer Aniston and even Jackie
Chan.
The first time I noticed this phenomenon was with my real
estate agent. The first day his name was Jackie and by the third day he says “call
me Justin Bieber” and I just stared at him incredulously! I was like you know
that you look nothing like Justin Bieber right? And he goes “no that’s ok,
girls love Justin Bieber, so I just decided to change my name. I wish it were
that easy. But in China it works.
The influx of foreigners and their inability to pronounce
Chinese names is what prompted this English names phenomenon. It makes it
easier for Chinese to meet foreigners and foreigners to remember their names.
This is most prominent among the low income and low middle class workers who by
Chinese definition are the migrant workers that hold up the Chinese economic
miracle.
It is this set that recognises the value of learning English
and how that can make a difference to a person’s career. So why Justin Bieber
or Michael Jackson? There are two reasons. One, is the popularity of pop music
in the average Chinese psyche and English songs are their first step to
learning the language. So I’ve met Chinese who sing flawless songs in English
right to the T, while their spoken English, less said about it, the better.
Migrant workers who flock to the cities usually want no
reminders of their life back in their hometowns or villages. And by changing
their names they find it easier to assimilate in the cities. They are all here
to realize the Chinese dream.
So why does this phenomenon deserve a mention? Because it is
not that they get English names. It is how often they change their names. It’s
how one day they are part of your world and the next they are just another
person in milling crowds of these emerging cities. Cities help them camouflage. They make new friends, they change their
numbers , they change their names and even their email and social networking
ID’s. And voila, they are who they want
to be! It is like they never existed.
I have met some wonderful people in my one year here. Gone
out, gotten drunk like a fish, sang avaaraa hooon mein with Chinese friends and
their neighbours, shared food at common tables. But, a year later I have no
idea where Kevin or Jackie or any of the others are or for that matter who they
really are. One day they just disappeared!
I have in my time here done a little research on why this
happens and the reasons are many.
1.
It gives them an anonymity and helps them create
an identity that would fit their career goals.
2.
You learn from your mistakes and then when you
want to move on, the best way to do it is would be to get a new number. So your
friends have no way to trace you. And you get a whole new start to life.
3.
Internet has become such an intrinsic part of
their lives it helps them further live out their fantasies! The girls often put
pictures of models or extremely photoshopped pictures of themselves to attract the
elusive, perfect guy! The guys usually put up pictures of themselves in front
of expensive cars.
4.
Microblogging allows them the anonymity to voice
their opinion about issues in a tightly controlled media environment. And that
too without revealing who you are. ( Though
recently the authorities have clamped
down on that by asking for real name registrations.)
5.
It also helps them lead multiple lives and one
that does not intertwine. One for their parents and relatives back home and the
other for themselves
6.
The anonymity helps them change their fates, for
better or for worse no one can tell.
Well, there are of course the legitimate reasons for
changing names and these might not sound very surprising to us Indians;
1.
Usually fortune tellers will tell them that
changing names will help them get married , get promoted and more importantly
make lots of money(Wish they would qualify how much is lots of money and how(il) legitimately you have to earn
it!).
2.
Secondly, some of the names are ultra patriotic
and can sound irrelevant today.
3.
Chinese by itself is a hard language to grasp
and tones make up the language. And foreigners tend to butcher the Chinese names
without of course realising it. I have called people pig, chicken and some
other terrible things I would rather not say! And some names can also have
unintended associations. And since Chinese is a tonal language, different tones
can mean completely different things .
Fong
Si-lung(literally translates to become the dragon) and Lei Siu-lung( literally
translates to little dragon) are martial art actors most of us grew up watching
or have at least heard of. We of course know them better as Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. What’s in a name you say?
