Oh, Chinese names!

There are about one hundred widely used family names. The five most common surnames are Chang (Chan in Cantonese), Wang (Wong in Cantonese), Li (Lee in Cantonese), Zhang (Cheung in Cantonese) and Liu (Law in Cantonese). Although many of the surnames may be pronounced the same, the Chinese characters can be different. In China, the family name precedes the given name, which is occasionally followed by the second name or the western equivalent of a first name. For example, Wang Li would be called Mr. Wang, and Li would be his given name. But wait, some Chinese will switch the order of their names when they are dealing with foreigners. In addition, married women rarely take their husband's family name.

Chinese superstitions and numbers

Many Chinese people are superstitious about numbers. The number 4 in Chinese rhymes with "death" or "failure." Many people try very hard to not have their house numbers or telephone numbers to contain the numeral 4. And the number 14 is worse. The Chinese for 14 rhymes with "sure to fail, sure to die."

The numbers 3 and 8 are good numbers. The number 3 in Chinese rhymes with "growth," which is therefore very welcome to business people. The number 8 rhymes with the Chinese word for "prosperity." The number 168 reads in Chinese to sound like "forever prosperous," a definite crowd pleaser. It is not an accident that the telephone number of the Hyatt Hotel in China is: 888-8888.

Never give a Chinese person a clock as a gift

The phrase "to give a clock" is to attend someone's funeral. Avoid giving people clocks as gifts.