http://www.dailychilli.com/news/4567-same-parents-different-surnames-
Same parents, different surnames CAO JUNHAO (left) and YANG JUNYU (right) The 18-month-old twins share virtually everything - the same chubby cheeks and, on most days, clothes of the same colour and design. Yet they have different surnames. Elder brother is Cao Junhao and his younger sibling - who arrived one minute later - is Yang Junyu. "When we knew we were having twins, my wife asked to have one of them follow her surname," explained Cao Jianyong, 39, a Beijing-based bank officer. "Her parents were concerned there was no one to continue their family name." Such a practice has become increasingly common in China in recent years as the generation born under the one-child policy, which started in the late 1970s, comes of age. Countless families without sons are now having to grapple with ways to prevent their family names from fading into history. For many tradition-obsessed Chinese, it means being torn between one age-old practice - children taking their fathers' surnames - and another, that of continuing the proud family name. As a result, a growing number of families are seeking compromises, which many observers say could alter an important aspect of Chinese culture. Some, like the Caos, give their children different surnames. Under the one-child policy, if both parents have no siblings, they can have up to two children without facing fines. But with many urban folk content to stop at one, a popular alternative is to combine the parents' surnames into a two-word surname, or shuang xing. Beijing resident Tang Youcai and his wife - surnamed Chai - for example, gave their daughter the surname of Tangchai. Such two-word surnames are different from those passed down from ancient times - fu xing - such as Ouyang or Sima. While no official figures are available, a check with several naming experts in China shows that such odd naming options now make up 3 to 5 per cent of their business. Already, the idea of being creative with surnames has irked some purists, who see surnames as an important repository of cultural meaning. An article last year by scholar Chen Xubo of Lanzhou University was highly critical of new surnames, saying they "will not stand the test of time". "One's surname represents an entire culture that has been passed down for thousands of years. Like other traditions, the taking of one's father's surname needs to be protected, and should not be recklessly destroyed," he added. Others, such as Professor Ge Chenhong of Renmin University, disagree. "Taking the father's surname is related to the patriarchal system and values, and a clan-based culture. It is a practice that could, and should, be allowed to change naturally over time." Observers add that the trend demonstrates gender equality. In creating more surnames, it also helps solve the problem of there being too many repeated names in China - a perennial administrative headache for the government. Still, the practice can be a sore point between generations. Mr Cao's elderly mother, for instance, was displeased that her grandsons were to be surnamed differently, because she was concerned others might think they had different fathers. She only relented after much persuasion. There are other pitfalls - like how two-word surnames sound in Chinese. As Beijing-based naming expert Shang Guanhong pointed out, combining Su and Yang works because Suyang sounds nice, but Liu and Wang may not, because Liuwang sounds like Chinese for being in exile. And what will happen when these children with two-word surnames grow up and have their own kids? Three-word and four-word surnames in a generation, perhaps? Said Shang with a laugh: "Then Chinese names will start sounding like Western ones." - The Straits Times/ANN Published June 24 2010
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