中国的名字有文化含义吗

1　中国的名字有文化含义吗?　Do Chinese given names have cultural connotations?

There are a variety of Chinese given names(名字) usually made up of one or two characters.Chinese characters like fu(happiness，福)，lu(fortune，禄)or shou(longevity，寿)sound auspicious.So traditionally one of them serves as a given name，which typically expresses the“happiness”that everyone desires.

The Five Elements(五行学)are the five basic natural substances.They are jin(metal，金)，mu(wood，木)，shui(water，水)，huo(fire，火)，and tu(earth，土).Ancient Chinese philosophers believed that“Wood begets fire，fire begets earth，earth begets metal，metal begets water，and water，in its turn，nourishes wood.”Some parents thus ask a fortuneteller to study their child's four-pillar-birth-chart.If the prediction states that there is a shortage of a certain substance like jin(metal)，for example，in the child's life span，the parents will add a Chinese word that contains the radical of jin into the child's given name.The parents expect that their endeavour will make up for the shortage of that substance.

In addition，some given names are offered to commemorate the time or place of a child's birth.These include chunsheng(born in spring，春生)，husheng(born in Shanghai，沪生)and others.Some names may also reflect periods of history.Given names like guoqing(celebration of the founding of new China，国庆)or jiefang(liberation，解放)would likely be offered to children who were born in 1950s.

Notes: 1)typically 作为特色地;典型地 2)beget 引起 3)prediction 预言 4)endeavour 努力 5)commemorate 纪念