“She is a girl, not a boy,” my grandfather said, expressing his disappointment. Like most families in China, he believed that his bloodline passes down through the male side. Because of China’s one-child policy, my mother wouldn’t have a second chance to have a boy.
In keeping with the traditional family hierarchy(等级制度), my grandfather had the honor of naming me. He chose Xiǎoxiá which means “early morning light”—the time of my birth. “Xiá also shares the same character as Dānxiá Mountain, referring to the place where I was born.”
But my parents didn’t like the name. They thought it sounded dull and it didn’t resonate with their expectations for me. As the eldest son, my dad performed his right to name me next, naming me Chénshī. The two characters together mean “an early morning poem.” It reflects a saying in China: There is bread and butter in life, but also poems and dreams. But in the Hakka dialect spoken by my family, the name sounded like the phrase for “a floating dead body.”
On the third day after my birth, my mom decided on Shūrán. It stuck. My name means nature, comfort, and harmony. It means to go with the flow. She knew that I, as the only child, would carry the expectations of both sides of our families on my tiny shoulders and it would be difficult not to feel crushed by the weight of those expectations. Like my dad, she hoped that I would be able to freely pursue my dreams. She wanted me to become an independent and strong woman just like her.
A month after I was born, she wrote an acrostic poem about my name and her wishes for me:
A DIARY FOR MY DAUGHTER’S NAME
As an ancestor of the Yellow Emperor
Shuran follows the flow with a clear mind and bright eyes
She will become beautiful and look just like Xī Shí
When she grows up, she will be a great success and do great things
【小题1】What can be inferred about the author’s grandfather?| A．Her grandfather is a positive person. |
| B．Her grandfather is conventional and traditional. |
| C．Her grandfather determines to change his thoughts. |
| D．Her grandfather is responsible for Shuran. |
| A．Help. | B．Ask. |
| C．Match. | D．Recognize. |
| A．Because the mother expected her daughter’s life was natural, comfortable and harmonious. |
| B．Because the mother hoped that her daughter would be able to freely pursue dreams. |
| C．Because the mother wanted her daughter to become independent and strong. |
| D．Because the mother knew that her daughter can’t take on her expectations. |
| A．Shuran shares the stories behind her own name. |
| B．Shuran’s opinions about her own name. |
| C．Shuran’s families compete with each other for her own name. |
| D．Shuran’s mother is careful about Shuran’s name. |
