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Chinese People's Names
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The names of Chinese people are usually expressed as family name first and given name second. For example, a man called Zhang Wei, has a family name of �Zhang�, and a given name of �Wei.� Among closer acquaintances, the names of older people are usually prefixed with �Lao�� which literally means �old�. For instance, �Lao Zhang� means �Old Zhang.� Younger acquaintances, on the other hand, are often prefixed with �Xiao�� which means �small,� so �Xiao Wang� means �Small Wang.� For those who know each other very well, the given name may be used by itself. However, if one�s first name is composed of only one character, they are customarily referred by their given name only by other family members.
(china.org.cn)
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