Since the topic is on names, I would like to talk about how modern Chinese people name themselves. To help you understand better, I will first introduce the basic laws of naming in ancient China.

In ancient China, a person's name and their "zi" (字) were usually separate. The name was typically given by parents or elders at the child’s birth, while the "zi" was chosen by the individual or a teacher after the child became an adult. The "zi" was named according to the meaning of the given name and factors such as personal morality and ambition. It is worth mentioning that the name and the "zi" are often antonyms.

You may think this seems complicated, but over time, this custom has gradually faded. Now, in modern China, when Chinese people name themselves, they often do so in a simpler way by choosing just one name. Now it's time to get down to business: how to name yourself like a modern Chinese person—let's take a look.

With the arrival of a baby, parents have high hopes for their newborn child. The best reflection of these hopes is in the name they choose. Some parents may name their child after famous people. For example, my grandfather chose a character from the name of the famous Chinese philosopher Zhu Xi to name my mother, resulting in her being called “Xi.” Another way to choose a name is to base it on an old saying. This means you can select good words from classical Chinese texts, such as The Analects of Confucius. It is worth mentioning that my name is chosen from The Analects of Confucius. The saying my parents chose was: “The benevolent Leshan, wise delight in the water.” They called me “Leshui,” which means they wish for me to be wise.

In the last century, when Chinese people were generally not well educated, a particularly popular naming method was to name children after national events or the hopes for the newly born regime. For example, they would name their kids “Jianguo” (which means "establishing the country") or “Qiangguo” (which means they wish for China to become stronger), etc.

There are many other ways to choose a Chinese name; the methods I have mentioned above are just a few of them. If one day, readers of this article are lucky enough to come to China, I hope this is helpful.