Period Chinese Names
A Caution About Some Chinese Characters
and Feminine Names
Rev. 0, © 2004 Valerie L. Putman (known in the SCA as Yin Mei Li)
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This table lists characters and words that are forms of address or indicators of rank or that appear to be in some way reserved to women of a specific rank. This list is provided to help people avoid repeating mistakes this author made while searching for feminine Chinese names.
| chr. | Wade-Giles | Pinyin | Yale | translation | example(s) | caution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 阿 | A¹, O¹ | A¹ | A³ | O Yüan | Character is a form of respectful address. In Han names (as opposed to Chinese names for foreigners), it only seems to appear in the names of people in poems and of people associated with the imperial house or court. | |
| 嬙 | Ch'iang² | Qiang² | Cheung4 | Court Lady | Mao Ch'iang; Wang Ch'iang | Character appears to be a title associated with the Imperial household and/or court. |
| 妃 | Fei¹ | Fei¹ | Fei¹ | Imperial Consort | Kung-fei; Li Shu-fei; Kuo Ning-fei; Hu Ch'ung-fei; Ta Ting-fei | 2nd character of a two-character title awarded as a rank to an Emperor's first-grade concubines. Personal names are typically omitted when this title is used. |
| 夫 人 | Fu¹ Jen² | Fu¹ Ren² | Fu¹ Yan4 | Lady | P'an Fu-jen; Kuan Fu-jen; Sun Fu-jen | When these characters follow a family name, which is usually the case, the personal name has been omitted. (Most family names are one syllable long, but some are two syllables long.) |
| 后 | Hou4 | Hou4 | Hau6 | Empress | Ch'êng T'ien T'ai Hou; Chiang Hou; Wu Hou | If a personal name precedes this character, it is of a special form for an empress. However, usually this character is preceded only by a family name or an Empresses' special title. |
| 孝 | Hsiao4 | Xiao4 | Haau³ | filial piety | Hsiao K'ang, Hsiao Kung, Hsiao Su, Hsiao Tuan | When used in a disyllabic woman's name, the woman typically is an Empress. However, this character does not seem to have the imperial association when used in masculine names. |
| 皇 貴 妃 | Huang² Kuei4 Fei¹ | Huang² Gui4 Fei¹ | Wong4 Gwai³ Fei¹ | Imperial Precious Consort | Cheng Kuei-fei was given the title Huang-kuei-fei in 1583 or 4 | Title awarded to an Emperor's senior concubine. Among women, bearer is 2nd only to the Empress. Personal names are typically omitted when this title is used. (Might not have been used before the Ming Dynasty) |
| 貴 妃 | Kuei4 Fei¹ | Gui4 Fei¹ | Gwai³ Fei¹ | Precious Consort | Chang Kuei-fei; Yang Kuei-fei; Sun Kuei-fei; Li Kuei-fei | Title awarded to the highest-level of an Emperor's 1st-grade concubines. Apparently it was only awarded to his favorite consort during some dynasties. Many women who held this title were known in public, and through history, only by their family names followed by this title. Personal names are typically omitted when this title is used. |
| 公 主 | Kung¹ Chu³ | Gong¹ Zhu³ | Gung¹ Jyu² | Princess | An-lo Kung-chu T'ai-p'ing Kung-chu | A name that proceeds these characters is usually a place name. The whole forms a title awarded to an emperor's daughter. However, not all emperor's daughters have this rank. Otherwise, the preceding characters are a princess-rank qualifier. Qualifiers were needed because a Princess title would typically be "elevated" when the bearer's brother or nephew becomes Emperor. |
| 國 | Kuo³ | Guo³ | Gwok³ | state, nation | Han Kuo, Ch'in Kuo, and Kuai Kuo | Used in titles awarded by an Emperor, the preceding character(s) is a kingdom or empire name |
| 嬪 | P'in² | Pin² | Pan4 | Palace Lady | Cheng Shu-p'in; Chang Li-p'in | 2nd character of a disyllabic title awarded as a rank to an Emperor's second-grade concubines. Personal names are typically omitted when this title is used. |
| 氏 | Shih4 | Shi4 | Ji¹ | Ms. or Mistress (for a woman) | Li Shih; Liu Shih; Lü Shih; Meng Shih | When these characters follow a family name for a woman, which is usually the case, the personal name has been omitted. (Most family names are one syllable long, but some are two syllables long.) When used as a title of address, the character is genderless, meaning Ms., Mr., mistress, or master depending on the circumstances of its use. |
| 太后 | T'ai4 Hou4 | Tai4 Hou4 | Taai³ Hau6 | Great Empress | Usually these characters are preceded only by a family name or a Dowager Empresses' special title. |
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This page last updated September 26, 2004. Prepared by Yin Mei Li, Octofoil Herald, and signed with her chop |