Names
Lets talk about names.
I have been inhaling various medias as I learn more about my biological heritage and adoption journey.
I came across an article ( https://www.mochimag.com/lifestyle/adoptees-chinese-names/ ) regarding adoptees using there cultural names and in reading it my first thought was that I do not use my Chinese name - aside from legal paperwork. My second thought was to realise that one of the first things I did, when starting to delve into my biological culture, was adding my Chinese name characters to my social media accounts.
I believe that a name is important to one’s identity but is not as important as the character of the individual it represents. In my opinion the person makes the name not the other way around.
Today, my Chinese name represents a connection to my biological culture.
Some of us adoptees (myself included) never knew or had a given name from our biological families, so our first recognised name was given by an orphanage employee. While I have many thoughts around this fact, I still value the name for its cultural representation and for connecting me to the culture of my ancestral roots.
Some say parents have a right to change an adoptees name and others disagree.
Personally, my family moved my Chinese name into middle names, funny enough they miss spelled it so instead of two middle names I have three, my third middle name is for a grandmother I never got to meet.
Names are built of stories stitched together into a lifetime.
In china it’s common to sine documents, letters and other paraphernalia with what is called a Chop - a stone carved stamp with an individuals name as the print. They can be either positive or negative space stamp styles.
My name given by the orphanage was Shuangfang and my given adopted name is Abby; my chop is shown in the image.
I am Zang Shuangfang.
I am Abby Shuang Fang Christina Buchanan.
I am speaking from my own life experiences and opinions as a transracial adoptee. Please recognise everyone is entitled to their own views and may have different experiences.
