Shuran Huang's Story
"She is a girl, not a boy," my paternal 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 household hierarchy, my grandfather had the honor of naming me. He chose Xiăoxiá, which means "early morning light" — the time of my birth. "Xiá" also shares the same character as 丹霞山 / 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 exercised his right to name me next, dubbing me 晨詩 / Chénshī. The two characters together mean "an early morning poem." It reflects a saying in China: 生活不僅眼前的苟且,還有詩和遠方 / 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 舒然 / 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 chase 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:
女兒名誌
陳秀玲(作)
黃帝子孫龍之後
舒服自然目神眸
然貌天成如西施
長大載物才德厚
A STORY ABOUT MY DAUGHTER’S NAME
As a descendant of the Yellow Emperor (a legendary leader in ancient China)
Shuran follows the flow with a clear mind and bright eyes
She will be beautiful and look just like 西施 / Xī Shī (one of the Four Renowned Beauties)
When she grows up, she will be a great success and do great things
