A note about translation of names: Most Chinese names have 3 or 2 characters, with the first character being the surname and the remaining characters being the first name. In the Chinese culture, the surname comes before the first name. There are only about 100 common Chinese surnames. If you provide your full name, the closest matching Chinese surname will be used. Your name will be translated phonetically into Chinese characters which sound similar. Since different Chinese characters can have the same pronunciation, you can thus specify the traits/meaning that you prefer for your translated name and the most appropriate characters will be used.
Some other sites may have standard phonetic translations for English names, with no attention paid to the meaning of the individual characters. Our team will give each name careful thought, and with your input, will come up with a meaningful phonetic translation. For instance, for the name shown in the sample, we have matched the Surname of "Gore" with a Chinese surname which also means tall. We have translated "Leo" phonetically, paying attention to the meaning of each individual character. The outcome is a name which means "standing tall with miles of pride".
About your calligrapher: The webmaster, Tai Oi Yee, is a skilled calligrapher with university education in both Hong Kong and North America She is a native speaker of Chinese, fluent in both Cantonese and Mandarin dialects. She also tutored under the late Master Lai Yuk Hei who was a renowned artist trained by the grand master of Chinese painting, the late Lam Fung Min (Lin Feng Mian). Her calligraphy and artwork combines both traditional techniques and creative flair.
About your translators: University educated in Hong Kong and North America, Tai Oi Yee and Lee Sang
are both native speakers of Chinese. Their mastery of both the English and Chinese languages will guarantee the most accurate and appropriate translation for you.
About written Chinese and spoken Chinese: The same Chinese character may be pronounced differently in different dialects. There are many dialects in Chinese, with the 2 major ones being Mandarin and Cantonese. Many Chinese software offer pronunication input methods for both dialects.
Mandarin (also known as Putonghua) is widely spoken in many parts of China, Taiwan and Singapore, while Cantonese is prevalent in Hong Kong, southern China, Singapore and overseas. Many words sound similar in these dialects but there are more tonal variations in Cantonese than Mandarin. Our translation team is fluent in both dialects, and thus will pick a phonetic translation which will sound right in both Mandarin and Cantonese.
About the Chinese character: Chinese writing dates back to over 5000 years ago. Chinese characters evolved from pictographs to more abstract ideograms to the modern-day character, which bears a slight resemblance to its pictographic origins.
The characters are divided into 3 main categories : pictographs (象形)﹐ideograms (會意), phonograms(形聲). Each character is a word by itself , and is written in a flowing and balanced way.
You will notice that your browser has the option of viewing Chinese characters in Traditional or Simplified forms. Some other sites provide your translation in simplified characters which are abbreviated forms which might not be recognizable to all Chinese . This site provides you with standard traditional Chinese characters which are not only recognized by Chinese but also by Japanese and Koreans. If you require simplified characters for special purposes, make a note of it when you order.
Why are there traditional and simplified characters? Traditional characters are the standard characters with centuries of history and culture embodied in them. In an effort to wipe out illiteracy, the Communist government in China introduced in 1956 a system of simplified characters which were easier to remember than the intricate traditional characters. The intention was good, but the result is devastating. Over 2000 Chinese traditional characters have been changed by the government into the simplified form by reducing the number of strokes, and thus changing the entire form and balance of the character. (see example to the right)
The webmaster is against this mutilation of the Chinese character and annihilation of our Chinese culture. The characters provided by this site are all traditional characters so that the form, beauty and essence of THE CHINESE CHARACTER can be fully appreciated.
Custom Calligraphy Design: You can choose from 10 designs for your translation.
Style 1 (Classic) is a traditional brush stroke style prevalent in use from the ancient times to nowadays.
Style 2 (Cursive) is an elegant cursive style highlighting the intricacies of Chinese brush calligraphy.
Style 3(Fluid) is a brush style written fluidly, also known as the "running" style.
Style 4 (Grass) is a unique flowing style which is like "walking on grass", handwritten by the webmaster. You will not find this one-of-a-kind calligraphy anywhere else.
Style 5 (Old) is the clerical style originating from the Tsun dynasty (230 BC).
Style 6 (Emboss) is a design by the webmaster combining the techniques of traditional calligraphy and modern computer design.
Style 7 (Slim) is known as Shou Jin Shu (Slim Gold Style), the signature calligraphy of Emperor Sung.
Style 8 (Pictorial) stems from original Chinese oracle scripts with a pictorial inference.
Style 9 (Engrave) represents the Ngai Bei stone engraving style .
Style 10 (Brush) is intricately done by hand with the Chinese brush. This custom design by the webmaster is one-of-a-kind.
