· The Chinese are very sensitive to status and titles, so you should use official titles such as General, Committee Member or Bureau Chief when possible. Never call anyone “Comrade” unless you are a Communist also.
· Names are listed in a different order from western names. Each person receives a family name, a generational name, and a given name at birth, in that order. Generational and given names can be separated by a space or a hyphen, but are often written as one word. For example, President Li Teng Hui has the family name of Li, a generational name of Teng, and a given name of Hui (his name could also be rendered Li Teng-Hui or Li Tenghui).
· Most people you meet should be addressed with a title and their name. If a person does not have a professional title (President, Engineer, Doctor), simply use Mr. or Madam, Mrs. or Miss, plus the name.
· Chinese wives do not generally take their husband’s surnames, but instead maintain their maiden names. Although westerners commonly address a married woman as Mrs. plus her husband’s family name, it is more appropriate to call her Madam plus her maiden family name. Li Chu Chin (female) is married to Chang Wu Jiang (male). While westerners would probably call her Mrs. Chang, she is properly addressed as Madam Li.
· If many Chinese seem to have similar clan names, it is because there are only about 400 different surnames in China. However, when they are transcribed into a western language, there are several possible variations. For example, Wong, Wang, and Huang are all versions of the same Chinese clan name.
· Names are listed in a different order from western names. Each person receives a family name, a generational name, and a given name at birth, in that order. Generational and given names can be separated by a space or a hyphen, but are often written as one word. For example, President Li Teng Hui has the family name of Li, a generational name of Teng, and a given name of Hui (his name could also be rendered Li Teng-Hui or Li Tenghui).
· Most people you meet should be addressed with a title and their name. If a person does not have a professional title (President, Engineer, Doctor), simply use Mr. or Madam, Mrs. or Miss, plus the name.
· Chinese wives do not generally take their husband’s surnames, but instead maintain their maiden names. Although westerners commonly address a married woman as Mrs. plus her husband’s family name, it is more appropriate to call her Madam plus her maiden family name. Li Chu Chin (female) is married to Chang Wu Jiang (male). While westerners would probably call her Mrs. Chang, she is properly addressed as Madam Li.
· If many Chinese seem to have similar clan names, it is because there are only about 400 different surnames in China. However, when they are transcribed into a western language, there are several possible variations. For example, Wong, Wang, and Huang are all versions of the same Chinese clan name.