note
Xiong
<p>
I'm not Chinese.
</p>
<p>
When I planned to go live in China, I studied up ahead of time... for years, yes. I realized that if I did not have a Chinese name I would be given one... and I might not like it: a transliteration of my English name or a rude joke. English speakers all call me 'Bear' in meatspace. 熊 means "bear"; also, it is a common Chinese family name.
</p>
<p>
However, we are not all in the Unicode world yet, so you may not even be able to render that character properly, let alone type it. <i>Pinyin</i> is a system of romanization(1) in which 熊 is represented as <i>xiong</i>. This tells nothing about what the character means but only indicates how a <i>putonghua</i> speaker might pronounce it. <i>x</i> indicates a sound midway between <i>s</i> and <i>sh</i> and the whole is pronounced in the rising tone, as a Westerner asks a question.
</p>
<p>
In China, 熊 really <b>is</b> my real name. Chinese consider it so. For three years I signed contracts with my name and opened bank accounts with it. <i>xiong</i> means nothing but is short and unique.
</p>
<p>
(1) 北京 is the capital of China and means, logically enough, "northern capital". In the Wade-Giles system of romanization this is rendered as <i>Peking</i>, in the <i>pinyin</i> system, <i>Beijing</i>. It may surprise you to know that these are pronounced exactly alike.
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<div class="pmsig"><div class="pmsig-704000">
Feste: Misprison in the highest degree. Lady, <i>cucullus non facit monachum</i>. That's as much to say as, I wear not motley in my brain....
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