Please correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding of Chinese names is that they are inverted compared to Western names. In Chinese, the last name comes first. I see a lot of references to "Ming" and the "Ming Dynasty" Houston is building; technically, shouldn't we be referring to Yao Ming as Yao, which is his surname? I apologize if this issue's already been raised. I didn't see a thread on it.
Cuttino is my favorite player. I love Stevie. Kenny is a raging bull. Mo does pot. Eddie for Threeeeeeeeeee. I'll never forget Hakeem the Dream. Ming rhymes with Ring. "<i>Technically,</i>" I shouldn't call you Brian. It is Mr. Kagy from now on.
If the debate is going to be between BrianKagy and heypartner, then the question should be whether to call him YaoMing or yaoming.
You might have a good argument if the article was not title: Food poisoning doesn't sideline Kobe Different players are refered to in different ways. With Kobe Bryant its Kobe, with Shaq its Shaq, with Kevin Garnett its KG, with Chris Webber its CWebb, with Cuttino Mobley its Cat and with Yao Ming it should be "The Ming Dynasty"...IMO.
Just think...years from now we'll find out that his name is really (H)yao Ming...with the 'H' being silent of course.
And it just complicates things when you have to put a guy in a database. Look what happened to poor Wang Zhizhi: ESPN calls him Zhizhi Wang. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3510 Mengke Bateer is somehow listed as Mengke Bateer. Which one is his surname?
Bateer is his family name. I don't really know what he prefers in reference to Mongolian culture (since he's ethnically Mongolian)... As far as Yao Ming goes: Yao's the family name, and Ming the given name. In China, this would mean his name is rendered "Yao Ming"... in the United States, typically this would be "Ming Yao". For those of you that care (making posters?), the more correct way to refer to him (if you're not using the full name) would probably to use Yao, the family name. Either the Ming Dynasty or the Yao Dynasty sounds awfully nice to me. (And not anyone *really* cares, but Chinese dynasties weren't usually named after the name of the ruling family. No idea why.)
the back of his NBA jersey is going to say Yao on it, just like every Chinese players jersey including that "chick" that plays for the L.A. Sparks, and that soccer player who plays in the WUSA, and the Diving team, and Gymnastics team. Actually, they don't wear jerseys. But you get the idea. Chinese last names comes first, followed by their actual name.
Yao should be the name on the Jersy. Just like Wang Zhi Zhi had "Wang" on his jersy. I love that for some reason. I have to get a Wang jersey.
Actually, I might have a good argument if in that article, Bryant was repeatedly referred to by his last name. I might further have a good argument if in Chinese, the surname comes first, as it does. I don't give a crap what you call him, I just thought I would point out that he's being referred to by his first name and I think it's being done accidentally.
Technically Yao Ming is really Ming Yao. Saying Yao Ming is the same as saying Kagy Brian. So I'm wondering if the back of his jersey would say "Yao" and not "Ming". We could call our new arena Yao's Haos. But maybe he should just change his name all together. Something more American but with an Asian twist like Miso Good.
Yeah. Why can't he be more like Jackie Chan and just Americanize (I believe his real name is Chan Kong-Sang, by the way). I know he doesn't want to end up like Chow Yun-Fat (who didn't Americanize his name). I suppose anyone can call him Yao or Ming or whatever, but they shouldn't call him Mr. Ming for sure.
Hey Kagy, I thought you'd like to see that Dale Robertson got it wrong, today. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/robertson/1420714 lol
You mean like AKEEN Then years later change it to HAKEEM Accept the man and his name as is. Rocket River
hehe, i am from china, i can explain to you. In fact, in china, Yao Ming and Wang Zhi Zhi the family name is the first word. So Yao Ming's family name is Yao. Wang Zhi Zhi family name is Wang. I think we pronounce depending CHINESE PIN YIN. So I think now you should say Yao Ming and Wang Zhi Zhi not Ming Yao and Zhi Zhi Wang. JAKCY CHAN is different, he is fromHONG KONG. So it mean, he has english name Jacky. So he is called Jacky Chan. But in China, we have no english name. But if Yao Ming and Wang Zhi Zhi has their english names. For Example: Yao english is Michael, Wang English is James, so we can call Michael Yao and James Wang. Mengke Bateer is different. he is from Inner Mongolia, so his name is different.
