Chinese Surnames Research Articles

Surname lists to identify South Asian and Chinese ethnicity from secondary data in Ontario, Canada: a validation study

BackgroundSurname lists are useful for identifying cohorts of ethnic minority patients from secondary data sources. This study sought to develop and validate lists to identify people of South Asian and Chinese origin.MethodsComprehensive lists of South Asian and Chinese surnames were reviewed to identify those that uniquely belonged to the ethnic minority group. Surnames that were common in other populations, communities or ethnic groups were specifically excluded. These surname lists were applied to the Registered Persons Database, a registry of the health card numbers assigned to all residents of the Canadian province of Ontario, so that all residents were assigned to South Asian ethnicity, Chinese ethnicity or the General Population. Ethnic assignment was validated against self-identified ethnicity through linkage with responses to the Canadian Community Health Survey.ResultsThe final surname lists included 9,950 South Asian surnames and 1,133 Chinese surnames. All 16,688,384 current and former residents of Ontario were assigned to South Asian ethnicity, Chinese ethnicity or the General Population based on their surnames. Among 69,859 respondents to the Canadian Community Health Survey, both lists performed extremely well when compared against self-identified ethnicity: positive predictive value was 89.3% for the South Asian list, and 91.9% for the Chinese list. Because surnames shared with other ethnic groups were deliberately excluded from the lists, sensitivity was lower (50.4% and 80.2%, respectively).ConclusionsThese surname lists can be used to identify cohorts of people with South Asian and Chinese origins from secondary data sources with a high degree of accuracy. These cohorts could then be used in epidemiologic and health service research studies of populations with South Asian and Chinese origins.

Chinese Health Beliefs of Older Chinese in Canada

Objectives. This study examines the cultural health beliefs held by older Chinese in Canada. Methods. Chinese surnames are randomly selected from the local Chinese telephone directories. Telephone screening is then conducted to identify eligible Chinese people 55 years of age or older to take part in a face-to-face interview to complete a structured survey questionnaire. Results. The results of exploratory factor analysis indicate that the health beliefs of the older Chinese are loaded onto three factors related to beliefs about traditional health practices, beliefs about traditional Chinese medicine, and beliefs about preventive diet. Education, religion, country of origin, length of residency in Canada, and city of residency are the major correlates of the various Chinese health beliefs scales. Discussion. The findings support the previous prescriptive knowledge about Chinese health beliefs and illustrate the intragroup sociocultural diversity that health practitioners should acknowledge in their practice.

A Sociolinguistic Analysis of the English First Name Culture in Hong Kong

This paper examines how the global use of English is changing the culture of personal naming. In Hong Kong, the majority of people use English first names along with their Chinese surnames. An analysis of job application documents and personal interviews with 19 speakers uncovered many interesting aspects about Hong Kong's naming culture, such as duplicate names and name change. Deeper investigation revealed that a number of linguistic and non-linguistic factors, such as Hong Kong’s unusual political status in China, the fact that Cantonese, the local dialect, has inferior linguistic status than Mandarin, its history as a British colony, and the current internationalized way of life - have converged to foster the use of English and English first names.

Tracing their roots: genealogical sources for Chinese immigrants to the United States

PurposeThis paper seeks to discuss the genealogical sources for Chinese immigrants as well as the settlement of Chinese in the USA and the historical evolution of Chinese names, their origins, arrangement and development. It aims to cover the origins of various classes of Chinese surnames, followed by the content description of a traditional genealogical book for jiapu.Design/methodology/approachThe paper researches the various ways that a Chinese person can find out about their ancestry.FindingsThe paper reveals the roles of libraries, including serving the needs of patrons interested in genealogical research, preserving and interpreting information through oral and family history projects and collaborating with other libraries through interlibrary loan, document delivery, library consortia, collection management and international resource‐sharing.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides information on where and how to locate the genealogical resources for researching the genealogy of a Chinese family.Originality/valueThe paper analyzes the value of genealogical research as a documentary source for population history, life expectancy in a clan, marriages and family connections, as well as lineage organizations and inter‐lineage relations.

Genetic polymorphisms of Y-STR haplotypes in unrelated male blood donors from the surname of Li, Wang and Zhang population in Shenzhen

To study the genetic polymorphisms of Y-chromosome-specific STR loci in Chinese of different surnames, 9 Y-STR loci were amplified by single fluorescent multiplex PCR and the PCR products were detected by using ABI PrismTM 3100 DNA Sequencer. Samples were randomly-selected from male blood donors in ShenZhen. These individuals, who were otherwise unrelated, had the most common surnames among Chinese as their surnames, namely Li, Wang or Zhang. There were 139 subjects with surname Li, 118 with surname Wang and 119 with the surname Zhang. In the Li population, a total of 126 haplotypes was found and 118 of them were unique, with a haplotype diversity 0.9974. In the Wang population, a total of 105 haplotypes was found and 94 of them were unique, with a haplotype diversity of 0.9953. In the Zhang population, a total of 101 haplotypes was found and 88 of them were unique, with a haplotype diversity of 0.9964. Our results indicated that the genetic polymorphisms of Y-STR haplotypes at these 9 loci in unrelated male individuals with Chinese surnames of Li, Wang or Zhang are highly polymorphic and showed no significant differences with our previous data of haplotype polymorphisms in unrelated male individuals from the Chinese ethnic Han population.

Towards a Standardization Of Personal Names: The Case of the Ethnic Chinese in Singapore

AbstractThe evolution of personal names in western Europe can be said to be characterized by the phenomenon of standardization (Wilson 1998). This article seeks to examine whether this general rubric is of use in the context of hybridized names, specifically the names of the ethnic Chinese in Singapore. I examine names obtained from a school year book in Singapore against the backdrop of the traditional pattern as documented by Jones (1997). Notable changes include the increased use of English-based given names and the way Chinese given names are represented: the tendency is towards having them based on Mandarin Chinese as opposed to other varieties of Chinese, and of having them spelt in a standard way of sorts. This is in line with the government's preferences and supports the standardization thesis. There is, however, strong resistance to the standardization of Chinese surnames.

Sources on overseas Chinese studies

AbstractThe Chinese genealogical records, also called pu die , zong pu , zu pu , jia pu , zi pu , or jia cheng , have been used for thousands of years to record the genealogical history of a family, including a family's origin, its collateral lines, names and ages of the members, records of marriages, births and deaths, merits and deeds, and brief biographical information of the male family members. This paper examines the current documentation status of Chinese genealogical records. It begins with the historical background of genealogical records and describes the existing sources, including primary sources for researching Chinese surnames and secondary sources for reading on immigration history, the Chinese diaspora, foreign settlements, and ethnic identity. The paper proceeds to investigate the nature of extant genealogical records and provide author's own genealogy of He shi zu pu as an example to analyze the contents of a typical genealogical record. The importance and value for the study of names an...

Sources on overseas Chinese studies: Genealogical records

The Chinese genealogical records, also called pu die [Display omitted] , zong pu [Display omitted] , zu pu [Display omitted] , jia pu [Display omitted] , zi pu [Display omitted] , or jia cheng [Display omitted] , have been used for thousands of years to record the genealogical history of a family, including a family's origin, its collateral lines, names and ages of the members, records of marriages, births and deaths, merits and deeds, and brief biographical information of the male family members. This paper examines the current documentation status of Chinese genealogical records. It begins with the historical background of genealogical records and describes the existing sources, including primary sources for researching Chinese surnames and secondary sources for reading on immigration history, the Chinese diaspora, foreign settlements, and ethnic identity. The paper proceeds to investigate the nature of extant genealogical records and provide author's own genealogy of He shi zu pu [Display omitted] as an example to analyze the contents of a typical genealogical record. The importance and value for the study of names and genealogical records are emphasized. The paper concludes with comments on how to make the best use of genealogical records to enhance the research on Chinese overseas studies through resource-sharing and collaboration with libraries, museums, and institutions, locally, regionally, and internationally.

Impact of Culture on Depressive Symptoms of Elderly Chinese Immigrants

The impact of culture on mental health has been inadequately researched. This study examines the effect of cultural factors on the depressive symptoms reported by elderly Chinese immigrants in Canada. Data from 1537 elderly Chinese immigrants who took part in a cross-sectional multisite survey on the health and well-being of older Chinese-Canadians were used. Participants were identified through telephone screening of randomly selected telephone numbers listed with Chinese surnames. A structured questionnaire was used to conduct face-to-face interviews. A Chinese version of the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms. Close to one-quarter of the elderly Chinese immigrants reported having at least a mild level of depressive symptoms. Having more cultural barriers and a higher level of identification with Chinese cultural values resulted in a higher probability of being depressive. The importance of the sociocultural determinants of mental health is demonstrated. The health delivery system should be more sensitive to the unique ethnic and cultural differences of older immigrants.

How to Find Chinese Research Participants: Use of a Phonologically Based Surname Search Method

The frequent use of non-representative, time-consuming and low hit rate sampling methods in the study of minority cultures is of concern. Given the increasing cultural diversity of the Canadian population and the growing Chinese population, a sampling method using phonological rules to distinguish Chinese surnames from non-Chinese ones was developed. Chinese surnames, transcribed according to their pronunciations, follow specific phonological rules. A flowchart was developed using the inclusion and exclusion criteria derived from these rules. Methods to validate Chinese surnames (identified from telephone directory) were external reference source, expert panel, and telephone interview. A total of 266 possible Chinese surnames were selected using the flowchart. External reference source validated 153 surnames, expert panel 53, and telephone interview 23. An overall hit rate of 86.1% (229/266) was achieved, reflecting the validity of the phonological criteria in identifying individuals with a Chinese surname from the general population.

Predictors of Physical Spousal/Intimate Violence in Chinese American Families

A total of 262 Chinese Americans (133 males and 129 females) were randomly selected from the Los Angeles County telephone directory using Chinese surnames as the identifying marker. A structured telephone interview was administered measuring respondents' gender role beliefs, acculturation, sociodemographic factors, and their victimization experiences with physical aggression by a spouse or intimate partner. Contrary to the feminist literature on domestic violence, gender role beliefs was not related to physical intimate violence. Acculturation, however, significantly predicted severe physical violence experienced during respondents' lifetime. Whether respondents were employed also predicted lifetime minor forms physical violence by a spouse/intimate partner. Findings are discussed in a cultural context, and social work practice and research implications are also highlighted.

Use of surnames to identify individuals of Chinese ancestry.

The objectives of this study were to develop and test surname lists for identifying Chinese ancestry. The Ontario all-cause mortality database for the period 1982-1989 was randomly split into source and test data sets. Frequencies by birthplace were compiled for each surname in the source data set, by sex, and the surnames were weighted based on their positive likelihood ratios. Lists of Chinese surnames were then assembled based on varying cutoff levels, and screening performance indicators for each list were calculated, including sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, post-test odds, positive likelihood ratio, and yield. The internally generated lists were evaluated in the test data set. Results indicated that surnames have a good potential to identify individuals of Chinese origin. In the source data set, at a cutoff level of 100 for males (217 surnames) and females (210 surnames), both sensitivity and the positive predictive value of the surname lists for males and females were very high, above 80%, and the positive likelihood ratio was above 600. In the test data set and using the same surname lists, the sensitivity, positive predictive value, and positive likelihood ratio remained at a high level: 73%, 81%, and 603, respectively, for males; and 73%, 84%, and 772, respectively, for females. Various scenarios and their methodological implications are discussed.

Telephone Directory Listings of Presumptive Chinese Surnames

Telephone Directory Listings of Presumptive Chinese Surnames

Telephone Directory Listings of Presumptive Chinese Surnames

Telephone Directory Listings of Presumptive Chinese Surnames

Telephone Directory Listings of Presumptive Chinese Surnames

Choosing an appropriate sampling frame for an epidemiologic study depends on the characteristics of the population under investigation and the sources available for identification of potential subjects. Not all countries maintain (or permit sampling from) population registers. In studies of dispersed populations, electoral rolls may lead to sampling bias, and random-digit dialing is inefficient. A dispersed population characterized by distinctive surnames might be appropriately identified and sampled through telephone directory listings, however. The method proved feasible and efficient for a prevalence study of health-related characteristics of Chinese residents in Melbourne, Australia, yielding a sample demographically comparable to the corresponding census population.