What's in a Name?

Above: Fan painted for me by Professor Chiang and Professor Chiang showing me how to write my new Chinese name. Below: BainBain teaching me some calligraphy and my favorite of the paintings in Professor Chiang's studio.
One important lesson I have learned while living in Taiwan is the importance of names and titles in Asian cultures. I was given my Taiwanese name, 柯玉莲 (pronounced "ke yu lian"), by an artist and calligraphy professor, I-han Chiang （姜教授). I met Professor Chiang when I traveled with BainBain to her hometown of Taizhong (台中- which literally means central Taiwan) last August. We were accompanied by friend of BainBain's, Mr. Don Hess, who is an amiable and energetic Rotarian and the former Vice President of Rochester University. He is also the father of Karen Hess, who co-founded the Hess Educational Organization. This company operates mre than 100 English training schools and 60 kindergartens in Taiwan. He and BainBain met last year when she led a Rotary sponsored Group Study Exchange to New York earlier this year.

In Taizhong, we meet up with Kim Cusick, Professor I-han Chiang, and some of BainBain's family. Kim is originally from Minnesota, but is now a permanent resident of Taiwan. Five years ago she came to Taiwan for the first time through a Rotary Group Studies Exchange Program. During the visit she learned of a opportunity to teach English with the Hess Educational Organization, and she almost immediately decided to leave a comfortable career in the U.S. and move to Taiwan. When I asked her what compelled her to make such a drastic move, and she could not give a specific reason, but simply said she knew she needed a change of pace. After spending a weekend with Kim, I realized she is driven by a spirit of adventure and a contagious curiosity about new people, ideas and cultures which I believe is what brought her to Taiwan.

Professor Chiang, is a lively, 83 year-old professor of art and calligraphy, is one of the most interesting and intriguing people I have ever met. He fled to Taiwan from China in the late 1949 after the Communist regime led by Mao Zedung took over China. In Taiwan he studied in the Chinese Literature and Language Department at National Taiwan Normal University. He later studied at the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Taiwan's Chinese Culture University, and eventually moved to the United States to do research at the University of Kansas and Princeton University. He moved back to Taiwan in 1994 to teach painting and sell artwork, though he told me he goes back to the US about every other year to visit his son and daughter in Boston. Since returning to Taiwan Professor Chiang has participated in many exhibitions and served as a visiting professor at several universities.

The weekend we visited Taizhong happened to be the same weekend that Typhoon Morakot, Taiwan's worst storm in 50 years, wrecked havoc on the island. We had planned to travel south to Nantou that Sunday, but the storm was much worse there, so we decided to stay in Taizhong. Since the weather was so terrible, Professor Chiang invited us to spend the afternoon at his art studio. There he showed us several of his works, told us Chinese folk stories, and demonstrated some calligraphy. He also painted a fan for each of us. Since I had not yet chosen a Chinese name for myself I asked him to select one for me. He gave me the name 柯玉莲 (pronounced ke yu lian). He selected 柯 (ke), which means stem, for my surname because it sounds like the "c" in Camp. He selected (yu lian) for my given name, which means jade lotus. Jade is a stone, usually either green or white in color, considered to be very valuable in Chinese culture. Lotus is a type of pink water lily that is native to China and Taiwan and commonly found in paintings. On one side of my fan Professor Chiang wrote “雨新友来” which means "when it rains new friends come". On the other side he painted a budding lotus flower and wrote "玉莲, new life". It was a memorable weekend, and I am looking forward to visiting with Professor Chiang again soon.

Above: Professor Chaing and I with my new fan and a book of his paintings. Below: Don Hess displaying the airplane on Professor Chiang painted on his fan; BainBain and Professor Chiang at his desk and a picture with BainBain's fan.