Expert: Shannon G. - 5/7/2007

Question
Hello Shannon and good evening to you.

Thank you for your time.  I hope you can give me some advice.  For the past 12 years, I have been researching the life of my Grandfather.  One of the documents I have mentions a Chinese name, spelled in the document as  "Chiang-Wu."  I'd like to know if Chinese names are similar to English, with a first name/ last name?  If I were to try to find information on this man, would I have better luck looking for Chiang or Wu?  And in the letter I have, it is hyphenated.  Is it proper to place a hyphen between Chiang and Wu or is that an Americanized way of writing it?  

Any advice would be most appreciated!

Thank you Shannon!

Sincerely,

Rich

Answer
Chinese names are not like American names. We actually have family name first and then the given name. From the spelling and the pronunciation of "Chiang-Wu",I'm sure "Chiang" is a given name which is very common in China, meaning powerful or strong while "Wu" is a common family name. If you are to try to look for him, you should try Wu Chiang. But I think you'll find millions of people with the same name because this name is so common, just like Bill Smith or Jack Davidson or whatever. We never put a hyphen between a name. I guess that's your Americanized way of writing it.
Good luck to you and I'm always here to help you.

Shannon