Greetings to Comrade Carrol Cox & Louis P. from Wei En Lin

[cwellen <cwellen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings to Comrade Carrol Cox and Louis P, from Wei En Lin

Thanks to you and others for the warm welcome to the List, and to all
who have responded to my posts.
Wei En Lin is a name given to me by a Chinese friend and teacher from
Beijing Language Institute in Haidian (Northwestern Beijing, the
University District).

The question was asked whether it was Mr. Wei, or Mr. Lin.  In Chinese
the surname comes first (as in Japanese).  Thus Zhou En Lai's surname is
"Zhou."  Mao Zedong's is "Mao."

Carrol asked if "Wei En Lin" is a pun for "Why on line?"  Actually, I
had not thought of that.  It is a true name.  En Lin, roughly
translated, means "Compassion"  "Forest".  All Chinese names have a
meaning, like some English names, such as "Faith" "Charity" "Joy".  Wei
is more difficult to explain, though  it is derived, in part,  from the
name of a god of agriculture.

As whether or not to address me (or any person) as "Mr.":   Is that
title not a relic of feudal times (Master=Mister?).  I prefer "Citizen
Wei" or "Comrade Wei," if given a choice.

The Chinese word "comrade"  (tongzhi--sounds like "tongue-jee") has
fallen into disuse since 1979.  It can now be heard only in meetings
presided over by party members or government bureaucrats.  Unfortunate.
A sign of the rise of bourgeois thinking, and symptomatic of the abuse
of the term by extremists during the cultural revolution and before.
Difficult to think of others as "comrades" when you can be denounced for
the slightest "deviation."

Fraternal Greetings,

Wei En Lin

P.S.  I am not Charlotte Wellen, though I am sending from her e-mail
address.





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