北京新东方学校 王江涛The Importance of Name
Recently, it is universally acknowledged that due attention has to be paid to the importance of name. To begin with, a large number of people assert that one’s name can exert profound influence on the success of a person or institution. In addition, some even maintain that the mental health and physical fitness of a person will be influenced or even determined by his or her name.
On the contrary, it is the view of a great many people that one’s name is of little significance. I can think of no better illustration than the following ones. “Qiu”, which means “hill”, is the name of Confucius, the greatest thinker, philosopher and educator throughtout history. Likewise, another case in point is Lao Zi, the founder of philosophical and religious Taoism, whose name is “er”, which means “the ear”. These examples effectively clarify that one’s future is only determined by his striving spirit, talent or intelligence rather than some mysterious and superstitious factors such as certain names or lucky numbers.
As for me, significance should be attached to intelligence, persistence and diligence instead of one’s name. Given all the above arguments, it is high time that we put an end to this undesirable phenomenon.
北京新东方学校 王兆飞
On the Importance of a Name
There is no denying the fact that it is a controversial topic whether names are important or not. Some hold the positive view. They claim that a good name, or a name that can be easily remembered, can bring one a lot more opportunities than others. Some Chinese may also believe that a name designed according to the traditional theory of five elements can bring good luck.
Others, however, hold the opposite view. They argue that a name is nothing but a code to distinguish one from another. A person “good” name may not be as successful as the name indicates. In the same way, a person who has a common or casually given name can also achieve tremendous success.
Personally, I believe that both sides have something right, so we should not go to extremes. On the one hand, we have to admit that a well designed name can help a person to some extent. On the other hand, we should not exaggerate the effect of a name on a person’s fate. Anyway, a person’s success mainly depends on his hard work and desirable personalities.
