Students swap names to improve their luck
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-02-20 10:14

A new semester has just started for elementary and middle school students in the city of Shanghai, and as always a number of parents are registering to change their children's names in the hope of changing their temper, bringing good luck, or improving grades.

Some parents say they hope a new name will help their children drop bad habits, like addiction to the Internet.

One mother surnamed Shi renamed her son, a primary school student, Hengfu, which means eternal happiness in Chinese.

Shi said she decided to change the boy's name because he always did poorly in school. Despite tutoring after school, he always earns mediocre marks in school, she said.

Shi turned to a "name-giving master" to choose a lucky name for the boy.

"I hope the 'special recipe' could bring him good luck," the mother said.

Teachers in the city say a few students in every school change their names at the start of every new semester, usually students who are nearing graduation.

A naming agency located on Fuxing Road M. said it has found names for nearly 1,000 students since setting up shop in 1998.

The store said its professionals analyze the defects of a person's original name, and suggest a new one based on the person's birthday and other fortune-telling skills.

Buying a new name costs between 800 yuan (US$99) and 10,000 yuan.

Parents also have to register the name at the local police department, and pay a small fee. That will legally change their child's name on all documents, including ID cards and passports.

Hu Jie, a university student who changed her name in her final year of high school, said the new name confused her.

"I always had no idea who my classmates were calling when they used my new name," Hu said, adding that she wishes she had kept her old name.

Wu Zengqiang of the Shanghai Elementary School Student Counseling Committee said that name changes might encourage kids to believe fate is more important than their own efforts.