Lexington Ma Foreign Language Department

Topic: The Origin of Chinese Surnames

Objectives:

1. Review surnames learned in Integrated Chinese I/I Lesson One

2. Review family members learned in IC lesson two

3. Review numbers learned in IC lesson three

4. Develop a broader understanding of Chinese surnames

Grade Levels: 9-12 • Estimated Duration of Activity: Two lab days

Concept Keyword: Xing ©m (§Û)

Materials:

1. Computer with access to the World Wide Web.

2. Software with the ability to view Websites with Chinese characters and input Chinese characters into word processor files.

3. Student worksheet and handouts

Activities:

1. Divide students into groups of two. Ask each group to come up with what they think the three most popular Chinese last names are and ask students to guess about the origin of Chinese last names.

2. Have students write down answers on a piece of paper and turn in their papers to the teacher for a later activity.

3. Have students log on to the following websites:

http://www.chinavista.com/culture/letters/surnames.html

This website has an introduction and a brief history of Chinese surnames

http://www.ocrat.com/chargif/surnames.html

This website lists Chinese surnames in Animation. Click on each character to see its stroke order and how to write and pronounce it. Show students how to bookmark websites.

4. Have students read the information in both English and Chinese. Then have students write down the first group of ten Chinese surnames they learn and their Pinyin representations.

5. Have students answer questions about the reading (see student worksheet)

6. Have students share information on their worksheets and anything else they found interesting from their websites in pairs.

7. Take out the prediction paper done earlier by students and check to see if anyone guessed correctly. Add extra points to the lab assignments of the students who guessed correctly.

8. For extension of the activities, have students research one famous Chinese person who has one of the ten most popular Chinese surnames and write a paragraph of 500 words in English to introduce and share about them with the rest of the class.

Evaluation:

1. Students are evaluated based on the quality and accuracy of the worksheet answers.

2. The extension activity could be used as Honors' assignment or extra credit for Level I students since this is a combined class.

By Lili Pan • Lexington High School • August 2003

Student Worksheet

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We will be visiting two web sites that will give background information on how Chinese last names came about and what are the most frequent used ones as well as their pronunciations and meanings.

1. Log on to the following web site and bookmark the web site.

http://www.chinavista.com/culture/letters/surnames.html

2. Scan the information that is shown. From the structure of the character '©m', what can you find out about the origin of Chinese last names?

3. Can you find answers to the questions I asked in the beginning of the class? (i.e. name the three most popular Chinese last names and how a Chinese last name comes about. You may answer the 2nd half of the question in English.)

4. Read the first paragraph carefully in English, and compare it with the Chinese version from my handouts. List the vocabulary (in Chinese) you know and its English meaning. Then, list the vocabulary or phrases you can guess the meaning of from the English translation (use a loose sheet to write your answers for this question).

5. List the first ten major surnames in Chinese. If you do not know the correct way to write them or how to pronounce them, go to the web site

http://www.ocrat.com/chargif/surnames.html

To find each surname, click on it and it will show the character's stroke orders in animation as well as the pronunciation for the character. Write down the Pinyin for each last name as well.

6. According to the first web site, when was the popular book "Surnames of a Hundred Families" written? How many Chinese last names did it record?

7. Can you make an educated guess about how the Chinese double-word surnames come about?

8. Which is THE most popular Chinese surname suggested by the latest statistics and about how many people have it?

9. Find out how to write the following numbers in Chinese (you may refer to the Integrated Chinese textbook for correct answers).

a. 2140 ~ 256 BC

b. 960 AD

c. 800 years

d. 1,000 years ago

e. 100 million