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Could adopting a new name improve your fortune? Some Chinese communities think so
One afternoon in April, Mandy Pang’s worst fears came true. She was summoned onto a Zoom with her boss on short notice. Due to the economic downturn from the pandemic, she was being made redundant at her marketing job.
Angry and hurt, the 29-year-old Hong Konger went back home and began brooding over memories from her previous jobs, and the “bad luck” that seemed to be holding her hostage. A month later, still looking for work, Pang decided she knew what she had to do: change her legal name in a bid to shake off her bad luck and improve her future prospects.
She says, “My mother’s friend told me that the new name can help me fend off ‘petty people’” – those who have a negative influence over her life.
In traditional Chinese culture, the meaning behind names has always carried huge importance. Chinese communities across East Asia believe a name can affect one’s luck in every aspect of their lives, from health and romance to finances and academic performance. As the pandemic continues to hit the economy hard, people like Pang who find themselves out of work are not only polishing their CVs, but also heading to fortune tellers for advice on whether a new name might change their futures.
“Chinese people believe that there are 10 things that decide their destiny,” says Lee Shingchak, one of Hong Kong’s most well-known feng shui practitioners. “Other than one’s timing of birth or doing good deeds, one’s name is believed to be one of the factors in the equation.”
In the sentence: “As the pandemic continues to hit the economy hard, people like Pang who find themselves out of work are not only polishing their CVs, but also heading to fortune tellers for advice on whether a new name might change their futures.”, the word “themselves” is: