Should Westernized Place Names Be Driven Out?

A residential community in a small city in China has been christened Venice. Another is named Manhattan after the famous New York borough. These are just a couple of examples of the current phenomenon sweeping construction sites across China： naming them after Western landmarks.

Some worry that the trend of using foreign place names as well as bizarre， exaggerated names， such as calling a community a garden even though there is no actual garden to speak of， is eroding local and traditional culture. Many argue that the penetration of these names could inconvenience and even confuse residents， especially senior citizens who are used to traditional names.

The Chinese Government has recently launched an initiative to address these concerns. The naming of streets， residential communities and parks will be standardized， with names deemed inappropriate and those used by several places being cut from the list of acceptable monikers. Some， however， have suggested that reasonable place name standards should be adopted to make the campaign more targeted.

A timely campaign

Guo Xilin （News.cjn.cn）： Today， foreign names can be seen everywhere， particularly on commercial buildings， and real estate developers are increasingly naming residential communities in an international style. Superficially， these are just names. But if you look deeper， you will see that this penetration of foreign names will have a negative impact on traditional Chinese culture.

We offer our full support for the governments correction of the foreign names scattered across the country. Its also important to hold accountable those responsible for arbitrarily selecting new names. To a large extent， the influx in foreign naming is a result of loose local government supervision.

We need to learn from the rest of the world， but not in terms of names. Take big Chinese cities for example. The cities need to be run at an international level， but they shouldnt copy foreign names. A location must have unique local characteristics if it is to be well remembered around the world. If we use Western names to label our streets， residential communities and so on， its actually a blow to Chinese culture.

The name of a certain place or a residential community， like that of a person， represents its uniqueness， which cant be replaced or replicated. In most cases， the names of places in China relate to a local specialty， whether it is cultural or geographical.

Today， in many places， time-honored houses are being pushed out， including some of great cultural and historical significance； with them go old streets and their corresponding names， too. It is of vital importance that we stop destroying old constructions and replacing ancient names and local features with Western names， however fashionable they may sound.

Shen Hongsheng （Guancha.gmw.cn）： Relevant authorities are planning to regulate the names of residential communities， important buildings， streets， etc. Some people think these names are just a symbol so its unnecessary to be too serious about their naming. But the fact is， in many cases the names of streets or residential communities carry cultural and historical significance. They are even viewed as symbols of civilization.

Non-traditional Chinese names are increasingly seen around the country， particularly fashionable Western names， which have replaced the old names previously used for centuries. Much of the local culture has been replaced with these changes. According to the authorities in charge of civil affairs， the past three decades have seen more than 60，000 township names abandoned， along with 400，000 village names. Without effective measures to reverse this trend， names that are totally out of touch with local conditions in China， such as Manhattan and Venice， are likely to spread around the country.

Guo Yuanpeng （www.cnhubei.com）： Recent years have seen streets in many cities named in a Western way. In order to catch up with the trend， even some very old residential communities have taken on foreign names， in addition to hotels and supermarkets.

As a result， a large number of traditional names of streets and communities around us have been squeezed out by the foreign names. In some cities， due to the inconvenience caused by the renaming of old streets， residents have even filed lawsuits against the local government， demanding the old names be reinstated.

Why does the public dislike these new names？ Mostly， its because these names have confused locals. The old names of certain streets have been there for dozens of years and even centuries. People have gotten used to these names， and the new ones abruptly befalling them are likely to cause many problems. Sometimes， those who have been outside their home city for years find that they get lost when they come back.

Guo Zhengang （Workers Daily）： To some extent， the name of a certain place bears the memory of a period of history in that place. A name of cultural significance adds to the local culture and thus， locals are often attached to it. The name of a city or a town takes shape in accordance with certain events or aspects throughout history that affected it. It can stem from the local terrain， ancient stories， a famous mountain or a big river.

However， recent years have witnessed the mushrooming of exotic and exaggerated place names. In some cases， in order to attract more potential buyers and increase prices， property developers have deliberately given a new community a fancy name. It seems that these names are expected to boost the reputation and influence of a certain place， but actually they have no plausible basis for being selected and have distorted local cultural features. Some local governments， for their part， have not paid enough attention to the protection of the local culture through the naming of places.

People are careful when choosing names for their children， so why do they carelessly name a place？ In the campaign to standardize place names， protection and correction are equally important. Real estate developers and local governments should not be allowed to change the names that the public does not want to be replaced. There should also be a standard system and procedure in place to regulate the changing of place names.

Think twice

Tuo Xingang （Changsha Evening News）： The authorities decision to deal with weird names will easily win support， as these names obviously create problems. But how do you define “weird” names？ There are no clear standards， and when there is an absence of standards， questions will arise. Sometimes， a weird name might have a unique historical background.

The judgment of whether a name is weird should be based on careful analyses， not just the characters included in the name. A place given a foreign name could have stories， legends or a historical background associated with the name. These place names should also be protected because they were not adopted just to attract tourists or visitors. For example， Shanghai has a number of Western-style buildings that have witnessed the development of the city for almost a century. The public long ago accepted the foreign names of these buildings.

Thus， in this round of name rectification， its important to take a prudent attitude and treat the so-called “weird” names in different ways. The government needs to give an ear to local people when cleaning up names across the country. They are familiar with these names and know about the origin of the monikers of certain streets， communities and buildings. We are happy to see that today locals are often consulted when subway stations and parks are named.

There should also be a list for places with names of special cultural and historical significance. These names should be put on the protection list. We have already lost too much cultural heritage and no more should be lost in the process of correcting place names. The names on this list， even if they are no longer in use， should be carved on tablets on the scene， so they can be preserved. A number of such tablets stand in the old districts of Changsha in central Chinas Hunan Province， which remind people of the long history of this city.

Standard names are easier to remember and more convenient to use， and thus tend to be better protected， while place names that are of great historical and cultural significance but not so convenient to use or may even seem “weird” should receive more attention. The preservation of the latter is of great importance culturally.