Jun Chang (骏昌) has just undergone a divorce with his wife whom he had been with for three years. He just could not bear with her irrationality and the frequent verbal abuse hurled at him. He decided to end the marriage as he was not able to cope with it anymore.

Looking dejected and emotionally drained, he complained to me that luck has never been on his side. He has always been a responsible finance officer who quietly takes on whatever workload that his boss has passed to him and works overtime to meet the deadlines.

Sometimes, the colleagues would unsympathetically play ‘taiji’ and push projects that are deemed as tedious and unglamorous to him as they know that he will never say no.

He has only been promoted once despite working for the company for nearly 15 years. His bosses do not really appreciate him despite the fact that he is hardworking and seldom takes medical leave.

Jun Chang is born in the year of the rat and his Chinese name has violated the principles laid down in this Chinese Name System (八字生肖姓名学). I’m going to explain what could have been wrong in his Chinese name.

The Anatomy of our Chinese Name

Before I go into the name analysis of Jun Chang, let me provide you with a basic understanding of this Chinese Name System that we use.

First and foremost, the Chinese surname represents one’s relationship with parents, whether he or she is well-provided for by the family, a person’s intelligence, academic performance during primary and secondary school, creativity, status, reputation, etc.

Having the appropriate surname enables one to enjoy a good head start in life.

Now, the issue is that most of us are not able to change our surname if things do not turn out the way we want. In this instance, we would then have to rely on the careful selection of middle and last Chinese characters in the name to mitigate or neutralise the negative influence of the surname.

The middle name influences a person’s relationship with peers, siblings and spouse. In addition, it also talks about Emotional Quotient (EQ) and a person’s self-esteem. As for the last name, it governs the career, wealth, immunity of a person and his or her affinity with kids.

General Characteristics & Destiny of People who are born in the Year of the Rat

The ancient masters examined the likes and dislikes of rat and extrapolated to find the Chinese characters that can complement the idiosyncrasies of this zodiac sign.

The rats are a nocturnal group of species that become active and alert after the sun sets. Their cleverness, resilience, adaptability and other talents are revealed especially during the dark.

When the daylight comes, it is time they go back to their holes or hidings to avoid being “grilled” under the heat and the sun.

The relationship between the rat and the human being is usually adversarial but they are inseparable. The former is often associated with filth and disease which pose as risks to the well-being of humans.

And yet, whichever part of the world the human beings live in, the rats will follow. For many years, this is how rats have co-existed with human beings.

From the Chinese metaphysics angle, the rat zodiac belongs to the first of the 12 Zodiac Signs and among the 5 elements, it belongs to the water element – same as pig zodiac. Water element denotes wit and intelligence. For the other remaining zodiac signs, they either assume the element of wood, fire, earth or metal.

In terms of characteristics, people who are born in the year of the rat are generally found to be more prideful and sometimes more self-opinionated. It is not easy for them to accept suggestions from others and this often becomes their Achilles heel that can lead to a setback.

On their destiny path, most do not experience good luck before they turn 30. Their affinity with family members and financial support from parents are not strong. Hence, they have to rely on their own diligence and perseverance to break through from the status quo.

The good news is that people who belong to the rat zodiac will see positive changes in their life after they pass middle age and will enjoy the fruit of success owing to their past efforts.

So, what is the issue with Jun Chang’s Chinese name?

If you look carefully at Jun Chang’s Chinese characters, you will notice that the Chinese radicals “日” and “马” are present in his name. They mean sun and horse respectively.

There is a quote in this system that says “老鼠见日死”. In English, it implies that the rat will die when it sees the sun. In addition, horse or “马” radical which belongs to the fire element leads to a direct clash with the water rat.

If I were to explain through a real-life situation, it would mean that people born in the rat year who have such Chinese characters in their names will face a lot of obstacles in life such as being bullied by friends and colleagues, suffering from an estranged relationship with spouse and even health issues.

They will also tend to be introverted, timid and suffer from a lack of confidence. Jun Chang’s Chinese name implies “outstanding and prosperous” according to the dictionary. He has his talents but he just cannot shine.

If he were to be born in the year of another animal sign, his fate would be different. Alternatively, he can choose to change the characters in his Chinese name to improve his luck, which is quite a common practice in countries like Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Which Chinese surname will provide a good head start for your Rat Baby?

Let us now take a deeper look at the dos and don’ts when you are selecting the name for your baby. First of all, it would be preferable for a rat baby to be born into a family carrying a surname like:

方、石、田、司、吳、呂、谷、高、宮、祝、商、黃、苗、常、彭、程、游、潘、顏、嚴、蕭、康、賀、王、龐、龍、龔、農、牟、牛、鈕、袁、申、洪、汪、金, etc.

It does not like surnames such as:

毛、巴、朱、徐、倪、佟、章、張、楊、熊、馬、許、馮、姜、丁, etc.

The approach to selecting good names for your baby is a rigorous and holistic one. Not only is there a need to ensure the names complement the baby’s destiny chart, but the individual Chinese characters within the name must also contain the right sound and shape.

These ultimately create the right results for the child in all aspects of his or her life. It is also of paramount importance that the given name is compatible with both parents’ Chinese Names and zodiac signs.

In fact, many parents and adults nowadays are seeking help from name experts to enhance or improve their studies, romance, career luck and even a child’s behaviour.

What Chinese characters are suitable for babies born in the year of Rat?

We have earlier discussed the general characteristics of the rat zodiac sign which provides the fundamental knowledge for us to select Chinese characters that are appropriate for them.

The following Chinese characters or radicals are some examples that are considered auspicious for babies born in the year of the rat:

1. 妞、紐、鈕、炄、嘉、均、生、牲、笙、性、家、豪、濠、象、緣、亥、核、該、垓、孩

In the study of Ba Zi, such characters or radicals like 丑、子、亥 form a 三会 [San Hui] or 3-Seasonal Winter relationship with rat which is another auspicious set of combinations. For instance, if such a word is used in the middle name, it will strongly enhance a person’s marriage luck, relationship with peers and his or her confidence level.

For a child, it will also strengthen the character development. For your information, Pig, Rat and Ox zodiac signs form this relationship.

2. 国、园、同、宏、定、富、閎、广、厂、姗、册、稐、谷、容、戶、門、康、廉、田、莆、可、名、如、合、呈、周、品、嘉、安 、宇

Rat is often found to live in or near living spaces of people. It feels protected and comfortable with places like the field, cave, roof, near the fence or having a shelter over its head.

Having shapes of words like 穴，门，广，册，田，口 in one’s name means stability in career and relationship, being well-protected and having supportive relatives and friends and a smooth-sailing life.

3. 和、利、莉、香、蘇、秉、豆、登、米、菊、科、益、淑、豐、豊

Rat prefers to eat grain, cereal, maize and rice. The presence of radicals like 禾，豆，米 in a person’s name will usher good support in life, plenty of helpful people and makes it easier to achieve success in life.

4. 酉、羽、非、金、鴻、翁、廖、票、鈞、鵬、鵑、雀、雁、兆、翡、飛、雄

The Chinese words here carry the radical of 金 or metal element. Since rat belongs to the water element, in this instance, the metal will produce or enhance the water energy which is deemed as auspicious.

5. 永、孟、孫、存、孔、學、汪、承、淳、丞、享、泰、沛、冰、字、李、水、永、泳、泉、清、涵、港、孝

Such characters or radicals that contain 子，氵belong to the water element. Since rat belongs to the water element, the water radicals will lend strength to the water energy of rat which is deemed as auspicious.

6. 龍、辰、農、宸、震、展、振、丽、庆、麒、麟、君、京、贝、申、紳、呻、珅、袁、遠、園、猿、九、示

In the study of Ba Zi, such characters or radicals that contain 龍, 辰, 申 or 袁forms a 三合 [San He] or 3-Harmony relationship with the rat which is extremely powerful and auspicious. It will boost a person’s luck in career, wealth, marriage and health.

For your information, Monkey, Rat and Dragon zodiac signs form this auspicious trinity.

7. 衣、丝、巾、采、萧、彦、布、市、帛、帝、常、彩、彭、彬、衫、杉、福、珍、礼、裕

The group of words here comprises 糸、衣、采 radicals and this refers to cloth and silk. When the rat is dressed up, it implies a rise in status in the society.

8. 王、珍、玉、君、皇、玲、首、主、大、长、太、示、鼎、禄、祺、礼、宗、祯、奇、祈、祝

The presence of the words above favours the rat since the rat is ranked as the first in the line-up of the 12 zodiac signs. It is deemed as having the ability to assume the position of a leader or king and be well respected.

On the contrary, Chinese characters below are considered inauspicious for babies under the rat zodiac sign：

1. 竹、節、南、馮、馬、駿、透、烶、燊、炎、骅、然、烈、熒

The words here carry fire element and it clashes with the rat zodiac which is of the water element. Such an elemental clash is serious. It can lead to health issues relating to the heart and blood circulation and immunity or lead to relationship problems or money losses.

2. 羊、美、羚、羲、善、祥、翔、妹、逹、茉、羡

In the study of Ba Zi, rat and goat form a harmful relationship. It is considered one of the most serious violations in the Chinese Name System that can lead to stress in their career, a setback in life, divorce, legal cases, diseases and even poor finances. Avoid using 羊 radicals in your name at all costs.

3. 通、建、廷、庭、宛、强、融、虹、凡、弘、引、凱、川、之、华

Snake is the arch-enemy of the rat so it is a taboo to see snake radicals like 辶 or 弓 which symbolises snake. If a person (under the rat zodiac)’s name contains this, it implies the person is always facing troubles or dangers either in relationship, career or money.

4. 怡、性、思、恩、慈、惠、意、愛、愉、慧、育、朋、志、忠、念

The rat will be at risk to see 心、月、忄radicals because such words are associated with the heart which is seen as part of our flesh or meat and human beings usually use meat as a bait to trap the rat. In this situation, people having this character in their name will often find that they get sabotaged by people around them easily.

5. 山、岡、岳、岷、峻、崇、峰、崢、嵩、崑、崎、岱 、丘、瑞、良

It is not good to have 山、谷、丘radicals because it implies mountainous areas and it is quite challenging for the rat to look for food there. In real life, this implies one has to put in a lot of effort in their endeavours but it does not guarantee a favourable outcome. A person’s life path can be filled with challenges.

6. 伸、伶、佳、仕、任、伯、佩、儂、依、介、徬、役、俊、仙、修

Words contain 人 and 亻symbolise presence of the human. It’s definitely inauspicious to have such words in the name because the rat is fearful of human beings. The use of the words here will attract backstabbers in real life.

7. 晶、煦、昌、旭、升、明、易、晉、皓、晨、耀、光、辉 、智、春

It is life-threatening for the rat to see names that contain 日 or 光 radicals because the rat is a night animal. It is scared of sunlight. During the day, the rat can be easily spotted by people and hence, it is at risk of being caught.

For anyone who has these words in the name, it can also imply the person is timid and will be easily bullied.

8. 少、小、士 、雀、二、仕、工、云、相、志、卒、力、翠

It is regarded as a demotion or lowering of status for the rat to see radicals or words like 小 or 二 since the rat is the leader of the 12 zodiac signs. For a lady who uses one of these words in the middle name, she may not be well doted by the husband and in the worst-case scenario, she may become a mistress.

The list of examples above is not exhaustive but has covered the quintessence of the Chinese Name System. My objective in this article is to share with you some insights and perspectives on Chinese Name Selection for babies who are born in the year of the rat.

I would encourage you to seek professional advice if you are contemplating picking auspicious names for your child to have a smooth-sailing path in the future.

With this, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for reading this article and wishing you good health and abundance in 2020!

This article is contributed by Master Jo Ching.

Master Jo Ching (莊裕善老师) is the founder of DestinyAsia Global Consultancy and Master Trainer of Destiny Academy. Besides providing professional advices to clients on their home and office feng shui, destiny analysis and auspicious Chinese Name selection, he also conducts professional feng shui courses and corporate talks. He is frequently quoted by media like Lian He Wan Bao, Asiaone, The New Paper, RazorTV, Yahoo and more. You are welcome to visit his company website or contact him at joching@destinyasia.com.sg.

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