Cai (surname)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Tsai" redirects here. For the less common surname, see Zai (surname).
Cai / Tsai
Romanisation
Other names
Anglicisation(s)Tsai
Cai
Chinese name
Hanyu Pinyin
Cài
Gwoyeu RomatzyhTsay
Wade–GilesTs'ai4
Tongyong PinyinCài
Wu
RomanizationTsha [tsʰa]
Hakka
RomanizationTshai
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationChoi
JyutpingCoi3
Southern Min
Hokkien POJChhoà
Vietnamese nameVietnamese alphabetThái or SáiKorean nameHangul채Japanese nameHiraganaさい

Cài (

Revised Romanization,[3] It is also a common name in Hong Kong where it is romanized as "Choy", "Choi" or "Tsoi". In Macau, it is spelled as "Choi". In Malaysia, it is romanized as "Choi" from the Cantonese pronunciation, and "Chua" or "Chuah" from the Hokkien or Teochew pronunciation. It is romanized in the Philippines as "Chua" or "Chuah", and in Thailand as "Chuo" (ฉั่ว).[citation needed
] Moreover, it is also romanized in Cambodia as either "Chhay" or "Chhor" among people of full Chinese descent living in Cambodia and as “Tjhai”, "Tjoa" or "Chua" in Indonesia.

History

See also: Cai (state)

The Chois are said to be the descendants of the 5th son of

social classes
in the new empire, many people of the former state of Cai began to bear it as a surname.

The Cai descendants have undertaken the following two major migrations. During the

Huang Chao Rebellion (AD 875) at the end of the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907), the Cai clan migrated to Guangdong and Fujian provinces. Another later migration occurred when Ming dynasty loyalist Koxinga moved military officials surnamed Cai and their families to Taiwan in the 17th century. As a result, the surname is far more common in these areas and in areas settled by their descendants (e.g., Southeast Asia
) than in other parts of China.

Transliteration and romanization

Chinese

Cai is written the same (蔡) in both

Chinese characters
.

In

Tongyong pinyin, it is Cai in Siyen Hakka and Ca̱i in Hoiliuk Hakka.) In Fuzhou dialect, it is Chái (in Bàng-uâ-cê
).

Other languages

Koreans use Chinese-derived family names and in

McCune-Reischauer
.

Vietnamese also use Chinese-derived family names. In Vietnamese, the name is Thái. The Chinese name 蔡 is usually transliterated via Sino-Vietnamese as Thái but sometimes as Sái.

Japanese do not use Chinese family names but for Chinese in Japan who carry the name, it is さい in Hiragana and Sai in the major romanization systems.

Romanization

Cai is

Teochew and Hokkien speakers, Chai for Hakka speakers, Choi or Tsoi for Cantonese speakers, and Toy or Toi for Taishanese speakers. In Indonesia, it is usually romanized as Tjoa/Tjhoa/Tjoea/Tjhoea (Hokkien & Teochew), Tjhoi (Cantonese) or Tjhai (Hakka) with Dutch spelling, or Tjua/Tjhua (Hokkien & Teochew) with old Indonesian spelling, or Chua (Hokkien & Teochew), Choy/Choi (Cantonese) or Chai (Hakka) with current Indonesian spelling. In the Philippines
, it is Chua /ˈtʃuwa/ or Cua (/'kuwa/ or /kwa/). Chua is pronounced /ˈtʃwa/ in other Anglophone countries outside the Philippines.

Other variations include Chye and Coi.

Derivative names

In addition, some of the Chuas (Cais) who resided in the Philippines adopted Spanish names to avoid persecution by the Spanish rulers during the Philippines'

Spanish colonial rule from the early 16th to late 19th century. Hispanicized forms of the name include Chuachiaco, Chuakay, Chuapoco, Chuaquico, Chuacuco, Tuazon, Chuateco, and Chuatoco.[4] These names were formed from the surname, one character of the given name, and the suffix "-co", a Minnan honorific ko (哥), literally meaning "older brother".[4]

In Thailand, most Thais of Chinese descendance use Thai surnames. Legislation by Siamese

King Rama VI (r. 1910–1925) required the adoption of Thai surnames which was largely directed at easing tensions with Chinese community by encouraging assimilation. Thai law did not (and does not) allow identical surnames to those already in existence,[5]
so ethnic Chinese formerly surnamed Chua incorporating words that sound like "Chua" and have good meaning (such as Chai, meaning "victory") into much longer surnames.

After

127/U/Kep/12/1966 which strongly encouraged ethnic Chinese living in Indonesia to adopt Indonesian-sounding names instead of the standard three-word or two-word Chinese names. Many Indonesianized names are Chinese surname syllables with western or Indonesian prefix or suffix – resulting in many exotic-sounding names. Although two Chinese individuals shared the same Chinese surname, they may employ different strategies for the Indonesian-sounding names. For example, Indonesianized forms of Cai include Tjuatja, Cuaca, Tjuandi, Cuandi, Tjahjana, Tjahja, etc. Despite the Indonesianization, the Chinese surnames are still used today by the Chinese-Indonesian diaspora overseas (mostly in the Netherlands, Germany, and USA); by those Chinese-Indonesians courageous enough during Suharto's regime to keep their Chinese names (e.g., Kwik Kian Gie), or by those who couldn't afford to process the name change through Indonesia's civil bureaucracy. After Suharto resigned from the presidency, subsequent governments revoked the ban on the ethnic Chinese from speaking and learning Chinese in public. Using the original Chinese surnames is no longer a taboo but only a small minority have decided to re-adopt the original Chinese surnames of their grandparents or to use the Mandarin Chinese pinyin
romanization, pronunciation and spelling and most retain their changed names as the post-1965 generations have been culturally Indonesianized.

Notable people

Cai Wenji, also known as Cai Yan, a Han dynasty poet and composer

See also

References

  1. ^ "新京报 – 好新闻，无止境".
  2. ^ "Common Chinese Names." 2007 ranking.
  3. ^ "Popular Chinese Surnames in Singapore." Archived February 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine at Statistics Singapore. 2000 ranking based on romanized form of Chua.
  4. ^ a b Hector Santos. Katálogo ng mga Apelyidong Pilipino (Catalog of Filipino Names). Archived 2010-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Kriengsak Niratpattanasai. "Why many Thais have a long surname." Thailand Tales column in the APMF Asian Business Strategy Ezine.
  6. ^ 海をゆく巨龍：転換期の安保２０１０　中国で「沖縄返せ」の声（その２止）毎日新聞2010年8月18日東京版朝刊、
  7. ^ 仲井真弘多後援會 Archived 2011-01-23 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "大いなる遺産～進貢貿易と閩人三十六姓～" – via YouTube.

External links

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