7 replies to this topic

[Peter]

Regarding Wei Lin...

What is her actual name? Wei is her first name and Lin her last name? I seem to remember Carver calling her Col. Lin, but Bond and others always call her "WeiLin". That's like always saying "MelinaHavelock" or "EmillioLargo". Also, I know that "Wei Lin" is an actual name (like "Mary Jane"), so is that a possibility?

In a related question, what is the signifigance of Feonova (or whatever) in Natalya Feonova Siminov's name? Is that a cultural custom of her mother's maiden name like in Latino cultures?

Finally, Pierce has so far had three girls named after a city, a holiday, and weather; what's next, a cheese? (Camembert Coutard) Actually, I like the names Paris and Christmas, but if Christmas' name annoyed her so much, why didn't she go by "Chris"?

[License To Kill]

I dont understand what you mean there, Peter. Her full name is Colonel (Her Chinese Military Rank) Wai (First name) Lin (Surname). It would look like this on paper Colonel Wai Lin. Hope this helps.


~LTK~

[Peter]

No one ever calls her "Wai", like one refers to "Tania" or "Tracy", only "Wai Lin". That seems strange. Sometimes people refer to the last names (most villians, "Goodnight"), but no one says "first name last name" every time. Anyway, maybe I'm just unfamiliar with Asian names.

Here's another semi related name question. The second clinic girl in OHMSS is named Nancy and she's allergic to potatos. I can't really identify her accent, but I read that she's Italian. How do the names Nancy and potatos reflect Italy? Although we don't know the names of the girls (besides Ruby), generally their allergies seem to reflect their national dish, eg Jamaican girl=bananas, Chinese girl=rice, etc. I always thought Nancy was Russian, although Nancy doesn't seem like a Russian name either. Any thoughts?

[Dortmunder]

Russian women's middle names are their father's name with an added ending on it to make it feminine. Assuming her father's name was Fyodor, then that would make her name Fyodorovna.

Good question about Wai Lin's name, I never really thought about it.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Originally posted by Dortmunder
Russian women's middle names are their father's name with an added ending on it to make it feminine.  Assuming her father's name was Fyodor, then that would make her name Fyodorovna.

Good question about Wai Lin's name, I never really thought about it.

I always thought that a woman's last name reflected if she was married or not. A woman named Fyodrrova ( with no "n") would have a husband named Federov.

And I've always thought that Wai Lin was like a hyphenated first name or first and middle name, and when Caver called her Col. Lin I just thought he was showing his ignorance of Chinese names. My wife who is Indonesian Chinese tells me that most Chinese people have 3 names (for arguments sakes: Wai Lin Chow).

[Blofeld's Cat]

OK, just did some quick research on the structure of Chinese names:

• The full Chinese name is composed of 2 parts - the surname, then the given name (opposite to the arrangement in most countries outside of Asia).
• The surname is generally composed of 1 word or syllable, but there are also 2 character surnames (compound surnames).
• A given name is usually 2 words, but also can consist of just 1 syllable.
• A full chinese name always has 2 or 3 characters, but can also have 4 if there is both a compound surname and a 2-syllable given name.
• Since time immemorial, a 1-syllable surname and 2-syllable given name has been the norn in China.
• A Chinese surname is often passed down through the father, but Chinese women always retain their family name even after marriage.

So, if "Wai Lin" are the given names then her full name would be XXX Wai Lin, and that Carver should have called her Col. XXX (assuming that the family name is used in such recognition of rank.

[Peter]

Thanks for the info, although it's still unclear about her name. Incidently, did you ever hear about how Wai Lin's name came about? Originally, her name was "Lin Pei", which is some term for the curve of a women's behind, along the lines of Honey, Pussy, etc. But Michelle Yeoh didn't like that, so they changed it to "Wai Lin" which has patriotic connotations. Maybe that's why it doesn't seem to make sense as a typical Chinese name, because it's a term for something else.

I wonder if "Pei" is the key word for the double entendre, because there was a "Sunni Pei" in one of the books.

[Harmsway]

Actually, her name was originally "Lin Pao".