BTW, it’s “Mrs. Chiang,” not “Mrs. Kai-shek.” Time for me to air once again
my plea to all Chinese people who wish to mingle with English-speakers on
friction-free terms: For goodness’ sake get yourselves an English first
name of the obvious kind. If you present yourself to us as “Zhang Li,” we
have no idea whether you are (a) Mr. Zhang, stubbornly clinging to the
surname-first Chinese style, or (b) Mr. Li, trying to accommodate yourself
to our usage by switching your name around. We have to ask you. It’s a
nuisance. If you call yourself “Robert Zhang,” we know where we are, and
things go much more smoothly, see? When I am in China I style myself “Dai
Yuehan,” as a simple courtesy to my hosts, so they know exactly where they
are. (Common Chinese surname “Dai,” “Yuehan” the common transcription of
“John.”) Will you please return the favor? If you feel so very strongly
about maintaining the pure and essential Chinese-ness of your name, perhaps
you should stay in China.