Okay, I have not posted a lot lately… that I readily admit.  The news is that I have started in a graduate school this past spring and thus really overwhelmed with a lot of stuff.  But it is also true that now it is August (today, August 1, is the founding day of the People’s Liberation Army 中国人民解放军; on August 1 was the Nanchang 南昌 Uprising, which is now considered the official founding of the People’s Liberation Army—this is why the flag and insignia of the PLA bears the letters ba 八 and yi 一, eight and one).

For many of this blog’s intended audience (college students, in addition to business people and marketing professionals, in North America) it is the time when they are considering what classes to take for the fall semester.  Indeed, a good friend of mine will be taking Chinese, as well.

This blog, while it focuses on the naming conventions in the greater East Asia (the sphere of Chinese linguistic influence) for both people and companies alike, also will occasionally deal with other cultural aspects related to Chinese characters and their various uses in the Sinosphere.

I generally define Sinosphere to include the People’s Republic of China 中华人民共和国 (including the Hong Kong 香港 and Macau 澳门 Special Administrative Regions 特别行政区), the Republic of China 中华民国 (Taiwan 台湾), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 朝鲜民主主义人民共和国, the Republic of Korea 大韩民国, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 越南社会主义共和国, Japan 日本国, Okinawa 琉球,  Malaysia 马来西亚 and the Republic of Singapore 新加坡共和国.