Into the mist - Wenhai, Yunnan

"Does your horse have a name?" Ann asked.

The men looked at each other, grinning, then back at her.

"Ne ge ma - That Horse."

Several weeks earlier I tried the Taiwan delicacy "That Fish." It seems a bit strange to Americans who give everything a name, no matter how redundant or idiotic. We name horses Seabiscuit, cats Fluffy, dogs Spike, and goldfish "beautiful haircut." Apple is currently a popular baby name. There is a Lexington in Kentucky, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Charleston West Virginia and South Carolina.

We aren't the first, though. The ancient Greek explorers traveled far and wide, naming every mountain, hill, and bump in the earth Olympus in honor of home. We have a brilliantly creative naming heritage.

Chinese names tend to be more simple. The surname comes from the father, and is retained through life (doesn't change with marriage). You are the person who was born to your father, for better or worse.

Places are generally named in terms of geographic location. Taiwan's major cities - Taipei - North Tai, Tainan - West Tai, Tai Dong - East Tai, Taichung - Middle Tai.
In China - Beijing - North city, Nanjing - West city.
The name China - Zhong guo - means Middle nation or middle earth.

Horses come and go; born, die, are bought and sold. Cities have names, they will stand forever. People have names, it will live on through their ancestors. But a horse is a horse. There are a hundred in the valley. For the Naxi, pointing and saying "That Horse" is just as good a name as any.