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SOME CHINESE TERMS OF ADDRESS
As a result of the elaborate Chinese family system and of the fact that so
many relatives live together, a most complicated system of terms of address
has been evolved. Thus servants have to distinguish among the wife and
concubines of the older generations, the wives and concubines of the
younger generations, the young mistresses who are the daughters-in-law
and the young mistresses who are the daughters of the family, etc. Dis-
tinctions are made among elder aunts and younger aunts, and of these, be-
tween those on the paternal and the maternal side, and of these again, be-
tween the sisters and wives of uncles.For the purposes of this book, a simpler system which obliterates these
distinctions is used, with sacrifices of the spirit of the family life. A few,
however, are retained, as follows:
TAITAI stands for the head mistress of the family.
NAINAI, or "young mistress" stands for any young married woman in
the family.
HSIAOCHIEH, or "young missie" stands for an unmarried daughter of
a higher-class family.
KUNIANG stands for an unmarried daughter of any class of family.
LAOYEH and SHAOYEH, or "old master" and "young master" can
generally stand for the father and sons, from the point of view of the
servants.
CHIEHCHIEH and MEIMEI stand for "elder sister" and "younger
sister." MEIMEI can be also used as "sweetheart."
BROTHER, SISTER, UNCLE and AUNT, can also be used as terms of
friendly address among non-relatives.
YATOU is a bondmaid, bought outright for life, or contracted for a defi-
nite term of years.
SUFFIXES: -MEI, term of endearment for a young girl.
-ERH corresponds to "-y" in "Johnny," "Jimmy."
-MA, ending for a woman servant.
-KO, ending for "elder brother."

-xiv-

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Publication Information: Book Title: Moment in Peking: A Novel of Contemporary Chinese Life. Contributors: Lin Yutang - author. Publisher: John Day. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1939. Page Number: xiv.
    
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