whatever one would like to be(1981: 86). Some people have more than one courtesy name The h public name par excellence. Such names, Eberhard points out, are often used on occasions when a man wants"to make his personal identity clear without revealing his per sonal name(ming(1970: 219). In the past, and to some extent today the ming was consid ered to be too intimate, too personal to be used outside a circle of close friends and kin(Eber hard 1970: 218). The Chinese I know hide their names writes maxine Hong Kingston in Woman Warrior; "sojourners take new names when their lives change and guard their real names with silence"(1977: 6) Sung notes that hao names are no longer popular in present-day taiwan except among high government officials (1981: 86). However, in Hong Kong hao are still widely used; they are commonly found for example, on business cards and of course many painters or writers sign their work with a hao ense courtesy names are different from birth and marriage names. One achieves a courtesy name. They are a mark of social and economic status, and a poor man who gives himself such a name may be accused of putting on airs. Any man may take a hao but if he not aman of substance, the hao is likely to remain unknown and unused. with poor men or politically insignificant men these names, if they have them at all, may appear only in geneal ogies or on tombstones Some Ha Tsuen men have posthumous names(shih-hao) that they take themselves or have conferred upon them by others. Among the imperial elite posthumous names or titles were given to honor special deeds. In the village however taking or giving a shih-hao is left to dividual taste. The practice has declined in recent years The preceding discussion suggests that names mark stages in a mans social life. The posses- ion of a birth name, school name, nickname, marriage name, courtesy name and posthumous name attest to the fact that a man has passed through the major stages of social adulthood By the time a man reaches middle age he has considerable control over his names and naming le names others(his children or grandchildren, for example)and he chooses his own marriage courtesy,and posthumous names. He also has some control over the use of these names. this is especially true of a successful businessman or politician whose business associates may only know his courtesy name, his drinking friends one of his nicknames, his lineage-mates his birth name, and so on. The use of names is situational and involves some calculation both on the part of the named and those with whom he interacts Beidelman, in an article on naming among the Kaguru of Tanzania, emphasizes the point that the choice of name reflects the relation between the speaker and the person to whom he speaks(1974: 282; see also Willis 1982). The choice of one name or another, or the use of a kin term rather than a personal name, is a tactical decision In Ha Tsuen the use of nicknames pet names, birth names, courtesy names is, like the use of kin terms, highly contextual Intimates may address each other by a nickname when they are among friends but not when strangers are present, family nicknames may be used in the household but not outside of it birth names and surnames with titles may be used in formal introductions but not in other settings. A man might be addressed by a kin term or a nickname depending on the speakers goals. One can give respect by using a courtesy name or claim intimacy by using a nickname. In a single lineage village like Ha Tsuen, where all males are agnatic kinsmen, the strategic use of kin terms and personal names provides a fascinating glimpse into social relationships Surprisingly, however, this flexibility does not continue into old age. when a man reaches elderhood at age 61 his ability to control his names diminishes just as his control over his family and corporate resources weakens In Ha Tsuen and in China generally men often hand over headship of the family when they become elders. The village code of respect requires that male elders be addressed by a kin term (for example, in Cantonese ah baak, FeB, or a combi nation of the given name and kin term, for example, ah Tso baak). Only an exceptional man a scholar or wealthy businessman, will continue to be called by one of his personal names after he named and the nameless 625