‘I don’t know what to call her’: Hong Kong woman perplexed by friend who changed name 3 times in decade to boost luck, get shopping deals
- Woman changes her name 3 times in space of 10 years, living in belief that it will change her fortunes
- Her habit stems from the Chinese system of geomancy or feng shui in which the positioning of objects confers good luck
A Hong Kong woman’s obsession with changing her name – for reasons of feng shui among others – has left her friend bewildered and prompted a discussion on social media.
The baffled friend made a post about the name-changing fixation on DiscussHK, a popular anonymous discussion forum in the city.
“My friend changes her name so often. I don’t know what to call her,” she said.
The poster said that over the 10-year period the pair have been friends, her buddy has changed her name three times, doing so thoroughly by altering both her English and Chinese names on her Hong Kong identity card.
Each change is bolstered by the fact that her friend only responds to her newly adopted names.
First, she changed her name because “she saw that many shops were offering discounts if a customer’s name contained certain Chinese characters or English letters”.
Her friend also told her that “there should be a lot of benefits if I change to this name.” However, according to the post, no such discounts were forthcoming in the end.
The second name-change came when the friend broke up with her boyfriend, believing that a new name would cement the break-up and kill memories of her ex-boyfriend.
Then, recently, the poster learned that her friend had changed her name again.
This time, the friend met with a feng shui master who recommended that a new name would “make her prosperous for life”.
In Chinese culture, feng shui, a system of geomancy laws, believes that the orientation of houses, objects, cemeteries and, for instance, the choice of name can bring luck and longevity.
The post attracted dozens of comments, some of which accused the name changer of “irresponsiblity” while others offered advice.
“Although it’s up to her, she is still being irresponsible. It’s like playing a game,” said one online observer.
Another responded to the poster: “Your friend is being a bit silly.”
As to the problem of remembering her friend’s name, another commenter suggested: “Next time you see her, just say ‘hey you’.”
