Chinese family organization has undergone significant change, first as a result of the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 and more recently as a consequence of the one-child policy initiated in 1979 and the declining influence of patriarchy. These changes have created dilemmas regarding appropriate forms for central family values and practices. The problems inherent in this situation are illustrated through the choice of family and given names for newborns. Traditionally, family names have been the principal symbolic means of reflecting the continuity of kinship and the immortality of the ancestral family. Chinese given names also serve social functions as generation markers, as a projection of personal identity, a gender indicator and indirect reflection of social change. Evidence suggests considerable ambiguity and debate among contemporary Chinese regarding the cultural guidelines for selection of family and given names for newborns. These microsocial conflicts are consistent with observed structural discontinuities in family organization, illustrating the reciprocal relationship between institutional conditions and behavior.
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