Weiguo
Traditional
Simplified
Mandarin Pinyin Wěiguó Wèiguó
Cantonese Yale Wáihgwok Waihgwok
Minnan POJ Uíkok Uīkok Uēkok
Meaning Great nation Latitude of the nation[1] Defend the nation

Weiguo is the Mandarin Pinyin spelling of three Chinese masculine given names (see table). These names are also spelled Wei-kuo in Mandarin Wade-Giles (used in Taiwan), Wai-kwok in typical Hong Kong Cantonese spelling, or Wee-kok in Minnan pronunciation.

Meaning

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These names are popular patriotic names (the second character means "country" or "nation"). In the year of Singapore's independence, many proud parents named their children Weiguo, resulting in confusion for them later in life because so many shared the same name.[2] The name "latitude of the nation" (緯國), paired with a brother named "longitude of the nation" (經國), is an allusion to the classical Chinese phrase jīngbāng wěiguó (經邦緯國), literally meaning "(to draw) the longitude and latitude of the nation", and metaphorically meaning a person who rules over a nation. Chiang Kai-shek's chosen names for his sons Chiang Wei-kuo and Chiang Ching-kuo are an example of this allusion.[1]

People

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People with these names include:

Politics and government

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  • Chiang Wei-kuo (蔣緯國, 1916–1997), Republic of China general and politician
  • Nie Weiguo (聂卫国, born 1952), Chinese politician
  • Lo Wai-kwok (盧偉國, born 1953), Hong Kong politician
  • Yu Weiguo (于伟国, born 1955), Chinese politician in Fujian
  • Han Weiguo (韩卫国, born 1956), People's Liberation Army lieutenant general
  • Gong Weiguo (龚卫国, born 1972), Chinese politician

Sport

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Other

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Moorad, George (1949). Lost peace in China. E. P. Dutton. p. 215.
  2. ^ Liu, Xiaoan (1996), Best Chinese Names, Asiapac Books, p. 4, ISBN 9789813068308