The Aporia · Ancient Chinese families gave babies humble nicknames – ‘Dog’, ‘Pig’

Ancient Chinese families gave babies humble nicknames – ‘Dog’, ‘Pig’ – to ward off bad luck

Read the original at South China Morning Post ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Yan, A. (2026, October 15). Ancient Chinese families gave babies humble nicknames – ‘Dog’, ‘Pig’ – to ward off bad luck. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3370937/ancient-chinese-families-gave-babies-humble-nicknames-dog-pig-ward-bad-luck?utm_source=rss_feed

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Quick Summary

Chinese parents historically gave babies humble or even vulgar nicknames like “Dog” or “Pig,” believing that these names would ward off bad luck and ensure the child's health and longevity in a time of poor medical care and low life expectancy. Some contemporary Chinese believe these traditional names should be preserved as meaningful blessings.

Written by AI on 2026-10-15, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Ancient Chinese families gave babies humble nicknames like “Dog” or “Pig” to ward off bad luck and ensure their children would grow up healthy, according to a recent article in the South China Morning Post. This practice dates back to ancient times when medical technology was limited and people’s average lifespans were short. Some believe these nicknames carry parents’ heartfelt blessings and should be preserved despite sounding humble or even unflattering to people from other cultures. The use of animal names such as “Dog” or “Pig” was intended to discourage evil spirits by making the child appear less desirable, thereby protecting them from harm.

Written for “Ancient Chinese Baby Nicknames” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

29%

2 of 7 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

62/100

South China Morning Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Other

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-10-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

South China Morning Post · 3720 article(s) · 8 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 8 correction(s)

2026-11-03

Singapore hit-and-run: organiser of fund for orphaned boy vows transparency

2026-11-01

Former Apple Daily publisher joins mainland China tour for rehabilitated offenders

2026-10-16

Nobel Peace Prize: the message behind Navi Pillay’s win

2026-10-16

Indonesian governor’s Singapore trip adds fury to forest fire, haze crisis

2026-10-04

Flight to Okinawa diverts back to Hong Kong after suspected landing gear fault

2026-10-04

Tennessee prisons chief resigning after botched execution of Christa Pike

2026-09-29

Indonesian prison chief suspended over secret VIP compound for inmates

2026-09-28

Trump ‘arms offer’ to China jolts Washington into moves to contain the fallout

Who wrote this

Alice Yan

24 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 How could I abandon her?” the 68-year-old Xuan was quoted as saying.

2026-10-25 · assertive framing · ‘Mum, good’: Chinese woman wakes vegetative daughter-in-law after 17 years of care

🔮 China AI researcher rises to Xiaomi’s top level in 10 months, talks work-life balance I am like a snail who does not pursue the fastest move, but my every step is clearly visible, Luo says of her character Beijing-based smartphone and electric vehicle giant Xiaomi announced in mid-October that it would promote 31-year-old Luo Fuli to its highest-level position, once again putting the “AI prodigy” at the centre of heated discussion. The move came 10 months after Luo joined the company as head of its large language model (LLM) unit.

2026-10-21 · assertive framing · China AI researcher rises to Xiaomi’s top level in 10 months, talks work-life balance

🔮 Under the city’s Restraining Dog Raising Rules, owners of small ornamental dogs in designated “key restraining” areas may walk their pets only between 7pm and 7am.

2026-10-16 · mixed framing · China tech city dog-walking limits criticised; some question ‘how dogs can get some sunshine’

🔮 Some of these may surprise people from other cultures because they sound humble or even unflattering.

2026-10-15 · mixed framing · Ancient Chinese families gave babies humble nicknames – ‘Dog’, ‘Pig’ – to ward off bad luck

🔮 However, no institution was willing to accept her as a student due to her age, prompting her to take matters into her own hands.

2026-10-05 · mixed framing · Chinese ‘Coffee Grandma’ learns brewing to save son’s cafe, inspires female independence

🔮 China ‘living Buddha’ honoured for US$9 million donation after saving every cent for charity Wang is leaving no inheritance to his children, having informed them that his wealth will continue to be donated even after his passing A 98-year-old man in eastern China has garnered widespread praise for his remarkable philanthropy, which includes donations totalling 60 million yuan (US$9 million), while leading an exceptionally frugal life himself. Wang Chunwen, a resident of Ninghai county in Zhejiang province, has been honoured with the China Charity Award by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the highest accolade in the country to recognise significant contributions to charitable efforts.

2026-09-10 · assertive framing · China ‘living Buddha’ honoured for US$9 million donation after saving every cent for charity

Also by Alice Yan

‘Mum, good’: Chinese woman wakes vegetative daughter-in-law after 17 years of care

2026-10-25 · South China Morning Post

China cancer patient who inspired hit film hopes to stop treatment after 35,000 pills over 2 decades

2026-10-23 · South China Morning Post

China AI researcher rises to Xiaomi’s top level in 10 months, talks work-life balance

2026-10-21 · South China Morning Post

China celebrities speak out on mental health diagnoses to seek authentic connections with fans

2026-10-20 · South China Morning Post

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 24 articles by Alice Yan →

Topics

Chinese

Subjects

Chinese NORP · 3× Dog PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Ancient Chinese families gave babies humble nicknames – ‘Dog’, ‘Pig’ – to ward off bad luck Some believe these humble nicknames carry parents’ heartfelt blessings and should be preserved

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-15

🔮 Some of these may surprise people from other cultures because they sound humble or even unflattering.

2026-10-15 · South China Morning Post

Ancient Chinese families gave babies humble nicknames – ‘Dog’, ‘Pig’ – to ward off bad luck · mixed framing

Claims (7 extracted, 2 hedged)

nicknames → give → blessings

Like people elsewhere in the world, Chinese people often have nicknames in addition to their official names. asserted

people → have → names

Some of these may surprise people from other cultures because they sound humble or even unflattering. uncertain

they → surprise → cultures

Chinese parents have traditionally given their children humble, sometimes vulgar, nicknames – occasionally using animal names such as “Dog” or “Pig.” asserted

parents → give → Dog

The practice dates back to ancient times. asserted

practice → date → times

Parents believed that the humbler a nickname sounded, the better, as it might help ensure their child grew up healthy. uncertain

child → believe → ?

This practice was a desperate measure in ancient times, when medical technology was limited and people’s average lifespans were short. asserted

lifespans → limit → times