Originally Posted by pomrakthai
It was from the horse's mouth that her was Xue Er, not Xiao Xue.
The customs practised by Northerners (normally regions north of the Yangzi River) is like this:
When a child is born, each is given a name (girls usually: hua, fang, xue, lan, ting , ying, li, etc; boys: xiong, wei, yang, bao, dong....etc)
They may have so-called affectionate (nick) names, that are quite standardized with a Xiao added in front for girls and boys (eg. xiao hua, xiao fang, xiao xue; xiao xiong, xiao wei, xiao yang) When they grow older, some may change to duplication of his / her name: ting-ting, hua-hua, fang-fang for girls but very uncommon for boys to duplicate their names so their original names apply (xiao xiong will become xiong wei; xiao bao = jia bao (wen jiaobao)
When they are older (middle age) men will be called by their surname with a Lao added (see this progression> born Wen Jiao Bao > xiao bao > jiao bao > Lao Wen) So, lao should not mean OLD in the strictest sense. Only when he gets very old, he is known as Bao bobo or bao yeye
For ladies, they will be called by their name with a Jie (sister) added (see this progression> born Li xiang fang > xiao fang > fang-fang > fang jie.....and maybe fang popo (granny fang)
If you dont know how to call those PRC, just like Taikor Futaba, call anyone BAOBEI will do
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