Travel with Angela Lansbury: The Names , surnames Wang and Wong In Chinese and

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Flag of Hong Kong

You may recall the popular novel The World of Suzie Wong, about a prostitute in Hong Kong. The book was made into a play, film and a ballet. Two unofficial sequels were written.

THE NAMES WONG AND WANG

The name Wong is very common. So is Wang. Wong or Wang means king. So Suzie Wong, translated into English would be Suzie King. My friend Mr Wang, translated into English, would be Mr King.

Chinese Writing

Wiki gives this wonderful video demo of how to write the letter for king, pronounced as Wong or Wang. A Cantonese speaking friend of mine in Singapore told me: "The base line of a letter in Chinese is always wider, as a support, like the earth."

I replied, "Or a table or support for a candlestick!"

The majority of people in Singapore are ethnic Chinese and speak Chinese (Mandarin).

Wáng
Origin

Romanization	Wáng ([wǎŋ]) (Mandarin) Wong (surname) (Hong Kong, Macau, Cantonese, Hakka) Waan (Shanghainese) Ong, Bong (Hokkien) Heng (Teochew) Uōng (Gan) Vang, Vaj, Vaaj (Hmong) Vương, Vong (Vietnamese) Wang (Korean) Ō (Japanese) Heng (Thai)
Pronunciation	Wong4 (Cantonese)
Language(s)	Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese
Language(s)	Old Chinese
Meaning	"King"^[1]
Other names
Derivative(s)	Vuong
Popularity	see popular names

Suzie Wong lived in Hong Kong. What does that familiar name mean?