“Famous Author” Hopes Angelababy Will “Dislike Her Western Name” And Start Using Her Chinese Name Instead

Well, this is a rather strange issue to nitpick about.

On Sunday (Feb 14), a man called Liu Xinda, who is described as a “famous author” and “seventh-generation director”, took to Weibo to question why actress Angelababy uses a “western name” when she is “obviously Chinese and Shanghainese”.

“Those who don’t know the truth will wonder if she is a westerner,” he wrote. “Since she knows how to dislike western holidays, Liu Xinda hopes she will also dislike her own western name and go back to using her Chinese name.”

His sudden rant appears to stem from Angelababy’s post on Valentine’s Day, where she wrote: “I heard that today is a western festival, good thing I’m a southerner. Wishing everyone a happy third day of Chinese New Year!”

While most people took her subtle dismissal of Valentine’s Day as yet another hint that she and her husband, Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming, are no longer together, this Xinda fella’s argument goes off on a tangent.

To give a bit of background, Angelababy’s stage name is actually a combination of her actual English name, Angela, and her childhood nickname “Baby”. While she is sometimes referred to by her Chinese name, Yang Ying, most media outlets just go with “Angelababy”, or just “Baby”.

The 31-year-old mother-of-one also has German blood on her father’s side, so technically speaking, she really is part westerner.

Xinda’s post eventually caught the attention of Hongkong writer Chip Tsao (also known as To Kit), who spoke up in defense of Angelababy on his Facebook page on Wednesday (Feb 17).

In his first of four points, Chip claimed that the “positive energy” behind Angelababy’s English name is a way of encouraging the next generation of Chinese film audiences to learn English, and is not a form of idolising foreign ideas.

He then pointed out that Angelababy is well-known in Hongkong, which used to be a British colony and therefore has a different cultural atmosphere.

Thirdly, he brought up American actresses Maggie Q and Lisa S, who are of Asian descent but were never requested to use different names when they worked in China. Finally, Chip said that “Angelababy” is easy to pronounce, and that her success in China is proof that the English language is not an obstacle.