Daaighu & Taaitaai- Respected Women


Daaighu: a form of address for an elderly woman.
A learned woman named Baan Chu (A.D. 25-88) completed the book her elder brother, Baan Gu, did not finish before dying.  She concluded The History of the Han Dynasty, and the emperor invited her to teach all the palace ladies.  They called her Daaighu, “a learned woman.”

Despite getting an advanced degree, I wouldn’t like to be known as daaighu.  The term now brings to mind elder (Han Dynasty-aged?) matriarchs.  Modern women prefer the simpler taaitaai.

Taaitaai: Mrs.; wife.
Ah, married life.  When I was single, I wanted to change my difficult sounding last name.  Every time I met someone, I needed to spell it out.  In a twist of irony, after I married (not just for his name), I realized I still clarified my surname.  Multiple variations of Chow include: Chao, Chou, etc.  Social media introduced a new hassle in my life, too.  My plainer name makes it harder to snatch up handles before the name-clones sneak in.    

Wuhleihjing- Fox Demon
Baatpoh- The 8th Woman, or The Numbers Game

Comments

  1. Dan, the Nice Guy says

    BTW, Taiitaai is a popular term usually referring to a married woman of a higher social status.

  2. Thanks for the info!

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