Wu Ming - Meaning of The Name

Meaning of The Name

In Chinese, "wu ming" can mean "anonymous" (simplified Chinese: 无名; traditional Chinese: 無名; pinyin: wúmíng) or, with a different tone on the first syllable, "five people" (Chinese: 五名; pinyin: wǔ míng), the pun being part of the reason the collective adopted the name. The name is meant both as a tribute to dissidents ("Wu Ming" is a common byline among Chinese citizens demanding democracy and freedom of speech) and as a rejection of the celebrity-making machine which turns the author into a star. "Wu Ming" is also a reference to the third sentence in the Daodejing: "Nameless is Heaven's and Earth's origin" (simplified Chinese: 无名天地之始; traditional Chinese: 無名天地之始; pinyin: wúmíng tiāndì zhī shǐ).

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