There is a lady, whom I only know as Nji13, on an adoption forum I read. She is Chinese (from Shanghai, I believe) and has been called the "Cultural Attache" on the forum. It is always interesting to learn from her when she explains how things would be seen from a perspective in China. She was recently (and generously) translating names for those who requested, and here's what she had to say about Ari's Chinese name and
my attempted translation of "Serenity." The Chinese characters have (usually) a direct translation to English words, but they can't adequately contain the connotation of what that word means in Chinese culture, nor how the meanings of the two characters interact with one another to make a unique meaning. So this information is truly a gift.
思 means to "think", or "consider", best expressed actually as "contemplate."
静 means "still", "quiet", or "calm". The meaning in Chinese is deeper though because the quality of meaning is about a meditative type of reflective quiet or calm (ie: a quiet mystery). So yes, serenity in a spiritual sense fits.
Together they mean "contemplate the stillness". In the context of a child's name, it confers a belief that the child will come to know that which most are unable to know, the ability to quietly reflect upon the mystery of life in a spiritual way.
Be still and know that I am God.
