Shankara (686-718)

Girl on Dad's Shoulder (Image of Fatherhood)

Emmelia of Caesarea (300-375)

Plato (428 BC-348 BC) by Raphael (1511) War Dance Plato's Laws (VII:816b) Marcel Marceau (1923-2007) Marcel Marceau performing mime Cornell Campus Ithaca, New York Shankara Name

Names for My Children Seeing a girl on her Dad's shoulders, I heaved a long sigh— and Arline said "Fatherhood— that's what's missing in your life!" She's right— if I had a boy, would name him Shankara— who died at 32, but wrote so much to be called "Mozart of Hindu philosophy". If I had a girl, would name her Emmelia— which Plato wrote in Book of Laws (7:816b) as "Dance of Peace" in contrast to "Dance of War" that Confucius cited in Analects (3:25). Unlike my parents who made my brother and I study engineering at Columbia so we could support them in old age, I'll let my kids do whatever they like. If Shankara wants to be a mime artist on the street, I'll have him study with Marcel Marceau, so he'll learn all the intricacies of the art form. If Emmelia wants to be a modern dancer, I'd contact Martha Graham to take her into her class for rigorous training so she'll perform with the best. I'll suggest they attend Cornell— the most scenic campus in the world, and go to Heidelberg, to take the Philosophers' Walk to be one with Nature. They may not like the exotic names I gave them, but as time goes on, they'd appreciate and be proud of the names they were endowed.     — Peter Y. Chou         Mountain View, 3-27-2023

Confucius (551 BC-479 BC) China 741 (issued 8-27-1947) Dance of Peace Parsla Zalkalne (1970) Bastejkalns Park Riga, Latvia Martha Graham (1894-1991) Martha Graham dancing (Apple Poster) Philosophers' Walk Heidelberg, Germany Emmelia Name Cited by two great sage-philosophers Plato: Laws (VII:816b) Confucius: Analects (3:25)