Where did your name come from?

My name is Yichun Kao.

When I was a kid, I once went to the “Xuehai Academy” to look up our family genealogy. I can’t really remember the details anymore, but at least there was some sort of lineage, a thread that connects me to the past.

As for the meaning behind my given name? Honestly, I have no idea.

But my nickname, that’s another story.

For the longest time, I thought it was my grandfather who gave me the name Xiao Pi. Recently, while chatting with my sister, I found out it was actually her idea. She borrowed it from a character in some old cartoon.

Back then, most of the cartoons we watched were imported. Their names often got “localized,” shaped by the habits and imagination of the translators. Especially the nicknames—they were loose, playful, sometimes even random.

So maybe Xiao Pi was originally just some dubbing actor’s buddy’s nickname. And somehow, it stuck with me. 😆