Peng Liyuan and First Lady Michelle Obama announce the panda cub's name. Photograph via Smithsonian National Zoo.
In an abrupt shift away from decades of panda-diplomatic protocol Friday, First Lady Michelle Obama and Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese Presdient Xi Jinping, announced that the giant panda cub born last month at the National Zoo will be named Bei Bei. The naming decision, which comes well before the traditional 100-day mark upon which pandas raised in captivity are typically named, arrived on the 33rd day of the male cub’s life.
Traditionally, though, panda cubs are not named until they pass 100 days, in keeping with an ancient Chinese custom that is sometimes described as a measure to ward off a lifetime of bad luck.
If Bei Bei is doomed, the first act of misfortune befell most of the panda-gawking public rather than the bear itself, when the National Zoo decided to move up the naming ceremony to coincide with Xi’s and Peng’s state visit. The surprise naming was announced by the zoo on Periscope, a live-streaming video service that Twitter is trying to make a thing. Obama and Peng were joined at the panda exhibit—as two-year-old female panda Bao Bao mosied around behind them—by 15 kindergarten students from Yu-Ying Public Charter School, a Chinese immersion elementary school in DC.
While Bao Bao and the zoo’s previous surviving panda cub, Tai Shan, both received their names after 100 days, spokeswoman Jen Zoon says the waiting period has actually fallen out of style. “Centuries ago it was common for parents to wait 100 days to name their newborn, but parents no longer do that,” she says. Same goes for zoologists in China, who no longer wait to name pandas born in captivity.
And having a state visit from the Chinese president only encouraged the zoo more to push up the naming.
“The importance of the state visit surpassed that of the 100-day mark,” Zoon says.
Obama and Peng chose Bei Bei over Ping Ping, and revealed their choice by unveiling scrolls in Chinese and English. According to the zoo, “Bei Bei” means precious treasure. Many immediately noted the name’s sonic resemblance to “bae,” an acronym used by teens on the internet.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
National Zoo Names Giant Panda Cub 67 Days Early
Bei Bei received his name before the traditional 100-day mark. Is he doomed?
In an abrupt shift away from decades of panda-diplomatic protocol Friday, First Lady Michelle Obama and Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese Presdient Xi Jinping, announced that the giant panda cub born last month at the National Zoo will be named Bei Bei. The naming decision, which comes well before the traditional 100-day mark upon which pandas raised in captivity are typically named, arrived on the 33rd day of the male cub’s life.
Traditionally, though, panda cubs are not named until they pass 100 days, in keeping with an ancient Chinese custom that is sometimes described as a measure to ward off a lifetime of bad luck.
If Bei Bei is doomed, the first act of misfortune befell most of the panda-gawking public rather than the bear itself, when the National Zoo decided to move up the naming ceremony to coincide with Xi’s and Peng’s state visit. The surprise naming was announced by the zoo on Periscope, a live-streaming video service that Twitter is trying to make a thing. Obama and Peng were joined at the panda exhibit—as two-year-old female panda Bao Bao mosied around behind them—by 15 kindergarten students from Yu-Ying Public Charter School, a Chinese immersion elementary school in DC.
While Bao Bao and the zoo’s previous surviving panda cub, Tai Shan, both received their names after 100 days, spokeswoman Jen Zoon says the waiting period has actually fallen out of style. “Centuries ago it was common for parents to wait 100 days to name their newborn, but parents no longer do that,” she says. Same goes for zoologists in China, who no longer wait to name pandas born in captivity.
And having a state visit from the Chinese president only encouraged the zoo more to push up the naming.
“The importance of the state visit surpassed that of the 100-day mark,” Zoon says.
Obama and Peng chose Bei Bei over Ping Ping, and revealed their choice by unveiling scrolls in Chinese and English. According to the zoo, “Bei Bei” means precious treasure. Many immediately noted the name’s sonic resemblance to “bae,” an acronym used by teens on the internet.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Most Popular in News & Politics
The Missing Men of Mount Pleasant
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
8 Takeaways From Usha Vance’s Interview With Meghan McCain
Every Bus Line in DC Is Changing This Weekend. Here’s What to Know.
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
Kings Dominion’s Wild New Coaster Takes Flight in Virginia
More from News & Politics
Trump Threatens DC Takeover, Says He’d Run the City “So Good”; Supreme Court OKs Mass Federal Worker Layoffs; and You Should Go Pick Some Sunflowers
Trump Pledges Support for RFK Stadium Plan, Ben’s Chili Bowl Will Strand Us Half-Smokeless for Months, and Pediatricians Are Suing RFK Jr.
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor
Elon Musk Starts What Is Likely the First Party of His Life, Nationals Fire Longtime Management Team, and Washingtonians Got Carried Away With the Fireworks
Speaker Johnson’s Megabill Prayers Likely to Be Answered Before Holiday Weekend, Wrongly Deported Maryland Man Faced Abuse in El Salvador Prison, and We Found Some Yummy Nepalese Food
Pardoned J6er Will Join Ed Martin’s Justice Department Office, Trump Outlines Hypothetical Alligator Escape Plan, and We Have Fireworks Show Recommendations
The “World’s Largest Outdoor Museum” Is Coming to DC. Here’s a Preview.
A Cult Classic of Cannabis Brands Is Making Its DC Debut