Author's kidding around comes full circle

Primary school student Mi Xiaoquan is ashamed of his name - literally, "small circle" - which was given to him by his architect father.

When Mi was an infant, he scribbled a circle on one of his father's blueprints. The father was exhilarated about his son's prospects as a painter - the dream he never fulfilled - and named his son to encourage him in this pursuit.

"If I had drawn a chick or a puppy, would my father have named me Mi Xiaoji (chick) or Mi Xiaogou (pup)?" the 6-yearold writes in his diary.