Ian Fang returns to using original name for 'reincarnation' — and other local celebs who changed their names

Local actor Ian Fang has never been one to shy away from the limelight.

From his scandal with local actress Carrie Wong to his alleged involvement with Rebecca Lim, it is safe to say that he has landed himself in his fair share of controversies over the years. 

But he's looking to change that. 

On Tuesday (May 24), the 31-year-old announced that he'll stop using his Chinese stage name Fang Weijie and return to using his birth name Fang Weijie. ​​

Okay, you didn't read wrongly. While his stage name and birth name may seem the same when romanised, the homophones take on different meaning when spoken and written in Mandarin.

Ian explained to 8Days that both he and his mother are firm believers of fengshui and his mum decided on his birth name after consultations with fengshui masters.

When probed further, Ian said: "I guess it's like a 'reincarnation' because us Chinese, we believe in the 12-year cycle, and it just happens to line up with the number of years I've been in showbiz. I also see it as a new stage for me to start again."

Back in 2019, Fang was placed under public scrutiny when steamy text messages between him and Carrie Wong were leaked while he was rumoured to be dating Rebecca Lim.

Ian optimistically elaborated that he hopes the name change would bring him more opportunities going forward and that it would "make his path smoother".

Apart from Ian, several other local celebrities have also changed their names.

Chen Xi

In November last year, actor Chen Yixi — whose parents are celebrity couple Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen, reverted to using his birth name Chen Xi.

When he was nine, his parents changed his name due to fengshui-related purposes.

The 31-year-old explained that the name Yixi sounds really similar to Yixin, his younger sister, and people often confused the two.

Felicia Chin

When Felicia Chin made her showbiz debut, she used the Chinese stage name Chen Jingxuan.

But in 2012, the actress, now 37, changed her stage name back to her birth name Chen Fengling when she returned from her acting hiatus.

She said at that time: "It was a simple decision, I wanted to use the name that my dad had given me. The reason I took a stage name when I first started out was because I met someone who gave me sound advice with regards to that and I heeded it.

"I feel bad that after getting used to my stage name, people have to change back to using my original one. But I find that many people still like my original name better, they even come up to me and tell me how happy they are to see me and they like that I am using Chen Fengling now."

 Zhang Zhenxuan

In January 2020, former Mediacorp actor Zhang Zhenhuan also made the decision to change his name to Zhang Zhenxuan after much consideration.

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, the 38-year-old shared that he hoped the name change would signify a new start.

He added that he has always felt the Chinese character 'Huan' was too complicated to write and after consulting a fortune teller, he took a liking to the word 'Xuan' for his new name.

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