While learning Chinese, the  westerners often cannot understand why it is considered rude to call others’  name, especially the senior ones’ names directly.

Several  years ago, when Bill Clinton came to China and visited Shanghai, he felt  uncomfortable when he was called "Grandpa Clinton" by children in a  community. But when one of the children called him "Clinton," he  began to warm up.

But  in China it is considered impolite for a child to have used Clinton's name  directly. To learn Chinese culture, you are supposed to know that in Chinese, “老 (lǎo) Old” stands for wisdom and prestige,  and it is thus a means of showing respect to the elderly. Usually, it is only  appropriate to call a person by their name directly if they are around the same  age as you. People show their respect to their family members who are older by  calling them uncle, elder sister, aunt, etc. Also, for anyone who is not a  family member but is a member of the older generation, these titles are also  used. For elderly people, children should call "老爷爷 (lǎo yéye) grandpa" and "老奶奶 (lǎo nǎinai)  grandma," or "李大爷 (Lǐ  dàye)" etc, to show respect. If the elderly person is very familiar to you  and is around the same age as you, it is also appropriate to call "老+family  name" such as "老张 (Lǎo  Zhāng) Lao Zhang," "老王 (Lǎo Wáng) Lao Wang" etc. Words like  "张老  (Zhāng Lǎo) Zhang Lao," "王老  (Wáng Lǎo) Wang Lao" are used to address  someone with a noble character and high prestige. Now you can see that in  Chinese, the word "老 (lǎo)"  is usually used to address an older person with honor and respect.

Your Chinese teachers may  have shared with you this idea that the older a person is, the more they should  be regarded as a person with wisdom and prestige, is deeply rooted in Chinese  culture and history. This is why people in China like to refer to the elderly  as: "姜还是老的辣  (Jiāng hái shì lǎo de là)  meaning, "older gingers are hotter.”So don't feel uncomfortable if someone  calls you "uncle," "grandpa" or similar titles in  China. 

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