Gene ,

Send a larger " scan " of your red chip . Unfortunately , I cannot make out the
2 characters in your current scan . If you can make it about 2 -or- 3 times larger , it would be most helpful to me , and make a " translation " simpler for me . Then I will let you know if I also translate your red chip to mean " people " or not .

In most cases , Chinese writing deals in conceptual ideas or generalities .
Some words can have a literal translation that corresponds with the written English language . In other writings , there is a mixture of both - literal and conceptual . The actual translation is not difficult - ascribing an actual meaning that we will understand is sometimes tenuous at best .

John