Question Are you fine with a wuxia novel having characcters with english names instead of chinease ones

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by mja, Feb 4, 2018.

?

English names within a wuxia

  1. no

    21 vote(s)
    29.2%
  2. i'd rather eat my puke

    5 vote(s)
    6.9%
  3. yes

    42 vote(s)
    58.3%
  4. thats my fetish

    4 vote(s)
    5.6%
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  1. mja

    mja Well-Known Member

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    I'm planning on writing a wuxia type novel and I want to have my characters with English names would that ruin the story for you?
    should I perhaps change the genre the setting and some of the world just to keep names cannon within my story? or just have regular Chinese names.
     
  2. tahzib1451

    tahzib1451 Title?is it food?

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    if it doesnt go Little Grass Little Spring in English....
     
  3. lnv

    lnv ✪ Well-Known Hypocrite

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    If your going to go with chinese names, then make them different enough from each other. Like you know, no Yun Yan and Yan Yun in the same world... It would be best if last names and first names are never intermixed. One of the novels I'm reading has a family names of Yun and at same time someone with first name of Yun. And then when it says "Yun siblings" I get confused for a second on who they are talking about. Sure after thinking I figure it out, but that breaks immersion badly.
     
    Slayerwolfx2 likes this.
  4. Nino Sasou

    Nino Sasou 『 ******** 』『 On Paid Leave』

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    If its wuxia with mainland china as base, stick with chinese name for character, except when it come to name of title or location. Like gold valley's one eyed spear zhan fan
     
    zloi medved and MrNebulist like this.
  5. wilico98

    wilico98 Well-Known Member

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    I usually don't mind unless it's those super fantasy names like Leonhardt or Arthur. Though I do find it strange if it's in the middle of ancient china and people with western names
     
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  6. Myriadfold

    Myriadfold 『Silkmaid』『Ishhara's Devotee』『Daoist』『WW Vet.』

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    it's fine if you plan to do what IET did with Coiling Dragon. that was also written with western names as the intended naming schema.

    and things like "little rock" or "spring breeze" are fine too if you wish for creativity in the naming of various characters. just don't pull a cheap and lazy stunt like simply using a translated version of an eastern name that sounds ridiculous to say like tahzib said above
     
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  7. Grenore

    Grenore 《Member》

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    If its only English name then it should be fine. But if you're giving a Chinese name in English, then don't. (don't wanna end up calling a feng clan; A wind clan),
     
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  8. Kagutsuchi

    Kagutsuchi 『Omnipresent Reader』

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    English names are way easier to remember than chinese names (for those who read a lot of novels simultaneously)
    But still, I prefer chinese names, they have their own charm.
     
  9. deepon

    deepon One who inevitably awakens

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    No need to use Chinese names unless the name's meaning holds significance to the plot. Chinese characters used to write names and their pronunciation can have hidden alternate meanings which English names don't.
     
  10. Myriadfold

    Myriadfold 『Silkmaid』『Ishhara's Devotee』『Daoist』『WW Vet.』

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    the bigger issue isn't the names themselves, its the fact you are trying to write something that is explicitly recognized as a "wuxia"

    if you are not chinese, or lived/grew up in china for many years, or a scholar who studies china's history.... you have no real business trying to write a wuxia, all you will produce is a shoddy wuxia imitation.

    instead just use wuxia as a "theme" and write something original, even if it stills feels like a western novel that was simply inspired by the east.


    a big thing about wuxia and other chinese novel subgenres, is that practically all the traditions and items all exist in their countries folklore. you can't just make something up that sounds similar without knowing if what you are including is in fact canon to their traditional lores.
     
  11. Viator

    Viator [Cult of Pyoo: Pyoo's Oak Tree]

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    Honestly when it comes to naming, just go with what you are comfortable with and write the story you want. If you write a story with names that are awkward for you, it can be a real chore. Then your writing becomes even less fun, and more work. Writing always takes work, but I think it is best to minimize it where you can.
     
  12. mja

    mja Well-Known Member

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    ok thanks, i read a shit ton of wuxia novels and was trying to do something similar I'll consider changing the setting and genre to something more western fantasy like or a fusion of some kind as i still want keep some of the lore about Chinese ancient or divine beasts and some aspect of Buddhism and Taoism you often see in wuxia novels
     
  13. Dat_Karma

    Dat_Karma Still Here

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    If it's a nickname or if the person's name is actually in English then sure, I'm fine with it
     
  14. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

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    English names are fine, really... Like... They are names, as long as they name stuff properly, they work.
     
  15. ToastedRossi

    ToastedRossi Well-Known Member

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    There's nothing wrong with using English names in a wuxia novel; or any other kind of names for that matter. However, these books are going to probably deal with a lot of Chinese social conventions, so it'd probably feel a bit odd. And if you're not putting in a lot of Chinese social conventions into your book, then there isn't a lot of point in making it wuxia in the first place.
     
  16. Rumby

    Rumby Rumbly Tumbly

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    I don't mind, probably easier for me to remember characters that way >.<"
     
  17. GrimReeFer

    GrimReeFer Well-Known Member

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    I use a program to change the names when reading a story, chinese names all sound the same even when put next to each other.
     
  18. Myriadfold

    Myriadfold 『Silkmaid』『Ishhara's Devotee』『Daoist』『WW Vet.』

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    not a problem. most people don't realise but there are quite a few webnovels written by people around the world using magic as a theme. the way they write their stories could be considered very similar to wuxia in that the mages and magic systems all have defined tiers and stages of growth without leading to immortals fighting gods etc.

    ultimately wuxia is a martial arts story set solely in a china-like setting. you can do the same even if you just keep some of the most cliche similarities and theme the story around a country you are familiar with, including any extra stuff as exotic versions from afar.
     
  19. GregLuck

    GregLuck Well-Known Member

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    Yes, that's my fetish.
    I just like it, most of my favorite CN use western name, like the log of crazy lich, release that witch, erm both MC are roland, so . . . . .
     
  20. Jeebus

    Jeebus Well-Known Member

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    Consider what setting you use in your novel. If your novel is set in a Chinese setting, use Chinese names. If it's in a Korean setting, use Korean names. If it's set in a Western setting, like medieval England or 19th century US for a western, use English names.

    Also, get an editor or proofreader. In the topic of this thread, you misspelled "Chinese".
     
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