"Name block" or "Writing Block: Naming burden"

[CheertheSecond]

Not having a Mandarin background, it was a huge task to create Chinese names that have a lick of meaning in it.
Not only do I have to care about the meaning of the words in the the given name, but also how it would combine with the family name.

Then I have to follow the great advice of my friends and make a name that would somehow illustrates at least a part of the personalities of the character or the reason their parents named it that way in the first place or how it somewhat related to the fate / action of the character in the plot later on.

Since my culti system utilizes the yin-yang and five phases, I also have to put that into consideration.

I am not married yet and I have already made more than enough names to not have to think about for the rest of me life.

Just a rant to relieve my super stressed brain.


Edit: More than that, I also have to understand what medieval Chinese people considered as forbidden. Normally, for commoners they don't have the guts to name their children with words like the sky, dragon, king, yellow since those are only for the royal family. Naming your children that way will mean you want to be the emperor's parent or you harbor ill-will to usurp the throne.

 

[Sola-sama]

Absolutely relatable. This issue is what motivate me to create a system of cultivation that uses 'Rank 0-9' instead of 'Houtian', 'Xiantian', 'Revolving Core', 'Divine Sea', etc etc in my work.

 

[CheertheSecond]

Absolutely relatable. This issue is what motivate me to create a system of cultivation that uses 'Rank 0-9' instead of 'Houtian', 'Xiantian', 'Revolving Core', 'Divine Sea', etc etc in my work.

I have no idea what those Houtian and Xiantian are but my system stick strictly to the objective of the cultivation.

First realm is to extend the lifespan of the cultivator
Second realm is to help gaining third realm easier
Third realm is achieving immortal life
Fourth realm is the highest without any limit and this realm focuses on developing qi instead of the first 3 realms which focusing on achieving immortality.

The thing is the 2nd realm involves the 5 phases and there are a lot of horoscope and superstition which is where the naming headache came from.

 

[miyoga]

If this helps any, typical naming conventions in Chinese have a sense of the parents wishes for a child's personality and future. Taking Jack Ma's given name (云 yun）for example, it means "cloud" and that could have a lot of interpretations. There was a famous admiral in Chinese history named Zheng Chenggong, and his name (Chenggong) can be read as "success". Jackie Chan's real name means "born in the harbor/Hong Kong" and his stage name (Cheng Long) means "city of dragons" and isn't related to his actual name at all.

Essentially, you can worry about all this if you want, or you can go the same route as Jackie Chan (and many Chinese who choose an English name, because I know people who called themselves money simply because they like making/having money) and choose whatever you think sounds good. Just try to avoid calling anyone 4th brother/sister/uncle/auntie as "4" has the same pronunciation as "to die".

 

[CheertheSecond]

Yinlin (Hidden Forest) Jin (gold/ metal) Cheng (City)
Yinlin family has their surname due to their infamous formation that took many lives the Hidden Forest Formation.
Due to his primary element and his family’s martial art’s element being Wood, his parents named him Jin Cheng. The intention was to use a metallic mold to hamstring the excessiveness of his primary element from causing elemental imbalance. On another meaning, it also means golden city, wishing their son would live in prosperity. Putting his family name together, it means the golden city of the Hidden Forest, the glory of his family.

This one took me months to pull off adequately.

 

[miyoga]

Regarding the new info in your edit, I can make your life much easier. Commoners in dynastic China did not have family names as they were not deemed important. The nobility and the rich were the only ones who had them and the family names were given by the emperor, who also had a family name, or they chose something based on what their job was. So, Jack Ma's ancestors probably raised horses or something like that and Jackie Chan's were storytellers.
This link might help a bit more:

History Of Chinese Naming Traditions: How Chinese Name Their Children - Ancient Past

Tracing back centuries, Chinese naming customs have been an intriguing exploration into the culture and people of China. With generations engaging in

ancientspast.com

 

[ArrogantYoungMaster]

Also relatable, my system is also using yin-yang, five phases, and the eight trigrams, what did I get myself into

 

[AnonUnlimited]

Lol, some people are named dog. It’s not an insult in Chinese, at least in the old times. Maybe. I don’t know, that’s what someone told me.

 

[CheertheSecond]

Lol, some people are named dog. It’s not an insult in Chinese, at least in the old times. Maybe. I don’t know, that’s what someone told me.

That doesn’t mean it is a name that would apply to any character in my fic and in any circumstance.

 

[CheertheSecond]

Also relatable, my system is also using yin-yang, five phases, and the eight trigrams, what did I get myself into

After all of this, you can divine your own fate. :3

 

[Rezcore]

Not having a Mandarin background, it was a huge task to create Chinese names that have a lick of meaning in it.
Not only do I have to care about the meaning of the words in the the given name, but also how it would combine with the family name.

Then I have to follow the great advice of my friends and make a name that would somehow illustrates at least a part of the personalities of the character or the reason their parents named it that way in the first place or how it somewhat related to the fate / action of the character in the plot later on.

Since my culti system utilizes the yin-yang and five phases, I also have to put that into consideration.

I am not married yet and I have already made more than enough names to not have to think about for the rest of me life.

Just a rant to relieve my super stressed brain.


Edit: More than that, I also have to understand what medieval Chinese people considered as forbidden. Normally, for commoners they don't have the guts to name their children with words like the sky, dragon, king, yellow since those are only for the royal family. Naming your children that way will mean you want to be the emperor's parent or you harbor ill-will to usurp the throne.

Im writing a story set in Korea, to help with the naming I've contacted a Korean and use Chat Gpt

 

[Rhaps]

As a Vietnamese, which used to have a language system very similar to China, I have a sort of cheat. I use Sino-Vietnamese words, which are basically bootleg Chinese words.

Cultural advantage ☕️

 

[CheertheSecond]

Sino-Vietnamese words

How different are Sino-Vietnamese words vs Chinese words?

 

[Rhaps]

How different are Sino-Vietnamese words vs Chinese words?

Not too different, they mean the same thing and pronounces very similar, but the main difference now is Sino-Vietnamese uses the Latin alphabet.