I need a Chinese female name

[Roberto Loredo]

Hello again. As the title says, I need to know a Chinese name to create a character. Abroad, movies have been made where some characters have names from my country. But apparently, scriptwriters and directors only get carried away by the pronunciation of the name, that is, they give it to their characters because they like the way it sounds. They think that because it sounds good, we Mexicans like it, but that's not the case. We Mexicans don't like those names because of the connotations they have (in our culture) and because their pronunciation is not pretty in our language. I don't want to repeat that. I want to use a Chinese name knowing that the Chinese won't say "Why did you name him that?" So, with this in mind, could you tell me some Chinese first and last names for a girl?

If I said something incoherent, it's Google Translate's fault.

Oh, I forgot, I'm just trying to understand Chinese onomastics, so I don't know if I'm expressing myself correctly, but I would like a full name, that is, one that includes a surname.

Please, if possible, let the name not have religious or supertitious meanings, but rather be a neutral name.

[Lu]

Li Ying. There you go, neutral to the point of being generic, and easy to pronounce too. Would be suitable for a woman born sometime in the last 100 years or so. If your character is from an earlier time, let us know when.

 

In Chinese names, the family name ('surname') comes first and the given name last. So her family name would be Li, her given name Ying. Her friends might call her Xiao Ying, her parents might call her Yingying, her boss and her older or same-age colleagues might call her Xiao Li. If she moves abroad, her name would be turned around and she'd be called Ying Li.

 

I'd write it 李颖, 颖 meaning 'smart', but 李莹 also works, or any other suitable character for 'ying'. Li can be 李 or 黎 or another surname that sounds like li.

[Roberto Loredo]

Thank you. I have not yet defined the exact date of his birth, but it is possibly in the late 20s and early 30s. You may need to study the history of China from 1900 to 1995 to choose the right place and time. But first of all, it is always necessary to establish the name of the protagonist because it is very likely that in the end, the book will bear her name. If I don't know something about Chinese culture I will come here. It is better to ask than to speculate. Thank you again.

[Lu]

On 7/29/2024 at 4:11 PM, Roberto Loredo said:

You may need to study the history of China from 1900 to 1995 to choose the right place and time.

A lot happened in China between 1900 and 1995. There have been extreme changes in the country and in the life of everyone who lived there, several social-economic-political overhauls in that time. So yes, make sure you study some Chinese history, so that you understand your protagonist's background.

[Roberto Loredo]

As I said, the translator made a mistake. I meant that I should study Chinese history, not you. Sorry. And yes, I have had to delay the approximate date of birth and perhaps I will also have to change the city where she was born, since at that time a war occurred. In fact, I think I might even have to take her out of China for a few years and send her to a Chinatown in another country. I will be careful and very thorough.

[Lu]

On 7/29/2024 at 9:53 PM, Roberto Loredo said:

As I said, the translator made a mistake. I meant that I should study Chinese history, not you. Sorry.

That's okay, I understood it correctly.

 

Since so much of your book is going to be about China, you should get someone knowledgable to read the draft versions. Not just someone with a Chinese background, but someone who studied China, Chinese culture and recent Chinese history. There is so much knowledge, you can't really get to know all of that yourself in a short time.

[honglam]

@Roberto Loredo I think you have to give us a much more specific background of this character to receive better advices. As @Lu has mentioned above, The 20th century(i.d. 1901-2000) is one of the most important era in Chinese history. We've seen the collapse of Monarchy(i.d. the end of Qing Dynasty), the two World Wars, the revolution, the Cold war, and the Reform and Opening-up. The structure of the Chinese society varies a lot between those stages. I think at least we need a exact year of birth, a exact place of birth, a exact family background(i.d. whether her parents are landlords, peasants, entrepreneurs, politicians, workers, etc.). to give her a better name.

BTW No world war doesn't mean there were no war in China at that time. Different warlords kept battling during the first half of the 20th century.

[Roberto Loredo]

Well, if necessary, I'll tell you about it. I wrote something like a conceptual draft. Based on what I've read, I've added and subtracted some things. The story takes place mainly during Li Ying's youth. At the moment I have made 5 Chinese characters. Li Ying is the only one with a name, the rest I have only been able to differentiate by a code: Her father is CB-2, her mother is CB-3, her brother CB-4 and her aunt CB-5. I have not fully defined their emotional characteristics and personality.
Ying's parents live and work in Shanghai International Concession. She has a brother 2 years older than her. She also has family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) in villages. I have not yet decided whether Ying will be born inside or outside the concession, whether her mother will be at her relatives' home or at a concession hospital.
Timeline with historical events and fictitious events

--Li leaves the city: A war breaks out. Li's parents send her to another country for safety. Her brother stays behind to help his parents in the establishment.
--Li arrives in a foreign country: She settles in the country where Chinatown is located. Her aunt (her father's sister) lives there. It must be a country where there have been no acts of aggression against Chinese communities, nor has it been invaded, for the story to pass without major incidents.
--Li returns: Decades have passed by then. I decided to make his return until the 90s because (unless I'm mistaken) I understand that by that time there were no more incidents such as wars or repressions. Since his return marks the end of history, this moment is short.
I have made a somewhat brief study of Chinese history. Some events I have seen are: The Boxer Rebellion (1889-1901), The Chinese Revolution (1911-1912), The Battle of Shanghai in 1932, The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), and the Civil War from 1946 to 1949. I think the story in China would start at a time when Qing no longer rules, and stop when Li flees due to a Japanese attack. Perhaps it is not necessary to mention what has happened when she returns, just set a date after studying what has happened.
I chose the Shanghai Concession because, at least as far as I know, before 1941 it was not involved in large-scale conflicts and was never invaded. I found a Chinese movie that is called "八佰". I don't know if it is a mistake or it actually happened that way, but there it shows that the Chinese had establishments inside the concession. The father might have an establishment there, maybe a restaurant or a hotel.

If I were to make a timeline, Li would be born in 1913, escape in 1932 and return in 1995. Regarding the fate of her parents and brother (after she flees), for now I'm thinking of having them also leave Shanghai, but a few years later, in 1937. This could be an alternate ending, instead of ending in 1995, it would end in 1937, with Li's family reuniting with her. But if the plot ends in 1995, there is a time jump until the end.

This is what makes up the draft for the moment. Most likely I will have to change everything and start all over again. I try to think more as a historian than as a writer, I will have to adapt the plot to the history of China, and not the other way around. I will have to study in detail what happened in the period 1912-1932, I don't know that well now. Study is important, especially if there are Illustrations, so as not to make mistakes.

 

[Lu]

That is one of the most interesting times in one of the most interesting cities in the world. There are certainly lots and lots of stories to tell about Shanghai in the 1920s-1930s. Yes, do read as much material about it as you can before you get started, and make connections to a few scholars, so you can ask them questions. Arrange for someone knowledgable to read your drafts early on.

[honglam]

Well, since I studied art & humanities in middle school, and during my bachelor and master curriculum(although I study Chinese Linguistics in University), I'll try to make some objective analysis on it.

On 7/31/2024 at 7:01 AM, Roberto Loredo said:

I have not yet decided whether Ying will be born inside or outside the concession, whether her mother will be at her relatives' home or at a concession hospital.

This part has a relationship with a very important debate in Chinese History, that is, the debate between Traditional Chinese Medicine and modern biological medicine(known as "western medicine" then. This name is still used today among many who are not medical specialist or who studies TCM.). If her family send her mother to a "Western hospital" for the delivery of baby, it means that her family are more open to western countries and western culture.

BTW at that time the hospital of St. John's University(i.d. 圣约翰大学医院) are famous for obstetrics.

On 7/31/2024 at 7:01 AM, Roberto Loredo said:

The Boxer Rebellion (1889-1901), The Chinese Revolution (1911-1912), The Battle of Shanghai in 1932, The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), and the Civil War from 1946 to 1949.

This part could be an outline of Chinese history between 1890 and 1950, but this outline is too rough I'd say. Especially talking of Shanghai. The society of Shanghai was quite complicated. The public order was quite bad then.

And I think it's a must to clarify the terms. Generally the revolution occurred in 1911-1912(in Chinese we say 辛亥革命. 辛亥 is a method of Chronology in China) would be called as "the 1911 Revolution". Although Shanghai was attacked in 1932, the term "Battle of Shanghai" are mostly used to describe the battle of 1937(i.d. 淞沪会战). And for Chinese, we tend to use "War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression"(i.d. 抗日战争) instead of “the 2nd Sino-Japanese War”(Basically the war known as "the 1st Sino-Japanese War"中日甲午战争 and the war known as "the 2nd Sino-Japanese War" are completely different in many degrees). And we use the term "War of Liberation"(i.d. 解放战争) for the war between 1945 and 1949 in Mainland. I think the War of Liberation won't show up in your novel, since our heroine was already staying abroad then.

On 7/31/2024 at 7:01 AM, Roberto Loredo said:

think the story in China would start at a time when Qing no longer rules, and stop when Li flees due to a Japanese attack.

Many events occurred during this period in Shanghai. The Japanese army attacked and bombed Shanghai for many times. Shanghai has already been bombed in 1932. Although the attacked mainly occurred in the non-concession area. The Battle of Shanghai occured in 1937 and after that the international concession was partly occupied by the Japanese invaders.

And, at that times there were several regimes in China. The Chinese Soviet Republic Government and The Nationalist Government of Chiang Kai-Shek collaborated in order to defeat the Japanese aggression. The Wang Jingwei regime(in Chinese we say 汪精卫政府, 汪精卫伪政府 or simply 伪国民政府, 汪伪政权. 伪 stands for false and pseudo, meaning that this regime is not acknowledged by the Kuomintang Government of Chiang Kai-Shek and the Chinese Government now) was a puppet state under the control of Japanese invaders. So the political affiliation of Li's family influence a lot on their decisions. Yet this part of Chinese history is quite complicated so I don't really recommend you to say too much on it.

On 7/31/2024 at 7:01 AM, Roberto Loredo said:

I chose the Shanghai Concession because, at least as far as I know, before 1941 it was not involved in large-scale conflicts and was never invaded.

Nope. I've read some book about this part of history, and I've talked some above. Unfortunately most book elaborating this period are written in formal academic Chinese so I guess those references couldn't help you so I won't list them here.

On 7/31/2024 at 7:01 AM, Roberto Loredo said:

but there it shows that the Chinese had establishments inside the concession. The father might have an establishment there, maybe a restaurant or a hotel.

That was true. BUT I don't really think a common "restaurant owner" or "hotel owner" has the money to send their children abroad. BTW sending ladies abroad at that time means her family could be no conservatives, because the traditional ideas says you don't even need to formally educate your daughters. I think an owner of some bigger estates, with an open attitude towards western cultures(maybe cooperating with some foreign merchants, or having an experience of studying abroad), could be better. 

On 7/31/2024 at 7:01 AM, Roberto Loredo said:

This could be an alternate ending, instead of ending in 1995, it would end in 1937, with Li's family reuniting with her. But if the plot ends in 1995, there is a time jump until the end.

Well, I think it's hard for a ladies taking a long-term flight or staying on a ship for several days at the age of 80. And her family, that is to say, her parents, elder brother, has probably died for years at that time. So why bother coming back to Shanghai at this time? Even though she was born and bred in Shanghai, the great development would make anything she was familiar with to disappear.

And there should be some reason for her coming back so late. A marriage maybe. If she has a family abroad, it would be more reasonable why she didn't come back for so long. 

BTW at that time when a family send their daughter abroad, their daughter are more likely to receive an university education abroad, rather than merely "living abroad to avoid the war". After all the world war II involved so many countries of the Eurasia continent and the African continent, it's really hard to find a country not involved(the majority were American countries. Or make it clearer, the USA.).

And, There are many political and social details to be clarified. e.g. did her family went to Taiwan or not. This really matters a lot since the answer directly influence all the decisions of the characters, and the story could be totally different.

On 7/31/2024 at 7:01 AM, Roberto Loredo said:

Well, it seems that you have never been to Shanghai. As a native Shanghainese I should emphasize that the style of the buildings in the former international concession was quite... I don't know how to describe it so I would say "complicated". They were mainly western-styled, but the design was affected by traditional Chinese architectures. It was rather a "combined Western-Occidental style" I'd say.

 

-----

So in short I don't really recommend you to start your writing too early before building up those details. The studies of the historical background may cost 2 or 3 years but I think the preparation are necessary for a good book.

 

PS. I should emphasize that, as I study Chinese Linguistics rather than Chinese History in university, I couldn't guarantee that all the details of history I've mentioned above are completely correct and not controversial. I've made every effort to make the details and the English term correct but there could be some mistakes.

[Lu]

On 8/4/2024 at 8:04 PM, honglam said:

As a native Shanghainese I should emphasize that the style of the buildings in the former international concession was quite... I don't know how to describe it so I would say "complicated". They were mainly western-styled, but the design was affected by traditional Chinese architectures. It was rather a "combined Western-Occidental style" I'd say.

I'm pretty sure the images in this thread have all been AI-generated.

[honglam]

On 8/5/2024 at 4:39 PM, Lu said:

I'm pretty sure the images in this thread have all been AI-generated.

Yep. I think it's really hard to write a fiction with China in 1840-1949 as it background, especially when without previous studies of this part of history. I'm not quite sure if I could get every detail right, even though I was born and bred in China and have learnt Chinese History for several times.