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For example, Wang Dachui. Wang is just his surname, mostly nothing special. But Dachui means "big hammer", and he is a blacksmith wielding a big hammer. Quite funny.
Hua Siniang, I haven't read her Chinese name in Mandarin but I'm guessing, Hua is the surname (nothing special, it can be "flower" or "Chinese", a common last name), but I'm guessing Siniang means "fourth lady/wife".
Bai Touweng is funny as well. Bai is the surname, somewhat common in Chinese. But "Bai Tou" means "white head", and "Weng" means "old man". Thus if you read some guides, it says "white-haired old man" - literally what Bai Touweng means.
I'm just guessing from my understanding of Mandarin, I haven't read the characters yet. Because I can't read the characters for their techniques, too damn hard for me. And most of their herbs will just lose me, forget the ChuXiang exam lol...
Edit: I just encountered this old lady enemy, part of Yan Gexing's sect quest line. Her name literally says something along the lines of "poisonous old lady" or something. It is quite funny seeing these names because 1) no one names people like that, other than nicknames; and 2) nicknames are common in wuxia fantasy for very famous people, but mostly for memes or to instigate fear/respect e.g. "Dugu Qiubai" means "Lonely Person Begging (for) Defeat" i.e. he is basically invincible, but because of that he is also a loner.
This game does stuff like that, but kind of in an over-the-top comical way. Even "Vinegar Shrimp" is so because his surname is Chu, and his given name is Xiao Xia, meaning "little shrimp"; but can also mean "little hero", depending on how you write the word "Xia". And this fits the game's narrative aka. Hero's Adventure.
My brother, that is, genuinely.... FREAKIN HILLARIOUS. So that's why it was Vinegar Shrimp lol. I've always wondered what that meant. I thought it was an inside joke among the Chinese userbase or something, or an error in the code but since it was funny they just left it as is, but for Vinegar Shrimp to be similar to Little Hero is just Icing on the cake. Also poor Hua Siniang XD even her name says she was going to be a mistress and not the main waifu ouch... And DAICHU HAHAHAHA brother Big Hammer, best name in the game. period.
Sadly I think the chance of playing a female MC is impossible now.
Also, very interestingly, there are two versions of Mandarin: Simplified and Traditional. I switched between the two to check them out. Simplified is written quite modern. But Traditional is not only written in Traditional Mandarin; even the phrasing changes to reflect some ingame cultural context. Very deep. (It even goes as far as changing the dialogue style.)
For example, just right at the start of game select screen, in Simplified Mandarin you'll see the Mandarin for "Continue" which is "Ju Shu You Xi" or something like that (I can't type in Mandarin on my PC, long story why, I can't download the translation package). But when you flip to Traditional Mandarin, instead "Continue" is translated as "Feng Yun Zai Qi", literally meaning "Wind (and) Cloud Re-emerge". There are roughly two reasons for this:
"Feng Yun" is one popular Chinese (well, Hong Kong) wuxia story, although not by Jin Yong but is quite famous. Could be a reference to this. But also, "Feng Yun" tends to refer to some kind of martial arts feature, because "Fen Yun" literally means "Wind Cloud", which is one indication of weather, or more specifically weather changes, most notably a storm. In wuxia, one who masters martial arts to the level of a saint is said to be able to control the weather (like a literal saint or demigod). So, when one says "Wind Cloud Re-emerges", it is like saying the storm has passed/died down (because we stopped playing), and when we continue playing the game, the storms restart again. Storm in this case is an a metaphor for politics (in the game in this case), faction clashes, war etc.
Very deep. :) It is probably normal to regular Chinese game players but I normally play Western games, I don't read Mandarin all that much.
As for the dialogue, I only tested with Hua Siniang when buying her goods. In Simplified Mandarin, she just says, "What do you want to buy?"
In Traditional Mandarin, she actually says something along the lines of "one coin for one goods (implied to be of equal value), *this lowly me* only engages in sincere trade".
"This lowly me" is written here as "nu jia", literally meaning "slave family". But it doesn't literally mean she is a slave, but merely an ancient way of expressing humility due to her being peasant born (hence why I use the term "this lowly me" instead of "I").
Another ancient culture that I know that uses this type of language is Japanese. If you read old-school Rurouni Kenshin, Kenshin actually refers to himself as "this lowly me". (Interestingly, not many people in the same manga actually talk like that; Kenshin was simply using old-school language to present his passive submission to others as a form of extreme humility - this is common in Sengoku Era of Japan and the Shogun Era, but mostly abolished by the Meiji Restoration.) However, when he switches to "I"... that is when he reverts to his Battosai assassin personality, and won't give no ♥♥♥♥ about killing anyone who crosses him (but he never does that, throughout the manga he is a pacifist sworn not to kill). Really cool. :)
Interestingly as well, I found the font for Traditional Mandarin to be much more readable. There is actual spacing between the characters. Whereas in Simplified Mandarin (in this game), the characters are tightly packed together. Even though I'm more fluent reading Simplified Mandarin, the font hurts my eyes lol.
And the ancient speaking custom in Traditional just blows me out of the water. I only know the basics haha...
Anyway back on topic, just wondering if anyone tries to play the game by reading the riddles in Mandarin? I can probably try but I'll fail, I only have kindergarten-level Mandarin here lol.
That is freakin amazing man! Makes me quite jealous that such translations aren't available in the languages I speak. Also us the player being a metaphor for literally a Natural Calamity (A storm in Wind and Rain) is freakin AMAZING!!! FFFF AMAZING! I mean it does makes sense considering how many sects I've destroyed just to see a number go +5 (in the achievements lol).
AND WAIT UP! HUA QINGQIN's name literall means Chinese????!!!! HAHAHAHAH W T F Bro hahaha, explain that sh*t to me XD. I mean is her name similar to like AMERICAN BOB or something?
WHATTTTT?????? HAHAHAHA, please explain the "Chinese" surname of Hua Qingqing XDDD
Is her name like literally BOB AMERICAN or something similar like that XD.
Like what funkmonster7 said above, Hua Siniang means her surname is flower, fourth lady/wife.
Whereas for Hua Qingqing, her surname is indeed "Chinese", but it's kinda meaningless, it does not equate to Chinese. Qingqing should be the funny part for non Chinese-players, it means "Green green". But, it'd pass as a cute name for Chinese-speaking players.
Truth be told, the riddles are something you'd have to either memorize or come across from reading. Some of the guesses are really good alternatives, so I would say the devs really put their effort into coming up with the wrong answers. It would be as good as a real high school test.
In fact, I copied some of the riddles from this game for the Moon Cake festival in my community (because solving riddles is part of the Moon Cake festival in real life).
Lastly, imo, Bao Dating has the funniest name. Bao here means "guaranteed", Dating means "ask" or "inquire". When read as a whole, Bao Dating means "guaranteed with an answer when asked". Hence, he provides a lot of useful information at the start of the game for the new players. His name can also be implied as he is a busybody, therefore, he knows a lot of the answers.
I can't check Hua Qingqing, I haven't met her yet. Although earlier I killed her (and her boss Gu something, for Sect Contribution haha). I felt bad so I reloaded, and still wondering how I 'reason' my way out of killing her. Because it makes little sense to romance her in under 2 hours and then kill her boss and expect no retaliation from her. That is just unrealistic.
I think this game has some unrealistic romancing gameplay (or should I say, earning people's favor so quickly and easily) but, whatever lol...
Jianghu commonly refers to a community where martial artists meet and gather for various purposes. Because it makes sense for humans to set up towns near large bodies of water - so we have water to drink, and food grows where water resides, basically. But Jianghu is also the best place for people to meet because of large bodies of water: you need some form of travel to get from place to place, even from one end of a lake to another. Not only martial artists gather in these places, but merchants and tradesmen as well. And lastly, the view is usually amazing, they can be seen as some kind of inland sea (because a lake large enough is equivalent to an inland sea).
The term Jianghu existed even in ancient times, but obviously without all the wuxia fantasy in it. Back then, pirates could even impose toll fees on merchants travelling through these water trade routes, usually with some corrupt government official's backing. In wuxia however - and unlike in ancient times where commoners were basically helpless when extorted for money - martial artists aka. heroes could be called upon to save the common folk. This is why a lot of wuxia fantasy revolves around some hero getting entangled in some kind of corrupt government conspiracy which is weakening the nation as a whole, which invites outside nations to invade (since widespread corruption ruins nations). This is a common theme in wuxia fantasy, although ultimately heroes can never truly win against the government.
In essence, when someone talks about living in the Jianghu, they're talking about living a carefree lifestyle as a lowborn or peasant-born of some sort, but abiding by the rules of survival that you need in order to maintain such an unruly community. This is why people learn martial arts - to protect themselves. And like every community, Jianghu has both good and bad martial artists, as well as good and bad merchants. Merchants hire martial artists to do good things; merchants hire martial artists to do bad things; and then some martial artists just do as they please. Thus Jianghu lifestyle is quite carefree, but also quite dangerous because it is mostly a chaotic place ruled by some kind of common moral law, and that's it. If someone breaks that moral law, no one can really impose it since there is no government.
In today's culture, "living in Jianghu" often refers to gangster lifestyle - chaotic world ruled by fear and power. But it can also be used to refer to artist lifestyles - carefree and self-indulgent without a care for the world. This is why in a lot of wuxia fantasy you see heroes who aren't always good, but are a shade of some kind of morality. This game reflects this very well.
And hence why wuxia fantasy is very different from the standard Western duality view of good vs evil. Good vs evil does matter in wuxia, but much more complex and much more similar to world events today than just a mere fantasy. It makes you question morality and its various interpretations.
Anyway, that is Jianghu, or so-called "rivers and lakes" in a nutshell for you. :) Sorry to give you the long speech. It is a common thing for people who grew up with this kind of fantasy, but not easy to understand for Westerners sometimes.
Interestingly, the reason why "music martial arts" and "pen/brush martial arts" exist is because Jianghu includes the lifestyle of artists and musicians i.e. people who don't give a care for the rest of the world's politics, but focus on enjoying beautiful scenery. So, when you pick your preferred martial arts in the game, hopefully that gives you some indication about what the playstyle is supposed to be like, and help you connect with the quests a bit better. (I think? I haven't touched the Maiden House questline yet. I'm still on Yan Gexing's revenge plot aka. tutorial mode.)
A general overview of the weapon styles and their implied meanings:
Fist = (pure) martial artist, can be all shades of good/neutral/evil, traditionally either used on its own or paired with a weapon type, but not in this game apparently
Sword = martial artist, but generally more good than evil, but the moral alignment is more based on the sect you are affiliated with
Dao/Blade (Knife?) = martial artists, but generally more neutral than good or evil i.e. they're opportunists (I don't know why the game calls it knife, "dao" is indeed Mandarin for knife but it is quite funny from a Western perspective lol)
Staff = martial artist, but generally good, monks use them the most due to non-lethal combat style (at least not lethal by cutting, but can absolutely bludgeon someone to death)
Spear = soldier - not saying this isn't a martial artist style, a martial artist can technically use anything but spear commonly represents a soldier's fighting style more than any other weapon type; generally good, but can be "bad" (not evil, just being bad because they're soldiers from another faction or invading country)
Dagger = thieves, daggers are seen as a kind of sneak attack weapon, martial artists who use dagger styles tend to use concealed weapons and poison arts as well, generally neutral-evil to absolute evil alignment
Brush/Pen = painters and philosophers, usually these are traveling scholars but they're considered as pacifists and artists, mostly pure good or at most neutral alignment, very rarely evil
Zither/Lute/Flute = musicians, not exactly pacifists but they're more like opportunists, kind of like Dao/Blade except they don't make a living as mercenaries but as entertainers (sometimes as prostitutes), which is why their moral alignment is anything that aids their cause
lol, I had a hunch Bao Dating was just a big pun all this time XD. I mean the MC's name was Vinegar Shrimp hahaha
If it makes ya feel worse Hua Qingqing and Swallow Nest help orphans and refugees experiencing hardships XD. So they're like the Robbin Hoods of Jianghu. My list of "bad" factions go as follows:
- General Mansion (Literally betrays you for helping/siding with them, side with the Blue Wind Camp bandits instead as they're TRUE SOLDIERS AND MEN!)
- Jiuli Tribe (ALSO Literally betrays you for helping/siding with them lol... though I'm pretty torn on this as native foreign tribes are often portrayed as the bad guys in Jianghu, at the least they could've made the Jiuli Tribe not so cartoonishly evil XD)
- Duke Kang (F this guy, he betrays and executes General Ye #BestGeneral, and if that wasn't enough, he ALSO ALSO Literally betrays you in the end if you side with him)
- Holy Fire Sect (Still haven't done their quests though so take my words with a grain of salt)
About the Jianghu lore is also pretty familiar to me due to my interests, and what fascinates me to no end is that modern Triad gangs are actually (or are technically still) part of Jianghu or is the modern reiteration of Jianghu. Is it true that Triad came from the word "Three Hero Society", if it is that's even more funny how a group of organized criminal gangs are named after what basically amounts to Ancient China's version of Superheroes.
Bandits, Pirates, and Street Performers being part of a crazy wacky world where everyone may be a one man army master just fascinates me, and you're totally right about the horrible black white duality of western underground societies represented in game where gangs or bandits are just "evil" people looking to harm others because for some reason, they're "lazy" and the good guys (the abused and often over taxed Villagers) are hardworking poor people, when in truth most villages in Europe's past had a lot of bandits living in them and villagers were often pushed into Banditry when a bad harvest arrived, some Nobles even make their Knights go into banditry to steal even more from the people, honestly not much different from Jianghu in reality but the Knights and Noble Lords are often portrayed as the good "quest giver NPCs" in western games, while the Chinese Jianghu focuses on the material reality of people, and how stealing to feed your mother or children isn't exactly evil, but how things are forced to become when corrupt leaders and opportunists prioritize short term profit. No wonder the Chinese became communists XD.
Also the fact that dancers, performers, merchants, and musicians are part of Jianghu just makes this world even more appealing. Is that why in High Fantasy Wuxia (Was is called Xianxia?) the Dao can include Musical Instruments? Was it like a remnant of how Musical Martial arts were a staple of Jianghu, hence it's high fantasy counterpart needed to include Musical Martial Arts.
Oh yeah, final note, Ye Family Battalion is the best faction XD. They even give you the full rewards even after you betray General Ye T_T ... So be ready for a guilty conscience when you try to finish some of the achievements ... RIP General Ye! A true man to the end! And I, a filthy treacherous INHUMAN scum for even trying to finish all achievements. Honestly man, some of these achievements make you do stuff that's really gonna hurt your conscience huhuhu
The part where you 'teach' the students is understanding the literal meaning of certain phrases.
The one where you talk to Cai Youzhi is based off memorization (like how maybe you had to memorize parts of say Macbeth or something similar).
The first scholar exam is a bit more 'technical' in the sense that if you understand mandarin and the rules of couplets, you can probably figure out the answer yourself.
The second scholar exam is again based off memorization.
The quizzes where you talk to the kid in the nameless village and the old woman that Ya Qing was masquerading as are like riddles, you need to know what the character looks like to make sense of it <- probably no way to translate this.