Writing Chinese Fantasy. What am I supposed to know?

[Shintah02]

Hey there!

I'm not Chinese (or Asian for that matter), but I really am interested in their culture. I'm especially intrigued by Chinese mythology so if anyone has a few pointers for me, help me out, kay? I just need some tips on how to write a Chinese novel with a historical fantasy setting which includes those mythological beasts...

 

[SailusGebel]

Read Journey to the West.

 

[APieceOfRock]

Read Journey to the West.

Or watch it. The 1986 TV show is better than what you might think. I'm definitely not biased because I grew up watching it.

 

[SailusGebel]

I'm definitely not biased because I grew up watching it.

 

[LORD_SHAXX]

I'm definitely not biased because I grew up watching it.

I don't know man you acting kinda ඞ

 

[RaizarP]

Hey there!

I'm not Chinese (or Asian for that matter), but I really am interested in their culture. I'm especially intrigued by Chinese mythology so if anyone has a few pointers for me, help me out, kay? I just need some tips on how to write a Chinese novel with a historical fantasy setting which includes those mythological beasts...

Watch Steven He for Asian parent

 

[ACertainPassingUser]

It really is depending on what kind of fantasy you want to make.

Is it Urban fantasy ? Xianxia cultivator ? Or Wuxia JinYong style ? Or just straight up Murim ?

Well, it didn't matter that much.

The most important is understanding Chinese names. All of your character is going to be Chinese anyway.

You can practice by trying to convert convert western magical kingdom story into Chinese cultivation story by changing wester names, to Chinese changing magic with random Chinese hyperbole name art, changing magic circle with formation, change King to Heavenly Emperor, and change potion names with random Chinese pill.

Well, that's all I know as ignorant reader.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Hey there!

I'm not Chinese (or Asian for that matter), but I really am interested in their culture. I'm especially intrigued by Chinese mythology so if anyone has a few pointers for me, help me out, kay? I just need some tips on how to write a Chinese novel with a historical fantasy setting which includes those mythological beasts...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legendary_creatures_from_China

Or, just read a shit ton of CN xianxia.

I have seen fuckers turning phrases into attacks, like 九五至尊, a phrase to say "emperor" into a nine fist strike technique.

Seriously, the CN authors are the best at BSing.

 

[PeacefulMyst]

Hey there!

I'm not Chinese (or Asian for that matter), but I really am interested in their culture. I'm especially intrigued by Chinese mythology so if anyone has a few pointers for me, help me out, kay? I just need some tips on how to write a Chinese novel with a historical fantasy setting which includes those mythological beasts...

chinese cultivation novels (preferably MTLs). they give you 100% accurate knowledge of china and how the people their behave and act. Trust me, there's nothing better than cn cultivation novels to know more about china

 

[miyoga]

A lot of it's been said and it really boils down to consuming the kind of culture you want to write about. So if you want to do a cultivation story, then start with Journey to the West (specifically the 1986 tv show), throw in a little Stephen Chow with "Kung Fu Hustle" and you've got the basis for pretty much any cultivation you want to write. Then figure out the setting and characters, meaning if you want to write about a harem member trying to become more powerful and move ahead, then you want to look into tv shows/stories about exactly that. Whether you figure out the aesthetics first or the beasts, you'll need to have a really good understanding of your story before diving into any of this. Also, don't forget that in Chinese: family names come first (you can easily find these with a google search), given names are 1-2 characters (Asian languages don't really use a lot of romanization), and "Xiao" means "small/little" when used for someone's nickname (san and chan and the like are Japanese and must be avoided like the plague).

 

[arkyum]

Hey there!

I'm not Chinese (or Asian for that matter), but I really am interested in their culture. I'm especially intrigued by Chinese mythology so if anyone has a few pointers for me, help me out, kay? I just need some tips on how to write a Chinese novel with a historical fantasy setting which includes those mythological beasts...

Just read a ton of Chinese novels and you would know everything there is.

Oh, and never ever I repeat, never ever forget to write the cliched face slapping done by the protagonist.

And there is also a typical harem of jade beauties, iceberg CEO and other stuff.

 

[Shintah02]

Oh wow, thank you so much for the feedback guys

 

[TheEldritchGod]

How authentic do you want to be?

Chinese stories are highly curated by the Chinese government. If the government falls apart in your story, everyone needs to turn into a savage. When you read more and more Chinese stories, the pattern of strong central authority and humanity is evil if not controlled is a recurring theme, but that is because its propaganda.

My brother is half chinese half Korean and the stories I heard from him were terrible. He's an adult now and stays in contact with his relatives and the trickle of info from China is quite horrifying. The stories coming out of China reflect the state of mind of the Chinese people.

Look up laowhy86 on YouTube. He's a good guy and has a bunch of videos about how things are doing in China today.

 

[BearlyAlive]

Hey there!

I'm not Chinese (or Asian for that matter), but I really am interested in their culture. I'm especially intrigued by Chinese mythology so if anyone has a few pointers for me, help me out, kay? I just need some tips on how to write a Chinese novel with a historical fantasy setting which includes those mythological beasts...

If it's only mythology and the setting, just let yourself inspired by it. No need to read through 3000000000000000 chapters of "I slap, I rape, I conquer" wish fullfillment that is most CH webnovels. Just take the stuff you like, add some other stuff you like and then put together your own creations.