Intro: Cultivation Levels and Names
Hello! This is the author, PJ! Thanks for reading my novel! I'm not Chinese but I love reading C-novels, and spent a long time thinking of, writing, and editing this story, so I hope you give it a chance! And if you like what I'm writing, please vote, it would really help motivate me :)
Below are some info on my novel. If you're not familiar with how names work in Chinese novels, I highly advise you to read! Just ask if you have further questions in the future and I will do my best to answer!
My novel will not be heavily based on cultivation (leveling up) but on character development and storyline. But since this is still a cultivation novel, there are still stages/levels that help determine how strong a character is. Having read so many cultivation novels out there, I know the levels can be complicated but I tried to keep it simple. :)
6 Tiers/Levels - with each tier having four stages in each: low, mid, high, and peak stage
1. First Tier --> Qi Refining Realm
2. Second Tier --> Core Refining Realm
3. Third Tier --> Body Enhancing Realm
4. Fourth Tier --> Immortal Realm
5. Fifth Tier --> Immortal Emperor Realm
6. Sixth Tier --> Godly Emperor Realm
If you don't know what cultivating is, it's basically leveling up by absorbing spiritual energy (or chi) from nature (through meditation), having an enlightenment, or practicing martial arts/skills and getting better. It usually requires all three for a person to break through to the next tier/level, but it may depend on the type of person (and novel) and their cultivation method -- Also, having resources like spiritual herbs and finding treasures to make cultivating easier, will help a character move on to the next level faster!
If you guys want me to explain what each realm basically entails, just lmk and I might add a description for each!
ALSO, some basics for NAMES or referring to someone in a Chinese novel based on what I know and have implemented in my story:
1. Most people will refer to a person using their full name, and the last name are put first before their first name. In novels, authors also usually use a character's full name, so that's what I will do, and only sometimes switching to their first name.
For example, Wu LiJing is my main character, so her last name is Wu and first name is LiJing. Also, I capitalize L in Li and J in Jing because there are two characters in her name.
2. Only those super close, like of ten years of friendship, or of those who went through life and death together will be on first-name basis with someone. Lovers/family are included, of course. :) Basically, they just have to have a close relationship. (Sometimes, some characters will be more casual about it)
If someone just uses someone else's first name without permission or isn't close, then it's considered rude.
3. When someone calls someone else, who is basically a stranger, they use an honorific with someone's last name. For example, Miss Wu.
If they're closer, like acquaintances or distant friends, they can use the first name with the honorific, like Miss LiJing. But this can also be used to differentiate someone else with a last name from someone else.
4. For my novel: Inside a sect, the disciples of lower standing refer to those of higher standing as Senior Brother or Senior Sister. For example, an outer disciple to an inner disciple, and an inner disciple towards a main disciple. Eldest Senior Sister/Brother will be used only for direct disciples of sects - they are the personal disciples of the Sect Masters themselves.
That's all for now! Happy reading!