Wǔxiá/武侠 refers to a genre of fiction depicting heroes in ancient China who study incredible martial arts techniques as a means of cultivating their body and spirit. Out in the Jiānghú/江湖, beyond the reach of central authorities, these individuals take it upon themselves to form alliances, right injustices, and leave their mark on the world.
This tool generates the Chinese characters and pinyin of names in the wuxia tradition, drawing from literature, philosophy, and period-appropriate naming conventions.
- This generator is for entertainment purposes only. Real Chinese names carry tonal harmony, historical associations, familial traditions, and symbolism that require cultural knowledge and expertise. If you are creating a name for actual use, please consult with those who are familiar with Chinese language and culture to ensure your name is meaningful and respectful.
- Pinyin tone marks are provided for the romanized name, but Chinese names are often written without the marks, especially in an English context.
- Family names come first in Chinese naming tradition, followed by the given name.
- Single-character family names like 李 (Lǐ), 王 (Wáng), or 张 (Zhāng) are the most common; compound family names like 第五 (Dìwǔ) or 诸葛 (Zhūgě) are rarer and often lend an ancient and striking air, appropriate for a wuxia name. The family names used here come from the Song dynasty compendium Hundred Family Surnames/百家姓.
- The given name Míng/名 is bestowed in early life. Upon coming of age, one adopts a courtesy name Zì/字, often thematically related to the given name. Using someone's courtesy name showed respect, while calling them by their given name was more intimate.
- Note that some characters have multiple readings (for example, 万俟 the family name is pronounced mòqí and not wànqí), which Google Translate doesn't always get right.