[OT] Chinese & Indian names. Need help for writing

dogscoff · #1 November 12th, 2004, 07:39 PM

Hey,

I've got a very exciting little writing project starting at the minute, and some of it is set in a future New York. I've never been there, so I'd like some help with the geography. Assume that pretty much all of the major buildings (except the Empire State) in the city now have been torn down/ destroyed and replaced with much lower-level buildings.

1: Would it be possible to stand on the shore at some point and see both the island of Manhatten (Manhatten _is_ an island, right?) and the island where the statue of liberty stands? Where would this point be? How far apart are the two islands?

2: Is New York completely flat, or does it have any hills? I'm kind of hoping for a hill somewhere within a few km of the Empire State. If there is such a hill, what would the views be like from the top?

3: What kind of buildings are around the Empire State? It doesn't really matter because I can knock them down and build whatever I like in their place, but I'm interested to know if it's in the middle of a built up area or surrounded by a plaza of some kind or what.

Sorry for the mystery, but although it only features in the first chapter or two, the geography of NY is actually crucial to the entire book. You'll have to wait for me to get published to find out exactly what this is all about. No sneak previews, not even to my favouritest readers, unless maybe you happen to find me drunk on IRC one day and ask nicely=-)

Thanks everyone. I'll be keeping a list of informers who will get mentioned in the book. I may come up with more questions of random nature as time goes on.

Beck · #2 November 14th, 2004, 06:52 PM

Well, I not from New York, but I know a little about it having done inspection work in Queens and Long Island.

1. The two islands are about 1 mile apart. However the areas from which both would be viewable is restricted due to the presence of Governor's Island which would appear to be in between them (though it is not directly in between them Governor's Island lies south of the southern tip of Manhattan about a quarter mile with the Liberty Island being SWW about a mile.). There would be areas that the upper portions of Statue of Liberty itself would be viewable but the island it's on would not since you would be viewing Governor's Island. The coastline does not help you either. The best spot to view both directly without obstruction (land or otherwise) would the Red Hook area of Brooklyn (areas near the Atlantic Basin most likely of all). The best viewing of the two islands however would occur on the New Jersey side where there are a number of areas between Jersey City and Bayonne which would have unobstructed views.

2. New York is not entirely flat, but I guess that would depend on your perspective. Somebody visiting from the Rockies would say it's flat. Your best bet for what you seem to be looking for is in Brooklyn (Red Hook/Brooklyn Heights area). There is a ridge running from Gowans Bay eastward which was fortified by Washington during the Revolutionary War indicating it has some height and can command the area for some distance and was considered important. It would be a little further than you're looking for as it would about 2-3 miles from the Empire State Building. I couldn't guess as to its height or the range of vision. Given the horizon unobstructed at sea level is 17.5 miles it would probably be 20-25 miles, but much depends on where you are looking. If looking inland this be would reduced significantly since there would be much higher locations within a short distance as you travel inland.

3. Again I guess it depends on your perspective. Most would consider the entire island of Manhattan builtup except for perhaps the most northern end. There are no other immediate buildings anywhere close to its height, but the entire general area is all builtup, a mix of commercial and residential buildings. Penn Station lies just to the west with the New York Public Library to north and Madison Square Garden to the south. The nearest appreciative open space is Central Park about 25 blocks north.

Hope this helps.

Arkcon · #3 November 14th, 2004, 07:06 PM

Bah. For a sci-fi story, you can solve all those problems:

1). Bioengeinering can insure that someone can see any distance, unless the distance drop off the horizon, then you need technology for remote viewing

2). and 3). The future can change the topography anyway you need. Look at this Schlock Mercenary episode and see.

PvK · #4 November 14th, 2004, 07:20 PM

Look at the "Virtual Tour" link at: http://www.esbnyc.com/index2.cfm

Also:

http://www.arch.montana.edu/classes/...20Building.JPG

http://www.usatourist.com/photos/newyork/empire1a.jpg

http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~rwunderl/rew...g_New_York.jpg

There are a bunch of relevant pictures to the island question (and many irrelevant ones) at this link.

PvK

dogscoff · #5 November 15th, 2004, 06:06 AM

Thanks everyone, that's about all I need for now. It sounds like everything I've alredy written is fairly credible.

More random questions in place of research to follow...

Raging Deadstar · #6 November 15th, 2004, 07:22 AM

Quote:

dogscoff said:
2: Is New York completely flat, or does it have any hills? I'm kind of hoping for a hill somewhere within a few km of the Empire State. If there is such a hill, what would the views be like from the top?

Lol, I was writing something once like this (not in new york) and i needed a small hill in a city near a certain landmark. I blamed it on a Government Project to create more greenery in cities to grab votes from enviromentalists

dogscoff · #7 February 1st, 2005, 03:35 PM

Right, next question: Chinese & Indian names.

I got another question for everyone. Same story but a totally different part of the world.

I have a character- well, several generations of characters, actually- of chinese descent. I've looked online for authentic names, but all I have really discovered is that naming people in Chinese is somewhat more complicated than looking up a common forename & surname at random and putting them together. Does anyone have any knowledge in this area? Can anyone help me with this?

Here's what I have so far:

The character I'm most worried about is a male from a long line of military commanders, so a strong, 'warrior' name would be good. So far I'm using the family name "Cheng" because that appears to be a valid surname and it sounds about right with all of the nicknames and modifiers I attach to it. He's probably from the more northern regions of China, if that makes a difference. None of this is set too far in the future, btw.

Our man winds up in India (Bengal area) where he marries an Indian woman. I am provisionally naming her "Bhavya", which websites indicate to be a valid given name for a strong, female Indian character. I haven't gone looking for a family name for her because (a) her unmarried name is unimportant to the story and (b) I'm afraid of stumbling face-first into another cultural quagmire. However if anyone can advise on this, and perhaps suggest a sensible surname I would again be grateful. I figure her married name would probably be "Cheng Bhavya", but I doubt there would be any set rules on such 'hybrid' names, so I'm not overly worried about that.

Anyway, the 'Bengal Chengs' have seven children, genders as-yet undecided, and bring those children up in a military tradition. This lot probably won't all need to be named as far as the story is concerned (although I anticipate at least two or three names being necessary) Again, these would be 'hybrid' names and so I could probably get around many of the naming conventions of either culture. There's another generation below that, probably marrying mostly into Indian families, so this lot would only be a quarter chinese, but still being brought up with their extended family in a military tradition. At least one male descendent has to keep the surname Cheng, so that he can pass it on to a fourth generation, (via a western mother) which ends up nearly as confused as I am.

So, like I say, is anyone able to offer me advice? I did at least attempt to research this one for myself, but I think the knowledge required is a bit too specialist. As before, credits in the book when I get published for anyone who helps me.

And no, I can't just move all these characters to Europe or America and call them all 'John' (=-/

geoschmo · #8 February 1st, 2005, 03:50 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_name
Interesting stuff. Not my area of expertise, but might but be helpful if you haven't already done a web search.

sachmo · #9 February 1st, 2005, 04:18 PM

Will the Bengal Chengs continue with the hybrid names, or will they lean to one side or the other.

My limited knowledge of Chinese culture leads me to believe that the Chinese family unit was historically matriarchal, so maybe they would begin to take Indian names.

There are always exceptions to the rule, but you could use the kids to emphasise the strength of personality of the mother or the father in the story.

dogscoff · #10 February 1st, 2005, 04:24 PM

Heh, the mother is certainly a forceful personality, but then the father certainly isn't a pushover.

Damn, I just can't wait for all you guys to read this.

Quote:

This page also has quite a few interesting links about names.

Thanks, but as you so rightly point out...

Quote:

At any rate, I would advice to check with a Chinese speaker before settling on a full name,

Which is kind of what I was hoping to achieve by posting here. We have a very diverse community on the forum here, and I was hoping someone would pipe up with "Oh yeah, I'm chinese, I can help."

Once more, I beg everyone's indulgence in my never-ending quest to avoid actual research.

Quote:

On another note, age is counted differently in Chinese than in our societies: a baby is born one-year-old, and your age increases on the New Year. The actual birthday is still on the day of the birth. I do not know if this will have any influence on your book, however.

Not at the moment, but worth knowing. THanks.