Want to change some English names

[MrBooth]

I know guilao will remind me that the Chinese characters are primary, and any English name is an alias anyway... but when you're looking at the cast list for a film in English, that's what you see - and nobody on earth knows these Shaws actors by the names they currently have in English, so I think it's worth changing them :p

Guk Fung (1) -> Ku Feng
Tim Lei -> Tanny Tien Ni
Booi Dai -> Betty Tei Pei

Can I sir? Can I?

Lesser ones (i.e. still quite easily recognisable) that still bother me slightly

Chan Ping (2) -> Chen Ping
Cheng Lee -> Ching Li
Tin Fung -> Tien Feng

Anybody think of other cases?

[Gaijin84]

Sounds good to me, especially on the Guk Fung --> Ku Feng

[STSH]

Sounds good to me, especially on the Guk Fung --> Ku Feng

You guys are lucky to be more familiar with the old school fu's than me.
Every film I've seen (and updated) Ku Feng/Guk Fung, with only a couple of exceptions, has called him Guk Fung, in cases where there is any English transliteration at all.

Of course, as you may notice, all these films were made in the '80s and '90s. ;P

[MrBooth]

Really? I still don't remember seeing a "Guk Fung" anywhere! He was a busy man though, with as long a career as anyone in HK... he was probably credited in just about every conceivable way at some point or other!

I changed him to Ku Feng a while ago anyway, which made me happy at least

[bkasten]

As long as there is editor consensus, this should be fine. Does anyone else want to weigh in?

Don't forget them aliases, Simon

[MrBooth]

I'd still like to change Tim Lei and Booi Dai... has anybody ever seen them credited with those English names? I've only seen Tanny Tien Ni and Betty Tei Pei, to the best of my knowledge.

[duriandave]

I've never seen those names either, and for me it's actually confusing to see them listed as the primary names.

[MrBooth]

I've never seen those names either, and for me it's actually confusing to see them listed as the primary names.

Exactly... you check the cast list and think "Huh, could have sworn that was Betty Tei Pei... oh, it was"

That's 2 votes - if I get a 3rd positive then I'll change them

(any yes, add the others as aliases )

[calros]

3rd vote.

[duriandave]

BTW, I also vote for changing the 3 other names you mentioned. Those have confused me before too.

[MrBooth]

OK, done Tanny & Betty

3rd vote for these?

Chan Ping (2) -> Chen Ping
Cheng Lee -> Ching Li
Tin Fung -> Tien Feng

Or any votes to keep them as they are?

[Gaijin84]

1 vote for the Cheng Lee -> Ching Li

the other two I am not familiar enough with

[calros]

2nd vote for all of them.

[Bruce]

I think we should be cautious, as it seems to me we are starting on a slippery slope which has no bottom. Shaw actors who were credited in English were almost always given the Mandarin transliteration. Does this mean that the primary English names for virtually all those Shaw actors are going to be changed?

I suggest this be cleared with Ryan before proceeding further. Whatever he says is fine with me.

[bkasten]

Naming (of people) is about to undergo sweeping changes. I have been working with Ryan on coming up with a standard for displaying and entering names, and will be implementing in the next two weeks. I will provide details as we go...but in general it should put to rest the issues posed in this thread, as well as the "hyphen" thread.

[Mike Thomason]

Sounds good to me, especially on the Guk Fung --> Ku Feng

You guys are lucky to be more familiar with the old school fu's than me.
Every film I've seen (and updated) Ku Feng/Guk Fung, with only a couple of exceptions, has called him Guk Fung, in cases where there is any English transliteration at all.

Of course, as you may notice, all these films were made in the '80s and '90s. ;P

I have checked the films I have on DVD that are listed in the database for the above listed actor, to verify whether or not he was creditted per se as noted. FAMILY LIGHT AFFAIR has the Mandarin variant, but neither PEKING OPERA BLUES, LEGACY OF RAGE, MAGNIFICENT WARRIORS, CHICKEN & DUCK TALK, THE DRAGON FAMILY, HERO OF TOMORROW, REINCARNATION OF GOLDEN LOTUS, A CHINESE GHOST STORY II, DEMONESS FROM THOUSAND YEARS, RETURN ENGAGEMENT, HAIL THE JUDGE, THE TRAGIC FANTASY: TIGER OF WANCHAI, CONSPIRACY, or GOODBYE MR. COOL have an English screen credit for him. There is just the Chinese characters for his name...and that's it!

However, of the only two "newer" films (eg: post seventies) I have that DO give him an onscreen credit, this is what we have...

From CHEAP KILLERS (1998)

From NIGHT CORRIDOR (2003)


And I am absolutely thrilled to hear that a new standard will be introduced for people's names...

[MrBooth]

Thanks! Added Ku Fung as an alias (we had Kuk Fung already)

I've seen him listed as Ku Feng on probably nigh 100 Shaws films!

[STSH]

Naming (of people) is about to undergo sweeping changes. I have been working with Ryan on coming up with a standard for displaying and entering names, and will be implementing in the next two weeks. I will provide details as we go...but in general it should put to rest the issues posed in this thread, as well as the "hyphen" thread.

Please please do NOT remove verified English names from the primary name field in any wholesale manner. These are perhaps the best indication for non-Chinese as to who these people are.

e.g. actors such as Ho Ka Kui, whose name is listed in several films, years apart, as William, it is fine and correct.

e.g. David Chiang should be listed as such, as he is very famous under that name.

There are exceptions, of course.
To quote from an old example, Chow Yun Fat was once known as Donald Chow. Now that the Great Chow is world famous under his Chinese name only, it would be totally wrong to list him as Donald Chow Yun Fat.
All HK film fans should be grateful he didn't call himself Stephen ..........

[MrBooth]

Incidentally, I've come across quite a lot of entries lately where an English name has been added an as an alias, by itself, e.g. (fictional):

"Name: Tam Fu Wing
Alias: Harry"

Even if there's some pressing reason not to include "Harry" in the main English name, the alias should really be at least "Harry Tam", surely?