#the chang'an youth

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: The Chang'an Youth (2020)

Hidden cooking master!#长安少年行 #thechanganyouth #shorts #wangyuwen

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cky80aG4WYU

[shortiesmiling]

POV : Your fiancée, currently cross-dressing, just confessed her love to a man

[lyselkatzfandomluvs]

Zhào WénHào 趙文浩

Wb update 2024.09.01

[nemainofthewater]

Best character surnamed: Yao

Come and vote for the best characters with the same surname!*

What does best mean? It's up to you! Whether you love them, are intrigued by their characters, love to hate them, or they're your '2 second blorbos whose personality you made up wholesale', these are all reasons for you to vote for your favs!

*note, the surnames are not exactly the same in all the cases, as often there will be a different character. I am, however, grouping them all together otherwise things got more complicated.

Propaganda is very welcome! If I’ve forgotten anyone, let me know in the notes.

This is part of a larger series of ‘best character with X surname’ polls’. The overview with ongoing polls, winners, and future polls can be found here

[aworldforastage]

currently reading: 长安少年游 by 明月倾

The title roughly translates to, "Chang'an Youths' Journey".

Synopsis

Yan Junyu is the orphaned heir of a noble family that has lost its influence. At 16, his grandmother sends him to the imperial palace as a 伴读/"study attendant" for the princes, hoping he can make connections that will secure their family's future. He initially studies with the spoiled and bratty Seventh Prince, who often bullies him. The Crown Prince, Xiao Jingyan, runs into two instances of Yan Junyu being bullied, and asks for Yan Junyu to join him at his Eastern Palace instead.

As Yan Junyu settles into in the Eastern Palace, he realizes the seemingly-perfect Crown Prince actually faces serious political challenges. The threat of a war looms as tribes to the North are growing increasingly greedy and aggressive. The Prince's relationship with his Emperor Father is strained as their political views diverge. Yan Junyu falls in love with Xiao Jingyan, but he doesn't know or understand so many parts of his person and history. A brilliant entourage is helping the Crown Prince with his duties and political agenda, but someone very important is obviously missing, and Yan Junyu doesn't know if he meant to replace that missing shadow.

However, Yan Junyu is learning and growing quickly as some of the brightest people in the nation are teaching and helping him. He wants to become the great general his father almost became and help his prince build a prosperous future for their nation...

(Also, the entire novel is FREE on JJWXC!!!)

What I like about the story

Crown Prince Xiao Jingyan. I read a review that called Xiao Jingyan "the fictional Crown Prince who is most like a Crown Prince." He understands the power and responsibilities that come with his position, and has went beyond expectations with talent, hard work, and immense personal sacrifices from both himself and his allies. He barely has any personal time because he is so busy with his duties to the court, with serving his Father Emperor, and with managing his own team of strategists and advisors. He is always in control, calm, dignified, and wise, so perfect in his role as a ruler that Yan Junyu can hardly understand how to love him like a human. Even though he is perpetually calm and at ease on the surface, there is ambition, anger, ruthlessness, and even a healthy dose selfishness hiding underneath. It's obvious that Xiao Jingyan desperately needs companionship in his lonely and stressful life.

Political Intrigue. I think this is one of the best historical political novels I have read. The story is set in an alternate history, some time after the Song dynasty. Externally, there is a threat of war on the Northern Borders. Internally, the Emperor is increasingly unsatisfied and resentful of his heir as his health fails. The Crown Prince needs to balance playing a loyal son and subject while furthering his own political vision as the future ruler. I think the schemes are at Qiang Jin Jiu's level of complexity, and it feels even more complicated at times due to the constant allusion to actual Chinese history, literature, and philosophy. The Prince himself and two advisors study Taoism, Confucianism, and Legalism, respectively; their methods differ based on their philosophies and life experiences. The strategists on the other sides are just as clever, and everyone is trying to think three steps ahead. No one is treated like a cartoon villain. Even the people whose main motivations are ambition or self-preservation are shown to be rational with their priorities.

Dynamic characters! The Eastern Palace has an amazing entourage of talented people united by their faith and loyalty to the Crown Prince, but they still have their own emotions and flaws. Rong Hao, a privileged young lord, tends to underestimate the desperation and ambition of those who have to crawl their way up. Yunlan, whose history makes her ruthlessly rational and efficient, fails to recognize the anger and resentment clouding her judgement. Ye Xuanji, the Crown Princess with amazing political acumen, chooses a loveless marriage in exchange for a position of power. Ao Ji, a loyal and kind young man from a military lineage, cannot forgive the Crown Prince or his own father for the compromises they have made to stay in the game of power. They are closest friends from childhood, but also lord and subject, colleagues and allies, trying to build the future of their nation together.

What makes me go a "meh" at times

The protagonist .... Yan Junyu is basically a male ingenue. He is kind, respectful, optimistic, handsome, and extremely talented with military strategy. Xiao Jingyan loves him because he is a breath of fresh air from the political schemes that fill his world, but at times Yan Junyu's "innocence" and "kindness" are a bit much. Everyone else in the novel becomes cautious and jaded, but he remains "pure". He is also better at military strategy than generals with front line experience just by reading and playing strategy games, supposedly because he is a genius in this. It definitely feels like "protagonist halo"

The relationship arc ... Oh, where do I begin...

Despite his attraction to the Prince, Yan Junyu feels so young and inexperienced at 15/16 compared to Xiao Jingyan's 21. It's one of the few times that the power and age difference between the characters really made the relationship feel unfair. The Prince doesn't personally push Yan Junyu into anything, but everyone knows what he has in mind when he asks Yan Junyu to join his palace. Regardless of what has or hasn't happened between them, and before he really understands his feelings or Xiao Jinyan, Yan Junyu is already known as the Crown Prince's favorite and living under his roof ... did he really have a chance after Xiao Jinyan has chosen him?

Perhaps due to the reasons above, the relationship develops very slowly and takes a long time go further than kisses. They have intense feelings and affections for each other, but Xiao Jingyan doesn't share much about himself. To be fair, Xiao Jingyan is extremely busy with his duties and has very little personal time to spend with Yan Junyu, but he still keeps a calm and controlled facade even when they are alone, and it's hard for Yan Junyu to truly understand his feelings with that mask.

This is probably just me, but for once I actually want to sink the main ship ...

Yan Junyu's reputation has become entangled with the Crown Prince the moment he enters the Eastern Palace, but he does so without much choice or understanding of the implications. Ao Ji goes through the trouble of remind him of who he can be, how bright he can shine away from the palace, on the battlefields he longs for. You sort of mourn for the parts of him that may never come to be under the shadow cast by the Eastern Palace, even though he wants to stay there for Xiao Jingyan.

[Mid-novel spoiler alert] I'm on the The Xiao Jingyan/Ye Liangyu ship? I don't know the whole story yet, but at 16 the Crown Prince loved one of his study attendants, the brightest young man of their age who is meant to become the chief strategist of the Eastern Palace, an important ally to one day help him govern the nation. He loved hard enough to fight the Emperor on this, but they still split up. The Eastern Palace still suffers from this young man's departure, as Rong Hao must step up to be the strategist despite not being suited for it, and Ao Ji is angry at Xiao Jingyan's choice of wife in the aftermath. Yan Junyu is loved because his morality and character is untouched by the dirty schemes of imperial politics and their relationship is one of Yan Junyu learning to understand Xiao Jingyan and his world. Ye Liangyu is literally the antithesis of all this, as someone who grew up meant to be an integral part of it, and I just find that so much more compelling. I almost don't want to keep reading because I know this relationship is dead, but I love it so much!

I'm rushing to post this because Ye Liangyu is returning to the Eastern Palace to help with a political crisis, so I may feel very differently soon!

[leahsfiction]

Song of the Bronze Immortal Leaving the Han - Li He

Foreword: In the 8th month of the 1st year of the Qinglong Era (237 AD), Emperor Ming of Wei ordered his palace official to move an immortal of the Emperor Wu of Han (d. 87 BC) south by cart. This immortal, holding a dew-plate, had been installed in front of the palace hall.

The immortal started its journey once the palace official dismantled and removed the plate, whereupon it shed silent tears.

Upon which Li Changji, scion of the Tang royal house, composed "Song of the Bronze Immortal Leaving the Han." [1]

--

In fall the youth Liu came lightly by his flourishing mausoleum[2], One heard his horse whinny in the night; he left no trace at dawn.

The rich scent of autumn is hemmed by osmanthus[3] and balustrades, Thirty-six palaces, all, mossing over jade-green.[4]

The procession begins its thousand miles, led by the man of Wei, Out the East Gate, a sour wind like arrows to the eye.

The Han moon was lured outside the royal walls in vain; Our tears turn to drops of lead in imperial solemnity.

Fading orchids in mourning garb[5] line the Xianyang road, If the heavens too could feel, the heavens would grow old.

Bearing our plate of dew alone through moonlit desolation, River and city[6] far behind, the voice of waves grown small.

--

Li He, Tang superstar "demonic poet", wrote this poem en route from Chang'an to Luoyang -- the same route the statue was taking. (The statue, in actual history, never made it to Luoyang and got left in Ba City, due to the troublesome size or manifested tears, who knows.) The poet was leaving the capital bc he had to quit his post due to chronic illness. (You can see more of my research notes in my tumblr tag for this poem.)

1: I've inserted the corresponding Gregorian dates, but this is all Li He's own foreword contextualizing the poem.

There are 3 dynasties, 3 nested layers of history, at play here.

Emperor Wu ("martial") - birth name Liu Che - the Han dynasty flourished under his rule due to all the conquering and wealth; like many emperors before and after him, he became obsessed with attaining immortality. hence the poet calling his statue "bronze immortal". According to the commentary in my 1983 Chinese-lang Tang anthology by one 朱世英 Zhu Shiying, the statue this emperor commissioned of himself was enormous: 20m (丈) tall and 10m (围) in circumference. The "dew-plate" is a dish designed to collect morning dew as an offering to the heavens (in hopes of exchange for immortality?) - they're found on top of some Buddhist pagodas also.

Emperor Ming - birth name Cao Rui, grandson of the Cao Cao - 300 years later in the Wei dynasty, he ordered people to remove many Han artifacts from the imperial palace to Luoyang, an expensive and dangerous affair, replacing them with his own commissioned statues, etc etc. The "palace official" refers to a court eunuch - not sure if this is meant to be a specific person.

Li Changji, scion of the Tang royal house - the poet himself (Changji was his courtesy name). i wasn't able to find a genealogy but i do know his was a minor branch of the Tang dynasty founding line; he was quite poor and unsuccessful at getting a good court position (poets is the same). You can read more wild facts about his life on his wikipedia page.

The Tang poet is imagining the statue in the Wei remembering the living Han emperor. History repeats. Rulers grow dissolute and wasteful. Dynasties break, unite, then break again.

2: This first couplet seems unmoored from the rest of the poem. Is it a ghostly vision? a memory? The youth Liu, Liu-lang, is a ballsy way of referring to Emperor Wu. He's visiting his own royal tomb, Maoling Mausoleum (it's on wiki - highly rec the satellite photos, it's still standing), literally translated as "flourishing mausoleum". He started constructing it in his 2nd year of rule - he was 16 years old.

3: 桂树：Commonly mistranslated as "cassia" (chinese cinnamon) due to its prominence in traded goods, but in poetic context usually means 桂花 osmanthus - the smell is peaches, not cinnamon. The blooms are associated with the much-vaunted imperial examinations in eighth month (around September); sort of the equivalent to the greek laurel.

4: 三十六宫 土花臂：A difficult line to fit in english metre, because "thirty-six palaces" takes up the entire first half of the original line. And then the second half is an odd phrase probably coined by Li He - "earth flower jade-green".

5: I know my friend has explained this one already but I just need to yell again about how many images are packed into two characters, 衰兰 "withered orchids". (a) 衰 pronounced shuai, "frail," "old." The flowers are withering because it's autumn. (b) shuai, "reduced." There are few flowers left, and the flowers represent the crowd seeing the procession off. Barely anyone cares about the statue in this new dynasty. (c) pronounced cui, "mourning garments." Now this is a bit of a stretch, but I'm imagining the orchids as white with brown edges (the withering) - as in white and sackcloth mourning clothes. They're symbols of mortality they're the last few loyal mourners they're moved by emotion and thus are able to age, unlike the unfeeling heavens in the next line.

6: Originally says 渭城 "Wei City" in the poem, i.e. city on the Wei river, i.e. Chang'an. Both the Wei and Jing are famous rivers - Chang'an sits near where they touch. There's a nice parallelism b/t the sound of the waves growing small (or faint) and the heavens not growing old in this stanza that not many existing translations point out.

[mx08z7kz6gqrs]

人间不值得 - This Human World Isn’t Worth It

人间不值得 - 黄诗扶 This Human World Isn’t Worth It - Huang Shifu Original Song Here Lyrics: Chi Yi Composition: Huang Shifu Arrangement: Mzf Xiao Mu 渡口爱上深山 薄雪中意晚莲 夕阳熬红双眼 想等来晨钟聊聊天 The harbor falls in love with the mountains in the distance, and a beautiful evening lotus catches the eye of the cold winter snow. The sunset stays awake until its eyes are brimming red just waiting for the dawn to come by for a chat. 心上人在梅边柳边 偏不在身边 小白蛇浇透临安 许仙却没带伞 My beloved stands there beside plum blossoms and willow trees, but remains out of my reach. The white snake finds herself soaked through near the West Lake, but Xu Xian did not bring his umbrella. 少女压坏秋千 书生十年落选 命运总是挑挑拣拣 诸事不成全 A young girl tumbles as her swing falls apart beneath her, and a young scholar fails his exams again ten years counting. Fate is such a fickle thing, never fulfilling anyone's wishes. 小和尚没化到缘 又路过烧鸭店 A young monk comes back empty handed, as he passes by roasting ducks on a street stand. 拈杯酒眯着眼 说专心看人间 看长安建安与潘安 都想沾一沾 Cups of wine in hand, with heavy eyes barely open, they say they are watching this human world carefully. Looking over the beauty of Chang'an, Jian'an, and Pan'an, they wanted a taste of everything. 神仙掐指算 此去少圆满 得来失 聚了散 千万莫求全 The gods count each one out one by one- few things are ever truly completed. Things we gain will lead to loss, and those who come together will inevitably part, so we must be careful never to ask for too much. 借泥炉烧碗饭 在檐上种炊烟 管小寒大寒与心寒 都来暖一暖 Let's borrow a clay oven, and cook a bowl of food, raising billows of smoke over the eaves Whether it's a icy storm, a cold spell, or a bitter, frozen heart- may they all be warmed a little. 好提胆闯人海 再叩风月关 兜兜转转八十一难 我们走着看 So that we may gather the courage to push through the sea of people around us, we bow again to the quiet moonlight above. No matter the ups and downs that await us on this winding path of life, let's walk along and see. 竹马去寻竹马 青梅意兴阑珊 A young boy comes along on a bamboo horse, but trots away to play with the others, And the little girl beneath green plum trees grows tired of waiting. 伯牙琴弦摔断 叔夜刚绝交山巨源 Bo Ya snaps the strings of his qin in grief, And Shuye (Xi Kang) severs his ties with Ju Yuan (Shan Tao). 知己半路就散 结发总另结新欢 小情侣恰好遇见 喜鹊没来上班 The friend you hold closest abandons you halfway through, as the one you love marries another, A pair of young lovers finally happen to meet, and yet cupid seems to have abandoned his post. 长生岂能如愿 古稀尚靠垂怜 老病倒比莺莺燕燕 多陪二十年 Over the course of such a long life, how could you expect everything to go as you may have wished? In the end, the elderly continue to lean upon the mercy of others. The illness of old age accompanies you twenty years longer than the spring of youth. 小嫦娥偷吃灵药 却反而羡人间 A young Chang'e stole the elixir of immortality, only to turn and envy the lives of humankind. 拈杯酒眯着眼 说专心看人间 看长安建安与潘安 都想沾一沾 Cups of wine in hand, with heavy eyes barely open, they say they are watching this human world carefully. Looking over the beauty of Chang'an, Jian'an, and Pan'an, they wanted a taste of everything. 神仙掐指算 此去少圆满 得来失 聚了散 千万莫求全 The gods count each one out one by one- few things are ever truly completed. Things we gain will lead to loss, and those who come together will inevitably part, so we must be careful never to ask for too much. 借泥炉烧碗饭 在檐上种炊烟 管小寒大寒与心寒 都来暖一暖 Let's borrow a clay oven, and cook a bowl of food, raising billows of smoke over the eaves Whether it's a icy storm, a cold spell, or a bitter, frozen heart- may they all be warmed a little. 好提胆闯人海 再叩风月关 兜兜转转八十一难 我们走着看 So that we may gather the courage to push through the sea of people around us, we bow again to the quiet moonlight above. No matter the ups and downs that await us on this winding path of life, let's walk along and see. 人生在世不称意呀 失眠或失恋 只劝你来把个盏 侃呀么侃大山 喝完大酒撑条船 说今生不靠岸 去天涯海角浪个遍 失意当尝鲜 Our time in this human world can be so bitter, whether it's sleepless nights or broken hearts. One can only advise you to take a cup, and come by for a bit of idle chatter After finishing the wine, take a boat out and swear never to land again in this lifetime. Go forth to the ends of the earth and sea, and taste each new disappointment as it comes. 这一路手握剑 身侧有千帆 时不时～���头看看 百味是人间 时不时～也睡个懒觉 醒来多加餐 Along the way, keep a sword at hand, and a thousand sails beside you. Every now and then, look back at the hundreds of flavors of the human world. Every now and then, sleep in a bit, and once you wake, help yourself to a another meal. Side Note: There are a lot of direct references to Chinese literature here, and some other more ambiguous ones. I'll be posting some notes later to capture the ones I found. There are some localizations I did where possible, but for the most part I left things relatively literal because there was so much.

[darkfalcon-z]

I've watched "30 000 li from Chang'an" recently and let me tell you I'm a bit surprised the movie has so little following here. I mean it's the serious, studious youth meeting charismatic (Gao Shi), cheerful alcoholic (Li Bai), and then they continue meeting as they grow older. It should do rounds around this place. Just consider the old men yaoi possibilities.

But I digress, this is not why the movie made such an impression on me. The POV character, Gao Shi, historically one of the renown poets from Tang era China, had been casted as having dyslexia (I'm not sure if there are any historical records indicating that, as far I can tell the movie takes some artistic liberties with history). Which in itself is amazing. You get deaf composers (as Beethoven's life story is a huge inspiration here) and blind artist (especially scuplorts, and of course you get bling musicians and poets), but I don't thin there's lot of representation for dyslexic masters of literary craft.

But what really got me was how Gao Shi had been accommodated by his father who patiently helped him learning to read and write even though it took much more time than for other children. In fact Gao Shi needed assistance with reading and studying well into adulthood. Because his father died before Gao Shi learned to read without assistance he had to hire a local student to help him.

This is really meaningful for me because I have dyslexia too. My parents too spend a lot of time helping me with reading and writing (and later reading in English) practices, all up until I moved out to go to university. If not for their patients and determination I probably wouldn't be able to read and write as well as I do (and I do struggle with writing to this day).

Like Gao Shi I have little confidence in fulfilling tasks that require writing and for that reason I avoid certain opportunities that'd be otherwise open for me to explore.

So this story was really meaningful to me.

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: The Chang'an Youth (2020)

Gifs of Ending of cdrama “The Chang'an Youth”

ENG SUB 【长安少年行 The Chang'An Youth】 EP01 | 为了逃婚扮丑出奇招，没想到还是被抓回去

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaYdyw97gYI

[yoona87]

Yi Yi x Zi An - A Faraway Dream (OST MV)

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Zhào WénHào 趙文浩

Wb update 2023.11.10

[aworldforastage]

favorite passages: Placid Chang'an 太平长安 Ch 182

After their meal, Su Cen still needs to return to the Court of Judiciary Review in the afternoon. Prior to parting, Su Cen suddenly says, "Do you still remember the question you asked me during the Palace Examination?" Li Shi stops in his tracks, and thinks back to those days, when this man was the embodiment of youthful spirit; even the hems of his robes and the strands of his hair exuded a bone-deep rebelliousness. Though he was the one kneeling below the dais, he held his back pin straight. Li Shi feels like teasing him, and asks, "What is ill with the nation?" Su Cen chuckles; he says as he looks at Li Shi, "The nation is plagued, by increasing poverty, by threatening neighbors, by the disconnect between civil and martial affairs, by factional infighting, leading to relentless strife." "What are the factions, and what are they fighting for?" "There are two factions, and they are fighting for order, for justice, for a prosperous society, and the longevity of the nation. If these are your beliefs and desires, then I want to join your fight, and keep trying."

Original Chinese beneath beneath the cut. Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/read-1514870.html

一顿饭吃完，苏岑下午还得回大理寺。临到分离，苏岑突然道：“你还记得当初廷试的时候你问我的问题吗？” 李释驻足而立，遥想当初，这人一身少年意气，从衣带边到头发丝都在表达着骨子里桀骜不驯，明明跪在堂下，腰杆却挺的笔直。他起了逗弄的心思，开口问：“国之弊病是什么？” 苏岑轻轻一笑，看着李释道：“国之弊病，是积贫，是强邻，是文武不兼修，是分党争斗、日月交食。” “党是什么党，争的又是什么？” “党有两党，争的是天理，是公义，是盛世太平、国运永昌，若这是你的所想所愿，那我愿与你一道，争上一争。”

[dangermousie]

I checked out the first ep of The Chang’an Youth and it’s fine but I won’t be watching any more - I am not big on fluff and goofiness and it’s both, not to mention I feel I am actively losing braincells watching it and the heroine is one of the most annoying characters known to man.

But it’s very pretty so have some caps...

[biromantic-nerd]

shows with actual queer representation: exist

me, a simple nonbinary, who likes when the cis woman pretending to be cis man trope is done well bc it radiates such nb/genderqueer vibes: listen no i will not stop talking about the chang'an youth bc i am a simple nb who loves shen yi yi

[effulgentpoet]

endless list of favorites

长安少年行 THE CHANG’AN YOUTH (2020)

The person I love is him.

[shangyangjunzhu]

my interest in song of youth is starting to fade completely because wow i feel so bad for da nainai and if the show wants me to be okay with the man neglecting her and cheating on her then that’s not happening...