#zhenling

[baxiabells]

for the mdzs juniors bingo..! more loosely followed admittedly - the prompt is valentine! ft juniors ot4 kiss configurations

[incorrectly-quoting-mxtx]

Ouyang Zizhen: Oh fiddlesticks! That really ruffles my feathers!

Jin Ling, crying: Please, just say fuck.

[grapestones]

Hhh want a soulmate au where Jin Ling, Ouyang Zizhen and Jiang Cheng are all soulmates, but when Jiang Cheng realises they are both still kids and is horrified so he decides to just ignore it and let the two find each other. And it seems happy, it is happy, except Jiang Cheng also feels just a bit miserable having to be left out by his own volition, and both Zizhen and Jin Ling feels, knows, that something is missing and they try to track down their third soulmate

[ryin-silverfish]

So You Want to Read More about Chinese Mythos: a rough list of primary sources

"How/Where can I learn more about Chinese mythology?" is a question I saw a lot on other sites, back when I was venturing outside of Shenmo novel booksphere and into IRL folk religions + general mythos, but had rarely found satisfying answers.

As such, this is my attempt at writing something past me will find useful.

(Built into it is the assumption that you can read Chinese, which I only realized after writing the post. I try to amend for it by adding links to existing translations, as well as links to digitalized Chinese versions when there doesn't seem to be one.)

The thing about all mythologies and legends is that they are 1) complicated, and 2) are products of their times. As such, it is very important to specify the "when" and "wheres" and "what are you looking for" when answering a question as broad as this.

-Do you want one or more "books with an overarching story"?

In that case, Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen Yanyi) serve as good starting points, made more accessible for general readers by the fact that they both had English translations——Anthony C. Yu's JTTW translation is very good, Gu Zhizhong's FSYY one, not so much.

Crucially, they are both Ming vernacular novels. Though they are fictional works that are not on the same level of "seriousness" as actual religious scriptures, these books still took inspiration from the popular religion of their times, at a point where the blending of the Three Teachings (Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism) had become truly mainstream.

And for FSYY specifically, the book had a huge influence on subsequent popular worship because of its "pantheon-building" aspect, to the point of some Daoists actually putting characters from the novel into their temples.

(Vernacular novels + operas being a medium for the spread of popular worship and popular fictional characters eventually being worshipped IRL is a thing in Ming-Qing China. Meir Shahar has a paper that goes into detail about the relationship between the two.)

After that, if you want to read other Shenmo novels, works that are much less well-written but may be more reflective of Ming folk religions at the time, check out Journey to the North/South/East (named as such bc of what basically amounted to a Ming print house marketing strategy) too.

-Do you want to know about the priestly Daoist side of things, the "how the deities are organized and worshipped in a somewhat more formal setting" vs "how the stories are told"?

Though I won't recommend diving straight into the entire Daozang or Yunji Qiqian or some other books compiled in the Daoist text collections, I can think of a few "list of gods/immortals" type works, like Liexian Zhuan and Zhenling Weiye Tu.

Also, though it is much closer to the folk religion side than the organized Daoist side, the Yuan-Ming era Grand Compendium of the Three Religions' Deities, aka Sanjiao Soushen Daquan, is invaluable in understanding the origins and evolutions of certain popular deities.

(A quirk of historical Daoist scriptures is that they often come up with giant lists of gods that have never appeared in other prior texts, or enjoy any actual worship in temples.)

(The "organized/folk" divide is itself a dubious one, seeing how both state religion and "priestly" Daoism had channels to incorporate popular deities and practices into their systems. But if you are just looking at written materials, I feel like there is still a noticeable difference.)

Lastly, if you want to know more about Daoist immortal-hood and how to attain it: Ge Hong's Baopuzi (N & S. dynasty) and Zhonglv Chuandao Ji (late Tang/Five Dynasties) are both texts about external and internal alchemy with English translations.

-Do you want something older, more ancient, from Warring States and Qin-Han Era China?

Classics of Mountains and Seas, aka Shanhai Jing, is the way to go. It also reads like a bestiary-slash-fantastical cookbook, full of strange beasts, plants, kingdoms of unusual humanoids, and the occasional half-man, half-beast gods.

A later work, the Han-dynasty Huai Nan Zi, is an even denser read, being a collection of essays, but it's also where a lot of ancient legends like "Nvwa patches the sky" and "Chang'e steals the elixir of immortality" can be first found in bits and pieces.

Shenyi Jing might or might not be a Northern-Southern dynasties work masquerading as a Han one. It was written in a style that emulated the Classics of Mountains and Seas, and had some neat fantastic beasts and additional descriptions of gods/beasts mentioned in the previous 2 works.

-Do you have too much time on your hands, a willingness to get through lot of classical Chinese, and an obsession over yaoguais and ghosts?

Then it's time to flip open the encyclopedic folklore compendiums——Soushen Ji (N/S dynasty), You Yang Za Zu (Tang), Taiping Guangji (early Song), Yijian Zhi (Southern Song)...

Okay, to be honest, you probably can't read all of them from start to finish. I can't either. These aren't purely folklore compendiums, but giant encyclopedias collecting matters ranging from history and biography to medicine and geography, with specific sections on yaoguais, ghosts and "strange things that happened to someone".

As such, I recommend you only check the relevant sections and use the Full Text Search function well.

Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Chinese Studios, aka Liaozhai Zhiyi, is in a similar vein, but a lot more entertaining and readable. Together with Yuewei Caotang Biji and Zi Buyu, they formed the "Big Three" of Qing dynasty folktale compendiums, all of which featured a lot of stories about fox spirits and ghosts.

Lastly...

The Yuan-Ming Zajus (a sort of folk opera) get an honorable mention. Apart from JTTW Zaju, an early, pre-novel version of the story that has very different characterization of SWK, there are also a few plays centered around Erlang (specifically, Zhao Erlang) and Nezha, such as "Erlang Drunkenly Shot the Demon-locking Mirror". Sadly, none of these had an English translation.

Because of the fragmented nature of Chinese mythos, you can always find some tidbits scattered inside history books like Zuo Zhuan or poetry collections like Qu Yuan's Chuci. Since they aren't really about mythology overall and are too numerous to cite, I do not include them in this post, but if you wanna go down even deeper in this already gigantic rabbit hole, it's a good thing to keep in mind.

[bookofjin]

Administrative geography of Western Han (38,107)

According to Ban Gu's Book of Han.

Bing 并州

Taiyuan太原郡

Suiren葰人

Langmeng狼孟

Yu盂

Fenyang汾陽

Yangqu陽曲

Yuanping原平

Lüsi慮虒

Guangwu廣武

Shang上郡

Fushi膚施

Baitu白土

Zhenglin楨林

Gaowang高望

Qiuci龜茲

Xihe西河郡

Fuchang富昌

Pingding平定

Meiji美稷

Dacheng大成

Yinyin圜陰

Hongmen鴻門

Zengshan增山

Yinyang圜陽

Guangyan廣衍

Humeng虎猛

Guluo穀羅

Linshui臨水

Shuofang朔方郡

Shuofang朔方

Xiudu修都

Linhe臨河

Huqiu呼遒

Qusou渠搜

Woye沃野

Guangmu廣牧

Linrong臨戎

Wuyuan五原郡

Jiuyuan九原

Wuyuan五原

Linwo臨沃

Heyin河陰

Nanxing南興

Wudu武都

Yiliang宜梁

Manbai曼柏

Chengyi成宜

Guyang稒陽

Xi'anyang西安陽

Hemu河目

Yunzhong雲中郡

Yunzhong雲中

Xianyang咸陽

Taolin陶林

Zhenling楨陵

Duhe犢和

Shaling沙陵

Yuanyang原陽

Sha'nan沙南

Beiyu北輿

Wuquan武泉

Dingxiang定襄郡

Chengle成樂

Tongguo桐過

Wujin武進

Wugao武皋

Luo駱

Antao定陶

Wucheng武城

Wuyao武要

Dingxiang定襄

Yanmen鴈門郡

Shanwu善無

Woyang沃陽

Fanzhi繁畤

Zhongling中陵

Yinguan陰館

Loufan樓煩

Wuzhou武州

Wangtao𣷪陶

Juyang劇陽

Guo崞

Pingcheng平城

Di埒

Mayi馬邑

Qiangyin彊陰

Ji冀州

Zhending真定國

Zhending真定

Feilei肥纍

Mianman綿曼

Zhongshan中山國

Lunu盧奴

Xinshi新市

Wuji毋極

Julu鉅鹿郡

Xiaquyang下曲陽

Changshan常山郡

Sangzhong桑中

Lingshou靈壽

Puwu蒲吾

Shangquyang上曲陽

Jiumen九門

Jingxing井陘

Leyang樂陽

Nanxingtang南行唐

You 幽州

Dai代郡

Sanggan桑乾

Daoren道人

Dangcheng當城

Gaoliu高柳

Macheng馬城

Banshi班氏

Yanling延陵

Quanjing狋氏

Juru且如

Pingyi平邑

Yangyuan陽原

Donganyang東安陽

Canhe參合

Pingshu平舒

Dai代

Lingqiu靈丘

Guanghe廣昌

Lucheng鹵城

Shanggu上谷郡

Gouwu雊瞀

Ning寧

Guangning廣寧

Not located

Shang上郡

Muhe木禾

Jingshi京室

Luodu洛都

Yuandu原都

Tuixie推邪

Wangsong望松

Yidu宜都

Xihe西河郡

Zouyu騶虞

Gaoze鵠澤

Lejie樂街

Tujing徒經

Guangtian廣田

Yilan益闌

Xuanwu宣武

Qianzhang千章

Wuche武車

Rao饒

Fangli方利

Xidu西都

Pinglu平陸

Nishi觬是

Boling博陵

Yanguan鹽官

Wuyuan五原郡

Guling固陵

Wenguo文國

Puze蒱澤

Moda莫䵣

Yunzhong雲中郡

Yangshou陽壽

Dingxiang定襄郡

Duwu都武

Xiangyin襄陰

Fulu復陸

County locations and ancient rivers, lakes, and shorelines from The Historical Atlas of China.

I have intentionally stuck to the Hanshu where it differs from the Historical Atlas.

[amandacooperkf]

Why Representation Matters in Marketing

Wharton marketing professor Zhenling Jiang examines the impact diverse representation has on sales. #diversity #marketing #marketingprofessionals

Why Representation Matters in Marketing

Do TV commercials with diverse actors help increase sales? Wharton’s Zhenling Jiang tests whether representation matters in her latest study.

Korn Ferry Connect

[halbanese1]

Why Representation Matters in Marketing

“We tend to think we are sacrificing something to feature more diversity. We are making a trade-off. But it’s quite the contrary.” — Zhenling Jiang #diversity #marketing #marketingprofessionals

Why Representation Matters in Marketing

Do TV commercials with diverse actors help increase sales? Wharton’s Zhenling Jiang tests whether representation matters in her latest study.

Korn Ferry Connect

[ieisia]

Tao Hongjing

Tao Hongjing (456–536), Tongming, was a Chinese alchemist, astronomer, calligrapher, military general, musician, physician, and pharmacologist, and writer during the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589). A polymathic individual of many talents, he was best known as a founder of the Shangqing "Highest Clarity" School of Taoism and the compiler-editor of the basic Shangqing scriptures.

Tao Hongjing was a prolific writer and had extensive knowledge of the Chinese classics, history, literature, numerology, astrology, geography, and traditional Chinese medicine. He compiled some fifty works, such as the Gujin zhoujun ji (古今州郡記, "Notes on ancient and modern provinces and commanderies") and Lunyu jizhu (論語集注, "Collected commentaries on the Lunyu").

In Six Dynasties poetry, Tao Hongjing's best known poem was written in reply to Xiao Yan's question, "Is there anything in the mountains?" It expresses his intention of being a recluse and not leaving the mountains. 

You asked me "Is there anything in the mountains", There are many white clouds above the mountain ridge. They can only be admired and enjoyed by myself,  But they are not worth holding in my hands and presenting to you, my lord.

The Siku quanshu collection includes three works by Tao Hongjing, the Zhen'gao (真誥, "Declarations of the perfected"), Gujin daojian lu(古今刀劍錄, "Register of ancient and recent swords"), and Zhenling weiye tu (真靈位業圖, "Chart of the Ranks and Functions of the Perfected Immortals"), which was the first Daoist work about theogony.

The Daozang (Taoist Canon) contains many of Tao Hongjing's works, such as the Zhen'gao, Huayang Tao Yinju Ji (華陽陶隱居集, "Hermit Tao's Flourishing Yang Writings"), and Yangxing Yanming Lu (養性延命錄, "Extracts on Nourishing Spiritual Nature and Prolonging Bodily Life").

[linxuelian]

No, seriously, why?

🏵️ More MDZS comics

This is for all the fellow single pringles nagged at every CNY 🥂

* That JC fic where he has a problem with every one of his nephew’s suitors. https://archiveofourown.org/works/25241785/chapters/61188400

EDIT:

Zhuiling Happy End:

Thanks, Hanguang-Jun!💙

[madness-maybe-managed]

SiZhui: No, not—

Jingyi: Boats! Ah, I just love boats, don’t you? Wind in your hair!

Zizhen: Ocean on every side!

Jin Ling: Miles and miles from the nearest dry land!

Jingyi: Watery death awaiting at the slightest mishap! Man, that’s what I call living.

SiZhui: Yeah, I’m really gonna need you to shut up.

[ingawdfeelings]

Zizhen bonded with Jin Ling in Yin City and I can’t get over their friendship afterwards

Like

Look at him shake his head at JL’s nonsense

And then when he realizes he’s not coming back the dork is like “..I’ll go look over there” And yet we see him pass by in a hurry

On the left you can clearly see him in his red robes rushing up to catch up to JL 🤣

And then they’re so comfortable with each other that a simple hand tap is enough to get JL to sit back down

And he’s the only one willing to sit down and eat with him.

Ahhh this is why I’m loving the idea of them being together when they grow up more like ahhhh the start of a good ship right here

[transjingyi]

Not to get anyone's hopes up but if enough people were interested..... if I made a juniors discord group (and it would have a nsfw channel as a warning in case you aren't okay with that) would anyone actually want to join so they could make friends? Please like if you are and I'll DM everyone individually to let you know if it's happening!

[zhuilingyizhen]

Ouyang Zizhen: sticks and stones may break my bones but words can reinforce unhealthy thinking habits and amplify negative worldviews in ways that have longterm consequences to my mental health

Jin Ling: a-are you okay??

[useless-slytherclaw]

Lan Jingyi: how would you like your tea?

Ouyang Zizhen: as sweet as my boyfriend.

Lan Jingyi, nervously: I don’t have that much salt.

[bookofjin]

The Water Classic, Part 1

[This is the core Classic only, i.e. without the Commentary, however the headings, SJZ01, SJZ02, etc., indicates the corresponding scrolls within the much longer Commentary on the Water Classic.]

[The maps are primarily intended to illustrate the Classic. Place names have as far as possible been placed in accordance with the Historic Atlas of China, and the rivers drawn as straight lines between their closest vicinity to each place. The Classic is not error-free, as is made clear in the Commentary. Unless noted otherwise, discrepancies between the Atlas and the Classic have been resolved in favour of the Atlas. Cities, mountains, rivers and other features not in the Atlas have been placed by me to fit the description in the Classic.]

SJZ01

Kunlun Barrens崑崙墟 are to the north-west, the distance to the Song Heights嵩高 is 50 000 li, it is at the centre of the land. Its height is 11 000 li.

He River河水 sets out from their north-eastern corner, bends to flow south-east from them, and enters the Bo Sea渤海. Again it sets out outside the sea, and to the south arrive below Jishi Mountain積石山 which has the Stone Gates石門 [shimen].

SJZ02

Again south it enters Congling Mountain蔥嶺山, again it sets out from Congling蔥嶺 and then flows north-east. One of its sources sets out from a mountain south of Yutian State于闐國, flows north and combines with the He河 that sets out from Congling蔥嶺. Again it east it pours into the Puchang Sea蒲昌海. Again east it enters the Frontier, and passes south of Dunhuang敦煌, Jiuquan酒泉, and Zhangye Commanderies張掖郡, again east to pass north of Longxi's隴西 Heguan County河關縣.

Tao River洮水 comes flowing from the south-east to pour into it, again east to pass north of Jincheng's金城 Qianya County允吾縣, again east to pass north of Yuzhong County榆中縣, again east to pass the northern boundaries of Tianshui天水, again north-east to pass east of Wuwei's武威 Aowei County媼圍縣, again north-east to pass north of Tianshui's天水 Yongshi County勇士縣, again north-east to pass Maitian Mountain麥田山 at the northern boundaries of Anding安定.

SJZ03

Again north to pass west of Beidi's北地 Fuping County富平縣.

Again north to pass west of Shuofang's朔方 Linrong County臨戎縣, bends north-east from the county, arrives west of Hemu County河目縣, bends south to pass south if Wuyuan's五原 Xi'anyang County西安陽縣, bends east to pass south of Jiuyuan County九原縣, again east to pass south of Linwo County臨沃縣, again east to pass south of Yunzhong's雲中 Zhenling County楨陵縣, again east to pass north of Sha'nan County沙南縣, from east of the county bends south to pass west of Shaling County沙陵縣, again south to pass east of Chi City赤城, again south to pass west of Dingxiang's定襄 Tongguo County桐過縣, again south to pass east of Xihe's西河 Yinyang County圁陽縣.

Again south to pass west of Lishi County離石縣, again south to pass west of Zhongyang County中陽縣, again south to pass Tujun County土軍縣, again south to pass east of Shang commandery's上郡 Gaonu County高奴縣.

SJZ04

Again south to pass west of Hedong's河東 Beiqu County北屈縣, again south to pass west of Pishi County皮氏縣, again south to set from Longmen Mouth龍門口, Fen River汾水 comes from the east to pour into it, again south to pass west of Fenyin County汾陰縣, again south to pass west Puban County蒲坂縣, again south to arrive at Huayin's華陰 Tong Pass潼關, Wei River渭水 comes from the west to pour into it, again east to pass south of Hebei County河北縣, again east to pass north of Shan County陝縣, again east to pass south of Dayang County大陽縣, again east to pass the Dizhu Gaps砥柱間, again east to pass north of Pingyin County平陰縣, Qing River清水 comes from the north-west to pour into it

Again east it arrives at Deng鄧.

SJZ05

Again east it passes north of Ping County平縣, Zhan River湛水 comes from the north to pour into it, again east to pass north of Gong County鞏縣, Luo River洛水 from west of the county flows north to pour into it, again east it passes north of Chenggao County成臯縣, Ji River濟水 comes from the north to pour into it, again east to pass north of Xingyang County滎陽縣, Langdang Canal蒗蕩渠 sets out from there, again north-east to pass east of Wude County武德縣, Qin River沁水 comes from the north-west to pour into it

Again north-east to pass south of Liyang County黎陽縣, again north-east to pass south of Wei County衛縣, again north-east to pass north of Puyang County濮陽縣, the Huzi He瓠子河 sets out from there, again north-east to pass north of Dong'e County東阿縣, again north-east to pass west Chiping County茌平縣, again north-east to pass east of Gaotang County高唐縣, again north-east to pass east of Yangxu County楊虛縣, the Shang He商河 sets out from there, again north-east to pass north of Tayin County漯陰縣, again north-east it passes north of Li County利縣, again north-east it passes Jiaxia Town甲下邑, Ji River濟水 comes from the west to pour into, again north-east it enters the sea.

[According to the Commentary, and the Atlas, the Ji River entered the sea separate from the He.]

Fen River汾水 sets out from Guancen Mountain管涔山 north of Taiyuan's太原 Fenyang County汾陽縣, goes south-east to pass east of Jinyang County晉陽縣, Jin River晉水 flows from south-east of the county to pour into, again south Dongguo River洞過水 comes from the east to pour into it, again south to pass east of Pingtao County平陶縣, Wen River文水 comes flowing from the west to pour into it, again south to pass Guanjue Ford冠爵津, again south to enter the boundaries of Hedong河東, again south to pass west of Yong'an County永安縣, and successively east of Tang City唐城, again south to pass east of Yang County楊縣, goes south-west to pass west of Gaoliang Town高梁邑, again south to pass east of Pingyang County平陽縣, again south to pass east of Linfen County臨汾縣, again bends from south of the county to flow west, again west to pass south of Changxiu County長脩縣, again west to pass south of Pishi County皮氏縣, again west to arrive north of Fenyin County汾陰縣, and to the west pour into the He河.

Kuai River澮水 sets out from Gao Mountain 高山 east of Kuaijiao澮交 east of Hedong's河東 Jiang County絳縣, to the west passes south of that county, again south-west to pass south of Siqi Palace虒祁宮, again west to arrive at Wang Marsh王澤, and pours into the Fen River汾水.

Su River涑水 sets out from Shujia Valley黍葭谷 in the mountains east of Hedong's河東 Wenxi County聞喜縣, goes west to pass south of Zhouyang Town周陽邑, again south-west to pass south of Zuoyi County左邑縣, again south-west to pass west of Anyi County安邑縣, again south to pass east of Jie County解縣, again south-west to pour into Zhangyang Pool張陽池.

Wen River文水 sets out from Wen Valley文谷 in the mountains west of Daling County大陵縣, to the east arrives at that county, bends south to arrive north-east of Pingtao County平陶縣, and to the east enters the Fen汾.

Yuangong River原公水 sets out from Yangtou Mountain羊頭山 west of Zishi County茲氏縣, to the east passes north of that county, and again east enters the Fen汾.

[smartzelda]

I love ot4 junior quartet like it's just so great

Because you have zhuiyi which is like childhood best friends to lovers, "i cause problems" and "i fix the problems", soft mom friend + chaotic stupid. Their relationship naturally progresses from best friends to lovers, but they're both stupid in love matters, so they don't realize they're basically dating for a while

Then you have zhuiling which is like soft boy + tsundere who is struggling to tsundere because soft boy is so soft he forgets to be tsundere sometimes. It's also extra rich boy x (idk?) boy, so you have one constantly finding reasons to dote on the other, and the other not realizing it means that the rich boy got a crush

Then you have zhuizhen which is like sticking the soft boy mom friend together with the half time mom friend half time chaotic stupid (jingyi level) and sometimes both at once. Their relationship is all levels of soft, and sometimes they're the only voices of reason

Then there's lingyi which sticks together tsundere boy and chaotic stupid boy and slaps on a love-hate relationship and turns chaotic stupid boy tsundere only for tsundere boy. They thrive off insulting each other, but if someone else insulted or hurt the other they would go ham like "I'M THE ONLY ONE ALLOWED TO INSULT HIM LIKE THAT". Both would go crazy in rage if the other was hurt, but they also wouldn't admit it. They play pranks on each other all the time. They heavily deny having crushes on each other, and sometimes Jin Ling buys Lan Jingyi stuff but won't admit he was the one who bought it. Jingyi is half "Ooh you wanna kiss me so bad" and "who would kiss you?", and Jin Ling is just "Who would kiss you?"

Then zhenling which is tsundere boy + half mom friend half chaotic stupid, so sometimes they're like zhuiling and have such a sweet relationship where Jin Ling forgets he's a tsundere, sometimes they have a bit of that love-hate double tsundere thing going on, sometimes Zhizhen acts like his mom, and other times they team up to prank Jingyi

Then there's zhenyi which is chaotic stupid soft boy + half mom friend half chaotic stupid, so half the time Zizhen is the voice of reason and they have a zhuiyi like relationship, and half the time they're like chaotic stupid bros who pull pranks on each other in good fun or team up to prank Jin Ling. They can be very ride or die at times, and they can also be really soft

So then you stick zhuilingyizhen together and you have this best friend group formed under interesting circumstances that became ride or die pretty fast with multiple different dynamics, but it's filled with so much love and chaos. It's romantic time with the boys and despite the different dynamics they all love each other