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bigbadredpanda · 3 years

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Helloo, would it be a possible interpretation that the ideals and mindset that wwx follows is close to the religion and practice of Taoism?

Hello! That’s a fascinating question and I wish I had more knowledge to delve deeper on the subject but I’m a bit more familiar with the philosophy/spirituality part of Taoism than with its religious practices and rites. As always, anyone is welcome to add to the discussion or correct me if I misconstrue something, this is a vast topic and I’m just an interested layperson!

Xianxia in itself is a literary genre rife with references to Taoism: the pursuit of immortality, the internal alchemy to form a golden core, the Taoist exorcisms to drive out evil spirits, Taoist incantations and talismans, etc... But that does not necessarily make cultivators Taoists.

At the heart of Taoism is the philosophy of espousing harmony with nature, with the self, with the Tao. It’s about simplicity, spontaneity, non-attachment to worldly desires. In the introduction of my copy of the Zhuangzi (庄子), one of the main Taoist texts, the translator chooses the hero Yu the Great to epitomise the “going with the flow instead of fighting against the current” attitude dear to Taoists. Yu the Great is a legendary figure whose father, Kun, was tasked by the emperor Shun to protect the country from floods. Kun built barrages and dykes that held momentarily the waters in check but they ended up bursting, causing a flood even more devastating. The emperor banished Kun and entrusted the son, Yu the Great, with the same mission. Yu the Great succeeded by digging canals to help the course of water and let it flow to the sea. Yu the Great is referenced several times in the Zhuangzi and, interestingly, Wei Wuxian himself takes him as a model when he challenges Lan Qiren in the classroom and sows the seeds of what would become the foundation of his demonic cultivation:

魏无羡道：“横竖有些东西度化无用，何不加以利用？大禹治水亦知，堵为下策，疏为上策。镇压即为堵，岂非下策……”

Wei Wuxian said, “Anyway, there are some things that cannot be liberated so why not make use of them? Yu the Great who controlled the waters knew that building barrages to block was ineffective and dredging canals to reroute was the superior method. Suppression counts as blocking, wouldn’t is also be considered ineffective...” (ch.14)

The carefree and unfettered part of Wei Wuxian’s nature does fit Taoist ideals, you even have the opposition of the more Confucian-oriented Gusu Lan Sect and its rigid abidance with rules and ethics. However, Wei Wuxian is at odds with a key concept of Taoism: the principle of non-action (无为 wuwei). It’s not passivity or laziness, it’s letting nature runs its course, letting things fall into place. Wei Wuxian is very much shown to be assertive, even wilful, when his mind and heart are set on one thing. He does not hesitate to take matters into his own hands and jump into action. That’s especially true of his younger self who would rebel instead of do nothing, his older and wiser self after he is reborn is a bit more circumspect and knows when to speak out and when to hold his peace. Non-action is seen as the guiding principle of an ideal ruler, without the interference of government meddling, the state would (hypothetically) flourish on its own. I’ve seen some good meta on both the Chinese and the English-speaking sides of the fandom that makes good arguments that it’s actually Lan Xichen who personifies best this concept (x). Speaking of other characters from MDZS that parallel Taoist parables, Nie Huaisang reminds of the good-for-nothing tree which is praised by Zhuangzi. Because it bears no fruit, no one tore its branches to strip the fruits from them, because its wood is of poor quality, no carpenters cut it down. It is left alone and it is able to live long.

The Tao Te Ching (道德经, Daodejing) expounds three basic virtues called the Three Treasures (三宝): compassion (慈), frugality (俭) and humility (��敢为天下先, lit. ‘daring not to put oneself before others’ or ‘daring not to be first in the world’). The first two are for sure among Wei Wuxian’s qualities but the last one is more contentious, not because he is arrogant or boastful but because he dares setting himself apart. The following analysis in from a commentary of the Taoist text:

The third treasure, daring not be at the world's front, is the Taoist way to avoid premature death. To be at the world's front is to expose oneself, to render oneself vulnerable to the world's destructive forces, while to remain behind and to be humble is to allow oneself time to fully ripen and bear fruit. This is a treasure whose secret spring is the fear of losing one's life before one's time. This fear of death, out of a love for life, is indeed the key to Taoist wisdom. (Ellen M. Chen)

Wei Wuxian did not hesitate to ‘expose himself’ by being willing to be the first practitioner of demonic cultivation and in the end his downfall was at the hands of ‘the world’s destructive forces’, warmongering rumours and bloodthirsty hostility. Wei Wuxian is also not subject to fear of death, there are a few quotes that exemplify his carefree, devil-may-care mindset:

使我徒有身后名不如即时一杯酒。

Better have a cup of wine here and now rather than leave behind a posthumous good name. (ch.75 & Wei Wuxian’s CQL character song Qu Jin Chen Qing)

The quotation above comes from A New Account of the Tales of the World (世说新语), a collection of various anecdotes that was compiled in the 5th century, fittingly it’s from the “The Free and Unrestrained” (任诞) section.

生前哪管身后事，浪得几日是几日。

Why care about what happens after death while one is alive? Better live life to the utmost while one can. (ch.16)

I’m not sure if this one is a literary citation or not as I haven’t been able to track down a quote with this exact wording but it was very reminiscent to me to a chapter of the Liezi (列子), another Taoist text, attributes the following thoughts to the hedonist philosopher Yang Zhu:

One hundred years is the limit of a long life. Not one in a thousand ever attains it. Suppose there is one such person. Infancy and feeble old age take almost half of his time. Rest during sleep at night and what is wasted during the waking hours in the daytime take almost half of that. Pain and sickness, sorrow and suffering, death (of relatives) and worry and fear take almost half of the rest. In the ten and some years that is left, I reckon, there is not one moment in which we can be happy, at ease without worry. This being the case, what is life for? What pleasure is there? For beauty and abundance, that is all. For music and sex, that is all. But the desire for beauty and abundance cannot always be satisfied, and music and sex cannot always be enjoyed. Besides, we are prohibited by punishment and exhorted by rewards, pushed by fame and checked by law. We busily strive for the empty praise which is only temporary, and seek extra glory that would come after death. Being alone ourselves, we pay great care to what our ears hear and what our eyes see, and are much concerned with what is right or wrong for our bodies and minds. Thus we lose the great happiness of the present and cannot give ourselves free rein for a single moment. What is the difference between that and many chains and double prisons?

"Men of great antiquity knew that life meant to be temporarily present and death meant to be temporarily away. Therefore they acted as they pleased and did not turn away from what they naturally desired. They would not give up what could amuse their own persons at the time. Therefore they were not exhorted by fame. They roamed as their nature directed and would not be at odds with anything. They did not care for a name after death and therefore punishment never touched them. They took no heed of fame, being ahead or being behind, or the span of life."

The myriad creatures are different in life but the same in death. In life they may be worthy or stupid, honorable or humble. This is where they differ. In death they all stink, rot, disintegrate, and disappear. This is where they are the same. [...] The man of virtue and the sage die; the wicked and the stupid also die. In life they were Yao and Shun [sage-emperors]; in death they are rotten bones. In life they were Jie and Zhou [wicked kings]; in death they are rotten bones. Thus they all became rotten bones just the same. Who knows their difference? Let us enjoy our present life. Why should we worry about what comes after death?” (A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, trans. Wing-tsit Chan)

It’s quite a long extract so I highlighted the most relevant parts that echo Wei Wuxian’s ideas and in particular his motto in life:

是非在己，毁誉由人，得失不论。

Right and wrong are decided by oneself, praise and condemnation depend on others, gains and losses are insignificant. (ch.75)

This is for me the defining quote of the novel that encapsulates the overarching theme of the story. This sentence is so popular that it’s the go-to quote on Wei Wuxian-related merch and it also features on the cover of the book in simplified Chinese.

We find in the Yang Zhu chapter of the Liezi the same ‘carpe diem’ attitude, the nonchalance about death, the disregard of social conventions and the futility of reputation. Nevertheless, Yang Zhu does not exactly have a place with other Taoist thinkers as he promotes acting in self-interest, a form of ethical egotism that does not take heed of other people’s benefit. The translator from the extract above calls it ‘negative Taoism’. As we are well aware, Wei Wuxian has a much more benevolent and altruistic outlook:

我娘说过的，你要记着别人对你的好，不要去记你对别人的好。人心里不要装那么多东西，这样才会快活自在。

My mom said that you should remember the kindness you received from others and not the kindness you gave. That's the only way to find happiness and be free as the heart can only carry so much. (ch.113)

Wei Wuxian’s life philosophy is about remembering the good you've been granted and keep giving without expecting anything in return. If you let yourself to be fettered by bad memories, if you dwell on the past, negative feelings like anger and envy will take roots in your heart. It takes great courage and integrity to be able to move on from painful experiences without holding grudges and retain the ability to greet the future with a smile.

These themes remind me of the lyrics of the song Enlightenment (悟) from the film Shaolin,《新少林寺》, it’s a moving song that draws a lot from Buddhist influences:

为何君视而不见规矩定方圆

Why do you look without seeing and let conventions decide the rules?

悟性悟觉悟空心甘情愿

I open my heart, coming to my senses and awakening to emptiness

放下颠倒梦想放下云烟

Let go of your confused dreams, let go of the things fleeting like mist

放下空欲色放下悬念

Let go of idleness, desire, pleasure, let go of the trouble weighting your heart

多一物却添了太多危险

One thing more adds too much danger

少一物贪嗔痴会少一点

One thing less and vices will be alleviated [lit. ‘greed, aversion, delusion’, the Three Poisons in Buddhism]

唯有心无挂碍成就大愿

Only with a heart without worries can your wishes be accomplished

唯有心无故妙不可言

There is no greater marvel than an unburdened heart

This ended up to be such a long-winded and maybe inconclusive answer but to me, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, have all deeply shaped Chinese customs, ideas and culture with sometimes no clear boundaries where one begins and the other ends. Wei Wuxian’s ideals, his free-spiritedness and his probity, are reflected in these different schools of thoughts and spiritual currents but there is not a single all-encompassing one that matches him to a tee. In the end, what perhaps defines him best is his name that befits his nature, Wei Ying, the guileless innocence of a child, someone who can cheerfully go through life with a clear conscience and an unburdened heart.

#mo dao zu shi #cultural notes #philosophy #wei wuxian #majesticshayshay #i'm unable to quote anything from buddhist scripture but this is very good song #一世随缘，随缘一世，才能活得自在 #mdzs meta

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chalkrevelations · 3 years

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Back, finally, with Word of Honor, Episode 11, which involved a lot of waving my hands around over precious button Zhang Chengling and his concern about whatever ridiculous argument between his Murder Dads left his shifu in a snit and must be solved right this minute. I really think if he could’ve just pushed their heads together like two Ken dolls to make them kiss and make up, he would have. Didi, I could eat you up with a spoon, although not in the creepy way that Du Pusa threatens. I promise.

First, though, due diligence: Spoilers, possibly likely for the entire show, not just this ep, so scroll away and come back later if you are still, at this point in the game, trying to watch the whole 36.5 eps unspoiled. Also, this is hella long. Strap in. Hashtag long post (remorseful).

First thing I actually want to do is point out a couple of scenes that I found particularly striking for various reasons. The first one is not quite the opening scene - which is super-brief and involves Yueyang’s prep for the Heroes Conference, Gao Shan (AKA Chengling’s bully-in-chief) being smug about Yueyang’s upcoming ascendance (oh boy, are you in for a surprise, you little schmuck), and Gao Chong’s extreme weariness at the idea of Yueyang’s upcoming ascendance. Gao Chong is very tired, y’all. It’s been a long 20 years. There’s also a ginormous sword on display, like Yueyang is now having a dick-measuring contest with who they think is the disciple of the Changming Sword Immortal (and oh boy, are you guys in for another surprise. I’m not sure what part of “immortal” y’all don’t understand). But I digress - as I said, this is a very brief scene, and then we cut back to Luo Mansion, where we left Ghost Valley and Lunatic Wen at the end of the last ep. Everyone is gone except for Wen Kexing, who’s still plotting, Beauty Ghost, who’s trying to stay tf out of this current shitshow as much as possible (good luck with that), and Tragicomic Ghost, who is totally and completely Done With This Shit. She berates WKX for acting crazy, he gets snappy back – I feel like their relationship is maybe a little bit fraught at this point – and Beauty Ghost attempts to soothe the waters, leading to an eyeroll from Tragicomic Ghost with a directive to stand the hell up and stop being scared of this idiot child throwing his weight around. WKX dismisses Tragicomic Ghost so he can plan a Very Secret Mission for Beauty Ghost in secret. WKX is … he is super-tired at this point. Painfully, achingly tired. I would almost say weary. We can see it in Gong Jun’s face. It’s a nice subtle bit of acting, and it definitely says something about WKX’s relationship with these women that he’s willing and able to show it in front of them, even as he’s still throwing his weight around.

Anyway, Liu Qianqiao proves her smarts by showing her hand just enough for WKX and us to see that she’s seen through the Lunatic Wen act to the utility of chokin’ out a dude as a warning, to try keeping Changing Ghost in line (good luck with that), but she also assures all of us that she only wants to serve the Ghost Valley Master and has no agenda of her own. WKX assures her that he has everything under control (Uh … huh. OK, my dude) and tells her he has a task for her, before detouring into a quiz about her disguise technique (learned from Qin Huaizhang, Zhou Zishu’s shifu at Siji Manor, and this is probably a tipoff that the Very Secret Mission will involve disguising herself), about Siji Manor, and about why she never visited there. We get some interesting vague hints about her past, including the fact that she met Qin Huaizhang when she was “little” and he took pity on her “disfigurement,” according to both the Youku and Netflix English subs. @coralcoloratura pulled out 童年时 (tóngnián shí) from the Chinese subs for me, which does mean “childhood.” Given that the going story is Yu Qiufeng’s wife threw acid in LQQ’s face over their affair, this opens up some questions about how old LQQ actually was when all that happened. Viki subs, per @janedrewfinally, add that she says she treated Qin Huaizhang to a meal, so she couldn’t have been too young. But Qin Huaizhang dies when ZZS is just 16, and LQQ can’t be any older than ZZS, and is likely younger (good lord, I just checked actor ages, and Ke Naiyu is 7 years younger than ZZH, so that’s probably not a good age gap to port over to the show, because just. No.). All this leads me to place LQQ at somewhere between Zhang Chengling’s age and Gu Xiang’s age (at most) when this whole tragic backstory happened, which is still pretty freakin’ young, and I can see why she would consider herself a child, at least metaphorically, in terms of naïvete, if not literally. I don’t know how much exploration has been done about this, on the fannish side of things, but it seems like an area rich for exploration. Also, I CANNOT TELL YOU how much I now want to read the AU of WKX and LQQ both actually being brought to Siji Manor at various times by Qin Huaizhang and staying there. I suspect that with those two shidi backing him, ZZS might never have had to go to Prince Jin in the first place. (Clearly this makes some things problematic, including A-Xiang, but I keep thinking about ZZS, WKX and LQQ growing up together … And anyway, I’m ALSO willing to read the AU(s) where WKX’s storyline stays the same, but LQQ does come to Siji Manor – both the AU where she and ZZS together manage to save the sect, and the AU where she goes with them to Jin, and the kind of weapon she could be for ZZS there, as he runs Tian Chuang. Who’s writing all this? Anyone? Anyone?) Anyway, when WKX asks why she didn’t visit Siji Manor, LQQ tells WKX that she’s a ghost now and doesn’t want to think about the living world anymore, which is probably a way of saying she wishes she had gone there and doesn’t want to talk about her many and varied bad decisions back in the day; it also acts as an unknowing reinforcement of that bright line WKX is desperately trying to maintain for himself between the world of ghosts and the world of humans. Plus it gives him the chance to speak the very portentous line that “Yes, we’re ghosts, and ghosts disappear in the light,” pulling the theme of light back in, again and giving us all kinds of foreshadowing. Cut away as he leans in to whisper her mission to her.

The other really striking scene, for me, happens near the end of the ep, when Gao Chong visits the shrine room, with the memorial tablets of his various brothers and friends. This hit me not just because of Hei Zi’s acting (which is great, don’t get me wrong) but also because this is a scene that reflects both backward and forward in the show - back to ZZS in Ep 1 and forward to the two scenes that Zhao Jing will have in this same room – as well as giving us all sorts of subtle clues about relationships throughout the show. So first of all, we see, in a shot that will mean more the deeper we get into the show, tablets for Zhen Ruyu and Gu Miaomiao (or, “his wife,” as the Youku subs call her, and this is me, rolling my eyes), who were apparently close enough to Gao Chong that he keeps memorial tablets for them on his home altar - which helps explain why WKX is so incensed that none of these Five Lakes Alliance assholes helped his parents when they were turned out of the Healer’s Valley, although that’s not something we would have known yet on a first watch through the show. Gao Chong lights some incense and apologizes to the tablet of Zhang Yusen for letting Zhang Chengling get kidnapped. He talks about waiting 20 years to learn the truth – which is kind of cryptic, but probably means the truth about who poisoned his sword before the spar with Rong Xuan, which we hear about in a later scene this ep – and gets a little bit salty about the fact that it doesn’t matter if everyone else doesn’t believe him, but why didn’t Zhang Yusen believe him? Again, I’m assuming this is about Gao Chong’s protestations that he’s not the one who put poison on his sword. We also learn in this same ep – from Chengling – that Zhang Yusen’s break with the Five Lakes Alliance seems to have at least started that far back, and that Yusen would have been at Mount Qingya to stand with Rong Xuan against his other Alliance brothers, if Yusen’s shifu hadn’t broken his legs so that he couldn’t travel there. (Yusen clearly had some strong feelings about this, if that’s what it took to get him to sit still for it. Also, it makes me wonder how Ye Baiyi’s feelings about Chengling might change if he ever learned that Chengling’s father intended to defend and stand with a guy who Ye Baiyi considered his own child, as well as his disciple.)

Gao Chong then proceeds to have a little crisis of faith – he’s very tired, y’all, it’s been a long 20 years – and talks about how no one understands him, and he’s old, and everyone’s dead. He also yells at Rong Xuan’s tablet, calling Rong Xuan da-ge but also saying he’s sorry he ever met him, but then there’s this brief little moment after, when he seems a little bit shocked at himself for saying it out loud, which reminds me, honestly, of the moment in CQL (we’ve all seen The Untamed, right, I don’t have to put spoiler warnings for it, right?) when Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are in the Yunmeng Jiang memorial hall and Wei Wuxian talks about Yu Ziyuan’s punishments back in the day, then pats his own mouth and says “My fault, my fault, my fault” before bowing to her tablet. Like, yes, their relationship was multiple levels of fucked-up, and his reaction is not out of place given some of his continuing neuroses, but also, this is just not a thing you do, speaking ill of the dead to their faces. I’m sure Gao Chong does regret ever meeting Rong Xuan, and the way that led to the building of the Armory and the Five Lakes Alliance to guard it, and the position that ultimately put Gao Chong in - not to mention that if he never met Rong Xuan he never would have accidentally killed him. But you can’t say things like that OUT LOUD to the MEMORIAL TABLET. Then contrast this to Zhao Jing, who literally takes a piss on the tablet in one of the later episodes. Because he’s the worst. And THEN, Gao Chong kneels and talks to the tablets of Zhang Yusen and Lu Taichong, his dead Five Lakes Alliance brothers, saying they must have met again in the netherworld, and that they’re probably swearing about him right now, and this is the point when I sit straight up and exclaim, out loud, “Fuck. Me. This is Zhou Zishu’s breakdown at the mirror in Episode 1.” When he talks to Jiuxiao about how Jiuxiao and Jing’An must have met again in the afterlife by now and are probably discussing what an awful shixiong ZZS is, right? And then Gao Chong even laughs bitterly like ZZS, and cries like ZZS, and I just. OK. FINE, show. I’ll try to go a little easier on Gao Chong, because you’re clearly linking him to ZZS, here, and I’m willing to forgive ZZS for anything. I suppose I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t try to extend just a little bit of the same grace to Gao Chong.

So, that’s a lot of verbiage, and I haven’t even gotten to Wenzhou yet, but trust me, I have some things to say about them. While WKX has been terrorizing the troops, ZZS left Han Ying’s place and immediately started drinking again, because that continues to be the best way – in combo with his Nails – he knows to kill himself by increments, but so sad, he’s run out of wine as he wanders the marketplace, alone and zhiji-less. Inside Yueyang, Chengling finds a note purporting to be from “Xu,” instructing him to meet at the North Gate that night, and like the little idiot they keep calling him (he really is too pure for this world), he takes it at face value. On his way that night, he runs into Gao Shan, who inadvertently almost saves him by interrupting his sneaking around to try to bully him back to his room. Something something food as bonding, because the lie Zhang Chengling comes up with is that he’s hungry (he’s not eating Yueyang’s food, and it’s not nourishing him), and he’s on his way to find something to eat (because he and his Murder Dads are in a mutually nourishing relationship, and that’s who he wants to be with). Also, no, he would prefer going to find something to eat for himself and not eating whatever Gao Shan will bring back to Chengling’s room. (A little bit, I’m sad there’s never any place to fit in some canon-complicit long-form enemies to failboats to lovers fic for these two. I have to admit, I would read it. Someone should do something with the tension between them, although I don’t really want it to be anything that will make Best Boy permanently sad.) Anyway, A-Xiang shows up just as Gao Shan is about to frog-march Chengling back to his room, and Gao Shan never sees her coming before he’s knocked out on the ground. A-Xiang is confused about the note but nevertheless helps Chengling get to where he’s supposed to meet “Xu,” whereupon she gets beat up and gets her didi took by the Scorpions. (There’s an interesting moment here where Pretty Arhat is fighting with A-Xiang and asks what her relationship is to Beauty Ghost, which whaaaaaat? THERE’S some backstory I need more on. I’m assuming this is based on A-Xiang’s hand-to-hand fighting style, which I think is the only thing Pretty Arhat has seen at this point, and exactly WHEN has she gotten so familiar with Beauty Ghost’s fighting style? Also, I like the apparent nod to Beauty Ghost’s influence in raising A-Xiang (and we’ll see more of this).) Meanwhile, ZZS has been inexorably drawn to the place he left his child disciple child and is moping right outside of Yueyang, so he sees Pretty Arhat fly away with Chengling. Murder Dad 1 springs into action.

Yueyang disciples run around like ants whose hill has been kicked over, looking for Chengling in town, and two of them encounter Wen Kexing, out for a midnight stroll in a fetching pastel blue and green combo. They ask him about seeing a guy. With a pipa. Or maybe without a pipa. So maybe just a guy. Wen Kexing correctly deduces they’re asking about Phantom Musician Qin Song, who covered Pretty Arhat’s getaway by incapacitating everyone with his magic music. YY disciples are excited and tell WKX yes, this dude was involved in kidnapping Zhang Chengling! Y’all. WKX’s face when he hears that. He is not happy. Almost immediately, he spots Qin Song on a rooftop. Murder Dad 2 springs into action.

So, WKX the Ghost Valley Master finds Qin Song, asks him where Chengling is, crushes his playing hand, threatens to break every single bone in his body one at a time (meanwhile dropping the tidbit that he learned the number of bones in the human body from his dad), and tells him a little story about a time when – apparently – he asked another guy the same question (about WHO? has A-Xiang been kidnapped in the past, because that’s about the only other person I can imagine him being like this about?) and only had to break 80 bones before he got an answer. Meanwhile, ZZS actually finds Chengling, in the Scorpion lair where Du Pusa and Pretty Arhat have variously been molesting him (srsly, I feel like I should probably say something to a trusted adult Murder Dad), torturing him with unpleasant magic pixie dust, smacking him around (he loses a tooth, y’all), and waterboarding him. During all this, Pretty Arhat says she’s yet to meet a man who can stand up to waterboarding, and I’m kind of reminded of WKX’s scene threatening Qin Song, and I don’t know if that’s on purpose or not. Chengling literally spits in her face and proclaims that he’s the son of Zhang Yusen, none of whose sons are cowards, and about then, ZZS busts down the door like he’s WKX (by throwing Monster Jiang through it), tells the Scorpions he’s their daddy, and gets into a big fucking fight with all three of them. He flags a little bit somewhere in here as he starts having some Nail pangs (which, yeah, it must be getting about midnight, which is when that’s supposed to happen) and spits some blood, but he reassures Chengling and then tells the Scorpions no one can stop him from killing who he wants and getting what he wants (OK, Wei Wuxian …). Then he shoots some projectiles from some little contraption up his sleeve that we get a quick look at that I did not remember AT ALL from my first watch of the show but is literally like the gun hanging over the mantel in the first act. Huh. Anyway, he kills Monster Jiang, and Du Pusa (who didn’t give a shit about Monster Jiang OR Qin Song earlier), wants to capture him alive, supposedly so she can get revenge for them by teaching him how it feels “to want to die more than live.” Joke’s on you, lady – too late! That’s literally his constant state of being!

About this time, Qin Song comes flying through the doors – or what’s left of them – gasping his last breath as WKX makes his dramatic entrance. Chengling not only calls him “Wen-shu” but also has already figured out exactly how to manipulate Murder Dad 2 and tells him that in addition to kidnapping him, they also hurt ZZS. WKX is predictably murderous, and Du Pusa and Pretty Arhat run away and hide behind the skirts of Xie Wang’s robes as the Zombie Drug Man Army approaches. WKX tells ZZS to take Chengling and leave, ZZS refuses, and Xie Wang LITERALLY SAYS “IN LIFE AND DEATH YOU WILL NEVER PART. WHAT A TOUCHING MOMENT.” and I am DYING. Also, this will not be the last time ZZS/WKX will exhibit what Xie’er wants from his Awful Yifu. Anyway, Xie’er calls ZZS “Leader Zhou,” then tells WKX that he’ll tell them who he (Xie Wang) is if WKX tells them all who he is first. ZZS is Very Done with all of this and smoke bombs the Scorpions to escape. Xie’er shows he actually does know who both of them are – even though each of them doesn’t know everything about the other’s identity yet, and won’t for a while – by telling Du Pusa and Pretty Arhat that they’re the leader of Tian Chuang and the leader of the Ghost Valley and wondering “How did these two devils end up together?” Like calls to like, I guess.

OK, this is getting super-long, so I’m going to attempt to wrap up with the actual Wenzhou material. We cut to Murder Dads and Chengling sitting in the forest, around a campfire, and Chengling is in heaven, back with his family. He’s super-emotional, and ZZS is all, come on, be a man, don’t cry (OK, crybaby). WKX gives some campfire-cooked rabbit? maybe? to ZZS, who starts a precedent by passing it to Chengling. Please, A-Xu. WKX wants to feed his laopo, will you eat something, ffs? Chengling, still emotional, tells them that he knows they’re the only ones who are sincerely kind to him, that Five Lakes Alliance has all kinds of agendas and none of them care about him, and nobody has asked him what he wants. (I know, bb, they were awful.) ZZS asks what he wants, and Chengling says he wants to learn martial arts, to get revenge, and to not be a useless child anymore. Oh god, the cut to WKX here. His face, y’all. He is not cool with the fact that Chengling thinks he can’t be a child anymore, and probably with whatever role he (WKX) had in it. He is so sad. It’s killing me. However, it’s not as if WKX has lost his edge, and he also pounces, asking Chengling if something happened that made him suspicious of the Alliance. Chengling spills that his dad already didn’t trust them and also told him not to trust anyone ever, but he trusts his Murder Dads! This kid, I tell you. He tells them that his dad hid the Mirror Lake Glazed Armor in his stomach and starts getting ready to cut it out for them before ZZS stops him. He tells them Yusen gave him a letter for the Changming Sword Immortal detailing Rong Xuan’s injury (and we get our first iteration of the story of the battle between the Five Lakes Alliance brothers and Rong Xuan, the poison on the sword, and how that turned Rong Xuan evil). Per Chengling, the original argument was about the Combined Six Cultivation Method. Also per Chengling, the Alliance bothers should have been responsible for Rong Xuan after that, but no one stood up for him – I mean, Zhang Yusen would have, but his legs were broken. We learn that the poisoned sword that injured Rong Xuan belonged to Gao Chong. ZZS looks taken aback, but this all just CONFIRMS WKX’s SUSPICIONS.

Cut away for another scene. Cut back. ZZS has suddenly remembered that he’s pissed off and that someone (else, not him) is sleeping on the couch tonight. Earlier, they were sat in order of Chengling, ZZS, WKX. Now Chengling has been put between them. WKX asks for wine, A-Xu is being passive-aggressive and ignoring him before finally handing the wine gourd to Chengling to pass to WKX. He won’t even look at WKX. It is hilarious, particularly as he only remembered he was mad after they’d all eaten dinner, which WKX cooked, and the pair of them made sure their child was OK. Chengling wants to know if they fought and tells them there’s nothing confidants can’t resolve. He’s in full puppy mode. He tells WKX to hurry up and comfort ZZS, because you know he looks tough on the surface but he’s got the softest heart! Didn’t you teach me that tough women can’t resist clingy men? ZZS’s indignant little face at this is a picture. Chengling offers to apologize for WKX. WKX’s face is all fondness for Chengling, except for the eyebrows, which are doing the Tragic Sadness Eyebrows at ZZS. ZZS is all, OK, fine, although he immediately changes the subject and starts talking about the kidnapping attempt. He tells Chengling that the world is dangerous right now, and the safest place for him is Yueyang Sect. ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS? Chengling sadly nods. My little dude, c’mon. ZZS’s Nails are bothering him and WKX takes the chance to feed him qi, which ZZS accepts – might I note - without complaint. WKX waxes rhapsodic about A-Xu’s shoulder blades, and says he once saw a dead body with beautiful shoulder blades. Smashcut to a flashback of two people who we don’t yet know are Zhen Ruyu and Gu Miaomiao dead on the ground. Although this takes place immediately after the scene of Gao Chong at the altar, when the first tablets we see are Zhen Ruyu’s and Gu Maiomiao’s, we also don’t know yet to connect those names to these bodies. Tricksy, show. We see Zhen Yan place his hand on Gu Miaomiao’s back, and WKX’s voiceover talks about how he could tell she was a beauty despite the blood everywhere. ZZS interrupts this morbid tale to say they should let the past stay in the past, and then tells WKX, “My condolences,” even though WKX hasn’t actually mentioned anywhere in the story about this dead body that it was even anyone he knew, let alone someone he was related to. Because A-Xu isn’t stupid. Immediately after this - after saying they should leave the past in the past - ZZS asks WKX who he is. WKX goes into his Philanthropist Wen evasion spiel. ZZS shakes his head, visibly steels himself, and apparently comes to the decision to model the behavior he’s trying to encourage by coming clean about his real name, his relationship to Siji Manor, all of his bad decisions, his choking guilt over the deaths of all the Siji Manor disciples, and his reign of state-sanctioned terror as founder and leader of Tian Chuang. Notably, the very first word Chengling speaks to ZZS after hearing this rundown of supposed and actual crimes is to call him “Shifu” again to get his attention before asking for more info about the Scorpions. THIS CHILD. MY HEART.

ZZS tells them both, “I spent half my life alone, doing things I didn’t want to do and killing people I didn’t want to kill,” and I literally want to reach into the screen and shake WKX, because OMG LAO WEN. You are reflections of each other, and he’s baring his soul, and you’re going to continue to be so afraid that he’s not going to accept every part of you that it’s going to be episodes and episodes before you open up, and even then, only after he figures it out on his own. :hands: To make things even more OBVIOUS, ZZS then asks Chengling if he still wants ZZS to be his shifu after learning all of this, and Chengling doesn’t even hesitate, he says “Of course,” and ZZS and I are both about to cry. UGH. Zhang Zhehan, your face. It’s killing me. This is a man seeing the hope of resurrection for the sect he was convinced he had ground into dust. ZZS and Chengling are both so busy being emotional at each other that WKX has to take matters into his own hands, encouraging Chengling to bow, and we get a real bow to shifu this time, in a scene that once again mirrors the later scene when Zhen Yan makes his bow to Qin Huaizhang to become a Siji Manor disciple.

ZZS tells Chengling, all right, then. You are the first disciple of the sixth generation. (SHIXIONG. NO PRESSURE.)

End ep.

#zhou zishu #wen kexing #zhang chengling #beauty ghost #liu qianqiao #gao chong #gao shan #du pusa #pretty arhat #qin song #gu xiang #xie wang #tragicomic ghost #luo fumeng #qin huaizhang #word of honor #word of honor episode reax

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skullsandwineglasses · 3 years

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Forever and Ever (2021) - Final Review

This is going to be an unpopular opinion but, I didn’t really enjoy Forever and Ever.

As a sequel, it was a little disappointing since they had to avoid the reincarnation plotline in order to get past censorship. So you would get hints here and there, a vague flashback now and then, but nothing explicit enough to be satisfying. And in the end, while it was kind of implied that they remembered, the writers relegated it all to being Shi Yi’s dream that she had while in coma and Zhou Shengchen reading her diary about the Nancheng general. As a standalone, I found the drama to be a little weak.

I enjoyed One and Only. It wasn’t perfect, but I was invested in ZSC and Shi Yi’s doomed romance. I bawled at the end. I was excited for Forever and Ever. It had a refreshing first few episodes with the FL being more assertive and the ML being nerdy and awkward. I like the role reversal, I liked how they had opposite personalities from their previous lives, I liked how they had different careers, I even found the step-mother to be an interesting character. The old-fashioned family dynamic is not a new trope, but it’s a trope that I haven’t seen done in a while in modern romance dramas. But, the plot drags on for so long. It gets so repetitive. Shi Yi keeps saying the same few flirty lines to ZSC every episode. By episode 15 or so, their relationship plateaus and feels stale. Nothing new develops between them. This differs from a drama like “You are My Glory” where the leads have a lot of growth and development between them at different stages of their relationship as they mature.

Forever and Ever isn’t the first fluffy drama to have no angst or misunderstanding between the leads, so there’s nothing new about it in that regard. In terms of a slice of life kind of romance, Remembrance of Things Past did more in 12 episodes than what Forever and Ever could do in 30. I think the most refreshing aspect of Forever and Ever is the awkward ML. I like the moments when they were learning how to be emotionally vulnerable with each other, like when ZSC didn’t feel comfortable crying in front of Shi Yi and Shi Yi gave him space to be alone but was always nearby if he needed her. Or when he was mourning in the bathtub and she climbed in with him while still fully clothed because he wanted to embrace her. That scene felt really intimate and made me believe that they were a real married couple. I also like how open the drama was about mentioning sex and co-habiting. They kind of justified it by saying how ZSC and Shi Yi already registered their marriage and so were technically legally married, but still. Shi Yi’s friend even outright asked her if ZSC was good in bed. Between this drama and You Are My Glory, it seems like idol dramas are becoming more bold and mature. I also like how consent is explicit (they each have a scene where they say “I’m ready” to signal that they are, well, ready). There are some cringey scenes, like when Shi Yi tries to seduce him but he doesn’t get the hint, but it’s cute.

In terms of subplots, I didn’t really like how they made Mei Xing fall for Shi Yi at first sight. While I appreciate that they didn’t make him a love rival, I felt that it was pointless (and unrealistic) to include that. All it did was make the audience anxious and also delay Mei Xing from reciprocating Wen Xing’s feelings. Wen Xing’s plotline really got to me though. She spent her whole life caged at home, caged by her illness and her family, and she never got to realize any of her dreams, and even when she died, she was haunted by guilt.

Wen Chuan is such a one-dimensional villain, but he’s got such a sleazy face.

Xiao Yu and Du Feng are also cute. They have the type of relationship you feel like you can actually aspire to because they had a meet-cute in the grocery store.

The grandmother is so wholesome. Shows that you don’t need to be blood related to be family.

Ci Sha who plays Mei Xing reminds me of Takeshi Kaneshiro. Still can’t believe he’s younger than Bai Lu. He looks so mature. But then again, Bai Lu (and Allen Ren) look younger than their age.

Overall, a nice and enjoyable drama that lost steam by the end, and this is coming from someone who was already sold on their chemistry in One and Only. I also enjoy slowburn dramas and movies, but this just got boring. I felt that even if I skipped the last 10 episodes, I wouldn’t miss much in terms of their relationship development.

#一生一世 #一生一世美人骨 #forever and ever #bai lu #allen ren #one and only #周生如故 #cdrama #cdrama review #白鹿

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dangermousie · 3 years

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In so many ways, and in all ways that matter, Asule in ep1 is Asule in ep 56. He acquires maturity and fighting ability and a crown, but the core of him, that amazing core of gentleness mixed with utter lack of give and a complete sense of self/right or wrong whatever outside world tries to tell him, remain.

This is who Asule always is. This boy in episode 1, who watches his whole tribe murdered and is told he’s actually the crown prince/son of the conqueror and there is no fear in him or excitement or anything but a burning sense of what is right and wrong, of his belief. When he declares to the Emperor’s face that he is the son of the rebel leader. When he picks up a sword despite never knowing how to even hold it and attacks the freaking emperor surrounded by his generals, let alone his father, in order to protect the slaves that are the members of his adopted tribe.

He’s held down after a regicide attempt and look at his face - there is no hesitation, no fear, just drive.

The theme of people, even people who know him well, mistaking his gentleness, his disgust for blood-shedding, for weakness continues through the whole drama. His father, his brothers, both his grandfathers, the King of Lower Tang, the previous head of Eagle Flag, the Emperor of the Plains etc. All of them operate from one concept of masculinity and power - a man is only a real man, a powerful man if he is both good at fighting (and Asule gets quite skilled) and RELISHES it. The more a man is an equivalent of unsheathed blade, the more they respect him. Asule just does not fit into the norms of their world. To them a man who shies away from battle, who learns to fight to protect only (and keeps to that insane pledge throughout the whole drama) is wholly outside of their experience. Asule is equivalent to a nuke in terms of power if properly unleashed but in a way, in a very different context he reminds me of Vash from Trigun - the unleashing is not a triumph but a tragedy. The one time we see him really go all out, become the force of destruction capable of leveling a city, it’s a horrifying thing, the worst thing that happens to him - it happens because he’s been brutally murdered and resurrected using some horrifying magic. It is not triumphant when he cuts his way single-handed through the Imperial Army. It is not satisfying when he murders the Emperor. It is his nadir, it negates everything he is - reasoned, gentle, calm, in control.

I remember a lot of people complained about Asule’s arc because they wanted him to basically just start slaughtering his enemies and not to always try to avoid it and to be devastated when he kills and to me those people utterly missed the point of his character. He will kill to protect or avenge but it is never easy for him. He is the only person who should have the power his blood has because anyone else would drown the world in blood. This “weak” person kills the leader of the evil sorcerers without the cheat of his magic blood - he is not a weakling. But what he is, is gentle and I love it. His strongest qualities have always been goodness and ability to understand even un-understandable.

I find it so interesting that the only people who really GET him, get how strong he actually is, are people outside the traditional power structure - whether is Xiao Zhou, a woman of dubious blood in the imperial court, who is only treated as princess due to Emperor loving her as a sister. It’s sunny Yu Ran, who takes people as they are and is a princess without a home whose only use to her aunt and the King of Lower Tang is as a marriage chip. It’s Ji Ye, who himself is very much a traditional ideal of what a man should be like in some ways (ability and need for battle) but not in most other ways - being an abused and neglected child of his family whose father refuses to even teach him anything and who has the whole power structure of the place treat him as a dog.

Anyway, Asule is AMAZING and I love him so much.

#cdrama #novoland eagle flag #liu haoran

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presumenothing · 3 years

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an incomplete list of absolutely feral things zhou shen has done to date in 2021:

never forget eight song january??? even given that some were recorded before that (with 茫茫星河 being years before lol) the fact that he had that many songs just waiting around?? um??

first appearance on 春晚 aka cctv's chinese new year gala (which is literally The Definitive very big deal cny event), and the duet was so popular they did a second performance + a studio version

everything from chuang2021, including but not limited to that impromptu duet with andy getting reported in ukrainian news, learning and performing the theme song and dance at +923843% difficulty, and declaring 小白粥 as his brand now ngl even just the recognition as a mentor on such a big production is 10/10

receiving praise from industry big names like zhang yimou and academy + grammy + bafta award winning composer tan dun

which reminds me of another one: making da yu even more difficult at the nanshan performance, yes i will never be over this

trending multiple times on weibo, for both mindblowing performances and sheer meme moments (tbh i would love to see the actual breakdown of this)

#zhou shen #honorable mention to getting so many awards that i honestly cannot keep track #that one time he topped the uni music charts for like 20+ weeks in a row idk??#also honorable mention to all the very excellent outfits #BUT NOT YOU OVERSIZED CHUANG SUIT #anyway he has mathematically 0 chill bless him

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asianhappinesss · 2 years

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Ancient Love Poetry (2021)

Summary

As the only true immortal who possesses pure essence energy, Shang Gu has spent countless lifetimes acting as the head of the four true immortals of the ancient world. The four most powerful beings in existence, these true immortals have become gods in the eyes of the mortals who constantly beseech them for help. Willing to help when they can, the immortals have protected humanity for ages, even going as far as to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Such was the demise of Shang Gu, who willingly sacrificed herself in a trial which lasted 60,000 years. Now awake from ages of slumber, Shang Gu has returned as Hou Chi, the High Immortal of Qingchi Palace. With no memory of her past life or former powers, Hou Chi has no idea that she was once loved by Bai Jue, one of the three true immortals left after she made that ultimate sacrifice. Having silently loved Shang Gu for over 200,000 years, Bai Jue has spent the years she slumbered painstakingly gathering the scattered remnants of her soul. But his efforts to save Shang Gu came at a great price. Trading his reincarnation for her life, Bai Jue gives everything he is and has for Shang Gu. Only after his soul disappears does Shang Gu remember the love they once shared. Vowing to wait for him, Shang Gu does just that, but will an eternity of waiting really bring him back?

Review

Need Some Warming Up!

The way I see it is that there are 2 main reasons why you might end up abandoning Ancient Love Poetry after a few episodes. One is the actress. It is a case of love or hate. If you love Zhou Dong Yu as Shang Gu, it is easier to enjoy the story. This is because everything that happens revolves around her. Hence, if you think she was wrongly casted as the female lead, then it might just turn you off as you watch. For me, I don’t think she is perfect for the role. It took me some time to warm up to her and the way she portrayed the role with her smiles. She just doesn’t have the aura of a Chief God to me. Two is the slow start. The beginning plot is very typical of a xianxia drama. The presence of an imprisoned Demon Lord trying to break free and a young goddess falling in love with a more matured and cold god actually remind me of Love And Destiny and Eternal Love Of Dream. So, the familiar storyline is there but the good news is it is condensed to about 16 episodes before the second arc begins. Nevertheless, that is still 16 episodes to sit through if you find the start to be boring. In short, Ancient Love Poetry will need some warming up for a section of viewers before the story starts to get more captivating and you begin to get used to the female lead. Basically, some patience is needed if you can’t get into the story from the word go. Interesting Overall Plot Despite the familiar opening plot, I find the story takes a more refreshing turn after 16 episodes. There is a certain anticipation of how Hou Chi, Bo Xuan, and Qing Mu are related to Shang Gu and Bai Jue. You know there is a connection there which would make you look forward to the moment everything is revealed. So, the boredom dissipates by the time you reach the second arc of the story. In addition, the supporting characters are interesting to give a more complete and satisfying drama. Despite being gods and immortals, they have their struggles and selfishness to protect the person they loved such as Tian Qi and Mu Guang. Most dramas do not have well-developed supporting characters but not Ancient Love Poetry. I think the team did well to give more life to these characters to heighten the viewers’ emotions to the story. Acting And Chemistry As mentioned, I’m not too gung-ho about Zhou Dong Yu’s portrayal of Shang Gu. It has nothing to do with her looks. Instead, the switch from a playful to a more commanding goddess is not obvious when required. She doesn’t have the screen presence to carry that aura of a Chief God convincingly. In contrast, I think Yang Mi did it better in Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms as one can see her character’s commanding nature when the scene calls for it. In a way, Zhou Dong Yu’s performance seems to be overshadowed by Jenny Zhang’s portrayal of Wu Huan to me. Wu Huan is a hateful but insecure character due to her past experience. But the way Jenny Zhang displays Wu Huan’s regal stature and deceit is very persuasive which is why it is easy for viewers to hate her. As for Xu Kai, playing Bai Jue or Qing Mu isn’t really a problem to him anymore. He is a pretty versatile actor and can be cold or mischievous like in Dance Of The Sky Empire. At least, I can detect a difference in Xu Kai’s portrayal of Bai Jue and Qing Mu which are 2 different characters in the drama. The chemistry between Zhou Dong Yu and Xu Kai isn’t off the charts but good enough to make it watchable to me. There are sad moments for the couple in the drama and their watery eyes could break your heart. This is where this couple could hook you and make it hard for you to let them go after the drama is over. But generally, I find that the teasings, quarrels, hugs, and kisses are like most on-screen couples which is nothing really extraordinary. My Verdict – Watch! Ancient Love Poetry isn’t perfect but the overall plot is good enough to keep you interested once you have warmed up to the story and actress. It is the initial stage that you possibly need to get over to go on to enjoy the drama. Moreover, not everyone will find the first arc to be boring. It really

depends on your tolerance level for recycled plots. It is also obvious that this is a high budget production compared to the usual romance dramas. The CGIs are realistic and costumes look beautiful. All these little details add up to give viewers a quality production. My opinion is not to let the actress and first few episodes to bother you too much if those are what make you hesitant. Be a little patient to wait for the story to unfold. I know 16 out of 49 episodes is a little long to gauge if it is worth watching but I think the characters will grow on you as you follow their journey. I see this as a plot-driven drama and the supporting characters also have their own backstories to keep things more engaging. For this Ancient Love Poetry review, I would give it a score of 8/10. Some would love it while others would end up dropping it. I’m not crazy over it like some fans and I don’t think this is the best drama for 2021 because the chemistry could be better and the ending is rather predictable and simplistic especially the last scene. But it is still worth a watch for the plot and well-developed characters. Don’t be swayed by the high ratings by international audience and the low ratings by Chinese viewers. To me, it is somewhere between the 2 and that is a fairer assessment for Ancient Love Poetry.

#cdrama

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psqqa · 3 years

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Nirvana in Fire Character Reference Sheet Roughly in the Order Those Characters Are Introduced

For @howdydowdy, as promised, and for anyone else who, like me, is terrible at names and needs some kind of “Who?? Ohhh right. That guy.” reminder.

Basically, my Nirvana in Fire Journey started with me watching half the first episode, being wildly confused, realizing I was in over my head re: names and thus deciding to go back to the beginning and watch it again But Taking Notes This Time. I watched the whole show with a notebook and pen at my side. I figured I may as well spare you all the labour by typing it up.

As more information was revealed, I often added it to a character’s initial note, but by and large I’m leaving those extra notes out so you can experience the joy and confusion and anguish of New Information yourself. The exception to this is generally a person’s name, title, and position. E.g. Duke Qing’s name, Bai Ye, isn’t mentioned until a number of episodes after he’s first mentioned, if I recall correctly, but knowing that the person named “Bai Ye” is the same person called “Duke Qing” is exactly why I took these notes for myself in the first place.

Basically this isn’t intended to be a character guide that lays out exactly who a person is, their relationships to the other characters, and their place in the story, but rather something you can look at whenever someone mentions a name that jogs your memory just enough for you to be able to place to person. Which is why the notes tend to be either the context in which the person was introduced or the relationship through which they’re introduced.

Some names and notes are inherently spoilers, but hopefully by virtue of the fact that this is broadly in the order a character is first mentioned/introduced, you can avoid spoilers simply by not scrolling down too far. For those persons where their name or an alter ego comes in significantly after their initial introduction and is a spoiler, they are listed a second time starting with the “new information” and with the note in italics indicating their original entry (there aren’t a lot of these, don’t worry).

I will readily admit that some of my handwritten notes are just a name and then a blank space because apparently I just never actually added a note for them. I haven’t bothered adding those people here. Yes it’s because I’ve forgotten entirely who they are, but I’m pretty sure that means you’ll be okay if you immediately forget who they are too. (That being said, I get the sense there are actually relevant people missing from this list. As the show carried on and introductions became less frequent, remembering them became less difficult.)

The List

Lin Xie –> Commander of the Chiyan Army

Lin Shu –> “Xiao-Shu” –> Lin Xie’s son –> Mei Changsu --> Chief of the Jiangzuo Alliance --> Su Zhe

Lin Chen –> Young Master of Langya Hall –> NOTE: The “Lin” of Lin Chen and the “Lin” of Lin Xie & Lin Shu are both written and pronounced differently. These people are not related.

Northern Yan’s 6th Prince –> Now Northern Yan’s Crown Prince

Minister Xu –> Da Liang’s envoy to Northern Yan

Prince Yu –> Xiao Jinghuan –> 5th Prince of Da Liang

Xiao Xuan –> Emperor of Da Liang

Empress Yan --> Prince Yu’s adoptive mother

Consort Yue --> Crown Prince’s mother

Grand Empress (Dowager) --> Emperor’s grandmother

Xiao Jingxuan --> Crown Prince of Da Liang --> metonym is “Eastern Palace”

Zhuo Dingfeng --> Master of Tianquan Manor

Zhuo Qingyao --> Eldest son of Zhuo Dingfeng --> guy on the horse and later the guy helping the old couple on the boat and later also the guy who calls Xie Yu “father-in-law” (I am telling you this specifically because I am not bad at faces but this guy added so much confusion to my life that was cleared up the moment I realized these people were the same person. And also because my mother is terrible at faces and for like 15 episodes every time he showed up in another random place I would say “that’s horse and boat guy” and she would say “wait what? really???” So I’m assuming at least one other person will share in this struggle)

Xie Yu --> Marquis of Ning

Qin Banruo --> Prince Yu’s strategist

Duke Qing --> Prime Minister --> Bai Ye

Ji Ying --> member of Double Sword Sect

Li Gang --> member of Jiangzuo Alliance

Fei Liu --> Mei Changsu’s bodyguard

Yan Yujin --> Son of Empress Yan’s brother

Xiao Jingrui --> Eldest son of Xie Yu

Mu Nihuang --> Commander of the army in Yunnan --> Princess of Yunnan’s House of Mu

Xie Bi --> Second son of Xie Yu & Xiao Jingrui’s younger brother

Mu Qing --> Mu Nihuang’s younger brother

Xia Dong --> An officer of the Xuanjing Bureau

Nie Feng --> Xia Dong’s late husband --> Vanguard General of the Chiyan Army under Lin Xie

Meng Zhi --> Commander of the Imperial Guards

Xuan Bu --> From Da Yu --> stronger than Meng Zhi

Gao Zhan --> Emperor’s chief eunuch

Fei Changshi --> Prince Yu’s guy out looking for Mei Changsu

Prince Jing --> Xiao Jingyan --> 7th Prince of Da Liang

Concubine Jing --> Mother of Prince Jing

“Xiao-Xin” --> Attendant to Concubine Jing

Grand Princess Liyang --> Xie Yu’s wife & Emperor’s sister

Eunuch Zheng --> Eunuch who is mean to Tingsheng

Prince Qi --> late Crown Prince of Da Liang --> Xiao Jingyu

Tingsheng --> servant boy caught reading

“Lao-Wei” --> Mu Qing’s subordinate of some kind

Wei Zheng --> member of Chiyan Army at Battle of Meiling (and survived)

Sima Lei --> member of Royal Guard --> Consort Yue’s preferred suitor for Mu Nihuang

Liao Tingjie --> Son of the Marquis of Zhongsu --> Empress Yan’s preferred suitor Mu Nihuang

Baili Qi --> Mu Nihuang suitor from Northern Yan --> A favourite of the 4th Prince of Northern Yan

Lady/Madam Zhuo --> Zhuo Dingfeng’s wife

Xie Qi --> Zhuo Qingyao’s wife & Xie Yu’s daughter & Jingrui’s sister

Consort Hui --> bullied by the Empress

Young Lady Zhen (I think is what my handwriting says) --> servant being sneaky at late dowager empress’s palace

“Wu-momo” --> older servant with the Bad Wine

Consort Chen --> now dead --> son was a rebel

3rd Prince of Da Liang --> Xiao Jingting --> Prince Ning --> disabled

6th Prince of Da Liang --> no ambition

9th Prince of Da Liang --> too young to fight for throne

Former Crown Princess --> late Prince Qi’s late wife

“Qi-momo” --> Grand Princess Liyang’s senior attendant

Gong Yu --> window lady who works with Mr. Shisan --> a musician

Mr. Shisan --> member of Jiangzuo Alliance --> connection to Lin family

Minister Lou --> Lou Zhijing --> Minister of Trade/Finance/Revenue/other words that mean “money” --> Knows about the corpse well --> Crown Prince’s faction

Zhang Jing --> Owner of corpse well house (Lan Mansion) at the time the corpses ended up in the well

Shi Jun --> Servant at corpse well house at relevant time --> has record book

Magistrate Gao --> Gao Sheng --> The Capital Magistrate

Princess Xuanji --> ruler of a previous dynasty --> founded the “Hong Court”

Minister Qi --> Qi Min--> Minister of Justice --> Prince Yu’s faction

Minister He --> He Jingzhong --> Minister of Personnel --> Prince Yu’s faction

Minister of Public Works --> Prince Yu’s faction

Minister Chen --> Chen Yuanzhi --> Minister of Rites --> Crown Prince’s faction

Minister of Defence --> Li Lin --> Crown Prince’s faction

Bai Xun --> Duke Qing’s brother

Lie Zhanying --> Staff Officer under Prince Jing

Qi Meng --> One of Prince Jing’s men --> fights Fei Liu and commits Great Offence

“General Bian” --> One of Prince Jing’s men

Shen Zhui --> Acting Minister of Finance

Princess Qing He --> Shen Zhui’s mother

Cai Quan --> Works at Ministry of Justice --> Did well-received report on the Bing case

Han Zhiyi --> Works at Ministry of Justice --> worked on Bing case

Zhang Jianzhen --> Works at Ministry of Justice --> worked on Bing case

Wei Yuan --> Works at Ministry of Justice --> worked on Bing case

Yuan Shiying --> Works at Ministry of Justice --> worked on Bing case

Qin Yue --> Works at Ministry of Justice --> worked on Bing case

Tong Lu --> Vegetable cart guy --> brother of one of the corpse well girls

Qiu Zhe --> Son of Count (Duke?) Wen Yuan

He Wenxin --> Son of Minister He --> dislikes Qiu Zhe

Grand Prince Ji --> Emperor’s youngest brother --> Owns hot springs

Yang Liuxin --> A dancer

Hong Xinzhao --> Has “understanding girls”

Xinliu & Xinyang --> Brothel sisters --> their younger brother was murdered by Qiu Zhe

Princess Consort --> Lanjin --> Prince Yu’s wife

Zhou Xuanqing --> renowned scholar

Li Chong --> former Imperial Tutor --> former teacher to Lin Shu

“Brother Zhao” --> Canal transport guy --> Jiangzuo Alliance

Lin Xiangru --> famous literary envoy

Marquis Yan --> Yan Que --> Yan Yujin’s father & Empress Yan’s brother

Lin Yueyao --> Prince Qi’s mother --> Consort Chen

Zhen Ping --> Jiangzuo Alliance --> sword challenger

Xia Qiu --> An officer of the Xuanjing Bureau

Xia Chun --> The most senior of the officers of the Xuanjing Bureau

Prince Jingli --> Consort Hui’s son

Yuwen Xuan --> Prince Ling --> A prince of Southern Chu

Yuwen Nian --> “Niannian” --> A princess of Southern Chu --> student of Yue Xiuze

Yuwen Lin --> King of Southern Chu --> Yuwen Nian’s father

Ouyang Chi - Head of CApital Patrols

Xia Jiang --> Head of the Xuanjing Bureau

Li Chongxin --> Schoolteacher assassinated by Zhuo Dingfeng

Jun Niang --> former member of “Hong Court” under Princess Xuanji

“Miss Liu” --> Granddaughter of former Chief Secretariat Liu Cheng

Wei Qi --> The general at Jiaxing Pass --> was Xie Yu’s lieutenant for years

Su Tianshu --> Chief of Yaowang Valley --> 7th on the Langya Rich List

Su Xuan --> Su Tianshu’s adopted son --> Wei Zheng

Yun Piaomiao --> Su Xuan’s wife

Concubine Xiang --> Prince Yu’s birth mother

Zhu Yue --> Head of the Review Court --> Prince Yu’s brother-in-law

Cheng Zhiji --> Elder Master of Feng Hall --> 75 years old

Princess Linglong --> A princess of the Hua Kingdom --> Princess Xuanji’s sister --> Concubine Xiang

Grand Princess Jinyang --> Lin Shu’s mother & Lin Xie’s wife --> Emperor’s sister

Yao Zhu --> Official Fan’s servant who knows The Secret

Official Fan --> Harbouring Xia Jiang

#nirvana in fire #it's an imperfect tool basically #but hopefully it's useful anyway #if there are any spelling errors #blame it on my handwriting #you don't want to know how much time i spent looking at these notes asking myself if something was a 'u' or an 'n'

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intyalote · 3 years

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WIP tag meme

thanks for the tag @i-am-just-a-kiddo ! it reminded me that I should actually work on these! I’ll tag all of my followers/mutuals who have WIPs of any sort, because I’m sorry but my brain is fried and I don’t want to embarrass myself by accidentally tagging someone who isn’t a writer/artist lol

rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and i’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

I usually don't even think about properly naming until I start putting stuff on ao3, see the "title" box, and panic, so these names are just how I think of them atm. only two because I am neither a fast nor a prolific writer.

lesbian ghosts - 山河令 | Word of Honor - because qianqiao and luo-yi deserve better than yu qiufeng and zhao jing. and also wen kexing’s ghost valley as a place for empowering women failed by society was an A+ decision on the scriptwriter’s part

four seasons manor feels - 天涯客 | Faraway Wanderers - because that part of drama!zhou zishu’s arc is amazing, but would never work with novel!zzs, so I wanted to explore what I think he’d feel if he ever went back to four seasons manor post-novel-canon

#honestly even having 2 is a miracle #shl has really gotten me in a ficcy mood for some reason #山河令 #天涯客 #about me

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teamsarawatshusband · 3 years

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Word Of Honor - 1st watch insta thoughts - Episode 6

First of all, as I gained a lot of new followers, just an FYI: This is me watching Word of Honor for the first time and writing down my thoughts as I go. Mostly it's me being confused as hell and giving all the characters weird names, because I can't remember the real ones. If this is not your thing, feel free to skip these posts and maybe blacklist "smirklord"

If you do choose to read along, please know that these are the most important characters:

Zhou Zi Shu = Baby Zi Shu/ Zhou Xu lord guy/alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy Wen Ke Xing = Smirky Xing/Smirky fan guy Gu Xiang = Purple Girl/my Purple Love/my Purple Queen Smirklord is my personal ship name for Zhou Zi Shu and Wen Ke Xing.

Previous episodes are here.

To anybody who was here before: Sorry that it took me so long to continue this. I accidentally came across a spoiler about my purple queen and I was pretty bummed about it. So I stopped watching for a while. Also, the show is getting more complex and I'm having a harder time remembering who everybody is. But anyway, let's go!

Episode 6:

LOL, Smirky Xing called Baby Xu Mom and wants to be carried. He's so cute when hallucinating.

Anyway, I'm glad Smirky Xing saved Baby Xu. Now, what's the thing he captured?

Baby Xu is hurt, thankfully he's also like a travelling pharmacist.

Oh, Smirky Xing, can I just point out that I have never before seen anybody accuse another person of being a serial killer with such a lovestruck expression on their face. And why do you keep insisting that you’re a good guy when nobody accused you of anything?

Oh, so the zombies and mummies weren't dead, but... living people controlled by someone? What?

LOL, "Do you have a dagger?" and Smirky Xing instantly pulls one out of his sleeve like it's no big deal, and who knows what else he keeps in there.

Ewww, is Baby Xu going to go stabbing at his own wounds? Please no.

Ewww, ewww, ewww. Oh, he's sucking out the poison I guess.

Waaah, what is Smirky Xing going to. - Oh. OMGOMGOMGOMG, eww, but also YESSS, you go for that shoulder kiss, honey, YES! (Sorry, I had to rewind that moment a couple times). Let's rename Smirky Xing to Kissy Xing.

Oh, and this once and for all gave Baby Xu's diguise away. He didn't put make-up on his shoulder.

'Can you show me your real appearance' my ass. He wants to see you naked. And Baby Xu reminds him of consent. I mean, trust. But, really... consent.

OMG, "you can touch it." Yes! Touch it Baby Xu! Touch it!!! Kissy Xing gave his permission!!!

Oooooh, they're dancing again!!!

OMG, they're going to the lake. Is this gonna turn into the dirty dancing lifting figure scene? PLEASE?

I don't even care, this 100% counts as the lifting scene.

Dude, what? Can you not swim? Baby Xu? You okay? He fell into the water, okay. But why doesn't he get back to the surface?????

Does he want to be saved? Please tell me he's not drowning. :O Kissy Xing looks so worried.

Whoa, where did his mask go? :O :O :O

Okay, okay, okay. Clothes on the drying rack, they're basically in their undies. And kissy Xing can't stop staring at Baby Xu's real face.

Real face baby Xu looks so much softer. Still pissy though, did he seriously just wipe the bottle neck? Come on, man. You had his lips suck on your skin already. I'm sure you can take his spit.

So kissy Xing's name is really Wen Ke Xing. And his face is really his face. I do wanna trust him so much. His voice is so soft all of a sudden. Wahhhh.

Oh, so the item they captured was from hanging ghost? But not the real one?

Kissy Xing, you killed the ghost guy while Baby Xu wanted to interrogate him. You say it was a mistake cause you were worried, but you could still very well be nuts guy and make sure nobody gives you away!

I feel a bit like Brad Pitt in Seven. WHAT'S IN THE BOX???!!!!

Zhou Zi Shu! Kissy Xing said the name. HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT!!! He recognized him!!!! He knows who he is. But he doesn't say so to his face. Why is everything so confusing???

Should I call Baby Xu Baby Zi Shu from now on?

Noo, don't cut away from smirklord, I wanna keep watching smirklord!

Meh, some stupid guitar guy doing a Jimmi Hendrix impression and lots of dead guys, who might not actually be dead standing in line for the concert tickets.

Some tall hat guy. Who is he? He gets VIP acess.

Is it just me or do you also find it annoying when they're playing instruments and the music doesn't match the finger movements?

Ok, Hendrix guy is scorpion king. Is he related to the scorpion assassins? Anyway, he's got really cool hair. Total rockstar vibes.

Tall hat guy is trying to be charming and coming across like a record label manager.

Okay, so they both don't know what happened and who killed the other ghost guy. Oh, wait, is tall hat guy the one who stole the glazed armor from uncle Zhao? Is the item that Kissy Xing and Baby Zi Shu captured a piece of glazed armor??? :O

Ok, tall hat guy is changing ghost.

Back to Smirklord! YES!

Okay, Baby Zi Shu figured out the item box thing? Is the blue glass thing the glazed armor??? Tbh, it looks a bit like the plastic part of some kid's braces.

Yooo, Kissy Xing coming in hot with the rabbit dowry.

Whoa, Baby Zi Shu just throws the glazed armor over to Kissy Xing, like it's no big deal. He really really doesn't want it. Nice return gift, though.

Okay, what is this flirting? Baby Zi Shu keeps stating that he's a bad guy you need to be terrified of, much like Kissy Xing kept saying he's a good guy. And now he's calling Kissy Xing a trouble.

LOL, Kissy Xing agrees on the gift idea. He wants to carry it on his body. Nice.

K, k, it's uncle Zhao's glazed armor. The kid must have his own armor somehow. And the ghost guys are trying to play all the other parties and make them doubt each other. I see.

Kissy Xing is so whipped, wow. He'll do anything, including gutting the rabbits.

LOL, they're trying to give the kid food. Like that EVER worked before at all. No, uncle Zhao, you dimwit, he does NOT have a good appetite, lol.

Why is everybody giving the kid a hard time about crying. His family got murdered, his two adopted dads left him all alone with the two weird uncles... Of course he's gonna cry. Duh.

Ah, geez, Uncle Shen, just shut up. You know nothing. (he's not smart enough to be called a-hole guy anymore, sorry)

Okay, so, three glazed armor pieces have been stolen from their owners. But Uncle Zhao still has his? Then whose piece was stolen the other night? What? And who is brother Lu? Was that the kid's dad?

Now there's two more older guys, who are they? Oh, one is Lord of Broken Sword Manor. Wait, wasn't that magenta guy? Or was that his son? Somebody PLEASE fill me in here.

The other one is brother Yu, whoever that is.

Seriously, every time pleated skirt soldier boss jerk uncle shen a-hole guy opens his mouth I wanna slap him.

Kissy Xing and Baby Zi Shu are wearing new clothes. When and where did they change? Were they together when they changed? Hehe, I need to know. For science.

They are returning to the bamboo woods and the bodies from the previous night are gone. Kissy Xing asks why Baby Zi Shu had the antidote to the hallucination drug. Actually, good question. Baby Zi Shu, why DID you have the antidote? Oh, it's a Window of Heaven thing?

WHATWHATWHAT? The illusion makes people see what they WANT THE MOST? And Baby Zi Shu drops this knowledge just like that while WE know that Kissy Xing called him by his real name, i.e. saw HIM, whilst under the illusion??? WHAT???

Nooo, Kissy Xing, why are you lying? Why won't you tell what you saw when you hallucinated? I wanna know too, gah!!!

Yo, Baby Zi Shu DEVELOPED the illusion drug? As a sleep remedy, lol. Nice.

K, who's the guy in the carriage at Sanbai Manor? Han Ying. Who is that? Have we seen him before?

Did Baby Zi Shu just tell Kissy Xing the truth about himself killing people, setting them on fire etc.? That came out super smooth.

They're talking about this heroes conference that was mentioned before, but I have no idea what it is, and what it relates to. I'm so bad at remembering TV series plotlines... I'm assuming that this conference is where the uncles take the kid to.

Aww, Baby Zi Shu keeps close by and watches over the kid.

Kissy Xing wants 30 copies of the glazed armor piece. And he is freaking rich, man.

Waaaah, my purple queen! I've missed her so much. And she's kept the other girls around. And they're playing strip mahjong, apparently, lol. Yes, good for her! Also, Bechdel test passed! Nice.

Where are they anyway? Which town is this? Was this mentioned, did I miss it?

K, so Kissy Xing wants to pay the two girls out so they'll leave (very obviously), but they don't want to. Is he going to make my queen kill them after all? And she gives him nuts in return. Hmm. I mean, seriously. He MUST be nuts guy. There were SO MANY hints.

Oh, he lets them stay and become My queen's servants.

What? What is this secret plan? What are they gonna do with the fake pieces of glazed armor?

Noooooo, don't end here!!!!!

Wahhh

Okay, what have I learned: Baby Zi Shu's real name! And that Kissy Xing knows him from somewhere. Also learned what glazed armor pieces look like. My queen loves playing strip mahjong. And people are meeting up for some heroes conference.

Goals for future episodes: Find out how Kissy Xing and Baby Zi Shu know each other. Finally finish that name chart thing and add all the new people, omg.

#word of honor #1st watch insta thoughts #word of honor ep 06 #smirklord

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extraordinarilyextreme · 4 years

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finally watched Guardian (2018) and i need to talk

Warning: contains MASSIVE SPOILERS, probably too much music/song analysis, my poor translations from Chinese to English, and some references to the original novel (disclaimer: my novel-reading was mostly jumping around because i have a problem where I’m not fluent enough to read the original Chinese novel and I don’t usually like English translations)

1. the freakin opening theme: We Won’t Be Falling by Chen Xueran... (also I see you Tina Guo on the cello thank you queen)

the amount of chills i get every time an episode starts,,, fantastic! marvelous! the lyrics are very VERY apt to the story of Guardian, esp this drama adaptation

(“We are the one/We will be holding on/For the promise we held for life/For the people we love are leaving” ... “And the story will keep on going”)

1.1. the promise? may i direct you to novel chapter 75?

Shen Wei: “Sometimes I think if one day you can remember everything, then I will be able to say to you: look, I did it, I did all that I had promised you; not one bit did I miss, not one word did I go back on.”

they promise to keep the peace, to protect both Haixing and Dixing; and in the show, it’s a promise they keep with their lives

2. Zhu Yilong plays THREE characters and is able to differentiate them perfectly with particular microexpressions

-Ye Zun (literally, “Respect the Night”; “Lord/Master of the Night” would be a better title) sets off my fight-or-flight instincts even though i think his name tries a little too hard to be edgy; the way he sneers, the smiles that don’t reach his eyes, also that infamous tongue flick when Zhao Yunlan sees through the act... i think it’s both great and sad that Yunlan could differentiate the twins because, why, Shen Wei would never be so openly flirtatious (and wear a deep-cut shirt like that lol)... the delivery of “Xiao Yunlan” disturbed me so much—wonderful, stellar acting

-Black Cloaked Envoy: does his best to bend the rules where he can for the Dixingren because he’s just so fundamentally GOOD; he’s empathetic despite how stern and strict he seems to be, and how much he claims to enforce the clearly-cut laws... he’s an absolute babie ten thousand years ago (Yunlan, doesn’t it hurt your conscience to flirt with such a babie?)

-Shen Wei: in the novel, his name (both surname and first name) are given to him by Kun Lun’s incarnations—there’s a lot of power in naming something, in naming someone; he’s good-natured and gentle, always polite... he pushes up the glasses [that he doesn’t need] a lot, perhaps because he’s used to pushing up his mask as the Envoy

2.1. i find it very striking that Shen Wei dies without his glasses; he doesn’t die as the Envoy, he doesn’t die as the Professor; he dies as a person, as the person who loves Yunlan the most and has loved Yunlan for ten thousand years

2.2. the other notable moments we see Shen Wei without his glasses are where he apologizes to Yunlan [and Yunlan apologizes at the same time because they’re pining idiots] for not noticing the camera in his office, where he sets aside all his pride as Envoy and Professor and kneels in the rain for the man he loves (lwj kneeling after visiting the Burial Mounds, yea?), and of course after he slices up an orange [cuz food = love] only to find Yunlan asleep and drapes his jacket over the silly silly man... anyway, Yunlan is indeed the only person Shen Wei is comfortable enough to reveal everything to, all defenses and masks (literal and figurative) lowered

2.3. that last instance (ep 26) is when Shen Wei pulls out his necklace and reminisces as he gazes fondly at Yunlan; the song that plays during this is 《乱心曲》or “Chaotic Heart Song”... may I direct you to novel chapter 65 where Yunlan finds all the paintings and pictures his Xiao Wei has kept from the centuries?

“邓林之阴初见昆仑君，惊鸿一瞥，乱我心曲。” which translates to “In the shade of the woods I first saw Kunlun-jun; a glimpse of his grace wrought chaos in my heart’s song”

2.4. but also let’s not forget the [in]famous cut wrist scene of ep 23, where our dear Shen Wei, without glasses, as a person who loves Yunlan—not the aloof Envoy or the well-spoken Professor—is reduced to two words: “Worth it.” Yunlan is worth everything to him; this goes without question, without a second thought. Kun Lun (Yunlan) told him not to regret whatever decisions he’ll make, and Ye Zun scolds and laughs at his brother for giving up his life for a human/Haixingren, but of course Shen Wei doesn’t regret dying to protect Yunlan, dying to protect Haixing. (also, peep the behind-the-scenes where Shen Wei grabs Yunlan’s hand for a moment as he blocks the attack from Ye Zun)

2.5. on this same train of thought, Da Qing brings up a line from ten thousand years ago where Shen Wei claimed he would never kill unless it was for the world... and, well, he kills for Yunlan doesn’t he?

3. Bai Yu plays our charismatic Chief Zhao Yunlan/Kun Lun and hoo boy does he do an excellent job; the found family vibes of the SIU are spectacular and the way he flirts with tries to recruit Professor Shen is endearing and touching

3.1. there’s another piece from the OST called 《一点真心》, translated to “A Little Sincerity” though I would use “A Bit of a Sincere Heart” because it too references the novel

Kun Lun’s confession to Xiao Wei: “我富有天下名山大川，想起来也没什么稀奇的，不过就是一堆烂石头野河水，浑身上下，大概也就只有这几分真心能上秤卖上两斤，你要？拿去。” [I’m rich with famed mountains and endless rivers under heaven, but none of it feels rare when I think about it. It’s all just a pile of broken stones and uncultivated streams. From head to toe, there is probably only this bit of my sincere heart that is worth anything weighed on a scale. You want it? Take it.]

Zhao Yunlan’s confession to Shen Wei: “我别的东西也有，只是你可能大多都看不上，只有这一点真心……你要是不接着，那就算了吧。” [I have other things, only you probably would not think much of them. There’s only this bit of my sincere heart... If you don’t want to catch it, then forget it.)

And Shen Wei’s reply to Yunlan’s confession is of course “我接住了。” [I’ve caught it.]

3.2. the novel is a happy ending because Xiao Guo’s important role actually plays a part (i literally don’t understand why the show couldn’t do that after they built up so many expectations about his good character/merit/inability to be corrupted but ANYWAY)... Shen Wei, Xiao Wei, the little Ghost King has a soul and wow isn’t that just beautiful after everything he did to become worthy/deserving of Kun Lun’s attention and love

4. the Zhang Ruonnan and Wang Yike (death-touch Dixingren) case in ep 3 is an obvious parallel to the “brotherly” relationship of WeiLan... Shen Wei’s line of “Many tragedies were destined from the start” references the show of course but also the paradoxical precognition that marks the drama version of WeiLan; in both of their “first meetings”, one of them was always already in love with the other—Yunlan, as Kun Lun, knew he would have to return to his own time at some point and thus doom this impressionable young Envoy to ten thousand years of waiting and Shen Wei (honestly in a Code Geass Lelouch kinda style) knew he would have to die to defeat his brother

4.1. the importance of “touch” in this case alludes to novel WeiLan, where of course Shen Wei watched over all of Kun Lun’s incarnations but wasn’t allowed to get close to him because hungry ghosts would inevitably devour the essence of the people around them; similarly Yike was terrified of touching Ruonnan all this time... but Ruonnan accepted her (just like how novel Kun Lun lets this intriguing little Ghost King trail after him)

4.2. speaking of Shen Wei’s grand plans and the idea of “knowing”, Yunlan reminds him that “You are not a weapon/blade, you are a person.” and wow once again, only Yunlan can pull the humanity from Shen Wei, who has carefully crafted his disguise and personality to fit what people expect of the Envoy and the Professor... but alas, Shen Wei fulfills his promise by in fact making himself a weapon; he poisons himself to become a bomb that will take down his brother

4.3. as many qualms and complaints as I have with Chinese censorship, much in the case of WangXian, i think i prefer the drama version of WeiLan to the novel version; the plot of the Guardian novel is a lot better in my opinion (with references to mythology and legends, as opposed to, what, aliens?? mutants from X-Men? quirks in My Hero Academia??) and yea the relationship of Kun Lun with Xiao Wei is built up a lot better and makes more sense than the time-travel of Yunlan masquerading as Kun Lun with Shen Wei... but there’s an unadulterated, unconditional kind of love that runs through the drama, whereas the novel had some darker (though probably more realistic) vibes of near-possessiveness and ulterior motives... Kun Lun/Yunlan in the novel can be, well, cruel, which is not necessarily out of character; it’s just seems a little wrong to me that you could threaten your partner in a relationship (if you keep things from me again, i really will turn against you + had i known xyz would happen, i really should have killed you)... plus i’m always a sucker for love without an “i love you”, a love that’s conveyed entirely through actions and gazes

5. Yunlan asks Zhou Weiwei (the mirror case) where her jacket was bought because he “wants to get one for [his] girlfriend” and lo and behold, what similarly-styled and colored coat does our Shen Wei show up in a few episodes later? (also the fact that Shen Wei dies wearing this jade-ish-blue-ish coat)

6. boyfriend jacket during the Moutain-River Awl case... boyfriend jacket!!!! Shen Wei claims he doesn’t need it and well he still wears it anyway because Yunlan’s love is unstoppable

6.1. the way Shen Wei grabs Yunlan’s elbow before running down the hill

6.2. Shen Wei being so freaking fine-tuned to Yunlan’s discomfort/pain as always that he drinks wine for him (and passes out immediately—heroics/bde of yllz! wwx and the alcohol tolerance of our dear lwj)

6.2.1. when Minister Gao brings up Yunlan’s dad and the Chief’s hands tighten... and of course nothing can go by Shen Wei, so he changes the topic of the conversation; also the way he leans forward as if to shield Yunlan

6.2.2. Yunlan is similarly Aware of his boyfriend’s boundaries; cue him politely excusing themselves from the dinner with Vice-Minister Guo when Shen Wei (of all people!) fumbles with his chopsticks

6.2.3. Yunlan also blocks Shen Wei from Minister Gao’s sight (subconsciously?) after that wedding showdown... even though he’s unhappy that Shen Wei has kept the identity of the Envoy from him, he trusts the other man enough to recognize there must be a reason; thus he doesn’t want other people to pry into the possibility that Shen Wei is a Dixingren

6.3. also, also that Shen Wei lets Yunlan have his way and use him as a pillow in the car once again (he also adjusts the actual pillow beneath Yunlan’s head to make it more comfortable)

6.3.1 the other Shen-Wei-is-Yunlan’s-pillow scene is when the professor picks up the poor hurting Chief off the road and in the taxi ride home... apparently this was an improvised scene from Bai Yu who just wanted to mess with Long-ge and our great Zhu Yilong just stayed in character and ran with it

6.3.2. the other notable improvised scene is the cute “Black Cloaked gege~ please be careful~ there’s someone is waiting for you at home~” [sorry that i don’t remember the exact line] but once again our great leading actors just stay perfectly in character

6.4. after Shen Wei wakes up from a night of being drunk (lol) Yunlan has left a note for him “I’ve gone back first, stay in touch. -Zhao” and what’s that on the corner of the note? why it’s a winky face

7. when Yunlan grabs the fake Zhang Danni’s wrist to confirm his suspicions, Shen Wei narrows his eyes... (lol is our Black Cloaked gege jealous)

8. when Yunlan claims he can swallow the painkillers dry, Shen Wei clenches his jaw in his anger at this idiot of a man for not taking better care of himself... you’ll find that a lot of Shen Wei’s anger is directed toward his husband being a self-sacrificial fool

8.1. after Yunlan uses the Hallows again and his nose begins to bleed, Zhu Yilong in all his acting glory has Shen Wei furious to the point that his lips tremble (cue Shen Wei angrily shoving a handkerchief into his husband’s face) [i really want to know if they ever broke character during this scene due to their proximity lol]

8.1.1. Shen Wei all but invades Yunlan’s personal space (he really does stand there between Yunlan’s legs guys) and he’s so careful even though he’s angry as he tries to stop the nosebleed; he’s aware the force might tip Yunlan backwards, so he immediately rests his hands on Yunlan’s thighs/knees to steady him

9. Yunlan has claimed that he doesn’t do things for the sake of gaining anything in return and yet every time he’s wanted things from dear Shen Wei... “take off your mask and smile for me”, “join the SID”... the sexual tension is Unreal during these scenes lol, you can see Shen Wei swallow visibly in anticipation + babie Shen Wei of ten thousand years prior all but chokes on his words when he promises to do ANYTHING Kun Lun wants him to do (honey where is your mind GOING???)

9.1. Bai Yu does have a bruise on his knee after the scene where Yunlan asks Shen Wei for something... dunno if it’s the actor’s bruise or the character’s bruise, but if it’s the character’s bruise—how did he get it? what exactly did WeiLan do that evening lol

9.2. also peep the fact that Yunlan almost always has a lollipop in his mouth when talking to Shen Wei... oral fixation much? (also the whole sequence where he tries to explain how to eat a lollipop to babie Shen Wei, wow the amount of homoerotic tension)

9.3. babie Shen Wei’s ears and cheeks are SO RED when Yunlan snatches the mask off his face

10. Yunlan’s hairstyle changes after Shen Wei joins the SIU (joins his family), much like how a bride would change her hairstyle after marriage in China ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (random note but CQL WangXian does this too when lwj puts his hair down/styled over the front of his shoulders when wwx wakes up 16 years later)

11. the first time we see Shen Wei spit up blood, there’s an echo of “Xiao Wei” faintly and Shen Wei mutters to himself “Xiao Lan” before looking up and saying louder “Zhao Yunlan” (nicknames/pet names/names only your family or lover can call you... this trope is good)

11.1. i also think a lot about how in the novel Kun Lun muses before he dies that it’s a shame he won’t see this Little Beauty [Xiao Wei] grow up to be a Great Beauty

12. Shen Wei’s funny little eyebrow raise when Yunlan accidentally reveals he broke into the professor’s apartment once ( “riiiiiiiiight i definitely believe you”)

12.1. though the ep 23 scene is angsty, the fact Yunlan says “It’s the middle of the night, were you hungry?” seems to imply their relationship is a lot closer than just neighbors... they’re probably used to sharing an apartment/room at this point :)

13. when Yunlan is hurt, Zhu Hong looks to him but he only has eyes for Shen Wei

13.1. after Yunlan is blinded, Zhu Hong is the one cradling him but he calls for Shen Wei first and reaches for his hand; Shen Wei of course responds immediately “it’s me”

13.1.1. both times after Yunlan gets his eyesight back, the first thing he sees is the person who loves him the most

14. Shen Wei warms up the congee in the morning with his magic after he watches over Yunlan when his stomach pain acts up (domestic use of magic? yes please)

15. the bomb defusing scene in the hospital (video game -> reality case) really is framed like a wedding proposal... also the way that Shen Wei smirks lol he’s so proud of his husband

16. after his Envoy identity is revealed, Shen Wei all but abuses his Black Cloaked Envoy voice to stop his stupid husband from doing stupid things that will hurt himself and every time Yunlan is properly sh00k by it

16.1. we really go from Chief Zhao remarking in the Mountain-River Awl case that he’s used to ordering people around, not receiving orders to married bickering with Shen Wei to then agreeing to everything Shen Wei tells him to do

17. the fact that “Shen Wei, ah, Shen Wei... You are such a good person, how could I bear to let you go?” is an actual line from the censored DRAMA astounds me, nevermind that Shen Wei just made breakfast for his man and Yunlan is basically pouting up at him from the bed

17.1. the way Yunlan’s dad warns him to stay away from Shen Wei and Yunlan responds with something like “he’s sincerely good to me, I want to be with him”... “be with him”???? [inhales deeply] yea this is definitely a “brotherly relationship”

18. Yunlan’s “WOW” after the Envoy kills the monsters in the cave of the Mountain-River Awl case is hilarious and i dont understand how such a noise is physically possible,,, it sounds like a growl?????

18.1. Zhu Yilong was asked to mimic it during an interview (which he did not do and only half-heartedly gave a “wow”) and then Bai Yu did it again

19. also i inevitably got attached to the side ship of Lao Chu and Xiao Guo... they have so much skinship for a censored “brotherly relationship” lmao

the amount of face-touching and hand-holding that they do is unreal... they’re more canon than WeiLan in the drama adaptation methinks

20. 《时间飞行》or “Flying Across Time” sounds like Yunlan’s reply to Shen Wei’s《只是太在意》or “Just Cared Too Much”

20.1. the lyrics of both these songs really cements this idea that both of WeiLan believe the other to be too good... Kun Lun was a god in the novel, and Xiao Wei was just a soulless little Ghost King... and then we have the incorrigible Chief Zhao pining after the beautiful and kind Professor Shen... i just have a lot of feelings about them becoming better people for each other, that their love really does make each other stronger

21. my favorite two pieces from the OST are Shen Wei’s theme (arranged by Kun Luo) and Kun Lun’s theme (arranged by Chen Xueran)

head’s up: it’s been like four years since i last even glanced at music theory so a lot of this might just make no sense to an actual professional

-Shen Wei: written in 4/4 time, Ab Major, melody is primarily carried by piano + strings; the piano almost sticks exclusively to triplets whereas the strings are in steady whole, quarter, and eighth notes—which creates in interesting impressionistic effect, kind of like hazy smoke or the ripples across the surface of a lake; every single measure uses decrescendo, so the first triplet is always the loudest and the three that follow get progressively softer (mimicking an echo)... the piece ends on the seventh note of the scale, which is usually a pretty awkward place to end and yet it doesn’t feel wrong it all; the piece uses a ritardando in the last three measures, and we simply drift off with that last G... i think it’s a beautifully written piece that perfectly portrays such a complex character as Shen Wei, someone who loved with everything he had, and was just so overwhelmingly good... and then he simply disappears as if the dream has ended. it makes me think of how he guarded over Kun Lun/Zhao Yunlan for thousands of years in the novel, never ever ever daring to meet him... and yet the other man always felt like he was waiting for someone

-Kun Lun: written in 3/4 time, a minor, there’s no real complex shift in the melody although there’s brief modulation into E major (dominant/fifth note); it’s a fairly somber piece, especially when the strings join in... it’s a steady waltz, and it finishes with the scale (second to last major is g, last major is a), like a circle coming back around [like their love story perhaps?]... there’s a finality to it, a completeness, a wholeness, which makes sense in the drama-verse because the moment Yunlan takes up the name of Kun Lun is when his love story with Shen Wei all fits together. the piece feels a little lonely in its minor key and all, a little sad, indeed as if you were standing at the top of a mountain surrounded by clouds and mist... the constant meter also reminds me of like the steady drip of water, the perpetual and inevitable passage of the days and time

-i don’t really understand how because the keys of the two pieces don’t fit together easily, but somehow it doesn’t feel wrong to play the pieces back to back; the melodies of both seem to call upon each other despite the differences in key and time signature, so it actually feels right. a circle without a beginning or an ending, wouldn’t you want your love to be so infinite?

-when yunlan finds shen wei in their bubble outside of time, when shen wei is about to leave him, shen wei is wearing the outfit of their first meeting. and the lyrics go “Across time, I am in the same place”... surely, they will find each other again.

#guardian #cdrama ramblings #zhenhun #镇魂 guardian

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sunshine304 · 3 years

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I am so so sorry that it took me this long to continue my LoF watching posts! RL, y’know. Ep 26 felt like a good place to take a breather, as well, so that’s what I did.

Anyway, let’s move on to eps 27 and 28!

It’s exposition time! Zhou Fei and ChuChu are at a tea house and hear about an army deserter who was trained on the Mountain of the Immortals (has this been mentioned before... IDK), was poisoned and became a monk. A-Fei thinks this story sounds familiar (indeed it does, indeed it does...) and ChuChu remembers having read sth like this in a book (the book of ... Peng Lai? I think?).

Oh look, Huo Fort becomes relevant again! I forgot about them. Anyway, Huo Lintao, who is now the boss and seems to not be well liked basically everywhere, wants to fight Disha and invites people from Jianghu to his Destroy Disha Assembly (God, I just love that name XD). Li Sheng & 48 Strongholds get an invite and he wants to investigate. Huo Fort is also... attacked by random cultivators I guess?

Meanwhile, let’s check in on Yin Pei! He still can’t deal with his internal injury (loss of internal power? still not sure; I’m assuming it’s sth like severe damage to a golden core in xanxia or even complete loss of one) and scours Old Daoist Master Chongxiao’s rooms for the Phoenix Pill, which... I think gives you lots of power but is also really super dangerous?

This show sure has lots of useful but also dangerous power restoring/improving pills and needles, huh?

Anyway, Yin Pei takes the pill. He does not feel so good. Uh oh.

Li Yan and Yang Jin go in search for A-Fei again – uhm, didn’t A-Fei simply go into town with ChuChu? Why are they searching for her again, other that Yang Jin wants to fight her because one obvious defeat isn’t enough? I'm guessing there has been a time skip again...

Meanwhile, at Disha Manor! Shen Tianshu is nursing his wounded ego I guess, while Chu Tianyu, an older member, is now supposed to take care of all this drama, but he doesn’t really want to because he’s retired. How many weird members of Disha are there?

Oh okay, so Yin Pei goes kinda crazy because of the scabbard since it seems to be gone, takes more of the Phoenix Pills, which is a fucking stupid idea, we get some exposition that this might turn him into a demon of some sort, and then he kills Chongxiao for the scabbard because he thinks that the old master wants it for himself.

Which, you know, isn’t true, but that’s what you get for being so secretive, I guess. Chongxiao actually wanted the scabbard so a forger could make lots of copies of it, so that Yin Pei can keep the original one. *sigh* Well, too late now. Yin Pei also meets that evil guy from way back in ep 7 or 8 who’d fought Chongxiao and Li Sheng, who calls himself the Black Judge (I’m too lazy to look up his name and hope he doesn’t really become that relevant).

I’m kinda sad that Yin Pei simply seems to go the “Oops I’m super crazy now“ route instead of having a more interesting redemption arc. I also... don’t really know what he wants to do now? He’s got the scabbard of his father... Are there still people alive he could take revenge on? Disha I guess?

But! The song that plays while Yin Pei confronts Chongxiao is awesome! I'm in love.♥

Back to the main characters, thank you! Xie Yun is really ill and freezing, the poison taking its toll. He’s at the same inn as two new characters (noooo, no more characters, have mercy!) Zhu Chen and Zhu Ying of the small Zhu sect, who are there for that assembly. They eye XY and feel sorry for him. We instantly know that these are Good People.

Aaaaaand introducing another new character, Ying Hecong, Poison Doctor! I know he’s relevant because he’s got a poster!

Of course Zhou Fei just misses Xie Yun in that inn. *sigh* But then she meets Li Yan and Yang Jin there, which is nice.

Yet another new character! He’s Black Tortoise Ding Kui and has henchman that are dressed in a rather peculiar way. Is this now the same as with that Azure Dragon guy, and I don’t really have to remember him? He’s from the 4 Guardians Mountain (speaking of which, where tf is Mu XiaoQiao!?).

Okay okay I see now. Everyone is in LingLing for that meet up with the Huo family! Madame Nichang is there too! Ah my beloved! ♥ She tells Xie Yun to follow his heart, and not be stupid and only think of his end.

Xie Yun is all evasive of course, and then he meets up with Cheng Zichen who of course is also there! Because of this he finds out that Zhou Fei is there, too, which puts him into a conflict. Because his running away was going so well, dammit!

On to Ep 28!

Xie Yun hides out in the carriage with Ling Yu of the Feather Robe Troupe, who slyly comments on him running away from Zhou Fei. He’s sad and says that it’s not A-Fei’s fault and that he’s just an unlucky person who is not good for her. T_T Kill me, why don’t you.

A-Fei has learned a lot and notices XY’s ruse, yay go my heroine!♥

She catches him and they fight, and she asks him about the poison. Zhou Fei obviously suspects ahhhh! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ But of course when XY seems happy that she was looking for him, she goes all haughty again and is like, “It’s only because of the HYTS!“ (although no it was mainly because of him and she looks light she might burst into tears any moment now, too...)

They get distracted by the procession of Black Tortoise Master walking by and A-Fei knocks XY out. They’re even now! XD

Nice to see the whole gang together as A-Fei drags the unconscious Xie Yun to an inn! ChuChu my beloved! ♥

OMG Li Sheng and Yang Jin getting into this peacock fight! XD Li Sheng scolds his sister and Yang Jin is super pissed about it. Li Yan is looking sooo smug, like “Yep that's my very own protective himbo!“ XD

Then Li Sheng is sent off to find Madame Nichang because she at least might know what to do about Xie Yun.

Ding Kui arrives at the Hui Fort. If I understood correctly... Hui Lintao wants to... kill all the cultivators when they arrive for his assembly? Or just those other cultivators that are randomly attacking him? There's traps in the forest they have go through. He specifically mentions that the traps are set after Daoist Master Chongxiao’s design, so hm might Li Sheng be of great help here later? Anyway, that old guy from Disha is there and seems to find all of this very funny. I’m confused.

Mu Xiaoqiao my love!!!!!!! He’s back!!!! For about 5 seconds but there he is, looking fabulous! ☆*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

Ding Kui (who... has left the Huo Fort I guess) wants to work with him and reminds him of his debt to the Huo Fort. I had forgotten about that.

Oh let’s check in for about a minute on Yin Pei, who is still crazy and slaughters some people... uhm somewhere. He also now calls himself the true Master of Clear Light. [at least I think it’s supposed to be his new name?] Nicely written on the door in blood. Okay then.

But the instrumental of his song plays in the background, making all of this much more epic, so it’s fine.

Madame Nichang arrives, is shocked, and states that Xie Yun is poisoned, as A-Fei feared, and he has a year if he doesn’t use his internal force anymore. A-Fei is devastated and we get their love song while she rubs his (supposedly) ice-cold hand. Oh my heart. T_T

Ying Hecong arrives because he wants to see the poisoned guy! XD He has never heard of tact.

Since A-Fei is desperate she lets him in, and we get some exposition in bits and pieces. Ying Hecong first assumes that XY must’ve been poisoned about a month ago (which fits the fight against Disha, where he used the needle), but wonders how that could be because Lian Sheng (the poisoner known for bone piercing blue) has been missing for a while longer. He lets slip that he isn’t actually a doctor, uhm yeah....

Oh not A-Fei is so sad and crying, nooooo T_T She’s angry at XY, asking why he had to meddle in her affairs and then leave to just die somewhere alone. Oh nooooo. ಥ_ಥ ಥ_ಥ ಥ_ಥ

(side note: easy scene for Wang Yibo, just lying there the whole time, no lines for once XD)

A-Fei gets the Tianmen Lock from Madam Nichang (a special lock that has a double lock mechanism that is very difficult to open. Md. Nichang actually alludes to this lock being very useful for lovers and I’m like... okay XD). YunFei are kinky as ever, nothing new here – A-Fei is so pissed at XY that she doesn’t want him to have the chance to run away again. XD

Loved how XY complained about the lock destroying his posture. XD And how Zhou Fei’s like, “It’s not my fault you’re bound like that, Li Sheng is to blame!“ while the flashback tells us, that uhm no, he’s not. XD

Ending with A-Fei telling Yang Jin about the Hai Tian Yi Se. Ah they’re important relics it seems. Well whatever. XY listens in.

I really need to keep on watching, it seems stuff is happening.

#legend of fei #you fei #sabrina watches legend of fei #my posts #my gifs

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minmotl · 4 years

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Chapter 29: Sui Zhou Offers Tang Fan His Wallet; Brings Him Home to Meet his Grandma

Context: Follows directly after Chapter 28. They’ve just closed the Li family case (Li Man and his mistress) without a proper resolution, Tang Fan climbs a tree and gets hurt, Sui Zhou honestly gives Tang Fan his salary and then brings him home to meet his grandmother, the only person whose approval means anything to Sui Zhou.

Introduction Post | Masterpost

–

Highlights under the cut

Ah Dong is also the kind of person to crave for any food that she sees, just like Tang Fan. When she was still with the Li family, she frequently went to the cook to steal food and the cook often made pastries for the young master and Lady Zhang, so after filling up a plate there was still an excess of one or two pieces. Thus, Ah Dong often enjoyed this little benefit, and now she’s already eight years old, but the curves that any young lady should have is still absent from her body. Instead, there are signs of her growing in the round, curvy direction.

However, the times she spent in the kitchen then was not for naught. At least from the Li family’s cook, she managed to steal some skills and techniques from watching, enough to satisfy the glutton with many requests in her own family. Just like this Huai Ye Tao, she began craving for this a little after Tang Fan’s description, and between the siblings, one of them climbed the tree, and the other made the gravy and noodles, and in the end they actually managed to produce it.

Thin and narrow Huai Ye gravy noodles sit in bowls that are as white as white jade, then drizzled with garlic, sesame oil and vinegar. The aroma wafts through the air. Tang Fan and Ah Dong close their eyes at the same time, drunk on the aroma, and if they told others they were just recently made siblings, no one would believe them.

“Come here, hurry and try it!” Tang Fan scoops out a bowl for Sui Zhou personally, and with a grin pushes the bowl, a spoon and some condiments towards the man.

Sui Zhou is speechless, lowering his head to taste it. It is actually pretty tasty. The freshly picked locust tree leaves have a woody, fresh scent and then made into gravy and mixed into the noodles, even the noodles have a sort of locust tree scent. It is fresh and delicious, most suitable for the summer, no wonder Tang Fan is obsessed with the dish.

Seeing Sui Zhou’s nod, Tang Fan’s eyes brighten, “Then let’s try the Golden Fried Chicken next time!”

Before Sui Zhou gets a chance to speak, Ah Dong says, “Da-ge, don’t forget that you cut your hand when you were climbing the tree, and you want to go and catch a chicken next time? Won’t you get bitten by the chicken instead?”

Tang Fan glares at her, “I’ve not climbed trees in a while, I’m a little rusty is all, a few more times and I’ll be familiar with it again.”

Ah Dong laments, “You’re going to try again? This morning I was looking out for you at the bottom of the tree and I was already anxious, so afraid that you would drop down. In the end you really did fall, please don’t tell me there’ll be a second time, I’m afraid I’ll be frightened to death!”

“It’s good enough that you have some to eat, but you’re still nagging every single day, be careful that you wont’t be able to get married in the future!” Tang Fan reaches out to pinch at her ear.

Don’t simply look at how round Ah Dong is, for her movements are still pretty agile. With a jump, she hides behind Sui Zhou in a flash and sticks her tongue out at Tang Fan as she laughs.

Sui Zhou asks, “You’re hurt?”

Tang Fan shakes his head, “Don’t listen to Ah Dong’s nonsense. It’s just a small cut from where I scratched myself on the branch.”

Sui Zhou nods and doesn’t say anything more.

Huai Ye Tao, cucumber salad, beef with gravy — one meat dish and another vegetarian one, both are fresh, easily digestible and appetising dishes. After finishing their meal, their heated bodies are relieved and cooled.

Sui Zhou used to live alone and even though he knew how to cook, because of how busy he was, most of the time he ended up settling for the easiest option. He ate at the court, eating while looking through records without tasting the food he was eating and it was rare that he could eat as he does now, the three of them gathered together, chatting as they eat and tasting the detailed preparation that went into these dishes.

In the beginning, he felt that there was no need to come back and have dinner if he was planning to work late, but at Tang Fan’s insistence, he complied. Now that he’s gotten used to it, no matter how late it gets, he always rushes back home. These changes happened to him unconsciously.

After they are done with the meal, Ah Dong begins to keep the bowls and chopsticks and Sui Zhou says to Tang Fan, “Come with me.”

He brings Tang Fan to his study.

“Your sleeves,” he says.

He has always spoken precisely and simply, and if he is able to not speak, Sui Zhou will not speak. When he is forced to say something, he is as precise as possible.

Tang-daren thinks, it’s good that he is so smart, otherwise it would be impossible to understand what Sui Zhou means from this utterance alone.

When he rolls up his sleeves, they can see the long cut on the outside of his right arm. While the cut is not deep, it’s likely that it bled quite a bit. Now that the bleeding has stopped, revealing a long scar caked with blood, the sight is a little alarming.

Sui Zhou glances at it once, before picking a cream out of the many bottles and jars on the table. Using his finger, he dabs at the cream lightly, before spreading it on Tang Fan’s wound. The wound stings and hurts, but he is still able to tolerate it. Tang-daren does not grimace or grit his teeth, but after the cream is spread evenly on his wound, he can feel a comfortable, cooling sensation and even the pain eases a little.

“This is a really effective ointment, I won’t have to worry when I end up falling again,” Tang Fan jokes, but it’s met with Sui Zhou’s cold glare, and so he shuts up.

“You’re still thinking about a next time?”

“…”

Tang Fan tries to resist, but fails, “The Huai Ye Tao was really delicious, don’t you think?”

He says it in a whining tone, as if he’s been wronged and is suffering. Sui Zhou’s lips cannot help but curve upwards, but fortunately, he manages to turn away and Tang-daren does not see it.

“If you want to have it in the future, tell me,” Tang Fan hears Sui Zhou say after a moment.

Tang Fan beams, “You’re truly a good xiong-di!”

Hearing that he’s a good xiong-di to Tang Fan all because he’s willing to climb a tree and pick leaves has Sui-baihu feeling a little helpless, “Didn’t you want to talk about the Li family?”

Tang-daren goes ‘oh’ twice, remembering the matter at hand and shifting from his gluttonous mode into a serious and proper state.

He goes through his hypothesis from start to end and at the end, says, “Lao Li once told me, he said that Li Man gave up on the Imperial Examination that year and when he first switched to commerce, he suffered a lot because he was inexperienced. He lost all his capital and the Li family was left with a lot of debt. At the brink of despair, they switched to some other business after and the Li family turned their situation around overnight. Lao Li is only a steward and he knew very little, but now that I think about it, perhaps the reason why Li Man could recover is because he obtained assistance from the White Lotus Sect. Both parties began colluding with each other early on, otherwise Li Man had a virtuous wife, a filial son and great wealth, how could he have been tempted to murder his wife and kill his son?”

Sui Zhou nods, “I will report on this matter and continue to chase after the whereabouts of Li Man and Lady Chen. The White Lotus Sect has been getting increasingly bolder with every passing year. The battle at Tu Mu Fortress more than a decade ago revealed the White Lotus Sect’s collusion with the Oirats.”

At the mention of that battle, Tang Fan sighs.

The world shook with the huge event that happened that year and at that time, Tang Fan was not yet born but this did not hinder him from understanding fully what happened. It’s not just him — if the whole world knew about this event, they would sigh just like Tang Fan too.

Because the Emperor did as he pleased and was unknowledgeable, it led to the event that caused more than 10,000 deaths, including talented officials and subjects who were celebrated for their achievements and accolades, and even the Ming dynasty’s three main battalions and their strategists were almost entirely decimated. After that, people would bring up Emperor Ying Zong’s political history repeatedly without mentioning his name directly.

However, Tang Fan thinks that it is too tragic to exchange so many deaths for the growth of a single person. What is done has already been done and no matter how much embellishment and euphemism used, the mistakes he made cannot be covered up. The Emperor was deceived and became the shame of the country. At that time, the Oirats invaded aggressively and the city was left defenceless. If it wasn’t for Yu Qian who stepped forward, rejected all dissenting voices, insisted on not abandoning the capital for another city, and even announced a new Emperor, leading the army to defend the city in a battle, it’s very difficult to say what Jing city and the Ming dynasty would have become.

Tang Fan reminds him, “From the incident at the fortress, we can see how large a scale the White Lotus Sect’s plans are. I’m afraid the issue with Li Man is only the tip of the iceberg.”

The moment the White Lotus Sect is involved, it is no longer something that Tang Fan himself can solve. The Northern Administrative Court has greater experience, and leaving them to investigate is clearly more suitable.

Sui Zhou nods in agreement, then says coldly, “Judging from Li Man’s personality, even without Lady Chen and the sect’s manipulation and temptation, it’s likely he would have still done what he did.”

Clearly, Sui Zhou does not think highly of this man, who dared to kill his wife and destroy his son like that.

“There are no lack of people like Li Man in the world, but because of the White Lotus Sect, they’re given opportunities,” Tang Fan says.

Looking at Sui Zhou’s weary face, he asks again, “Did you come across something complicated again?”

Sui Zhou shakes his head, “It’s just as I told you previously. The disciples of the White Lotus Sect made use of the fictional books to spread rumours and confuse the public, we’re only checking through the books thoroughly and banning the necessary ones from the market in recent days.”

Tang-daren goes ‘ah’ and then smiles eagerly as if trying to get on Sui Zhou’s good side, “Guang Chuan ah, can we discuss, if you see that book titled “The Memoir of the Pear Blossoms”, if there’s no problem after you’ve read it, can you not seize it There’s another one called “The Flying Sword:…”

His volume decreases with every word at the other’s expressionless gaze, and reveals a sheepish, guilty look at the end.

Sui Zhou says, “There are orders from above, as long as it’s fiction, we will seize it all equally. The people who are investigating the books are reading the books briefly and it’s very difficult to see which books exactly are problematic, so they would rather eliminate all the books together than let one escape.”

“Besides,” he pauses and looks at Tang Fan, his cold and stoic demeanour finally morphing into a bit of exasperation, “You’re an official of the court and still you went to write these books under a pseudonym. If you’re found out, your reputation will be ruined.”

Tang Fan chuckles, “How bad can that be? It’s not just me, but there are a lot of people in court who do this. We’re all using our pen names anyway, no one can identify us. Otherwise how is our salary able to support our families? If we don’t want to become corrupt, this is the only other alternative we have. I don’t mind telling you either, that Deputy Minister He from the Department of Justice? That “Sound of the Tides Under the Moon” was written by him, and also someone from my batch who was a literary assistant in Han Lin but has now moved on from there, he too wrote one or two novels for some quick cash. As his style of writing is more open than mine, his content is more vibrant and dynamic and is immensely popular with book publishers. His royalties are even more than mine, and also some people in the Ministry of Rites, after the exams, they will sell the answer scripts from the exams’ highest scoring candidates to the bookstores and earn money from there. There are plenty of scholars who buy those guides for reference and consideration, and those sell much better than novels!”

Sui Zhou listens to the man list out his examples as if he is counting the treasures in his own home, and his expression remains rigid.

He naturally remembers the Deputy Minister that Tang Fan mentioned, and that old man’s reputation for being righteous and stern precedes him, so Sui Zhou finds it very difficult to imagine that Old Man He will write these kinds of fiction in secret. And with the interrogation skills that the Embroidered Uniform Guards employ, they had no idea that this was happening. It looks like they will have to reflect on themselves as well.

He hears Tang Fan sigh again, trying to sound pitiful, “So, you have to look at us civil officials, we look as if we have a lot of power and status on the surface, but in reality, after studying so hard for more than a decade, once you become an official you have to receive and give gifts as well, so it is very difficult for us to proceed without money. Higher ranking officials host banquets, if you don’t turn up with a gift you will have offended the host, and it’ll be difficult for you to live in the future. If you want to give a gift but don’t have the money, one will end up stealing from the citizens, resulting in their suffering, but we can’t blame them entirely. I’m not speaking up for them, I’m just saying that there aren’t that many who are as intelligent and smart as I am, able to write novels and be paid royalties…”

“I have a salary,” Sui Zhou says.

Tang Fan continues, “Don’t you think, Guang Chuan…. huh? What did you just say?”

“I have a salary, so you don’t have to worry.”

Embroidered Uniform Guards are different from civil officials, their salaries comprise the monthly base salary and also allowances.

Their monthly salary is the same as officials, but the added allowances are to compensate them for out-of-city obligations or tasks. Those from the Northern Administrative Court often need to head out for investigations, and not only do they get abundant travel fees, when they get to their destination, they will receive plenty of courtesy gifts and some ‘gray’ earnings. Moreover, the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ original duty was to escort the Emperor when he travelled, which means they have to look fresh and respectable. The guards are also a bunch of fierce-looking, harbingers of calamity, so anyone who sees them are afraid. This is the reason why even when the courts have to tighten their spending, even when the Ministry of Revenue is temporarily unable to mete out money and provisions, they would never dare to decrease the guards’ salaries and food.

Everyone knows that it is better to pick a soft persimmon to pinch at, after all.

Tang Fan stays alone and it’s not as if they are responsible for the livelihoods of a whole household. Even with an added Ah Dong, the expenditure will not increase by much, but Tang Fan is a glutton for delicious food, so he runs outside often and ends up with little savings at the end.

On the other hand, Sui Zhou is the epitome of a person who lives simply and is thrifty. He lives alone but doesn’t indulge in any vices, and doesn’t have an extraordinary passion for good food. Everyday, aside from being at court, he is at home. His life is so simple that it’s comparable to that of a practicing monk’s. After the necessary gifts are given to his family and higher-ranking officials during the New Year as is expected of him, there is still plenty of excess after the year. Tang-daren pales in comparison.

Upon his words, Tang Fan is stunned for a moment before he begins to laugh manically. He ends up having to support himself with a hand on Sui Zhou’s shoulder, and simultaneously rubbing at his stomach, “Aiyo, hey, then we siblings will have to depend on Sui-baihu in the future. When I truly finish spending my salary, you must supplement me with more!”

“Hnn,” Sui Zhou agrees.

Tang Fan still cannot help but want to laugh, and yet he is also a little moved. He knows that not just anyone will be able to make Sui Zhou say what he just said.

“Guang Chuan, to be honest, I didn’t have much of an impression about the Embroidered Uniform Guards, but after I knew you better, that’s when I knew that among the guards, I would have a friend like you, a real good man who’s just like my soulmate!”

A bit of warmth surfaces in Sui Zhou’s cold, even eyes, even though he still simply hums in response as he typically does.

“In a couple of days, it’s my grandmother’s birthday, are you willing to go with me?” he asks.

Zhou is his grandmother’s surname, and her identity is unusual. She is the present Empress Dowager Zhou’s older sister.

Lady Zhou came from a common background and the Ming dynasty has rules for women in the harem to be chosen from the public’s good families and not from high-ranking officials. This is to prevent the harem from colluding with their relatives to intervene in politics. Lady Zhou was just like many other women in the harem but ended up with the title of Royal Consort before finally becoming the Empress Dowager as the Emperor’s mother. The Zhou family naturally rose with her growth, prospering. Aside from Empress Dowager Zhou’s father receiving a title, her siblings also received titles. Due to Lady Zhou, Sui Zhou’s grandfather was also given the title of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Commander is the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ highest title, but it is not just one person who holds the Commander title. For example, Royal Consort Wan’s younger brother Wan Tong is also Commander as well, but he holds real power and authority in this case. There is another Commander called Yuan Bin, who once saved the late Emperor’s life and so has a lot of influence within the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Similarly, he holds power and authority as well.

Aside from these two people, there are plenty of Commanders in the guards, but most of them were given the title in name only by the Emperor. With just the name, these individuals take the money without lifting a finger, and naturally do not have any real power.

These external relatives given titles are part of the nouveau rich and cannot be compared to people like Marquis Wu An Hou who was given his title after having earned it in battle. It’s a nice thing to hear, but they don’t actually have any power. All they do is collect money and provisions each year.

Thanks to Empress Dowager Zhou, within the Sui family, Sui Zhou’s father and brother were also given roles in the Embroidered Uniform Guards, the kind of roles where they only need to collect money without having to work. This caught a lot of attention from others because they aren’t even Empress Dowager Zhou’s direct relatives and are not from the Zhou family, which means there’s an additional layer between her and the Sui family. After Sui Zhou entered the guards, he could only start as a xiaoqi and get slowly promoted from there.

Since they do not have any authority and the family is considered an external relative, most civil officials are unwilling to interact with the Sui family. This is firstly to avoid wagging tongues and secondly, no official is willing to lower their status like that.

After Tang Fan hears him say that, without even thinking about it, he says, “Since we’re brothers, your grandmother is naturally my grandmother. In two days just remind me, we will go together.”

Sui Zhou’s heart warms, and he hums in assent.

***

Two days later, on Madam Zhou’s birthday, Tang Fan brings along Ah Dong and follows Sui Zhou back to the Sui house to celebrate his grandmother’s birthday. Madam Zhou only has one son and daughter, and her daughter is Sui Zhou’s mother.

After Madam Sui married Sui Zhou’s father, they had three children with Sui Zhou in the middle. Above him there is his older brother Sui An and the youngest is Sui Bi.

Despite being Empress Dowager Zhou’s relatives, the Sui family is a common, normal family, and unlike the Wu An Hou manor and the Li family, they do not have the practice of having three wives and four concubines. Sui Zhou’s father only has one wife, Sui Zhou’s mother, and Sui Zhou’s paternal grandparents are no longer in this world.

Madam Zhou’s son is a small official out of the city and only her daughter remains in Jing city. The siblings planned and in order not to let their mother go through the exhausting journey by carriage out of the city to enjoy the last of her years, they decided to leave Madam Zhou in the city. The Sui family then bought the house next to the old lady’s and moved over to become her neighbours. In this case, they would be able to take care of her but prevent others from gossiping about them.

After listening to the explanation of the Sui family tree, Tang Fan finds it a little strange, “If that’s the case, it seems that your numbers are simple, so why did you move out on your own?”

Sui Zhou says idly, “My brother was given the title of baihu, but it is merely an empty title. He couldn’t get used to the duties in the Embroidered Uniform Guards and wanted to excel by studying, but until now he has not managed to pass the qualifying exams. While I began in a position lower than his, today I can be considered as an official as well. My sister-in-law doesn’t like me and rather than having to deal with endless arguments at home, I might as well move out for some peace and quiet.”

Tang Fan understands immediately. Every family has its own troubles.

Sui An is the eldest and is expected to take over the family in the future, so his parents definitely are more biased towards him and have higher expectations of him. Judging from Sui Zhou’s character, he definitely couldn’t be bothered with these matters at home and so decided simply to move out to avoid conflict, lest the brothers fight.

Madam Zhou’s son and his family is unable to return from outside the city to celebrate her birthday, so the event is naturally organized by her daughter instead. Considering Madam Zhou and Empress Dowager Zhou’s relationship, the Sui family would not dare to celebrate her birthday simply, but Madam Zhou did not wish to host a grand celebration. She said that she was born into a simple, common family and can enjoy riches today only because of the Empress Dowager. Thus, she should cherish the fortune she has. Instead of hosting a party and making a fuss, wasting money and inviting a bunch of people she doesn’t know to celebrate with her, she would rather gather all her grandchildren and have a good meal together.

The birthday celebration is being held in the Zhou family house. Sui Zhou and his family on need to move next door to celebrate for Madam Zhou, which is convenient.

When Tang Fan arrives at the Zhou house, that’s when he realizes that other than he and Ah Dong, everyone else is from the Sui family.

Madam Zhou has passed sixty, has a full head of white hair and looks both kind and warm. The moment she sees Sui Zhou, her eyes fold into happy lines as she smiles and she reaches out for him, pulling him over, “My good grandson is here to see me, hurry, come here, come here!”

Even if Sui Zhou’s face is habitually stoic, the moment he sees Madam Zhou, his expression softens. He greets Madam Zhou and wishes her a happy birthday before giving her his present.

With respect, he calls, “Grandmother.”

“Good, good, good!” Madam Zhou says ‘good’ three times consecutively, and then seeing Tang Fan and Ah Dong standing next to Sui Zhou, she smiles, “Ah Zhou, are these your friends?”

Before Sui Zhou can answer, someone on the side comments, “Er-di, it’s a family banquet today. Madam said not to bring outsiders, so why did you still bring strangers here? There are female members of the family here today and it’s not as if they are close to our family, this was too inconsiderate of you!”

The person who spoke is Sui Zhou’s sister-in-law, his brother’s wife, Lady Jiao.

Sui Zhou and his married older brother cannot see eye to eye and their relationship can be attributed to the disagreement Sui Zhou has with his sister-in-law. Sui Zhou is still single, but Lady Jiao doesn’t like him and keeps driving a wedge between Sui Zhou and Sui An. After a while, the brothers’ relationship would be affected as well.

Moreover, Sui Zhou grew up under the care of Madam Zhou as his parents doted on their eldest son, but Madam Zhou doted instead on Sui Zhou. The Embroidered Uniform Guards is a popular place to work at. Sui Zhou is the second son and doesn’t have the surname Zhou, so originally he had no chance of obtaining any titles, but Madam Zhou spoke up for him before Empress Dowager Zhou and Sui Zhou shifted from having only an empty title to an actual post. It’s no wonder that Lady Jiao is green with envy at the differential treatment.

However, she forgot that Sui Zhou is not a person to be easily bullied.

The moment she finishes speaking, Sui Zhou responds, “From today onwards, they’re close friends of the family then.”

===

Notes:

*馋货 chan huo

A glutton who is craving for something specific to eat.

*柿子要捡软的捏 shi zi yao jian ruan de nie

Soft persimmons are sweet and delicious, this is a metaphor for how people are likely to succeed with bullying the weak (soft persimmon) and are scared of rock-hard persimmons. In this case, this metaphor is used to show that people are scared of the Embroidered Uniform Guards when they’re fierce, but being nice to them and turning them into soft-er persimmons will make things easier for people.

*灰色收入 hui se shou ru

Literally translated as gray earnings i.e. money someone makes from moonlighting.

*通家之好 tong jia zhi hao

To show that two families have a good and meaningful relationship between them, as if they were from one big family. Being a 通家 (tong jia) I think is like an official, big thing? Not something to be taken lightly, so when Sui Zhou declares Tang Fan and Ah Dong to be a 通家 (tong jia), he confers some sort of status on them.

*兄弟 xiong di

Meaning brother. This can be meant for like bros - brothers or actual biological brothers. You can also use both characters separately, with xiong used for a male your age or older, and di for someone younger. Tang Fan calls Sui Zhou Guang Chuan-xiong quite frequently.

*百户 bai hu

There are four ranks within the Embroidered Uniform Guards - 千户 (qian hu)、百户 (bai hu)、总旗 (zong qi)、小旗 (xiao qi) arranged highest to smallest rank, aside from the Commander 统领官 (zong ling guan).

#tsomd #the sleuth of ming dynasty #tsomd novel #成化十四年 #fanzhou #tang fan #sui zhou #I LOVED THIS CHAPTER!!!#sui zhou so gently treating his wound for him #offering him all his money

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fierykamuy · 4 years

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Ravages of Time - Volume 22

to lengthen the session I plan to feature 8 pics per chapter, for a grand total of 64 pics, with discussions along the way

we begin with a recap of the premise for the events to come

Liu Bei accepts an imperial edict (which Cao Cao arranged to have the emperor promulgate) to attack Yuan Shu, who in turn seeks to collaborate with Lu Bu to take Liu Bei out of the picture (since as a Han loyalist he would be a nuisance to Yuan Shu's Zhongjia regime)

of course at this point Yuan Shu has been weakened somewhat due to Sun Ce's scheme as well as Liu Ye's betrayal, and thus he cannot afford to have Liu Bei ruin things further

175 also brings up one of the recurring topics in Ravages, namely the unreliability of historical accounts (particularly the 'official records')

to be clear, it's not as if Ravages is saying that since the records are biased we shouldn't learn from the records we receive and uncover (or worse, using the premise of unreliable records as an excuse to justify supporting one's favorite 'vilified' factions in the past)

rather, because the records are biased we have to learn carefully (and acknowledge that records are not just representations but they are also tools)

the paradoxical position of Ravages after all is that it uses its sources to criticize them (and without the sources and the stories of scheming, what would there be to criticize about)

its just like what Pang Tong was saying about cults. they may be false, but you can guide people with them

back to Zhang Fei, his response isn't just an instance of disparaging official historians (with the emphasis on 'official', since the dynasties of the central plains actually hire such positions to come up with sanctioned narratives about the past) but there's also a self-reflective aspect to it

how would one act not only with the thought of how one will be remembered, but also anticipating that one's actions will be misunderstood and misinterpreted as part of schemes to come

it's almost as if he's daring future generations to look at him how they (or we) would, so long as he gets his job done

and we're also reminded that Chen Deng's privileged position in Xuzhou is partly due to how he bankrolls the security and military apparatuses in the province (that's why he outright flaunts about not having to pay the usual taxes, since he pays in other ways)

an instance of corruption to be sure, but he's still playing his part in the province (while seeking to benefit from the dysfunctional arrangement at the same time)

on a side note, Ravages doesn't really do well in showcasing the official functions of the various positions in the Han government (but then again, with Han undergoing a slow collapse, this hardly matters)

Ravages can't even be bothered to display an imperial court scene with the proper protocol

and it seems Liaoyuan Huo hanging around with Chen Deng had another purpose (after all, if he was trying to search for Xiao Meng's whereabouts, why would he suddenly wind up in Liu Bei's turf)

now back to the scheming, we see the 16 moves begin to take form with plans and revelations such as this

to recap, the premise is that Lu Bu and Yuan Shu are colluding to drive Liu Bei out of Xuzhou (while Cao Cao arranges for the mess in Xuzhou behind the scenes so that he can proceed with his own move elsewhere)... but since Zhang Fei is aware of that (or rather, suspects that something like that is going on), he's making plans of his own, and here it involves luring Lu Bu into making a premature attack (this is where the deliberate rumors about Zhang Fei's drunken recklessness come in)

we also see plans being made on the part of Yuan Shu's forces

basically, given that there's an imperial edict to attack Yuan Shu, the plan is to lure Liu Bei into expending resources and troops in a protracted campaign, while Lu Bu takes advantage of the situation and seizes control of Xuzhou, forcing Liu Bei to withdraw to some backwater area... and even then, the Zhongjia troops are not content to simply play the role of a decoy and have Lu Bu take all the glory, so they too prepare a trap for Liu Bei on their front (though we don't really see much of this unfold on-panel, since the focus is more on dealing with Lu Bu)

Ji Ling and Zhang Liao also speculate that Cao Cao's imperial edict plan isn't simply to undermine Yuan Shu, but it's also meant to keep Liu Bei down while he's still weak

the chapter is also a reminder that Ravages stresses the importance of meticulous preparations for campaigns of mass conflict

I daresay Ravages is willing to cut battle scenes short in favor of preparation scenes (and yes, this includes preparations for future struggles even in the midst of battle)

before ending, the chapter also features Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong watching on the sidelines (and I find it a bit puzzling why Zhuge Liang is wearing his hat here again only to lose it again off-panel come 180)

we get hints (based on Pang Tong's insinuations) that Zhuge Liang doesn't like Zhou Yu that much (probably due to ideological disagreements rather than personal grudges)

and there's also an indirect allusion to the in-joke about how Sima Yi and Zhou Yu are similar in Ravages

I suppose the disagreement is that Zhou Yu doesn't seem to prioritize Han at all (it's one thing to serve Sun Ce with the intent of keeping him in check, like what Xun Yu plans to do with Cao Cao, and it's another thing to just empower another hegemon from another clan at the expense of Han)

though from 159 we see that Zhuge Liang isn't just a Han loyalist for the sake of elevating the imperial clan (Xun Yu's brand of loyalism is more committed to the actual institutions of Han)

rather, he sees the ideal of loyalty as a way to diminish bloodshed

to put it in another way, a typical model Han loyalist would be a social-conservative who wishes to preserve what has been inherited, with changes admitted on a gradual basis while protecting the authority of current institutions

Zhuge Liang's way seems more to be about using the virtue and ideal of loyalty (which so happens to be directed at Han, though it could really be directed at anyone else) as a way to govern people and keep the peace (thus his suspicion about calls for regime change is not because he thinks Han is always good, but that those who seek change may have other ulterior motives in mind)

thus I've mentioned before that of the 8, Zhuge Liang may be the most ideologically abstract and committed (and thus the events in 180 would agonize him so much)

176 may cover the duels of a particular battle in Liu Bei's campaign against Yuan Shu, but the narrative and textual details here cover more than just the battle

take for instance the floating text for the chapter, we can note that the Ravages 'narrative voices' do more than just recount the story or hype certain characters (since they also take on meditative and reflective tones)

whereas the narrator in, say, something like Kingdom behaves more like a storyteller (or for example, how the narrator in LOGH is akin to a presenter of a documentary), the voices in Ravages are more like commentators performing the processes of introspection that the composer may have done and the readers are expected to do

there's also a meta-fictive element in the chapter, as the floating voices don't just comment on what's going on, but also seem to comment on both the gimmicks of warfare as well as the conventions and tropes of texts about warfare (and since participants of war also make and hear tales of warfare, the conventions also bleed into the subjectivities of those who fight 'real wars' we see this when soldiers, cops, and activists gamify their feats)

this brings us to the dual character of military campaigns involving armed people... on the one hand, there are the considerations of the balance of forces (and how to take advantage of asymmetries to deal decisive blows), and on the other hand, there are the considerations of morale (and how to manage it with gimmicks such as rumors and duels)

this also provides a good excuse for texts (Ravages included) to feature duel scenes, haha

read the comment and think back at how fight scenes in many texts involve the contenders trying to justify themselves (either in monologue form, or while openly arguing)

also note how various factions make use of propaganda to present their side in a better light while vilifying opponents

Ji Ling of course isn't just content to make his point, he invokes the sages to make his case look wiser (just as Guan Yu dismisses arguments for regime change by noting the inscrutability of the heavenly will)

this brings me to another point, that not only can we learn from the insights of various thinkers, we can even weaponize those insights (and many regimes and societies have done just that for instance how the Han appealed to Confucius while refining 'legalist' mechanisms to form a Confucian-Legalist political order)

(on that note it can be said that perhaps in certain instances Ravages twists the citations in ways that scholarly researchers would frown upon, but just as with historical texts the words of the philosophers are also tools in the power struggle)

this tidbit highlights the performative and spectacular aspects of war (and war stories)

we can acknowledge that when described in terms of the processes of mass slaughter, war is at its core a boring and bloody affair... but what provides the spice in the mix are the stories embedded into the event by the agents with their different passions and interests (and to enhance the drama, what else would the architects of the power struggle do but set up a good show)

thus those in command come up with ways to manage morale and hype up the troops, with the help of stunt actors who relish in the performance (because in the first place, they too have internalized the narratives of hype and glory attached to war)

similarly, skilled storytellers manipulate their audiences into getting invested in certain angles

this isn't to say there are no interests and goals and principles at stake and that it's all just for the drama, but at some point things get storified to motivate masses of people into following through

incidentally, the chapter provides another way of looking at historical records with a critical lens

whereas the 'straightforward' indictment accuses historical records of various sorts of biases and slants, the 'indirect' meta-fictive insinuation notes at how narrative conventions and textual devices are already baked into the historical records

on a lighter note, it would be nice to have memes involving Xun Zheng and Yu Gi Oh (since he's called the king of duel, haha)

he gonna activate his trap card and banish challengers to the shadow realm

too bad Guan Yu has a reverse trap card

now back to the zone of the duel itself (since for the most part in the re-read I've been highlighting the thematic elements and the social commentary) Ravages reminds readers that its approach to fighting does not shy away from underhanded tricks (for instance, Xun Zheng's style involves taking out the horse before the rider, whereas Guan Yu's style uses the horse mainly as a jumping pad while tricking opponents into underestimating him)

neither are interested in drawn-out jousts on horseback

I didn't feature the pic where Liu Bei and Guan Yu talk about how one rises to fame by stepping on others, but it's important to bring it up (especially considering that in war conquerors tend to hype up their feats by assimilating those of the vanquished and this tendency gets passed down to when we engage in power level discussions and matchups)

the floating text began its remarks on battle conventions by pointing to the speeches on morality, and it wraps up with the use of embellishments and tall tales to celebrate the glory of the winner of a given round

of course, duels on their own do not determine the outcome of a battle much less a campaign (and in Ravages the iconic duels between the big names hardly change the course of the battle, though they make for interesting dramatic subplots and moments of spectacle)

and yet in certain instances, duels and their results (and the rumors that are generated in the process) can be used as tools to manage morale or buy time before the big attack, as is the case in this chapter

thus at the end of the day it is still the soldiers who fight and win wars, albeit under the direction of the schemers and with the aid of spectacles and stunt actors

now we enter 177, the chapter that so impressed me when I first read about it in tv tropes, so much so that it led me down this path (and elevated my expectations for stories about warfare and statecraft in the process)

the chapter begins with a summary of what has been going on in Liu Bei's front (and basically 176 is just a small part of the engagement)

recall that in 175 Zhang Liao and Ji Ling agreed on a broad strategic plan, that is to attack Liu Bei from the back (presumably this means not just Lu Bu's backstab, but also Ji Ling luring Liu Bei to advance so far that a reserve troop can be used to cut off Liu Bei's route back to Xuzhou)

basically at this point, even as Liu Bei brought the bulk of the troops in the campaign, Zhang Fei and Lu Bu are drafting troops and minions with the help of funds from merchants (Xu Dan on Lu Bu's side, Chen Deng on Zhang Fei's side)

on a side note, historical records usually label them as 'outlaws' as if they were just a motley gang (just like how state apparatuses disparagingly call various insurgent organizations as rebels and bandits), but many such forces are more like minor warlord factions that happen to be based in the outskirts

at any rate, the plan to take over Xuzhou involves these 'outlaws' who presumably have a grudge on Liu Bei (though of course there's a twist to all this)

thus far

Lu Bu wants to take over Xuzhou (with the help of outlaws)

Zhang Fei wants to lure Lu Bu into a trap at the provincial seat of Xuzhou (by pretending to be reckless)

Lu Bu plans to arrive at the city under the pretext of helping fight the outlaws on their way

Zhang Fei plans a banquet to gather pro-Lu partisans into the main city

incidentally, the 'cheng xia yi ju' motif is in play in the volume, insofar as the sides are trying to gather under the walls (in different ways)

what's fascinating about the chapter is that it painstakingly notes the various factors being considered and mobilized for what is a rather minor showdown

the calendar is weaponized (Zhang Fei setting the date for the banquet, Cao Bao's lackeys getting a convenient troop rotation schedule)

urban layouts are weaponized (Zhang Fei noting how the alleys can be used to ambush Lu Bu's troops, Cao Bao planning to set fire to a particular quarter as a decoy, Chen Gong buying up houses as outposts)

rumors are weaponized (stories of Zhang Fei's recklessness becoming a hot topic as reported by Chen Gong's spies, mainly to gather more outlaws to the fray)

finances are weaponized (Chen Deng planning to bribe the outlaws to outbid Xu Dan, not to mention the extra spending to ensure Zhang Fei's ambush troop becomes more mobile)

as the factions keep planning, the scenario becomes more and more complex

remember that the basic premise is that Lu Bu wants to capture the provincial seat and thereby control Xuzhou, while Zhang Fei wants to lure Lu Bu into a trap

for the sake of that both camps have gone as far as spreading exaggerated rumors, sending spies, rigging security schedules, laying an ambush in alleyways, preparing to set an area on fire as a decoy, anticipating the fire attack and repurposing it as a signal, etc.

and this is just the preparatory stage, like rehearsing the parlor games for the party, haha

essentially though, the plan hinges on which side the outlaws will take

supposing the outlaws join Zhang Fei, Lu Bu can be trapped in the city with little room for escape

supposing the outlaws join Lu Bu, Zhang Fei can be squeezed with Lu Bu holding the city center (if he gets there) and the outlaws positioned outside the city gates

and then there's this page

it's almost as if Ravages is talking about not so much the struggles and intrigues of the last days of Han, but the convoluted arrangements and contests of the 20th and 21st centuries

basically an indication that Ravages isn't just some story about warfare and statecraft, but also a commentary on warfare and statecraft (and a commentary on stories about warfare and statecraft), in narrative form

and this makes Ravages far more sophisticated than many other tales dealing with similar topics, as exemplified in the

though I really wish there were more texts to rival Ravages in this respect

ultimately it's these complex aspects (rather than the usual moments) that drew me to the series in the first place (and in this regard I may be part of a super-minority) and while it doesn't represent a scholarly innovation (though I argue that Ravages can be a site for further research) it nonetheless raises the bar with regard to what stories can do (and how they can stimulate further thinking)

to briefly review the situation

Lu Bu (who is colluding with Yuan Shu) plans to take over Xuzhou by first taking the administrative seat (with the help of outlaws) while Liu Bei is away fighting Yuan Shu's forces (as a result of an imperial edict arranged by Cao Cao)

Zhang Fei (who wants to pre-emptively get rid of a potential threat) plans to lure Lu Bu and his associates into a trap by organizing a banquet (and spreading disinfo about his recklessness)

Cao Bao's henchmen are in charge of the security detail on the day of the banquet as well as preceding days

Chen Deng pours in financial resources to help Zhang Fei entrap Lu Bu

(a reminder that both Chen Deng and Cao Bao are influential in the province, having served Tao Qian previously)

the gimmick is that Lu Bu comes to the city under the pretext of sending aid when in fact he's planning to seize the city center before the outlaws arrive

Zhang Fei for his part arranges for only the south and east gates to be open on the day of the banquet, since the streets in those quarters are narrower and good for an ambush

Cao Bao, given his influence within the city, plans to set a fire on a certain spot in a bid to distract the hidden ambush troop

Chen Deng is persuaded to spend even more resources to increase the mobility of the ambush troop, with the anticipated fire to be seen as a signal to commence the operation

as a side plan, it seems the troops supposed to supply Liu Bei are also given secret orders to attack Lu Bu's base in Xiaopei on their way back

on the day of the party, both sides exercise extra caution, mutually anticipating one another's plans

Cao Bao may have brought several guests and escorts with him, but the number of collaborators is too many to list (with some acting as scouts on the lookout for suspicious movements throughout the city)

in turn, the ambush troops try to keep themselves hidden so as not to attract the attention of the security forces under Cao Bao

as anticipated, while Lu Bu is also on his way, Zhang Liao proceeds to enter first to lead the vanguard (and is let in with the help of insiders at the gates)

we've already been told that the ambush is set in the east and south quarters due to the narrow streets there, so the closure of the north and west gates is less about keeping spies out (Cao Bao's collaborators are already present in the city) and more about forcing Lu Bu to go through the narrow streets

of course, throughout the party, Zhang Fei is still keeping up appearances of being a carefree drunkard, to make Cao Bao lower his guard and strike prematurely

an amusing part of the chapter concerns the code words and phrases being used to convey information (basically a pretext for Chen Mou to engage in minor word play, haha)

incidentally, many stories of stratagems and intrigue in the central plains have involved puns and innuendos and veiled insinuations, so this is in keeping with the tradition

additionally, the reference to Zhurong is a deliberate one, a hint that a fire attack is about to begin anytime soon

in another note, while it's nice to see Ravages incorporate tidbits of folklore here and there (ranging from Tengri to Chisongzi and Chiyou), aside from the Taiping sects we don't see religious movements and practices being explored in much detail throughout the series... hopefully this lacuna is addressed in future developments

the security scheme even involves the commoners as part of an effort to feign a sense of panic and manufacture controlled chaos (basically a 'bavarian fire drill' in the language of conspiracies, haha)

I just want to say that in terms of banquet intrigues, Ravages really raised the bar with this one

other twists and turns and traps at feasts and parties simply pale in comparison to the '16 moves'

too bad this minion has been named in deluxe volume 11 as Lu Chang, but I like how he and Cao Bao have complementary outfits

and so with a nicely drawn fish dish as a signal (not to mention Zhang Fei offering to show guests how he fetches items), the real party is about to begin

there is a particular policy objective (which will be revealed more clearly in the chapters ahead) there is the broad strategic plan (that is to say, the overall struggle for the city and by extension the province)

there are the operational details (basically the preparation and implementation of the 16 moves)

I stress operations rather than tactics since Ravages seldom gets into the granular aspects of specific maneuvers

the nice thing about 179 (for purposes of re-reading) is that it's relatively fast-paced, with the players beginning to take action

basically the initial battle plan of Lu Bu's main invasion force involves splitting into 3 groups (the first to handle Zhang Fei's troop, the second to secure the gate, the third to head to the city center following Zhang Liao's vanguard)

to be fair, throughout this charade, Zhang Fei made sure to keep the commoners safe using appropriate evacuation protocols (and arguably, Lu Bu's battle plan doesn't involve causing that much mayhem and disturbance, but only inflicting enough to distract Zhang Fei and secure the city)

also, another interesting feature of Ravages is that it includes occasional snippets of commoners commenting on the situation

in many cases they are shown to be perceptive (and at times rather cynical too)

they may not control that much leverage in the power struggle, but they are not completely disempowered as they are still able to make some sense of what's going on and articulate what they have in mind

posting this just to showcase an instance of Ravages camera tricks (it just so happens that there are too many flat closeup panels by comparison)

the struggle for the city also involves its own iteration of the besiegers getting besieged, haha

also, the last Lu Bu body double to be killed on-panel

considering that 177 and 178 are 2 days apart, my speculation is that Lu Bu could have snuck in using a supply wagon perhaps on the middle day or earlier in the day of the party (knowing that Cao Bao's henchmen handled the security detail)

And I daresay common ground of Fei and Liao to allow Lu Bu snuck in was hinted beforehand.

Just like how Liao agreed to free Meng, because it would negatively affect Lu Bu

For the 180th chapter analysis, check this link - https://www.reddit.com/r/RavagesOfTime/comments/fbssrf/chapter_180_analysis/

essentially 181 is where the party is about to wind down, but not without revealing some surprises along the way

the nice thing about action scenes is that (unless one wishes to discuss the nuances and niceties in the choreography and the paneling) one can go through them fairly quickly

one thing to note is that while the narrow quarters restrict Zhang Liao's effective range (and moreover can presumably lead to situations where a miscalculated swing can lead to the blade getting stuck or someone's grip on the weapon messing up), the narrow quarters also restrict opportunities for evasion

another nice touch about Ravages is that it depicts weapons and armor as being fragile

even though Zhang Liao had the upper hand in that round when it comes to melee weapons, Liaoyuan Huo has some surprises in store (too bad we don't really get to see this segment on-panel)

Ravages also likes to add subtle hints winking and nudging about the next steps and the upcoming revelations

in this case, Liaoyuan Huo insinuates that Zhang Liao and Zhang Fei may have secretly agreed upon something

I mentioned previously how the schemes of Lu Bu and Zhang Fei hinge on which side the outlaws would take, and it's amusing that these outlaws (other than Cao Cao) turned out to be the biggest beneficiaries during this incident

this is the equivalent to the same set of hired guns playing with and profiting from two rival groups that seek to outbid one another in securing the mercenary services

and then Zhang Fei makes his big reveal, that it turns out the strategic goal all along was to abandon Xuzhou (since given Liu Bei's reputation as a heroic loyalist, certain warlords elsewhere would like to welcome him, not to mention this further tarnishes Lu Bu's reputation)

yet one has to wonder way they did not purged those outlaws

I think the outlaws were militarily powerful (they could be the same group as the Mount Tai bandits who show up on-panel in 231, defecting to Lu Bu's side after Xun Yu's abduction), and neither Lu Bu nor Liu Bei would want to waste effort suppressing them completely

now not to be outdone, Lu Bu unveils his own twist, the so-called sixteenth move (which involves Chen Gong taking a troop with him to a low-key city in Xuzhou, where Chen Gui is harboring and protecting Liu Bei's wives)

deluxe volume 11 also gives the full name of Wu as Wu Hui

more importantly, the two sides were careful not just to minimize their own casualties, but also to minimize the adverse impact on the commoners (and that is why it often takes a complex method to do something simple, since one has to consider many factors)

there's also a side discussion touching upon how the uninvolved can see through the charade

this is not to say that outsiders are familiar with all the details the insiders have to deal with, but outsiders can surmise the wider picture (or at least the broad outlines of it) and ask the bigger questions since they are not as caught up in the moment, wrapped in the fog of war

an alternate translation of the quote from the Analects goes:

"If the Way is being realized in the world then show yourself; if it is not, then go into reclusion"

this can either refer to Pang Tong taking his step, or perhaps Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei lying low

the 'five hegemons' may also be an indirect reference to the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period

and then there's the foreshadowing of a realm split into three, roughly along geographical lines

there's a minor design error in the painting though as shown in the chapter title page, since Sima Hui and Pang Tong speak of the 5 mountains arranged as a northern one, a southeastern one, and three in the south (and southwest) lumped together, but instead the painting shows two northern mountains and three southern ones... still, the painting looks nice nonetheless

essentially the prediction is about a tripartite balance whereby one faction holds the areas north of the yellow river, another holds the eastern areas by the long river, and the third holds the south-central heartland plus the southwestern mountains (for the most part the 3 kingdoms after Han adopt a similar arrangement with the notable exception being that Wu rather than Shu gets to hold the south-central area instead due to the intrigues involving Guan Yu's downfall though story-wise the prediction does not state for instance who will control the northwest)

now even without Lu Bu's sneaky move, we must consider that Yuan Shu has more resources than Liu Bei, and so had the campaign dragged out Liu Bei would be at a disadvantage despite having the talents of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei

of course it's revealed a few pages later that this incident of Guan Yu threatening to execute Zhang Fei (low-key playing with Liu Bei's sentiments about the brotherhood) was all for show - to nudge Liu Bei a little more towards the breaking point into the dark side

now, we're not shown how the Zhongjia troops were able to defeat the Han loyalist troops (since last time we saw, Liu Bei was able to secure at least one stronghold)

however, I could speculate the following scenario: with Lu Bu's sudden takeover of Xuzhou, Zhang Fei was forced to withdraw (while certain other troops simply surrendered to Lu Bu), which means the frontlines could no longer count on supply deliveries or fresh reinforcements... and since Yuan Shu presumably has more troops in reserve (not to mention the agreed-upon plan between Ji Ling and Zhang Liao in 175 to strike Liu Bei from behind), perhaps the surprise attack was timed just when Lu Bu was able to drive Zhang Fei out

this means at the very least that Yuan Shu's troops are not total pushovers when they have the advantage, haha

in another note, we could see that Liu Bei deeply feels bad about the people who lost their lives (and doubly so since his efforts ended in failure, not to mention he lost his territorial foothold, and his wives are hostages)

and thus begins Liu Bei's journey to the dark side (eventually as he gets darker he discards his dark cape and sticks to a light-colored robe green if we are to believe the game pics)

let us recall

Liu Bei in the early chapters was willing to be misunderstood and engage in some underhanded schemes, but his red line was that he refused to take advantage of others for his own gain (Guan Yu nudged him a bit by convincing him to play the part of a hero, Zhang Fei outright hijacked his plans to remain a straw sandal bandit by drugging him)

then Liu Bei slowly accepted that in troubled and messy times, some form of self-serving behavior is unavoidable, but nevertheless he remained steadfast in upholding loyalty to Han and treating a guest well (Zhang Fei's next plan was to further cultivate Liu Bei's ruthless side while also enhancing his reputation as an underdog, 2 birds in 1 stone)

eventually after almost being killed by Lu Bu's second backstab Liu Bei becomes more self-interested and becomes more protective about his reputation, coming to see it as an asset and a weapon in the power struggle (arguably in the late game he remains sincere and sentimental, but less about Han and more about those he deems his bros and pals)

on Guan Yu, while it may seem that Ravages didn't renovate his image as much (Chen Mou even admitted that his sacred image is too influential to be tweaked that much), but one can note that perhaps in Ravages Guan Yu isn't that awesome of a paragon for virtue (Zhang Fei even hints at that in a monologue in 102), but neither is he a fraud who only pretends to be virtuous... rather, it would seem that (like many people) he's simply trying hard to uphold the examples of the sages and would like to maintain a similar reputation (the further nuance explored in later chapters seems to be that he doesn't simply maintain the reputation of being virtuous, but also virtuously tries to perform the persona that the virtuous do not care about being praised for appearing virtuous)

I should note though that his beard his shorter than the usual depictions, haha

here Pang Tong basically recaps Zhang Fei's strategic goals (and while he doesn't know Zhang Fei's other goal about fetching a 'Liu Bang' and remolding Liu Bei further he speculates that the departure would give Liu Bei the opportunity to swallow up the domains of Liu Biao and Liu Zhang)

incidentally, in the Romance it is Pang Tong who manages to conveniently convince Liu Bei to take an ambitious step and seize control of Yizhou from Liu Zhang, so it's amusing to see a nod to that early on (even though Pang Tong is also misleading Sima Hui into thinking he's backing Liu Bei, when in fact he's paving the way for Liu Chong)

Pang Tong's iconic line for this chapter may perhaps indicate that of the 8, he's the one who relishes in intrigues and power struggles the most (even though he's a Han loyalist of sorts)

also, the description given to him was mis-translated... Pang Tong is pragmatic [實用] rather than utilitarian [功利] (Guo Jia's views may be closer to a broadly consequentialist approach to morality)

ironically he joins Liu Bei's side later on

for those familiar with the period it's a foregone thing (though Ravages messes with that expectation by having him help Liu Chong first)

if only Liu Chong had stronger bodyguards

other than the report that the hostage scheme allowed for a relatively bloodless takeover, what is interesting about this page is what it hints at: Lu Bu wanted to capture someone valuable

I think the reference is to Liaoyuan Huo

the discussion about old wounds and new wounds also suggests that regardless of Lu Bu's reputation, he's still fragile (and he's weakening bit by bit)

but the struggle is all the more magnificent for that

and for someone who schemed and betrayed his way to power to decline and fall by way of scheming and betrayal... similarly terrifying

and then of course there's this twist, which explains why Sima Yi was shown in the last part of 175

for those outlaws to receive three sets of bribes, materially speaking they're the biggest winners in the engagement (though since they're also part of the scheming game, they wouldn't simply waste what they have received for momentary enjoyments)

this also lays out the plan to undermine Lu Bu from within, by secretly co-opting the Chen clan to cooperate with Cao Cao

Chen Deng must be unhappy about it since Cao Cao's troops conducted the massacre in his home province years ago

and there's still a long way to go before Liaoyuan Huo earns the full trust of Liu Bei's core team...

anyway, that ends the special re-read of volume 22

in a nutshell the hostile takeover of Xuzhou is but a small piece in the larger geopolitical struggle, but what Ravages did was to make a minor skirmish more convoluted (and by extension, rendering the overall situation in a more complex manner)

basically to sum up the developments in volume 22

generally for those who don't mind reading Ravages in a non-linear fashion, I recommend checking out the one-volume mini-arcs (particularly volumes 6, 19, and 22 since 25 contains too many big narrative turns) as condensed samples of what the Ravages text has to offer

whereas volume 6 is a neat indicator of Ravages transitioning into a more cerebral approach (though I must point out that the mind games and the reflections are already there from the start, though in the first arc the action is more prominent) and while volume 19 is the initial step beyond the first 150 chapters (themselves a workable and longer snapshot of how Ravages stepped up and matured), volume 22 is perhaps that one volume that neatly packages many salient schemes and themes together in one concise bundle

now if one were to come up with a broad outline of the story covered in volume 22 it would be as follows

chapter 175: there's gonna be a party (and it will be a fun one) chapter 176: meanwhile, for those missing out on the upcoming party... chapter 177: hey let's prepare some stuff for the party chapter 178: on the night of the party and we're counting down to the main event chapter 179: IT'S PARTY TIME chapter 180: in the meantime, someone who isn't on the party is exposing what parties really mean chapter 181: party's almost over, time to wrap up chapter 182: the mourning after the party

#ravages of time #analysis

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skullsandwineglasses · 3 years

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Ancient Love Poetry (2021) - Episodes 1-3 First Impressions

This is not bad so far. I’ve seen a lot of mixed reactions about this drama, but it’s actually pretty decent. I heard that it’s being ripped apart by audiences in China, but some people on reddit mentioned that the drama is actually good, but people are just critical of Zhou Dongyu and Xu Kai. AvenueX was skeptical of the drama, but I find that her reviews of xianxia dramas can be kinda harsh. The drama hasn’t finished airing yet so there aren’t many ratings and reviews on MDL, but the drama currently has an 8.3 on there, which I think is a pretty decent rating even though it’s likely to change as more people finish the drama. Most of the dramas that I’ve enjoyed also average at around an 8.3 on MDL.

Plot

The plot is pretty fast-paced. The leads develop feelings for each other really early on. The opening does a good job of establishing the personalities of the characters and drawing you into the story. A drama will successfully draw me in if it raises enough questions and establishes enough plot points to make me curious to see what will happen next.

The FL has a different background from the FLs in other xianxia dramas. Shang Gu is destined to become the leader of the 4 realms, but she’s been spoiled by her guardians Zhi Yang and Tian Qi, so her powers are underdeveloped. The FLs in other xianxia dramas tend to start off as a nobody/underdog, but Shang Gu starts off as the most highly regarded figure in the realm. She’s basically a princess. Her guardians are played by Li Ze feng and Liu Xue Yu respectively, and they’ve always had such strong performances as supporting characters in other dramas, so it was a pleasant surprise seeing them both here. Their characters have great brotherly chemistry, and they provide comedic relief.

The ML is your stereotypical stoic, brooding, emotionally suppressed, and powerful immortal. He has no interest in women, that is until he’s tasked by Zhi Yang and Tian Qi to be Shang Gu’s mentor in order to help her unlock her powers. All the women in the immortal realm crush over him, but he couldn’t give a rat’s ass about it. Very typical.

Chemistry

The ML and FL’s relationship reminds me of Bai Zhi Hua and Hua Qian Gu’s teacher-student relationship in Journey of Flower, which was the first xianxia drama that I watched. But, unlike Journey of Flower, Bai Jue and Shang Gu are less like teacher-student, but more like bickering enemies who eventually develop feelings for each other.

My issue is that they develop feelings for each other too soon. And so I don’t really feel much chemistry between them, even though I want to. Bai Jue teaches her a few moves, helps her unlock her inner powers, they accidentally touch and get too close physically, and bam, feelings start to form. These are immortals who are thousands of years old. How are they able to develop feelings so easily and quickly? Especially Bai Jue who’s know by everyone to be lofty, emotionless, and misogynistic?

There was only one moment when they were able to emotionally bond, and that was when Bai Jue misunderstood Shang Gu. Shang Gu was trying to fulfill the challenge he gave her, but he mistakenly thought that she was greedy. When he realized he misunderstood her, he began to soften towards her. But this event alone wasn’t convincing enough to make me believe that someone as cold as he is could fall for a spoiled and obnoxious girl like Shang Gu.

They could have made it so that his character secretly enjoys Shang Gu’s loud antics because it makes his home more lively. That’s usually how they do it in other xianxia dramas where the bubbly FL is the manic pixie dream girl who uproots the ML’s quiet lifestyle and he falls for her against his better judgment. But no, they don’t do that in Ancient Love Poetry, so Bai Jue falling for Shang Gu felt forced.

Acting

I’ve loved Zhou Dongyu since seeing her in the 2010 film Under the Hawthorn tree. But because I’ve seen people criticize her in Ancient Love Poetry, I was prepared to be disappointed. But honestly, it’s not that bad. Even her costuming isn’t that bad. She’s not impressive, but then again, it’s not an impressive or complex role. A lot of actresses are capable of playing her type of character, and a lot of actresses already have. But Zhou Dongyu delivers, and she does well with what she’s given.

Xu Kai isn’t terrible, but he could definitely be better. Like what I mentioned above, his character is the stereotypical xianxia ML. And so there have been plenty of actors before him who have shown how to portray a cold, stoic, and resistant character who’s slowly moved by the FL: Cheng Yi in Love and Redemption, Wallace Huo in Journey of Flower (although he also got a lot of flack at the time for being expressionless), and Chang Chen in Love and Destiny. The key to playing this kind of ML is that you’re emotionally suppressed, which means that you try to be emotionless, but there are moments when you can’t hide your emotions and they break to the surface. It’s all about the internal struggle where you pretend to act one way but feel another. As an actor, you need to be able to convey subtle and nuanced microexpressions that reveal how your character truly feels.

Granted, Bai Jue is a little different from Bai Zhi Hua and Sifeng who forbade themselves from falling in love, but Bai Jue is more like Jiu Chen and Ye Hua who just have never known love before and is now experiencing it for the first time. But for all of these MLs, the common thread is that they undergo a change in character. In these first 3 episodes of Ancient Love Poetry, we keep being told by other characters in the drama how Bai Jue has changed “so much” since agreeing to mentor Shang Gu, but I don’t see this change in Xu Kai’s portrayed of Bai Jue.

On reddit, I’ve mentioned how I've seen Xu Kai in The Legends and Arsenal Military Academy and IMO, Xu Kai doesn't really do well in roles where he has to be stoic and emotionally reserved. But he did really well in AMA where his character was a flirty, spoiled rich kid who eventually matures during his time at the academy, and it made me realize that he's capable of acting when given the right opportunity. His character was full of life and the complete opposite of his character in The Legends. He can be really expressive when his character warrants it, but when the character is supposed to be brooding, he doesn't bring enough nuance to his expressions and instead defaults to being flat and unmoving.

I also feel that Xu Kai’s performance was a little better in The Legends than in Ancient Love Poetry, but then again, I’ve only seen 3 episodes of ALP. I don’t know if it’s because his costar was Bai Lu and he felt more comfortable with her, or if it’s because Bai Jue is a character who’s supposed to be old, experienced, and wise, and Xu Kai is still too young to pull off that kind of role. He also looks incredibly young. He’s my age, and I’m just in awe of how clear his skin is and how it still looks like he has some baby fat. I’m also not a fan of his costuming. I like how Zhou Dongyu’s hair frames her face to make her look more delicate, but Xu Kai’s wig seems to flatten his head. I also think he looks better in dark robes like in The Legends, or his leather trenchcoat in AMA. He looked more rugged. But his white clothes in Ancient Love Poetry takes away from his character’s demeanor as a powerful immortal, and unlike Wallace Huo who’s older and thus is able to pull off dainty and delicate white robes, Xu Kai’s baby face doesn’t really pair well with it.

Other notes:

The CGI is probably some of the better CGI that I’ve seen to date, and I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty impressed. Objects magically appear and disappear almost seamlessly, and characters teleport smoothly.

Still waiting for the OST to come into full effect. It probably won’t happen until later in the drama when there’s more angst and emotion, but I also find it weird that they don’t have an opening theme? It’s just Zhou Shen singing some vocal effects, but no actual song.

Overall, I’m going to keep watching. I’m a sucker for xianxia, and I love comparing the similarities and differences between different dramas, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this goes and whether it’s as bad as people say it is.

#ancient love poetry #千古玦尘 #xu kai #zhou dongyu #cdrama #周冬雨 #许凯 #cdrama first impressions #cdrama review #xianxia #romance

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