#xie wanqing

[gulongming]

@kdramaspace + @userdramas YEAR IN REVIEW 2022 | Best Picture

♔ best/favorite drama of 2022: 苍兰诀 Love Between Fairy and Devil (2022) dir. Yi Zheng

» “Everything in this world is fate. Only love is not fate.”

[airagorncharda]

“Love Between Fairy and Devil” memes: 3/?

[jaggedcliffs]

Incorrect lbfad quotes: 1/?

Xie Wanqing out here galaxy-braining her enemies-to-lovers speedrun while the rest of us chumps are stuck in our slow burns

[terapsina]

You know what is objectively HILARIOUS to me?

The way Xiao Lanhua and Dongfang Qingcang actually genuinely thought that the post-fake-mortal-marriage-ceremony-switcharoo would be anything other than a complete disaster?

I mean. They seriously thought putting Xiao Run and Xie Wanqing in the same room would make them fall in love at first sight despite the fact they LITERALLY JUST married other people?

Meanwhile, the two of these idiots. Very calm, sharing tea. One busy describing how he's never seen her looking as beautiful as she does in wedding dress, and basically fully having edited the surplus spouses out of his memory already. The other busy with the angsty Poison in His Drink - Take Two.

But essentially. Chilling in place. Not at all concerned with their currently mortal not-spouses potentially coming across these two idiot not-siblings?

No brains. No brains anywhere.

[birbfeeder2artisticboogaloo]

i made a collage about my new fav character

i love xie wanqing and im going to marry her, everyone else go away

[heymeowmao]

苍兰诀 | Love Between Fairy and Devil E20 ° Xie Wanqing of Feixian Pavilion

[phoenixkaptain]

I actually love the Villainess Won’t Let the Main Leads Break Up! for a variety of reasons, chief among them being that Shen Wanqing fucking hates being self-sacrificial and refuses to do it. The System tries to get her to kill herself or the love interest, and she just won’t. System literally has to trick her into offing the love interest, because Wanqing just refuses to do so.

Speaking of the love interest, I love Xie Wuyan. He is so confused. Their first meeting (the meet-cute if you will) is him waking up to find Shen Wanqing sitting on top of him with a knife, trying to kill him. She then stabs into the earth next to his head and says “an ant almost crawled on your face, that was close.”

Xie Wuyan assumes that someone sent her to kill him. At first, he thinks that that person is stupid and underestimating him, but he later begins to think that maybe that person just sent Shen Wanqing to fail on purpose because they don’t like her. She continuously puts her own foot in her mouth and he doesn’t want her to die solely because he wants to see how she’ll accidentally sabotage herself next. He threatens her multiple times and she never reacts that way he expects her to. She is an enigma and a fool but also she’s a bit smart occasionally and he has no idea what she’s going to do and so watches with interest because he thinks it’s funny.

Shen Wanqing has a brother, the male lead of the original novel, Ji Feichen. He really honestly truly loves her like a sister and the female lead, Feng Yaoqing, also comes to love her like a sister as well. But, Ji Feichen’s relationship with Xie Wuyan is funnier, so I’ll discuss it.

When Xie Wuyan and Shen Wanqing come out after everyone thinks they’re dead, and Ji Feichen wants to see his sister and Xie Wuyan won’t let him:

Ji Feichen: “She’s my sister.”

Xie Wuyan: “I’m stronger than you.”

Ji Feichen: “What does that have to do with anything? She’s my sister”

Xie Wuyan: “I’m stronger than you!”

Ji Feichen would like his sister to be happy, yes, but he is so tired. Xie Wuyan really wishes Ji Feichen were dead, but he knows Shen Wanqing would be upset at him if he killed him, so…

Honestly the whole novel is hilarious. It has angst and all that, but I came for the comedy and boy howdy it delivered.

Shen Wanqing accidentally seducing a marquis during the hour that Ji Feichen and Xie Wuyan weren’t there. Ji Feichen comes in and is like “what happened?” but Feng Yaoqing just “idk, I was asleep and when I woke up, this.” Xie Wuyan comes in and they’re worried about the marquis’ life, Feng Yaoqing is like “do you think you could take him?” and Ji Feichen “honestly? Probably not.” They’re like, man, Wanqing is taking forever in the bathroom and Wanqing finally comes back, sees Xie Wuyan who is clearly Not Happy, and turns back around, “I have diarrhea, I’m going back.”

Shen Wanqing doesn’t want a side character to think she’s in love with Ji Feichen, so she says she’s in love with Xie Wuyan, only for Xie Wuyan to come back right as she’s saying that. A side character asks whether or not Xie Wuyan is in a relationship with anyone, and Wanqing says “actually, he’s in love with me” and Xie Wuyan shows up just in time to hear her say he’s clinging to her. The marquis is bugging him, so Xie Wuyan says “actually, Wanwing is in love with me” and Wanqing is like “ugh, do I have to? Fine.” The marquis has dream demons and they go in his dream and he’s dreaming of marrying Wanqing and Xie Wuyan throws a tantrum and Ji Feichen just stands in the corner and watches Wanqing and Xie Wuyan fight. The crew goes to a brothel and Wanqing is interested in the gigolos and Xie Wuyan is less than impressed.

Shen Wanqing is like “You can’t kill this person, he’s too high profile, you’ll be put on a wanted list, you can’t be put on a wanted list. Let Xuanniao do it instead, he can be put on a wanted list.”shen Wanqing asks him to delete pages often enough that when she acts nice to him, Xie Wuyan’s first response is “what page do you want me to delete?”

Shen Wanqing becomes Palace Master and turns the drab palace into a real, uh, place. She bullies absolutely all of her neighbours. She kidnaps multiple demons. She has demon generals, none of whom have any qualifications. She makes a zoo, of which every single animal is one she calls a baby but everyone else calls terrifying. She discovers the place set up for harem members and fills it with only the weirdest looking guys out of spite (despite the fact that nobody has ever actually loved in it before and Xuanniao made it without asking Xie Wuyan if he wanted it). Upon discovering that the demons inside improved themselves so they wouldn’t be forced to leave, Shen Wanqing announces herself the demon lord’s most beloved concubine. She signs her letters as such.

Xie Wuyan acts cold, but he threatens the king of tiger demons with the OP sword of the world until Maomao is nicer to Wanqing. He very politely thanks Feng Yaoqing for spending time with Wanqing and looking after her. He doesn’t want to hurt her and he reads her diary and he gives her a cute dress when she’s upset so she’ll forgive him. He doesn’t make her get rid of her karaoke (non-alcoholic) bar and he takes over the demon realm because she mentioned wanting him to (for a really silly reason) and he steals a flying carriage so she can travel in comfort and when she gets into a fight with someone over one silver tael, he agrees to fight the other woman’s husband. Shen Wanqing is called his feisty cat and honestly, it’s a pretty accurate title.

All in all, good novel. I liked it. Shameless MCs are the only MCs I love, and few are as shameless as Shen Wanqing, who upon making up fake names for them all, gives Xie Wuyan a name equivalent to calling him Rover. 10/10, Xie Wuyan goes through so much and most of it is emotional turmoil.

[laomelettedufromage]

Me: I just want Goddess Chidi to be happy :(((

Ronghao: *exists*

Me: Not with you though.

[chronomally]

Idk I feel like the VA they picked for Chidi isn't giving these angry lines during her breakdown the punch they need

[joyburble]

This (ep 25) is such a romantic speech. We find out that the insane and terrifying situation she created in episodes 11-15, means something quite different to him now when he looks back on it: being alone with her, waiting for lightning, talking, looking at stars. We notice that none of the changes have been sudden. There are decisive moments, but the changes they cause in all the characters take time, and that makes them feel real.

Next, it occurs to him to tell her how pretty she is, he knows she likes to be pretty:

but it's not about appearance, it's still about meaning and the longing for connection and companionship

He reacts calmly to her non-response, with a little smile:

Pours the wine (hers first)

Invites her to drink.

She looks at him for the first time, and he tells her he is happy. As in, he not only feels it, but knows how to name it.

And then she does this:

Which is a turning point for her - an act of deliberate, intentional disobedience.

She makes him acknowledge the problem, although he still thinks he can prevail, which is interesting: it's not going to work, but I find the arrogance (or habit of backing himself to win, regardless of the situation) very likeable.

And it all kicks off as we switch to Xiao Run, Danyin and Xie Wanqing for a moment. Another moment of intense character likeability is here, where he immediately switches into "hmmmm .... what the hell just happened" mode, and calmly asks who was responsible. And then, he doesn't even try to go after Rong Hao. Instead he tries to deal with the immediate problem (at which he fails successfully).

Did you notice the change of makeup (look at the eyes) to denote the effects of the Evil Qi he just got smacked with? (If he'd stood still like she told him, he'd have been fine). Where's the curse when you actually need it? Maybe she's too conflicted for it work properly.

All I have to say to that is, LOL.

Anyway I just adore this whole sequence. And I like the way that when he's genuinely being romantic, he's not remotely, not at all, like the trope being satirised in Episide 3:

And of course he isn't, because for him, the process of becoming a real person again has been inextricable from experiencing the fact that she is a real person, too.

[xiaolanhua]

GUO XIAO TING as XIE WANQING LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL (2022)

[eldritch-bisexual]

Listen. Let me handwave some of the canon to that place over there where we can't see it.

(Maybe Xiao Run doesn't decide to fuck off to war over a broken heart. Maybe Xie Wanqing can be convinced she was dreaming. Maybe we widen the timeline just to fit this in. Whatever, just hold my hand and trust the funnies.)

After Dongfang Qingcang comes up with the absolutely batshit wild lies he does, they are now stuck having to keep up the ruse. They can't let the shuttlecock drop.

Xiao Lanhua would be SO bratty. Oh, she has to play the kinda insane pregnant wife? Alright, she'll be the most insufferably spoiled, demanding, annoying creature. From her favorite foods to foot rubs, she'll test the limits of her dear husband's patience.

Meawhile, laying on the can of worms he opened, Dongfang Qingcang is mortified that he's actually... having quite a bit of fun, spoiling the little flower monster. He's been struggling trying to understand what he feels for her, and even more in trying to understand what she feels about him. But spoiling her? Giving her everything she wants? That's easy, he barely needs to try. Most of the stuff she's asking for she could have asked for at any time?? And they are Spending So Much Time Together???

And the whole situation is kinda ridiculous. We see that they barely can hold up the laughter to be out of range, in the show. They go off holding hands all smiley. Imagine if they kept ramping up the nonsense for a few more days? Her thinking that it she was getting back at him and him Having Realizations.

It would be adorable.

They are so in love, your honor.

[storge]

I've seen everything in my life. Precious horses and priceless fur coats. I've experienced everything in the world. But I still feel... I'm waiting for something missed.

Guo Xiaoting as Xie Wanqing {Previous life: Chidi Nuzi, God of War} Love Between Devil and Fairy

[circumference-pie]

Wordplay in Xie Wanqing's fate poem

One of the things that confused me most in Love Between Fairy and Devil is why our protagonists insist that Xiao Run has to be the destined lover and murderer of Xie Wanqing, when the English subtitles only say she has to die at the hands of her "beloved," which could be Dongfang Qingcang, right??? Easy! Why do they lose all hope when Xiao Run doesn't follow their plans?

The TL;DR is that there's a bit of ambiguity in Xie Wanqing's fate poem, and xiao-Lanhua and co. interpreted it a little too literally, while the Netflix subs gave us the more abstract meaning.

Here is the crucial line, according to Netflix subs:

Then she meets her beloved who understands her well

In Chinese, it is

偏逢萧郎解语人 pian feng xiao lang jieyu ren

In particular, the two characters 萧郎 or Xiao-lang, superficially mean "a man whose surname is Xiao," the same Xiao character as in Xiao Run. This line could conceivably mean, "Then she meets Mr. Xiao, who understands her well," which is how xiao-Lanhua and friends interpreted it.

However, if you search for Xie Wanqing's fate poem on the web, you'll find lots of posts in Chinese explaining that 萧郎/Xiao-lang is actually a poetic way to indicate a woman's beloved. It has origins in multiple historical figures surnamed Xiao, but the definitive usage is in a poem by Tang-dynasty poet Cui Jiao, in which he laments that his lover, a maid, was purchased by another man, and alludes to himself as Xiao-lang [See https://www.gushiwen.cn/mingju_576.aspx]. Hence "Xiao-lang" became a way to refer to the person a woman loves. And as we see later in the show, the Netflix subs are actually right in interpreting "Xiao-lang" as "beloved," and not an actual person named Xiao.

To draw an English parallel, I think it's a bit as if the poem had mentioned a person named Romeo, and there just happened to be a guy named Romeo in the vicinity. I, as a viewer with a modicum of English literary education, know that "Romeo" can be a general epithet for a loverboy, but a thousands-years-old immortal with no connections to the human world might not.

That's not the end of the wordplay in the fate poem, though it is the most important. Here are some small things I found on the rest of the lines:

半世锦绣半世尘 ban shi jinxiu ban shi chen Mine: Half a lifetime of splendor, half of dust Netflix: Half a lifetime of glory, half a lifetime of dust Notes: The word 风尘, meaning prostitution, literally breaks down into "wind-dust," and the 尘 (dust) in the poem probably alludes to this, according to https://www.douban.com/group/topic/273507772/?_i=8820568QDrpMtA.

一舞惊鸿倾鹿城 yi wu jinghong qing lucheng Mine: The elegance of a beautiful dance overwhelms Lucheng Netflix: A magnificent dance stunned the whole Lucheng

韶华等闲随烟柳 shaohua dengxian sui yanliu Mine: A beautiful spring thoughtlessly follows the budding willows Netflix: Her beauty is just like the willow's Notes: https://www.douban.com/group/topic/273507772/?_i=8817957xu4lIgj suggests that this means Xie Wanqing is unhappy with her life and fate despite her status as Lucheng's number-one courtesan. https://edu.iask.sina.com.cn/bdjx/6fnw1wJF5xw.html explains that 烟柳 yanliu refers to the time when willow trees are covered in tender budding leaves that are not yet green, giving them the appearance of being shrouded in smoke.

凭栏元夜闻笛声 pinglan yuanye wen di sheng Mine: Leaning on the railing, she hears a flute on the night of the Lantern Festival Netflix: She hears the flute on the night of the Lantern Festival

断肠几欲飞仙去 duanchang jiyu fei xian qu Mine: Grief-stricken, she almost flies to the heavens Netflix: She is heartbroken and wants to end her life Notes: 仙去 is a poetic or figurative way to say someone dies, but also literally means "goes to the fairy realm," a nod to Xie Wanqing's real identity as the fairy God of War.

偏逢萧郎解语人 pian feng xiao lang jieyu ren Mine: Unexpectedly, she meets a man surnamed Xiao who understands her Netflix: Then she meets her beloved who understands her well Notes: Discussed above.

缘定��朝丝萝梦 yuan ding huazhao siluo meng Mine: Fate ordains a dream of marriage on the second month's fifteenth day Netflix: They are destined to be together

红烛剑影断芳魂 hong zhu jian ying duan fanghun Mine: The shadow of the sword in the light of the celebratory red candle cuts the young woman's soul short. Netflix: Her husband kills her on the wedding night Notes: https://www.douban.com/group/topic/273293366/?_i=8819367xu4lIgj agrees with me that this does not necessarily mean the groom will be the killer.

[harrykim]

LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL 苍兰诀 (2022)

[ID: Nine gifs from Love Between Fairy and Devil, arranged into a rainbow colour order. The first, in pinks and yellows, shows Dongfang Qingcang's dream version of Arbiter Hall disintegrating. The second, in orange and red, shows the ranxi flower being revived. Third, in red and brown, shows Danyin leaning over Xiao Run's body while Xie Wanqing walks behind them. Fourth, in brown and orange, is Rong Hao holding Chidi, a knife through her back, as the camera spins around them. Fifth, in yellow and green, shows flowers blooming on a hedge, with a blurry Xiao Lanhua and Dongfang Qingcang in the background. Sixth, in green, is a close shot of Xiao Lanhua looking up and ahead while using her power. Seventh, in blue-green, is Xunfeng looking at Qingcang questioningly. Eighth, in blue, is Arbiter handing Qingcang Xiao Lanhua's destiny book. Ninth, in blue-purple, is Changheng walking right across a bridge as waves rise up and destroy buildings around him. /End ID]

[birbfeeder2artisticboogaloo]

it's xie wanqing from love btwn fairy n devil 🌷🌼💚🥺!!! she is my wife now, lord ronghao DNI 😠😡🤬