Symbolism in the Chinese Title and Other Themes

I would like to talk about the symbolism behind the Chinese title, 墨雨云间.
I’m interpreting the phrase as “Inky Rain Amidst Clouds.” The words signify a tarnished reputation or image, literally a black rain in her world. It is interesting that the word ink is used since her murderous husband was a scholar; his ink tarnished her.
It is also significant that there were so many images of her using umbrellas, as if in her new incarnation, she is protecting herself from that inky rain.
If you listened to one of the OST, the one with the duet, the girl sings about being lost in the inky cloud, and the boy sings about being the thread to pull her out!

Cool, huh?

So now we can extrapolate that into all those scenes of the Duke slowly giving her his clothes to wear ha ha until she wore the whole get up at the barbecue. She had his full protection by then. ?

Ah, this drama…..

Thank you so much for writing this!!

I don't understand chinese so such depth is lost on me. I even feel the urge to ask your opinions on similar things for other dramas that I like!

I'm very happy that the drama took the effort to make light colored clothes for Fang Fei, to visualise the lyrics as you described and to portray everything you mentioned. It adds a whole new layer to everything.

As for your question, here is my opinion:

- Shen Yu Rong has studied hard to reach his position, he is known to be impartial to political parties (ex in the exam between Li Jin and Ye Shi Jie he prefers Ye Shi Jie's answer) and is generally known to have the good of the people as his compass.  He even lead his wife's funeral, even though she had supposedly cheated on him. So, in the public eyes he has a good reputation (white) almost until the end of the drama.

- Xiao Heng is known to be arrogant, he does what he likes, sometimes not even reporting to the Emperor about his actions, he tortures not only criminals but also suspects (who could be innocent), and if you catch his eye you're done for. It's no wonder then that everyone views him as a person that they want to avoid, even evil (black).

In the clothes scene Shen Yu Rong's cloak was white but it made her want to vomit, while Xiao Heng's clothes were black but she felt comfortable, warm and protected.

Considering everything I wrote above, my understanding is that not everything is as it seems.

What seems to be an excellent reputation and a hard working impartial scholar (white) is actually someone who killed his wife and was so cowardly that he refused to accept the implications of his actions up to the end, while the overbearing, arrogant noble (black) is actually a warm hearted person.

But this is not visible to outsiders who don't know about any of these things, hence the confusing colors of the clothes. Xue Fang Fei's clothes reflect her actual personality, but for Shen Yu Rong and Xiao Heng their clothes reflect how they're perceived by others.

Shen Yu Rong always wears light colored clothes, except for the red official's robe which also signifies the blood on his hands.
Xiao Heng always wears black, sometimes combined with red which signifies
- his vow to find out the truth behind his parents' death (his mom wore red when she fell off the cliff and he saw her)
- the blood on his hands (which is different from Shen Yu Rong's because Xiao Heng has killed criminals for the sake of the people)
- his thirst for life (in contrast to Shen Yu Rong's washed out white clothes and his pale appearance, resembling a dead man, Xiao Heng is a vibrant and active person).

Therefore, the seemingly clean and innocent white is a harbringer of death, while the deep abyss of black is a warm hearth for his wife and a pillar of strength for his people.

Here is the post (copy and pasted) about song (show title) first appearing in the drama. Rewatching the show and tracing the songs, I had a new "thought" about the lyrics  :-D 

https://mydramalist.com/736749-di-jia-qian-jin#comment-18404963

Episode 1: XFF's and SYR's song at the scene after he whacked her in the head and buried her

It is the title of The Double in Chinese: Inky Rain Amidst the Clouds

The song is their story, sung with male and female voices, and in the song, the woman sang of her love and being lost in an inky (SYR is a scholar) rain and clouds while the man sang of the end of things, of decay, and how it was her fate that he cut them apart.
In the ending part, he sang of his regret that he would never see her again.

The two sentences they sang together at the end of refrain 1 and refrain 2:
1) So too does hate linger
2) How fickle fate can be

These two lines signified of things to come. (1) He sang of regret remaining, NOT THINKING that hate would linger (because she didn't die) and (2) He thought the fate of his wife was how he wanted it to be (her dead) but fate was FICKLE and could change in an instant. The scene and song ended with her hand shooting out of the dirt, grasping the flute at exactly that line (how fickle fate can be).

 TaliaToo:

I would like to talk about the symbolism behind the Chinese title, 墨雨云间.
I’m interpreting the phrase as “Inky Rain Amidst Clouds.” The words signify a tarnished reputation or image, literally a black rain in her world. It is interesting that the word ink is used since her murderous husband was a scholar; his ink tarnished her.
It is also significant that there were so many images of her using umbrellas, as if in her new incarnation, she is protecting herself from that inky rain.
If you listened to one of the OST, the one with the duet, the girl sings about being lost in the inky cloud, and the boy sings about being the thread to pull her out!

Cool, huh?

So now we can extrapolate that into all those scenes of the Duke slowly giving her his clothes to wear ha ha until she wore the whole get up at the barbecue. She had his full protection by then. ?

Ah, this drama…..

I did extensive research on the musical work played by XFF on the competition scene. The title of the song commented by Judge Miam Ju (Xen Xue Wei), "When Fragrance Falls, pear Blossoms", is actually the title of the song sung by Mi Liang, but not the musical piece played on the guzheng by XFF. I had to make numerous attempts in Mandarin (thanks to Google Translate...) to  find the name of this piece and information about the composer. The original title is 墨雨云间 芳菲落尽梨花白 (translated by Google "Between the ink and rainy clouds, all the beauty is gone and the pear blossoms are white"). The song that Li Miang sings is an extension of the original title of the musical piece performed on the guzheng by XFF. Your analysis is very interesting and is a piece of the mosaic of the symbolism. The OST Duet you mention continues the two songs we heard during the competition (in the XFF scene). I get more and more excited (almost hysterical lol) with The Double and its many riches and subtleties, everything was meticulously planned. The minds responsible for the artistic conception are geniuses. I see The Double as a fabric covered in filigrees that require a patient look at each detail to understand the value of the fabric: everything is connected, there are no loose ends or accidents.

Now, see how interesting: if you put together the lyrics of the three songs, starting with the title of the piece played on the guzheng, followed by the song sung by Mi Liang (芳菲落盡梨花白, in a literal translation "The fragrance is gone, the pear flowers are white" , but known as "When Fragrance Falls, pear Blossoms") and finally the duet, the result is that we have a plot, the lyrics of one song complete the other... It's genial!

The point you bring up and analyze is very interesting and deserves to be deepened. Your analysis brings a very interesting reflection.

According to research I did, The Five Elements Theory (Metal, Fire, Water, Wood, and Air) play a very important role in influencing many of the Chinese customs and beliefs. The color theory is based on Five Elements Theory, and five of the most popular colors in China also correspond to these five elements. The Five Elements Theory emerged before the Qin Dynasty (221 BC to 206 BC), more precisely in the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC), but I didn't find precise information regarding the historical period in which the 5 colors were associated with the five elements fire, water, metal, wood, earth.

The white color represents metal and symbolizes purity and renewal. I agree with your analysis about XFF and I would add that SYR also uses white clothes in some scenes as he was pure, initially. But white is also linked to funerals... Now the color black. Historically, it is associated with seriousness and authority and was used by imperial dignitaries.

Regarding the Five Element Theory, the element of water is represented by the color black in Chinese culture, it's also associated with the sky (not relative to Heaven). Black is the color of deep water and when applied to people, gives the visual effect of a deep and distant person, like Duke Su. Therefore, Duke Su's black cloak is symbolic of rain, a fruitful rain...

Rain (water...sky...) plays a prominent role in The Double: it's in the title, It's in the scene where XFF is buried alive, it's in the songs, it's in the XFF and Duke Su scene, it's in the scene of Wanning's suicide.

I didn't comment before on this excellent and precise analysis of yours, shedding light on the meaning of the title and the lyrics of the song, because it is a profound theme that paves the way for other discoveries that would require research and a long text and I only had that time today.

As you say, there are iconic scenes where XFF is in white dresses, indicating her purity, the consciousness of her untouched state, in contrast to the inky, contaminated rain. But in the rain scene with XFF and Duke Su the cloak is now red, therefore auspicious, an allusion to the deepening of the ongoing romance, Duke Su is no longer distant with his black cloak. The rain in this scene brings the perception of liberation, of pain being purged by a fruitful phase of new love. The rain, in this scene, has the function of washing. It's the redemption of the rain itself, no more inky...

(If you're going to respond to this comment, you won't be able to because the system doesn't allow it due to the size of the comment. You would have to make a new comment.)

(Here is the link to the research I did). https://mydramalist.com/discussions/di-jia-qian-jin/127205-all-information-about-the-song-jiang-li-played-on-the-guqin-piano-sheet-music

 TaliaToo:

I would like to talk about the symbolism behind the Chinese title, 墨雨云间.
I’m interpreting the phrase as “Inky Rain Amidst Clouds.” The words signify a tarnished reputation or image, literally a black rain in her world. It is interesting that the word ink is used since her murderous husband was a scholar; his ink tarnished her.
It is also significant that there were so many images of her using umbrellas, as if in her new incarnation, she is protecting herself from that inky rain.
If you listened to one of the OST, the one with the duet, the girl sings about being lost in the inky cloud, and the boy sings about being the thread to pull her out!

Cool, huh?

So now we can extrapolate that into all those scenes of the Duke slowly giving her his clothes to wear ha ha until she wore the whole get up at the barbecue. She had his full protection by then. ?

Ah, this drama…..

¡Gracias, amiga Talia Too!!
Yes, I noticed that the songs have different lyrics for each scene, meaning the music is dynamic, adapts to the plot and that's brilliant. But it's also brilliant that you bring this to light, most people don't perceive these subtleties. I'm sure we (I...), Westerners, miss 50% of the nuances because the translation is horrible! I stop the scene and research immediately. So much beauty and poetry is lost in these translations. I'm studying Mandarin on my own, I'm moved by the beauty and complexity of this language, I identify many words and small phrases. Language is like music, being a musician helps me a lot with sounds. The little I know gives me an idea of the great beauty of the scripts. But it is not enough to know at least a minimum of Mandarin: first you need to understand the Chinese soul, its philosophy, its Poetry, its Art, its rites. Eurocentric education denies us this contact, the Western vision is totally stereotypical. So this knowledge will depend on personal commitment, which is my case.

You have a very rich inner life. In all your interventions you bring subtle perceptions, typical of a person who associates sensitivity with culture. Your posture is captivating, in addition to having polite attitudes that you combine with simplicity and good humor, you have an agile, precise, informative, useful, thought-provoking argument. You make me research a lot...

In fact, the scenes you mention are totally spicy with clear connotations!? That's why Yu Zheng spared the kisses! A kiss is not worth 1 second of these scenes! You and I can combine our texts on a Word Press website: it would be a success! ?

Lol Such a head is necessary to widen doors, open windows so that understanding is overwhelmed by the light and allows subtleties to fly. You are always welcome in my comments, all devoid of doors.

 blimarch:

Ohh please, do :) 

Hi, Blimarch! I  promise I will and I hope @Talia Too makes the same promise! Thanks a lot for reading our texts!

Thank you very much! I invite you to read the article "The Presence of Arts in The Double" (link below. You can also read it in the MDL section Articles). I sign  the text and Cho Na, MDL writer, signs the wonderful visual design and the  competent preliminary edition! Thanks a lot once again!

https://mydramalist.com/article/the-presence-of-arts-in-the-double