ZYHLJ:
I haven’t watched the show yet, so I can’t comment, but I have read the novel, and it is indeed a masterpiece. Liu Cixin has very professional scientific knowledge and extraordinary imagination, but the worldview he created is indeed depressing, so I only read it once. I still like stories with beauty more, even if they are a little bit unrealistic.

I have not read the books, and don't think I'll be doing so any time soon. However, I do intend to try the C-adaptation of Three Body, having heard rave reviews about it, not to mention the awards it won. I too have heard criticisms about the Netflix series, which makes me a little (or a lot!) concerned about the English adaptation of Memories Scattered. Fingers crossed it will be faithful to the source material.

 nathsketch:

When I used to take a peek at their lair, I saw that they’re all gushing about a certain Thai version that’s being translated to English over there. There’s also an interview with the Thai translator and they treat that interview like the ultimate indisputable truth, much like the “Interview Where Tong Hua Cleared Up Many Confusions”. Yes, you know which one, that one. 

And what indisputable truth is this? Did this Thai translator announce that the story is a happy ending, XY and Jing are true wuv and she only ever loved Jing? :-). They've stopped pushing that TH's interview (for the time being). I don't see how that interview confirmed a happy ending or that XY never loved XL.

 HeadInTheClouds:
When I used to take a peek at their lair, I saw that they’re all gushing about a certain Thai version that’s being translated to English over there. There’s also an interview with the Thai translator and they treat that interview like the ultimate indisputable truth, much like the “Interview Where Tong Hua Cleared Up Many Confusions”. Yes, you know which one, that one.

And what indisputable truth is this? Did this Thai translator announce that the story is a happy ending, XY and Jing are true wuv and she only ever loved Jing? :-). They've stopped pushing that TH's interview (for the time being). I don't see how that interview confirmed a happy ending or that XY never loved XL.

@nathsketch 

@liddi translations are so much more thorough and detailed and even then, I still have the same feelings about the story. 

I have always felt that there are several thought processes that occur simultaneously when examining works of art or literature. The interpretation of the work by others and the creator themselves should be used to inform your own interpretation of it, and not necessarily to hinder or narrow the piece of work. But I guess, maybe a narrow view of the work in itself is a view too.

 blabla100:
I don't feel it's worth it to invest so many hours for a plot I don't find entertaining,


 blabla100:
but honestly I find the politics în lyf quite boring and the parts with Jing and XY are simply a pain to me to read.

The plot in LYF is only the simple side. Coupled with the very amateurish political schemings that are as complex as a 25-piece puzzle  (can you even call it scheming?) and that part of the novel really can't stand on its own, IMO. Despite being the "male lead", CX's journey isn't exactly what people spend time discussing. 

Jing and Xiao just felt forced and unnatural to me. Particularly in the first half of the book. I can't get on board a romance where I feel as if one person is trying to persuade themselves to be in love with the other. Unfortunately, the author didn't manage to convince me that this changed by the end of the novel. Girl just came to accept that this was the best that she could do. 


 blabla100:
To XY as well, TH only gave her 2 options, she could have either went after XL and end up killing herself, either keeping away and getting the not a tragedy ending she got


 blabla100:
I don't believe XY living a love story with XL and survive him was ever an option to TH, they were doomed from the start.

I wonder if this was because of Once Promised. Perhaps XY and XL being together would be too similar to AH and Chi You in TH's mind. She could have had them being together, XL died and XY took of, but opted not to. 


 blabla100:
Same, I said it before, but my all time favorite author is Dostoievski, which IMO he was not only a fantastic writer, but also a great psychologist, someone who deeply understood the human nature.

Which one of Dostoevsky works would you recommend first? I started Crime and Punishment but never finished it. During my angsty 20s I read my fair share of literature with philosophical musings in my attempt to find the answer to life. Lol!  Camus, Hesse - who have cited him as an influence. I figured if I liked their works, I will probably enjoy his as well. He has a great amount of influence on some of the most well known novelists of the 20th century.

 plor20:
@liddi translations are so much more thorough and detailed and even then, I still have the same feelings about the story.

I think the general beats of the story are the same, a better translation will give you some extra nuances, but it shouldn't drastically change the core of the story. If it does then that is some bottom-of-the-barrel translation. If you're understanding of the work is already "off" to begin with then no amount of decent translation is going to help you. 


 plor20:
The interpretation of the work by others and the creator themselves should be used to inform your own interpretation of it

To a certain extent, authorial intent impacts the interpretation of a work. Most of the time, I don't know much about an author so their thoughts and views have zero impact on me. With LYF, we've spent the ̉ months discussing the novel, most of my views stay the same, but certainly, reading other people's opinions has sharpened and solidified some things. I think the biggest changes for me are how committed XY was in choosing XL and how this influenced XL's decision.

 ZYHLJ:
I don't plan to read 步步惊心 because I have a strange problem, that is, I can't appreciate the hairstyle of men in the Qing Dynasty囧... Although I have seen this hairstyle countless times on TV, I still feel that it’s ugly, so it’s also hard to imagine when reading the novel...

I read the novel after watching the series. Is there anyone out there who actually likes the Qing Dynasty hairstyle? Even the best-looking actors out there struggle to make this hairdo work. Reading it should make it slightly better since you won't have it right there in your face.


 ZYHLJ:
(maybe this has something to do with her being from the northwest, no derogatory).

Is there some kind of stereotype surrounding this? In my home country, different regions also have certain stereotypes associated with them as well.


 ZYHLJ:
Modern people are more rational in their treatment of emotions. She likes to give characters suffering, probably because those sufferings and desperate situations can test love to the greatest extent and reflect the depth of love, but such extreme feelings will appear distorted in a modern context.

Well! I've known some people who were obviously born in the wrong century :-). These sorts of things are great to read about, but if you have to deal with them in real life it's darn exhausting. It's not the situation, but how you deal with the situation. And these people have minimal ability to deal with their emotions - just drama after drama after drama. 

I'm curious what Filter will be about. TH's previous modern drama scripts have not been good.


 ZYHLJ:
Liu Fuling is a very typical kind of man who is gentle and kind but not cowardly. He is indifferent to status and fame, and values relationships more. In fact, I think he may be the kind of companion Xiao Yao really wants to find, not TSJ, TSJ only looks like a model husband on the surface

This was my memory of LFL as well. He's the real deal, unlike Jing who appeared to be a "junzi", but his behaviour is anything but.

 AH :
And in chapter 29 XY found out that Li Jie Chang knew that FFB was XL and assumed that meant that TSJ knew too.

Thank you for the detailed response AH. 

When I read the book I never took XY's view that Li Jie Chang knew that FFB was XL to be true. I just see it as an assumption that she made. She views XL as not suitable husband material (or whatever it is that LJC said) so she applied LJC's comments to XL. Jing may not have been 100% certain until the moment that he and XL made the deal, but he would have strongly suspected it what's with the way he creeps and stalks whenever XY and FFB are together. Got to keep his eyes on his love rival after all :-).

 HeadInTheClouds:
Is there anyone out there who actually likes the Qing Dynasty hairstyle? Even the best-looking actors out there struggle to make this hairdo work.

But every once in a while someone comes along and, IMO, somehow does manage to make it work for them.

 AH :

But every once in a while someone comes along and, IMO, somehow does manage to make it work for them.

another example is Alex Su in the famous drama My Fair Princess; Zhang Guo Li in  Prime Minister Liu Luo Guo

 AH :

But every once in a while someone comes along and, IMO, somehow does manage to make it work for them.

Prime examples of beauty carrying the styling :-). Funny 'cause Wang Anyu received some not so positive comments that he wasn't suited to ancient styling in The Last Immortal. 

I never did finish these two dramas 

 Kokuto:

Is that Xu Kai???

Yep. 

 Kokuto:

I think Tan Jian Ci could pull it off.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Xsh2mz-0Hl8?si=22Uy9AzGx5ESS2uA

Didn't TJC participate in some sort of reality acting show where he played 14th Prince from BBJX? He probably wouldn't have shaved his head for that, though.

 Kokuto:

Is that Xu Kai???

Yes. (in Yanxi palace ...)


 HeadInTheClouds:
Funny 'cause Wang Anyu received some not so positive comments that he wasn't suited to ancient styling in The Last Immortal.

I never did finish these two dramas 

similar to you, I haven't finished that Xukai's drama (actually, I haven't started watching it haha, just watched some clips or ost of that drama) but I finished The last immortal (with a lot of frustration due to the plot and conceptual change). WAY's hair style in The Last immortal did not  suit him. Maybe hairless style suits him more for costume/historical dramas.

P/s: After watching The Last Immortal, I get conclusion that it's better to enjoy a drama without reading the novel/story in advance. Knowing the story in advance can set certain expectation and if the plot writer changed the story or conceptual points, it can make me/viewers unrest. Thus now I try to avoid reading the novel of some dramas that I plan to watch. And if the drama is fine or enjoyable, I can always read the novel afterward which I did with some including Lost you forever S1