Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

@liddi

Yes xi huan and ai are the words that I was referring to. Strangely enough, ai also exist/used in my language. A remnant from past shared vocab. And it's usage is also similar. We also have a anotjer word that is used similarly to ai that I mentioned above. You can use this word in the context of loving one country, but when used to talk about a person it's almost exclusively about romantic lover/partner. There are no rules that say you can't use it to talk about family or friends, is just that conventionally no one ever does. 

This thread moved so fast so I just wantbto check if you had talked about the translation for the scene where XL asked XY about who she is willing to marry etc.

 HeadInTheClouds:

@liddi

Yes xi huan and ai are the words that I was referring to. Strangely enough, ai also exist/used in my language. A remnant from past shared vocab. And it's usage is also similar. We also have a anotjer word that is used similarly to ai that I mentioned above. You can use this word in the context of loving one country, but when used to talk about a person it's almost exclusively about romantic lover/partner. There are no rules that say you can't use it to talk about family or friends, is just that conventionally no one ever does. 

This thread moved so fast so I just wantbto check if you had talked about the translation for the scene where XL asked XY about who she is willing to marry etc.

Ai is used in Japanese.  I remember there was a taiga drama where the lead character had a big old Ai kanji in brass on his helmet.  Of course, I can't remember the show or the character right now.  But it made the kanji and the word stick in my brain.

 HeadInTheClouds:

Can you elaborate on what you see as the theme is with regard to XY/Jing relationship? Sorry, this is from pages back. Thread moved so fast. Your comment about XL achieving nirvana in his next life is quite in line with how I see his approach to life as Zen like. 

And woohoo. I can finally quote longer post!! A sign that I've probably spent too much time posting on this board instead of working ?

I don't know about the quote restrictions.  But congrats!  I finally discovered how to highlight and quote a section, which I was thrilled with. lol  Little victories.

It may have actually been covered earlier in the thread, but I can't keep up with this one.  I've been thinking about the the fox and snake parallels and their respective characters. but haven't pulled together everything.  I'll just post it anyway.  Please forgive the rambling and unfinished state.

But the theme I was speaking of is transformation, and shedding of trauma, or karma, from my very surface understanding of it. 

The choice of the 9 tailed fox as both enemy and lover for XY has always stuck with me.  I don't know anything about the mythology of the creature in Asia, but in the LYF, it has a depowering role.

Both Jing and the 8 tailed fox present a guise of companionship that lures XY into lowering her guard.  Jing, or more precisely Jing wearing the guise of 17 (9+8=17???), and the 8 tailed fox pretending to be a friendly shape changer playing games with XY.

Both lock her away in a cage.  Jing, appropriately while in the actual Dragon Bone Prison, locks her into a figurative prison with his 15 year agreement and declaration of love.

Both feed her poison to depower and alter her physically.  In LYF, love is referred to as a poison.  Jing feeds her his version of love and the hope of a future that he fails to deliver, whichends up doing a similar thing the 8 tailed fox's poisons did, messing up her meridians, and she ends up coughing up blood and being debilitated.  In the book, I believe, she even ends up with a heart condition from the heart ache and can't sleep.

Now, the rest of the comparison is not as clear to me, since season 2 hasn't been released and I haven't read the book.   However, the connection to the 8 tailed fox has to be broken, and Jing has to become less demon and the more 'human' 17, before XY can fully accept him and they go off to their HE.  And this is literally what happens.  His tails are stripped from him.  His responsibilities are stripped from him: his wife and grandmother and brother die, then he dumps the kid and his clan.  He dies and is resurrected as 17, but also depowered.  But for the most part these are not sacrifices for others he makes, but actions others take.

XL has a similar transformation and duality, but an empowering role.

We don't know as much about the snake demon that XY encountered before, but obviously he mirrors XL.  He was her companion and alleviated her loneliness in the wilderness, as XL did for XY.  He even dies for XY while she's imprisoned by the 8 tailed fox, as XL will sacrifice a life for XY trying to free her and Jing of his Fox Demon.  And of course, both start out as a demon ignorant of many human feelings.

XL cultivates (gains spiritual power and "humanity") by eating poison.  For him, poison (love) is empowering, not depowering, so his love for XY is also empowering, not depowering.  He empowers XY by teaching her archery and ensuring a companion.  For him, love allows him to experience human emotions, that as a demon he didn't have.  Of course the poision XY makes for XL throughout their relationship is the only expression of love that they can share openly.

Like Jing, he also gives her his poison (love), which alters her physically, but unlike Jing, his love empowers her with the ability to breath water, and gives her the oceans.

Like Jing, he has to lose his demon side and become fully 'human,'  which he does by killing off his heads, one by one, but for others, in actions and sacrifices that XL makes.  So appropriately,  snake like, he sheds his bad karma and isn't resurrected to the same world, but reaches an empowered state.

 H19279:

@Kokuto

"In LYF, love is referred to as a poison "

It's very interesting interpretation.  

I've already known that "Dream" implies "love" in LYF.  

P/s: I still struggle of adding quote in the reply.

 

You have to highlight the words, then on the top left of the highlighted section the word quote will appear and click on it.  If it doesn't appear, right click on the highlighted section and the word quote should appear.

Here's something from preface or introduction of the book, I believe, which references love as a poison.

Life is full of encounters and farewells, a cycle that passes and then appears all over again. Within this reality there are experiences which leave an indelible mark upon our lives, as well as individuals who can never be forgotten. This small bit of warmth comes through companionship but may be shattered at any time. This truth becomes evident through an encounter in Qingshui town which changes the fate of all, including the entire town. Love is a glass of poisonous wine, which is sweet enough to turn simple romance into ecstasy. However, when this poison, called love, enters the heart and lungs, it evolves into lovesickness that can not easily be cured. Lovesickness produces grief, which can only be comforted by a sweetheart's smile and companionship. Left untreated, love can only be carved on the bones of the lovers, who will mourn for the other until their passing...this is Eternal Love.

 Kokuto:

The choice of the 9 tailed fox as both enemy and lover for XY has always stuck with me. I don't know anything about the mythology of the creature in Asia, but in the LYF, it has a depowering role.

Both Jing and the 8 tailed fox present a guise of companionship that lures XY into lowering her guard. Jing, or more precisely Jing wearing the guise of 17 (9+8=17???), and the 8 tailed fox pretending to be a friendly shape changer playing games with XY.

Both lock her away in a cage. Jing, appropriately while in the actual Dragon Bone Prison, locks her into a figurative prison with his 15 year agreement and declaration of love.

Even though I've often wondered why TH made the odd decision to have XY end up with a fox, considering she was tortured as a child by one, I had never thought about it in this light. 

That's a very very clever and interesting interpretation. Saving it.

We'll need to compile all this into a book soon, I'm telling you.

 windiaaa041293:

@ 転 英 一 水: I read a post in the forum and suddenly began to believe that Xiang Liu really slept with Xiaotian during the healing period... He hoped that she wouldn't hate him. The author said that the physical changes were just for one reason: Xiaotian slept in In the sea shell, the sharks mate in the sea shell; in the end, Xiang Liu gave Xiaotian a big- bellied laughing doll. Don’t forget that he saved her again not long ago... @ 彩 华 tonghua You really don’t think about saying it Is the truth set to be lowered? Shabian @ 无 杀 we want the truth!

I find the suggestion that XL would sleep with XY when she couldn't move, see, speak or otherwise communicate deeply disturbing. I don't think it's supported by the text of the novel, and it definitely wasn't depicted in the drama. 

 nathsketch:

Even though I've often wondered why TH made the odd decision to have XY end up with a fox, considering she was tortured as a child by one, I had never thought about it in this light. 

That's a very very clever and interesting interpretation. Saving it.

We'll need to compile all this into a book soon, I'm telling you.

Well, that's just my rough take, from not reading the book.  I'm sure there are other interpretations.  But I'm sure there's reasons why Tong Hua chose to make Jing a nine tailed fox, like her previous captor and torturer.  I forgot to add XY calling Jing a 'wolf in rabbit's clothing' ... may edit.