Thanks @solarlunareclipse, Kokuto, Plor and liddi for answering my question. Sorry that I dropped a question and then disappeared :-). Slowly making my way through the thread.
A few more episodes in...solarlunareclipse:
[Watching Jing is about as exciting as watching paint dry. Not since Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker, have I seen such an unconvincing portrayal of a character. Immediately jump ship to XL.]
After completing Season 1...
[XL is the best thing since sliced bread. Jing is the worst thing since...well, Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker.]
Was it the character of Jing or was it DW's not-so-good portrayal that got you jumping ship? It's interesting to see where and why some viewers abandoned the Jing ship.
Not Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker :-). I don't know what happened to him in those movies - particularly in Attack of the Clones - since his acting wasn't that bad in his early independent movies. Of course, he wasn't helped by the god-awful dialogue. Does anyone remember this classic...?
The level of cringe and second-hand embarrassment that I felt watching this scene :-)
However, I find that behind her flippant attitude and attempts at self-deception are real, relatable emotions of loneliness, compassion, love, heartbreak, helplessness, desperation, and yearning. As flawed a character as she is, I empathize with her and wish her the best.
I get this, and yet, at a certain point, my patience gets exhausted and my sympathy runs dry. At some point, you have to start to take your medicine and face the issues. Can't play ostrich forever, can't say you know you have a problem, but brushed things off with "Well, that's just the way I am". If I have to wait until the final chapter for my main character to "hopefully" grow - and I'm not even convinced she did - I want my money back :-).
I've read the novel in its entirety once and had no idea what to believe or think. Reading this and other forums/articles helped me better understand the novel and formulate some theories on it. Those theories are constantly evolving as I discover more and more layers to the novel.
Windiaaa bringing up the "snake in the grass, line on dust" technique opened up many discussions on this thread. If you ever have the time to read through the 300+ pages. I think Windiaa started posting around mid 200s. There is also a separate thread where Windiaaa posted many of the articles that were posted here. Here's the link in case you haven't read it.
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/lost-you-forever/121043-about-long-lovesickness-yaoliu
H19279:
@Kokuto
You fought fiercely for XL to the question on Comment Section about who XY loved most in the novel.
@AH and @Windiaaa: your replies were detail and adequate. People should read and have their own interpretation themselves.
And did you know, they blamed TH for being too biased. They said as a writer, even if you have a favorite character, don't be biased & write a story that supports everyone, but luckily Deng Wei brought Jing's character to life, which impressed many people.SMH..
windiaaa041293:
And did you know, they blamed TH for being too biased. They said as a writer, even if you have a favorite character, don't be biased & write a story that supports everyone, but luckily Deng Wei brought Jing's character to life, which impressed many people.SMH..
WTH....┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻
haha...that's me throwing chairs btw. I have no words to such a statement.
@liddi
Thank you so much for all the information regarding character names & renames! It was enormously helpful in the name analysis. I incorporated a lot of the information back into my original post:
One theory based on the name analysis is that CX is a shadow character for XY and A Nian is a shadow character for XL. If we take the perspective of CX shadowing XY's thoughts and A Nian shadowing XL's thoughts, this makes CX and A Nian's blessings at the YaoJing wedding in Vol 3 Ch 17 (Chapter 50) even more hilarious.
XY/CX’s blessing: "夫妻结同心，恩爱到白头。"
Koala: "Husband and wife with hearts as one, wishing love and happiness until both hair all white."
More literal translation: "Husband and wife unite with hearts as one, affectionately love each other until hair is white."
XL/AN’s blessing: "祝姐姐和姐夫永结同心，白头偕老！"
Koala: "Wishing older sister and brother-in-law a lifetime of love and togetherness!"
More literal translation: "Wishing older sister and brother-in-law eternally unite with hearts as one, growing old together until hair is white."
Who shares a heart-to-heart connection with XY? Who has white hair?
Voodoo King: "要么同心而生，要么离心而死..."
Voodoo King: “Either live with hearts as one, or die in heartbreak…”
-- Vol 3 Ch 4 (Chapter 37)
Those are some backhanded blessings!
Also, thanks for sharing the updated translations for this:
> Xiao Liu felt talking to Xiang Liu was just making himself angrier and did not wish to talk to him anymore, so he ran around in the forest with his hands raised, screaming miserably.
Unable to stand the noise any longer, Xiang Liu used the white condor to hide in the clouds.
-- Vol 1 Ch 6
This had me really laughing :). I think WXL screamed miserably here because he knew XL would feel sorry for him. Whereas, he remained silent while he was being tortured because he knew his torturers had no sympathy for his pain.
Was it the character of Jing or was it DW's not-so-good portrayal that got you jumping ship? It's interesting to see where and why some viewers abandoned the Jing ship.HeadInTheClouds:
Not Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker :-). I don't know what happened to him in those movies - particularly in Attack of the Clones - since his acting wasn't that bad in his early independent movies. Of course, he wasn't helped by the god-awful dialogue. Does anyone remember this classic...?
While watching the drama, I felt it was both Jing and DW's not-so-good portrayal that made me jump ship. But in hindsight, DW actually did an excellent job portraying the zero chemistry going on between Jing and XY, so I can't fault him.
Such a deep and heartfelt line from Anakin Skywalker. Hahaha! Thanks for sharing :)
This entire thread is just XL fans rewriting and reinterpreting the narrative to suit their agendalittleloverboytsj:
Bwhahahahahahahah!
So rich coming from a Jinger, when most of that fandom is twisting itself into knots to somehow make the LOVERS BUG into a Friendship Bug or a Not Really Friends Bug. And don't even get me started on how they can't stand Tong Hua naming them soulmates.
None of you analyzes the written text, the words being written,
OMG. I think I peed on myself laughing. This coming from a group of Jingers who are clearly aren't even English speakers, and don't have the slightest clue how to exercise critical analysis, and yet tried to tell me that Koala's fan English translation and the English translations of the drama are better and should be used, instead of Tong Hua's original Chinese text. And now that they've found a questionable pro Jing translation they like, they are repeated crapping on Koala's translation.
Only a Jinger would read this thread and come to the conclusion that THIS thread doesn't analyze the written text. I'm not surprised, cause that's the same sort of delusion that infects the YaoJing thread -- where they weren't even reading the original Chinese text, or understand that there at least two versions of the Chinese text, because Tong Hua revised the entire book in 2019. Or understand that even the electronic versions are not consistent or the same as the printed versions.
but not when it's contradictory to the open, explicit and unambiguous texts.
Projection, much.
Let's not forget it was Jingers who told Yang Zi, Director Julie Qin, and Tong Hua herself, that they didn't understand Jing, or XY or their relationship -- and then proceded to attack them relentlessly for over a month.
It's quite amusing to witness. Is the pain of loving a doomed fictional character that much that results in people willingly deluding themselves to soothe such pain?
You guys remind me of supporting characters' fans hating on end game couple because you don't get what you want. Like Jiang Cheng fans in MDZS fandom and also Qi Rong, Mu Qing fans in TGCF. Yall brains should be studied in the lab.
Girl, you need to look at yourself and your ugly YaoJing fandom. I've never seen a fandom spew so much hate at real people over a fictional character, like YaoJing. I've never seen YaoLiu fans call for real people to be raped and abused, like I've seen YaoJing fans do. I've never been personally threatened, harassed and insulted like I have been by YaoJing fans.
Not trying to start anything,blabla100:
You don't have to start anything. This Jinger already came into our house and did.
They accused the koala removed a bunch of lines, and added some lines of her own.
Didn't they previously trust the koala translation more than the original Mandarin text? I even saw it when they were arguing in the comments column on the main page. But look now... They even blamed the koala for being biased and scolded her.
They said it was something important that the koala deleted.
This is appalling behaviour.
Koala is not a professional translator. She was a fan, who took on the huge task of translating a novel out of love and appreciation for it. She wasn't paid to do it and I don't believe she charged people to read her translation either. This was something that she did during her free time. I believe it took her years to complete.
Her free labour made this novel available to English readers; some of whom developed an interest following the drama. Some of these same individuals now turned around to accuse her of shit. Not even a single benefit of the doubt. The fact that some of these people were also the ones waving her translation around before like the Holy Grail and boldly stating that they don't need the Chinese text is some about-face behaviour.
Whether or not she was biased; when you enjoyed something for free, some graciousness towards the one providing you with this free good is not too much to ask.
While watching the drama, I felt it was both Jing and DW's not-so-good portrayal that made me jump ship. But in hindsight, DW actually did an excellent job portraying the zero chemistry going on between Jing and XY, so I can't fault him.
This is one of my favourite gifs :-)
Till the End of the Moon was where I first encountered DW. I like his characters in there - the doting brother in the dream sequence was my favourite. Unfortunately the combo of a character I strongly disliked + his not-the-best acting didn't help Jing. Although, I suspect that it would take someone exceptional to minimize my dislike for this character.
None of you analyzes the written text, the words being written
The sheer volume of posts in this thread dedicated to analyzing the text is astounding. Thousands of comments over the past half a year doing just that.
Reading between the lines is cool, but not when it's contradictory to the open, explicit and unambiguous texts.
You could have joined the discussion in this thread as a participant and cited the "open, explicit and unambiguous texts" that contradict the interpretations you disagree with. We often discuss oposing interpretations in this thread and cite the text to support our views, although I think most of us would not characterize the text (at least as a whole) as "unambiguous".
Ironically, you came here to post your opinion and provided no textual evidence for it. The very thing you accuse the participants in this thread of doing.
It's quite amusing to witness. Is the pain of loving a doomed fictional character that much that results in people willingly deluding themselves to soothe such pain?
You guys remind me of supporting characters' fans hating on end game couple because you don't get what you want. Like Jiang Cheng fans in MDZS fandom and also Qi Rong, Mu Qing fans in TGCF. Yall brains should be studied in the lab.
Instead of participating in the discussion, you came into a thread to insult everyone in it. Why? How should this behaviour be characterized? Upright? Mature? Showing good judgement and self restraint? Or the opposite of those things?
Is the pain of knowing that there are fans who have a different interpretation of the text than theirs, who even dare to openly discuss their interpretations in a thread dedicated to that purpose, so great that it results in some people being incapable of not posting insults in that thread to soothe that pain?
Perhaps the study would be better directed towards self-reflecting on why you've made this post and whether this is the way you want to conduct yourself and spend your time in the future.
This entire thread is just XL fans rewriting and reinterpreting the narrative to suit their agenda, and the agenda is what XL fans think what Xiao Yao wants/needs/loves, should want/need/love, must want/need/love, not what the character Xiao Yao EXPLICITLY, CONSISTENTLY, and CLEARLY says over and over and over and over again, time and time and time again in the novel.
First of all, I commend you for reading all 500-plus pages; that dedication alone is impressive. Thank you for your attention. Apologies, but many of us have lives and have chosen not to delve into the YaoJing threads to stir up sentiments over fictional characters.
We all understand why, when, and how she could love TSJ... their story isn't that deep, honestly. Maybe you should read the YaoJing thread where readers are conjuring up interpretations from who knows where to analyze the rather mundane love story—and that's me being nice.
If you claim to have read the story and analyzed the text, you would know that XY herself expressed a desire for someone weaker than her, so they would never leave her. Her longing for a partner who sacrifices everything for her (no status, familial ties, or economic power) to the extent that they rely solely on her for survival is extremely unhealthy, toxic, and misogynistic. You would also understand that without her support (CX) and her stability (XL), TSJ wouldn't have had a leg to stand on.
At its core, LYF tells the story of a woman with the mindset of a teenage girl, who, despite having the power to be with anyone, is crippled by mental illness. She desires nothing but not to be like her mother and to have a lifelong companion (a codependent), not love, companion.
There is no textual evidence given to back up 90% of the so called "metas" here just a bunch of XL fans circlejerking each other to delude themselves that Xiao Yao WILL definitely be very miserable and unhappy with her choice at the end.
The textual evidence spans the entire novel. Have you been reading with your eyes wide shut? The Chinese text delves much deeper with more vivid visuals. I can barely read Chinese and felt inspired to resume studying just to experience the actual text. The only legitimate complaint about Kaolo's translation is its simplicity; you lose a lot of the poetry and prose. Furthermore, versions found on the NovelCool (or similar sites) are often not true translations but poorly written chapter summaries. The criticism directed at the translator and drama adaptation was absolutely disrespectful and ungrateful, especially how they attacked Yangzi, TH, and Director Qin.
None of you analyzes the written text, the words being written, you already have your hypothesis in your mind and twist stuff in the texts/novel, to back up your made up, already firmly established hypothesis. Reading between the lines is cool, but not when it's contradictory to the open, explicit and unambiguous texts.
I myself read the story and watched the drama without knowing anything beforehand and still concluded that the person she loved helplessly was XL, and she chose TSJ because she was a coward and didn't want to end up like her mom. I had no hypothesis, no agenda.
If you truly read the story and analyzed TH's writing style throughout her entire body of work, you would realize that LYF was her strongest piece in terms of poetry and prose but weakest in story and plot. Which begs the question: How can you not approach the book with a mindset for poetry and prose when the book itself is a work of poetry and prose? I suppose reading the book literally is cool and all... but boring! The explicit text is very clear about its symbolism and themes.
Accusing XL and YaoLiu fans of not reading and understanding TH's novel is like accusing a frog of swimming incorrectly or claiming that the water the frog swims in is not the right type of water. Instead, return to the Yaojing forums and delve into discussions about how herbs symbolize XY's true love and how the Statue of Liberty signifies YaoJing's destiny. Let the XL fanbase dissect Chinese antiquity, history, poetry, and mythology and explore how TH employs them to narrate LYF.
And our doom serpent was worth every word TH wrote and the 7 percent screen time in season one. Can't say the same for the fox, who was a waste of words and time—an utterly failed plot device.
You guys remind me of supporting characters' fans hating on end game couple because you don't get what you want. Like Jiang Cheng fans in MDZS fandom and also Qi Rong, Mu Qing fans in TGCF. Yall brains should be studied in the lab.
I don't even have words to describe YaoJing fans. Thanks, our brains should be studied because it might do some good for humanity since many of us are writers and artists. We make life bearable and rich.
K, thanks. Bye.
P.S. While you are at it in the YaoJing threads, developing some self reflection would be a good life skill.
I was certainly not expecting this on my "What unpleasant things am I going to witness today" bingo card :-).
This entire thread is just XL fans rewriting and reinterpreting the narrative to suit their agenda,
Wow! Have you read the entire thread? All 560 pages of it? How long did it take you? Do you have any strategies to speed read, I can always use some tips on how to read through my mountain of boring reports.
None of you analyzes the written text, the words being written,
Never mind. I think this makes it pretty clear that you didn't actually read through any pages of this thread, let alone all 560 pages.
here just a bunch of XL fans circlejerking each other to delude themselves that Xiao Yao WILL definitely be very miserable and unhappy with her choice at the end.
Pot meets kettle. I have no doubt that there is plenty of circle-jerking going on in the threads populated by Jing's fans as well. Or is it only circle-jerking when it's people you don't agree with?
And once again, it's pretty clear that you didn't read through much of this thread, 'cause if you have read through just the last 20 pages alone, you would have seen that we don't all agree on a single interpretation. We all agree that there are mutual love between XY and XL, but everything else can be debated and there have been plenty of disagreements.
I don't know what's going on with you to make you come in here all fired up (are you in desperate need of attention?) but go outside. Touch some grass. Roll around some grass. Sniff some grass. Eat some grass if you need to. Until you are ready to engage with us in a way that shows that you were raised with common sense and good manners. Coming in here with your superior attitude, and talking down to the rest of us is not the best way to start a dialogue. However, I don't think you have any interest in actually engaging in a conversation with us. It seems that you are more interested in coming in here to flex your appalling attitude and manner. This is not how a reasonable adult acts in the real world and the anonymity afforded by the online world shouldn't strip you off basic manners and decency. Unless you have none to start with. Perhaps the time you spend insulting us could be better directed towards some self-reflection on how you could better conduct yourself like a civilized person.
If it was attention you were seeking, I hope the notification for this post will help soothe some of your needs.
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