blimarch:
But really, CX? Trying to be incognito while calling yourself "Xuan"... that's not very subtle.

  To be fair, in the novel, his name was originally Zhuan Xu 颛顼 before being changed to Cang Xuan 玱玹 in later editions. In addition, the word 玹 Xuán in Cang Xuan is pronounced differently from 轩 Xuān the wine seller, so these are two totally different words and meanings.

 blabla100:

I though TSJ was hidding from A Nian, not from CX, so I though she was the only one able to recognize him, but I might be wrong. Didn't find that part too important to the plot. 

When I said "I guess it's not plot critical for TSJ to not recognize XL earlier. As long as he always wears the mask in front of CX / ZX." I meant as long as XL always wears his mask in front of ZX. I wasn't suggesting that TSJ was trying to hide his face from ZX. 

Between Ah Nian and ZX, TSJ was only worried about Ah Nian seeing his face, recognizing him, and outing him to his family. He wasn't worried about ZX seeing his face. 

I can only speculate, but I assume TSJ didn't hide his face from XL despite knowing that XL would be able to recognize him because: (1) he only cared about taking WXL safely away from the military camp when they first met; and (2) didn't think there was any danger of XL outing him to his family after recognizing him. 

 bqt:

I think XY loves XL  however she is not sure if XL loves her wholeheartedly since he has his duties to the army and he hides his love from her, never declaring his true feelings.  She, does not quite understanding her strong attraction to him, coupled with no confirmation on his side, does not feel certainty between them.

Jing openly declared his love for her, does things for her not expecting anything in return, and he submits to her biding.  There is no doubt he loves her but he is a safe choice for her. 

I think it's a question of.. would you choose the one that loves you (safe) or the one you love (uncertain)?

I feel her heart truly loves XL but because of childhood trauma and insecurities she choose Jing.  Her love for Jing is a safe love.

Hidden love vs. open love is a part of it... but IMO it's a lot more complicated than that. 

XY wanted someone who was committed to her and who would put her first. Someone who could abandon everything else for her. Someone who would live a peaceful life and raise a family with her. 

XY has known that XL is on the opposite side of a war from her since the beginning. She knew he was not someone she could have a peaceful happy ending with. She comes to find out that, in addition to being her family's enemy, his loyalty to Gong Gong and the remnant army is unshakeable. He will not abandon them for her. He wouldn't give them up to go and wander the world with XY. 

So XY tries not to let herself fall for XL, and later XL tries to push her away too (for her sake). XL was never a real option for XY. And when it seemed like she was leaning towards pursuing something with him anyway (e.g., by sending him the ice crystal ball) he didn't let her choose him. And throughout their whole relationship he hid his feelings from her. XY was probably aware, on some level, that they both had unspoken feelings for each other. But she could also see XL's behaviour. He wasn't offering himself as a romantic option. He was hiding his feelings (e.g., XY was aware that XL didn't want her to know about the things he did and said during her 37 years of healing) and put boundaries between them. 

So, IMO, it wasn't just a matter of being unsure of XL's feelings. She knew that the remnant army was his priority. She knew that he could not abandon them, even for her. She knew he was not someone who could have a peaceful happy ending with her. And he didn't let her choose him.

I won't get into the reasons why XY chose TSJ in this thread, but I also think it goes well beyond him just being open about his feelings and devoted and therefore a "safe" bet.

 liddi:

  To be fair, in the novel, his name was originally Zhuan Xu 颛顼 before being changed to Cang Xuan 玱玹 in later editions. In addition, the word 玹 Xuán in Cang Xuan is pronounced differently from 轩 Xuān the wine seller, so these are two totally different words and meanings.

She changed ZX's name in the 2019 version too?? I don't get it. She said she made revisions to correct things she regretted. Was using the historical character name Zhuan Xu something she regretted?

@AH

You explained everything perfectly. 

 liddi:

  To be fair, in the novel, his name was originally Zhuan Xu 颛顼 before being changed to Cang Xuan 玱玹 in later editions. In addition, the word 玹 Xuán in Cang Xuan is pronounced differently from 轩 Xuān the wine seller, so these are two totally different words and meanings.

@liddi 

Oh I'm so immersed in the story that I forgot that the original work is written in Chinese!

 liddi:

  To be fair, in the novel, his name was originally Zhuan Xu 颛顼 before being changed to Cang Xuan 玱玹 in later editions. In addition, the word 玹 Xuán in Cang Xuan is pronounced differently from 轩 Xuān the wine seller, so these are two totally different words and meanings.

I'm studying the tones right this instant and I open this thread to see this ?

My Chinese teacher would be so proud lol

 AH :

She changed ZX's name in the 2019 version too?? I don't get it. She said she made revisions to correct things she regretted. Was using the historical character name Zhuan Xu something she regretted?

I hear that there was a lot of controversy tied to her works because she uses a lot of characters and names from history and Chinese origin mythology but changed them considerably in her works. It is possible the name changes we see in later editions (mine was published this year) has to do with addressing the controversy:

颛顼 Zhuan Xu - renamed to 玱玹 Cang Xuan
蚩尤 Chi You - renamed to 赤宸 Chi Chen
共工 Gong Gong - renamed to  洪江 Hong Jiang

According to mythology, Chi You was the great chief of the legendary Jiu Li tribe. Similarly, Gong Gong was a water deity in Chinese mythology. That could explain why the names were changed.  I am just surprised that Xiang Liu's name is retained, since this is also an actual character in the origin myth famed for his loyalty to Gong Gong.    

Interestingly enough, the novels retain the names of the kingdoms, though the drama renames them:

神农 Shen Nong   (辰荣 Chen Rong in the drama)
轩辕 Xuan Yuan   ( 西炎 Xi Yan in the drama)
高辛 Gao Xin  (皓翎 Hao Ling in the drama)

I remember when her novel 大漠谣 Ballad of the Desert was adapted to 风中奇缘 Sound of the Desert back in 2014, the entire drama had to be re-dubbed to change the names of actual historical figures e.g. the male lead 霍去病 Huo Qubing, an actual famed general of the Han Dynasty was renamed to 卫无忌 Wei Wuji etc. So it is possible that the changes in the revised edition for Lost You Forever also addresses this issue to avoid further controversy. I would be interested to see if more recent publications of 大漠谣 and its sequel 云中歌  Love Yunge from the Desert also reflects character name changes.

 blimarch:

@liddi 

Oh I'm so immersed in the story that I forgot that the original work is written in Chinese!

It certainly speaks to just how engrossing the story is that the language is no longer paramount in the minds of the viewers / readers! 


 nathsketch:

I'm studying the tones right this instant and I open this thread to see this ?

My Chinese teacher would be so proud lol

You're learning Chinese? Much respect to you! I balked at learning it during my early school years, perpetually complaining about the many strokes I had to memorise! Only started really trying to learn one day when I desperately wanted to read wuxia novels lol

 liddi:
You're learning Chinese? Much respect to you! I balked at learning it during my early school years, perpetually complaining about the many strokes I had to memorise! Only started really trying to learn one day when I desperately wanted to read wuxia novels lol

Yes! I started only a few months ago out of curiosity because I really love learning languages. But now I love it so much that I'm going to see it through even if it takes me my entire life ?

Writing the strokes is actually the part I like the most. It's too much to memorise indeed, but they're like drawings and that's my jam ?

Oh, reading even one wuxia novel from beginning to end would be the ultimate goal ? I'd be happy to just be able to read Xiang Liu's love letter. Wait, not happy. You get it ?

 nathsketch:
Writing the strokes is actually the part I like the most. It's too much to memorise indeed, but they're like drawings and that's my jam ?

Oh, reading even one wuxia novel from beginning to end would be the ultimate goal ? I'd be happy to just be able to read Xiang Liu's love letter. Wait, not happy. You get it ?

I hated writing strokes as a child because we had to write a whole page full of the same character. I used to try and conveniently forget to bring my homework! 

Are you learning traditional or simplified Chinese?  Simplified Chinese (used in China, Southeast Asia etc) has less strokes compared to traditional Chinese (used in Taiwan, Hong Kong). The beauty of Chinese characters are that you can often see the narrative in it. Take for example the word 忍 rěn (endure / tolerate) is made up of 刃 (blade) on top of 心 (heart) - a blade hovering over the heart.

I look forward to you crying tears of joy (or angst) when you read Xiang Liu's letter in its entirety! 加油!

Found what appear to be S2 leaked scripts on Weibo, breaking down which scenes show up in which episodes (but apparently it ends at Ep20?). Haven't had time to read in detail, but from what I see, A Nian will be the one to give the big bellied doll to Xiao Yao as an "extra" gift for her wedding..

 liddi:

Found what appear to be S2 leaked scripts on Weibo, breaking down which scenes show up in which episodes (but apparently it ends at Ep20?). Haven't had time to read in detail, but from what I see, A Nian will be the one to give the big bellied doll to Xiao Yao as an "extra" gift for her wedding..

That matches what another user said. They mentioned that, according to the leaked script, Ah Nian will basically replace Sir Bi and do the things he did.

 liddi:
I hear that there was a lot of controversy tied to her works because she uses a lot of characters and names from history and Chinese origin mythology but changed them considerably in her works. It is possible the name changes we see in later editions (mine was published this year) has to do with addressing the controversy:

颛顼 Zhuan Xu - renamed to 玱玹 Cang Xuan
蚩尤 Chi You - renamed to 赤宸 Chi Chen
共工 Gong Gong - renamed to  洪江 Hong Jiang

According to mythology, Chi You was the great chief of the legendary Jiu Li tribe. Similarly, Gong Gong was a water deity in Chinese mythology. That could explain why the names were changed.  I am just surprised that Xiang Liu's name is retained, since this is also an actual character in the origin myth famed for his loyalty to Gong Gong.  

This is reminding me of my draft post and dozen or so open tabs about these characters... 

 liddi:

I hated writing strokes as a child because we had to write a whole page full of the same character. I used to try and conveniently forget to bring my homework! 

Are you learning traditional or simplified Chinese?  Simplified Chinese (used in China, Southeast Asia etc) has less strokes compared to traditional Chinese (used in Taiwan, Hong Kong). The beauty of Chinese characters are that you can often see the narrative in it. Take for example the word 忍 rěn (endure / tolerate) is made up of 刃 (blade) on top of 心 (heart) - a blade hovering over the heart.

I look forward to you crying tears of joy (or angst) when you read Xiang Liu's letter in its entirety! 加油!

Heh you were a naughty one!

I’m learning simplified Chinese. Yes, there are way fewer strokes.  I like it precisely because of the narrative behind every character. I’m an artist so for me they are really just tiny drawings I need to memorize.

To be honest, the only thing I want to read that’s written by Xiang Liu is a marriage certificate on one of those pretty red papers lolololol