HeadInTheClouds:
Not sure if this have been discussed.
When do you think Jing resized that FFB is XL?
Like XY, TSJ would have recognized that FFB's face was the same as XL's face from the first time he met FFB in chapter 16 and presumably wondered about it. XY confirmed that. She also thought that TSJ would have used the Tushan Clan's resources to look into FFB's background (similar to the check that XY asked CX to run for her after XL confirmed that he was FFB), but he presumably wouldn't have been able to find any info that CX wasn't able to find with his sources and spy network.
And then FFB went and lived with TSJ and FFYY... I imagine TSJ probably tried to keep tabs on FFB to try to figure out if FFB was XL or not during that time, but we (the readers) aren't told much about it so we don't know if TSJ would have picked up on any hints.
In chapter 18, TSJ spied on XY and "FFB" in the maze at little Zhu Rong's residence when XY was talking to "FFB" about him having nine faces and 81 forms and what the real FFB looked like, and it's possible that TSJ could have overheard some of that conversation. But it seemed to me like XL noticed when TSJ arrived and (unlike later circumstances... like chapter 37) he didn't want TSJ to hear their conversation, so he cut XY off and tricked her into throwing an ice dagger at TSJ to force TSJ to reveal himself.
After emerging from his 37-year coma in chapter 22, TSJ would have come to know that XL saved XY's life, confirming that there was still some kind of relationship between XL and XY after WXL became XY.
TSJ told XY in chapter 24 that he felt like FFB was XL when "FFB" scared XY into his arms after she told him that she wished she could have saved him from the death match arena, and XY avoided the topic by saying that she didn't want to talk about FFB or XL. Although TSJ could have been hiding the fact that he already knew that FFB was XL, I personally think that it wasn't a deception and TSJ only suspected that FFB was XL at this point and was not yet completely certain of his identity.
In chapter 26, TSJ overheard XY telling XL to cut it out when she reacted to him increasing her heart rate, and then encountered XY returning from the direction of ocean with "FFB" the next day. If he didn't know with certainty that FFB was XL at that point, I imagine his suspicions would have increased after that.
And in chapter 29 XY found out that Li Jie Chang knew that FFB was XL and assumed that meant that TSJ knew too. If TSJ didn't know before that night, it seems very likely that Li Jie Chang would have talked to TSJ about FFB/XL after finding out that TSJ was in love with XY and that XY was close with FFB/XL.
And then even if he wasn't 100% certain earlier, TSJ definitely knew with 100% certainty that FFB was XL by chapter 32, when he made a deal with XL and then "FFB" invoked XY's promise to prevent her from marrying Feng Long.
TSJ admitted / confirmed to XY that he knew that FFB was XL when she went to confront him in chapter 33.
My sense is that TSJ strongly suspected that FFB was XL for a very long time, but wasn't absolutely, 100% certain until Li Jie Chang confirmed it around chapter 29 and then XL further confirmed it in chapter 32.
1 day agoliddi:
HeadInTheClouds:
Does anyone remember if XL was referred to as a snake demon or some similar variation in the novel?
No. The only reference to 蛇妖 snake demon is the one Xiao Yao stole the egg from. In the novel, Xiang Liu was referred to as 九头海妖 Nine-Headed Sea Demon, 海底妖王 九头妖 Demon King of the Sea Nine-Headed Demon, 九头妖怪 Nine-Headed Demon Monster, 九头怪 Nine-Headed Monster.
17 hours ago
HeadInTheClouds:
Thanks liddi. I think the Xiang Liu in The Classic of Mountains and Seas was described to be a snake monster, but TH never described him as such in the novel. When I read the novel, I always imagined him to be like a jiaolong. Did the drama actually call him a serpent/snake ?
Yes, the mythological Xiang Liu was a huge snake with nine green human heads, very unlike Tong Hua's description of her character.
In Ep2, the children playing in Qingshui town called him 九头蛇妖 Nine-Headed Snake Demon. When talking to Xiao Liu in the drama, he said people disparagingly called him 九头怪 Nine-Headed Monster. The novel only describes him as as a sea demon, not a snake demon.
Although I don't think this matches with Tong Hua's intention for the character, I've sometimes toyed with the idea of head-cannoning XL as a nine-headed sea dragon. The idea has come up again as I've played with ideas about XL's parentage for the purposes of my LYF/Healer scenario. And it makes me think of my favourite mostly-white fictional river spirit.
Since Dahuang has mythical beasts like phoenixes and nine-tailed foxes, dragons don't seem like they would be too far fetched. And dragons ruling the seas was definitely a concept that existed in Chinese mythology. Unfortunately the white dragon king son (Ao Run / 敖闰 / Ao Jun / 敖君 / Ao Ji / 敖吉 / the Dragon King of the West Sea / 西海龙王 / Bailong / 白龍 / Helousachati / 訶樓薩叉提 / 訶樓薩扠提) was the youngest son and was associated with the west sea / Qinghai Lake and autumn while the oldest dragon king son, who was associated with the east sea (Ao Guang / 敖光 / 敖廣 / 敖广 / Axiuhe / 阿修訶 / 阿脩訶 / Qinglong / 靑龍 / Canglong / 蒼龍 / Blue Dragon Spirit King / 青龍神王), was green, blue or azure and associated with spring and the dragon king son associated with winter (Ao Shun / 敖順 / Ao Ming / 敖明 / Heilong / 黑龍 / Xuanlong / 玄龍) was black and associated with the north / Lake Baikal. So the details don't match up perfectly. But I still like the idea, and it's not hard to find depictions of Ao Guang with lots of white incorporated into his look.
This is Ao Guang and his son Ao Bing from the manhua "敖丙传", a prequel to "哪吒之魔童降世".
nathsketch:
Honestly, her plots are weak, regardless of politics being her weakest point, her plots aren't very entertaining either. The romance and the characters are TH's strength, IMO.blabla100:
I tend to be more characters than plot focus in my reading/watching, unless I'm watching an action movie or something along those lines. Characters and themes are the things that I like to look at. I'm very bad at plot details or spotting plot holes.
I enjoy angst, but only in small doses. I like things that lean more towards having an uplifting element as the takeaway message. I don't need Pollyanna running through a field, but it's a real downer to read when the work is suffering-focused. There's enough suffering in real life without getting it hammered into me when I'm reading as well.
I would have love lyf to end up with XY following XL în death, even more than a happy ending, since I believe a tragedy would have been more fitting in keeping the flaw of the story and the identity of the characters intact, but all I got was a very frustrating ending
Could you elaborate a bit on these points; about keeping the flaws of the story and the characters' identity?
I've heard from some fans that after the tragedy of Once Promised, TH promised a happier outcome for LYF. I have nothing to back this up, but hearsay. If it's true, I wonder how much this impacted her choices for LYF. Funny, because while Once Promised was a full-on tragedy, I thought at least those characters lived as honestly and true to themselves as they could - they fought for their dreams and ideals. This is preferable to LYF, where our FL chased her tale and never managed to break out of her fear cocoon. Of course, this is just based on my interpretation.
What is jiaolong actually? In my perception, jiaolong resembles crocodile.H19279:
I see jiaolong as water dragons (thanks to Cdramas), although the word jiao stands for various other meanings/creatures depending on which classic texts you are reading. I think jiaoren means mer-people. If you've seen Til the End of the Moon, then in the dream sequence, the male lead character was a jiaolong. Apparently, there are different kinds of dragons in Chinese mythology, having different powers and dwellings. Jiaolongs are considered more primitive and reptilian in appearance.
(1) The link to Xiang Liu in the myth (2) His blood is poisonous (3) the foreshadow of the story “snake demon- evil 9 tailed fox demon” that XY told him
Yes, the analogy to the snake demon is probably the closest that the novel got to XL being a snake demon.
Noticeably a certain group are still hideously trying to mislead viewers by their nose, misinterpreting whole novel (selling their delusional theories and magazines etc.)Wanning94:
It's one thing to have your own interpretation of the work, it's another to deliberately mispresent the author's words as something they aren't to push your agenda. That's just dishonest behaviour.
They seems insinuating Thai translater as more than official (cause apparently that translater said good about Jing) and better than TongHua.
Wow, really? That logic is illogical. Now that I've seen the less-than-stellar work that is the official Vietnamese-translated novels, I'm weary of reading other translated works
AH :
Lol, the fact that my immediate reaction was the exact same word. @nathsketch please take that as confirmation that they are in fact gorgeous, and not a sign of my lacking original thoughts. ^^"
Hahaha awesome, I’m quite content with the double gorgeousness :D Thank you so much ❤️
It's one thing to have your own interpretation of the work, it's another to deliberately mispresent the author's words as something they aren't to push your agenda. That's just dishonest behaviour.
Wow, really? That logic is illogical. Now that I've seen the less-than-stellar work that is the official Vietnamese-translated novels, I'm weary of reading other translated works
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.
I've only read two thus far.
相思日月长 is the one where she resurrects Xiang Liu using a fragment of his soul which Gong Gong managed to preserve.
不负相思意 is the one where she manages to go back in time due to the mirror after his death, and makes different choices, knowing now what she didn't before.
Are there english versions of these? I have been looking so hard for some good lost you forever fanfictions where xiaoyao chooses xiang liu.
At this point it's starting to feel like these things are deliberate. All a means of keeping us in an unending cycle of digging up, comparing and discussing more conflicting details. ^^
Should I be relieved then that there is only that many versions of the physical novel that I can buy? The only one left is the 2019 revised edition, which by all intents and purposes, should be the same as my 2023 copy. Should I? Should I?......
Lol, the fact that my immediate reaction was the exact same word. @nathsketch please take that as confirmation that they are in fact gorgeous, and not a sign of my lacking original thoughts. ^^"
Agreed!
while Once Promised was a full-on tragedy, I thought at least those characters lived as honestly and true to themselves as they could - they fought for their dreams and ideals.
YES. While Chi Chen and A Heng had a tragic end, at least we are left with the comfort (albeit bitter) that they never betrayed themselves nor their beliefs and principles. This was in contrast to their daughter, and it took his death for her to finally break free and grasp the life she truly wanted, to be free from the palace gates that effectively caged her as well.
I see jiaolong as water dragons (thanks to Cdramas), although the word jiao stands for various other meanings/creatures depending on which classic texts you are reading. I think jiaoren means mer-people.
蛟龙 Jiaolong, hornless or with ox horns, is a scaled water beast from the dragon bloodline, which resides in water and causes massive floods. After thousands of years of cultivation, and surviving tens of thousands of thunder strikes, it can then ascend to the skies and transform into a real dragon. And yes, the word 蛟人 is used interchangeably with 鲛人, both of which mean merpeople. In LYF, the novel uses the word 鲛人.
My sense is that TSJ strongly suspected that FFB was XL for a very long time, but wasn't absolutely, 100% certain until Li Jie Chang confirmed it around chapter 29 and then XL further confirmed it in chapter 32.
You have meticulously and perfectly documented Jing's initial suspicions up to confirmation that Fangfeng Bei and Xiang Liu are one and the same - thank you!
I agree that his suspicions were only confirmed when Lirong Chang made the ruckus at the Lirong donkey meat seller's place, as he would certainly have told Jing who Fangfeng Bei really was after that even if Jing had not gleaned on to the fact based on his pointed barbs. It is interesting though, that Xiang Liu made no secret of his alter ego to Lirong Chang, who had no loyalties to the Shen Nong army. It is possible that they crossed paths during one of those times when Xiang Liu visited the old man and his identity was revealed. In the leaked script, Lirong Chang would later be tasked to try and persuade Xiang Liu to switch sides, but failed, as did his predecessors before him.
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