liddi:
The timeline of the original publication was as follows:

Vol 1 - Mar 2013 (though it was announced on Weibo 26 Feb 2013)
Vol 2 - Jul 2013 (apparently was meant to be May 2013, based on the last page of Vol 1)
Vol 3 - Aug 2013

This is interesting.

 liddi:
Vol 3 - Aug 2013

Dang it. Sad/bad things historically always happened in August. So of course, my birthday gift in 2013 was Xiang Liu dying. ༎ຶ⁠_⁠༎ຶ

Re-read chapter 43 and it seems she didn't meet XL on her wedding night, but the night after. 

 blabla100:

"Jing returned to Qing Qiu for the wedding preparations on 孟夏 month (first month of summer)" 

Still a bit confused about this lunar calendar, since I'm from a country who only uses the gregorian one. In China, does the month starts the day after the full moon or on the day of the full moon? 

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_calendar:

Alternatively, in some lunisolar calendars, such as the Hebrew calendar and Chinese calendar, the first day of a month is the day when an astronomical new moon occurs in a particular time zone.

Can you clarify what inference you are trying to make and the text you are using to make the inference? According to liddi's previous translation of Xiao Yao's story:

我们最后一次见面,是在三十二天前,孟夏之月的满月日。
The last time we saw each other was thirty-two days ago, on the day of a full moon during the first month of summer.

-- Vol 3 Ch10  (Chapter 43)

Since this text here specifically says "the day of the full moon during the first month of summer," I'm not sure how knowing that the Chinese lunar month starts on a new moon is relevant. The text doesn't say "the first day of the first month of summer."

@solarlunareclipse

I thought she met XL on her wedding night, so 31 days didn't fit a full moon when she parted with jing, but I have re-read the chapter and she met XL the night after her wedding. I was getting confused, but I was just mistaken. She left looking for Jing on the night of her wedding, but she got there the second day, so the night she spent with XL was the night after the full moon. 

 blabla100:
I thought she met XL on her wedding night, so 31 days didn't fit a full moon when she parted with jing, but I have re-read the chapter and she met XL the night after her wedding. I was getting confused, but I was just mistaken. She left looking for Jing on the night of her wedding, but she got there the second day, so the night she spent with XL was the night after the full moon.

She met the albatross demon sometime around noon the day after her wedding night. I think she meets XL, kills the albatross demon, meets Left Ear, and starts telling her story about Jing on that same day. In her story, she says she met Jing on the night of the full moon 32 days ago. However, 32 days ago was not a full moon since the moon cycle is 29.5 days. The full moon should have been 30-31 days ago.

 blabla100:
I think your way of interpreting the moon is very valid too. Out of curiosity though, why do you think Jing wanted a full moon day to get married? 

Xiao Yao surmised it thus on the day of her intended wedding to Jing:

小夭走到窗前,看着天上的圆月。

望日是月满之日,璟选定这个日子成婚,应该想要他们的婚姻圆圆满满吧?可竟然是团圆月不照团圆人。

Xiao Yao walked over to the window and gazed at the full  moon in the sky.

The "gazing day"** is the day of the full moon. Jing's choice to get married on this day, should be in hopes that their marriage would be perfect and fulfilling. However, it turned out that the reunion moon (full moon) did not shine down on reunited people. 

-- Vol 3 Ch9  (Chapter 42)

** 望日 literally means "day of looking/gazing", and refers to the day of the full moon. According to the lunar calendar, a month could be either 30 days (大月 long month) or 29 days (小月 short month). So the day of a full moon is either the 15th day of the short month or the 16th day of the long month. 

I agree with Xiao Yao's surmise. The day of the full moon is an auspicious day, as a full moon symbolises perfection, the reunion of loved ones, and happiness of the family. The Mid-autumn moon in particular symbolises reunion, particularly for those who long for their loved ones from far away. So I believe Jing chose that day to represent an auspicious start to their marriage, which was perfectly understandable particularly considering all the hardships and obstacles that stood between them before he was finally free to marry her. 

 nathsketch:
Dang it. Sad/bad things historically always happened in August. So of course, my birthday gift in 2013 was Xiang Liu dying. ༎ຶ⁠_⁠༎ຶ

I'm so sorry. Look at it from another angle. You will always remember August as the day the world first mourned, and continues to mourn the passing of the man who embodied integrity, honour, selflessness and self-sacrificing love. And although he was dead, he continues to live on in the lives of those who knew and loved him, be it within the universe of the novel, or its readers.

@liddi,Looks like this is a continuation, I forgot that this Tonghua quote was in the thread I made.

but apparently he has never really stopped him...

A little thought floated from Baituo Mountain to Qingqiu. There are Jing, Hou and Yiying. I have been thinking that if during Gaoxin's Lantern Festival, the man rowing out on a pole of spring water and half a stream of flowers in the shadow of flowers was really Jing, not Hou, Yiying and Jing might also be a good couple. Although Yiying was planning every step of the way, when she heard the news of Jing's death, she put aside all her plans. Regardless of the opposition of her family and the eyes of the world, she put on her wedding dress, flew thousands of miles, and climbed Qingqiu Mountain alone. Her ambition was to kill Kill Hou to avenge Jing. It's just, just...the man who came with a lantern in the dim night. Oh it's you! >

 windiaaa041293:
@liddi,Looks like this is a continuation, I forgot that this Tonghua quote was in the thread I made.

Oh I see. Thank you for sharing. Can you also post the original text from the post for this section too?

Yiying as a character won my empathy after we finally understood what truly happened all those years ago, the reason she passionately determined she would live and die as a part of the Tushan family because of her love for someone she thought was her betrothed. She loved passionately and fearlessly, throwing herself in unreservedly. Her tragedy is that she gave her love to the wrong man, and by the time she knew, it was too late, and she could not, would not turn back, and so continued to make wrong decision after wrong decision, ruthless for the man she loved, ultimately bearing the terrible consequences of her actions. 

 liddi:

Oh I see. Thank you for sharing. Can you also post the original text from the post for this section too?

Yiying as a character won my empathy after we finally understood what truly happened all those years ago, the reason she passionately determined she would live and die as a part of the Tushan family because of her love for someone she thought was her betrothed. She loved passionately and fearlessly, throwing herself in unreservedly. Her tragedy is that she gave her love to the wrong man, and by the time she knew, it was too late, and she could not, would not turn back, and so continued to make wrong decision after wrong decision, ruthless for the man she loved, ultimately bearing the terrible consequences of her actions. 

Liddi, you and I share the same sentiments for Yiying. If Hou had not pretended to be Jing, she and Jing would've married and the story would have ended differently for her. 

I also find Yi Ying to be a very interesting character. The name 意映 (Yi Ying) means "feelings reflected". 

True to the meaning of her name, Yi Ying does seem to reflect back the feelings of other characters, including Jing, Hou, their grandmother, Xiao Yao, and Xin Yue.

  • Jing cheated on Yi Ying and pitted himself against her by refusing to marry her. Yi Ying cheated on Jing and pitted herself against him by forcing him to marry her.
  • Hou must have genuinely loved her because Yi Ying really seemed to love him wholeheartedly...until he betrayed her. Then she shot him with an arrow and committed suicide.
  • Jing and Hou's grandmother adored Yi Ying and she was filial back to their grandmother.
  • Xiao Yao's feelings toward Yi Ying are not clearly written, but some passages suggested Yi Ying had feelings of disdain towards Xiao Yao. From this, I would gather that Xiao Yao doesn't like Yi Ying very much--which would make sense.

Xiao Yao felt a shiver go down her spine but forced a bright smile and clapped loudly, innocently saying to Bei “You have to teach me, I want to be as good as Yi Ying.”

Yi Ying looked at Xiao Yao and a flicker of disgust floated past. Bei was leaning against a pole and lazily drawled “You will never be able to learn that skill.”

-- Vol 2 Ch 2 (Chapter 19)

  • Xin Yue obviously had a falling out with Yi Ying and acted superior to her. Yi Ying acted superior right back.

It wasn’t a big deal but Xing Yue was angry because she felt like she was embarrassed in front of Zhuan Xu so she picked a fight “Miss Fang Feng, you ought to manage your brother better, he needs to watch his place before speaking out of turn.”

Yi Ying was furious Xing Yue was looking down on the Fang Feng family so even if the smile was plastered on her face she nailed one back “I’ve been living in Qing Qiu for the last ten years and helping my grandmother, who has time to deal with the Fang Feng family affairs. If you care so much, you deal with it!”

-- Vol 2 Ch 1 (Chapter 18)

Another thought I had is that each of the female leads has an approach to love that mirrors the approach to love of one of the male leads.

  • Xiao Yao and Cang Xuan have similar approaches to love in that they are willing to suppress their love for something they want more.
  • Xin Yue and Feng Long have similar approaches to love in that they view it as a tool for climbing the social/career ladder.
  • A Nian and Tu Shan Jing have similar approaches to love in that they both want to be with the person they like even if that person isn't able to wholeheartedly love them back.
  • Yi Ying and Xiang Liu have similar approaches to love in that they both fell in love wholeheartedly and only loved that one person for their entire lives. Agree that they were both fearless and passionate in their love.

So I guess it's no wonder that we feel empathy for Yi Ying since her approach to love mirrors Xiang Liu's approach to love.

@liddi

3、关于涂山璟

<《长相思》里还有另外一个感触的产物。西毒欧阳锋,出身白驼山,是武林中最光华璀璨的人物。欧阳克是他和嫂子的孩子。这一点残影在王家卫的电影里变成了张曼玉的绝代风华,张国荣的醉生梦死。隔着江湖天涯,想忘也忘不了。但西毒的哥哥呢?那位白驼山的主人呢?没有人关心,连名字好像也没有。我听着《烬》,想的却是白驼山上这个名字都没有留下的欧阳氏男子。他娶了一个不爱他的女人,为什么呢?欧阳锋思念白驼山上的女子,却从没有想过去看自己的大哥,为什么呢?那个女子可以托人把一罐灌酒送到欧阳锋手里,可以生下欧阳锋的孩子,他在白驼山上,是白驼山主,可显然从没有真正阻止过......

一点思绪悠悠,从白驼山飘到了青丘。就有了璟、篌、意映。我一直在想,如果高辛的放灯节,一篙春水、半溪花影中荡舟而来的男子真的是璟,而不是篌,意映和璟也许也是佳偶。意映虽然步步算计,可当初听闻璟的死讯,她却放下了所有算计,不顾家族反对,不理世俗目光,穿上嫁衣,飞奔千里,独上青丘山,她立的志向是诛杀篌,为璟报仇。只不过,只不过......那阑珊夜色中,提灯而来的男子。原来是你!>

注:这段话讲了涂山璟、涂山篌、防风意映的由来,也表明了如果不是涂山篌的算计,涂山璟和防风意映也许是佳偶。书中在涂山璟求婚小夭时也明确写了在被涂山篌陷害前,母亲为他选的妻子就是他憧憬的样子。

<问:十七到底是哪一个地方开始发现小六是女子的啊?

桐华答:他之前就知道小六是幻化的形体了,但他当时万念俱灰,什么都不在意,直到小六看他洗澡脸红时,他......嗯......死了的心也跳了跳......>

注:这段表明了涂山璟为什么会离不开小夭——小夭让他找回了男人的自尊。

>> Source

 plor20:

Liddi, you and I share the same sentiments for Yiying. If Hou had not pretended to be Jing, she and Jing would've married and the story would have ended differently for her. 

In the book, when Tu Shanjing proposed to Xiaoyao, it was clearly written that before being framed by Tu Shanhou, the wife his mother chose for him was the one he had longed for.

Tong Hua's full Weibo post - thank you @windiaaa041293

#桐华# 很早前,曾经说过当年看《雪山飞狐》,虽然非常感动,可其实心里特不赞成胡一刀夫人的自尽。所以,有了表哥和他母亲。
表哥即使长大了,依旧逃不开他母亲刺死自己那一刀的阴影,他的人生永远在和那一刀的阴影搏斗。
作为妻子,与丈夫生死与共,是感人的选择。但作为母亲,既然生下了孩子,就要对孩子负责。

《长相思》里还有另外一个感触的产物。
西毒欧阳锋,出身白驼山,是武林中最光华璀璨的人物。欧阳克是他和嫂子的孩子。
这一点残影在王家卫的电影里变成了张曼玉的绝代风华,张国荣的醉生梦死。隔着江湖天涯,想忘也忘不了。
但西毒的哥哥呢?那位白驼山的主人呢?
没有人关心,连名字好像也没有。
我听着《烬》,想的却是白驼山上这个名字都没有留下的欧阳氏男子。
他娶了一个不爱他的女人,为什么呢?
欧阳锋思念白驼山上的女子,却从没有想过去看自己的大哥,为什么呢?
那个女子可以托人把一罐灌酒送到欧阳锋手里,可以生下欧阳锋的孩子,他在白驼山上,是白驼山主,可显然从没有真正阻止过......

一点思绪悠悠,从白驼山飘到了青丘。就有了璟、篌、意映。我一直在想,如果高辛的放灯节,一篙春水、半溪花影中荡舟而来的男子真的是璟,而不是篌,意映和璟也许也是佳偶。意映虽然步步算计,可当初听闻璟的死讯,她却放下了所有算计,不顾家族反对,不理世俗目光,穿上嫁衣,飞奔千里,独上青丘山,她立的志向是诛杀篌,为璟报仇。只不过,只不过......那阑珊夜色中,提灯而来的男子。原来是你!

Long ago, I once mentioned that when I read "Flying Fox on Snowy Mountain", although I was extremely moved, the truth is I especially could not condone Hu Yidao's wife's suicide. As such, we have [the scenario of] Older Cousin (Cang Xuan) and his mother.
Even after he grew up, Older Cousin was still haunted by the sight of his mother stabbing herself. He was always struggling with the shadow of that stab his entire life.
 
As a wife, choosing to die with her husband was a moving choice. However, as a mother, since she gave birth to a child, she should have taken responsibility for her child.

There is another product of emotion in Lost You Forever.
Western Poison Ouyang Feng from Baituo Mountain, was the most outstanding figure in the pugilistic world. Ouyang Ke was his son with his sister-in-law.
This residual image was transformed into Maggie Cheung's unparalleled elegance, and Leslie Cheung's drunken haze in Wong Kar Wai's movie [东邪西毒 Ashes of Time]. The world kept them apart, but they could not forget each other even if they tried.
But what about Western Poison's older brother? The lord of Baituo Mountain?
No one cared, and it seemed he did not even have a name.
I listened to 烬 Embers (from the movie), but the one I thought of was the man from the Ouyang clan of Baituo Mountain who did not even have a name.
He married a woman who did not love him. Why?
Ouyang Feng missed the woman on Baituo Mountain, yet never thought of visiting his older brother. Why?
That woman could arrange for someone to deliver a jar of wine into Ouyang Feng's hands, and could give birth to his son. He was on Baituo mountain, was the lord of Baituo mountain, but... evidently never really intervened...

A little thought wandered from Baituo mountain to Qing Qiu. Then there was Jing, Hou, Yi Ying. I always wondered, if the man who rowed the boat on the spring waters amidst the shadows of flowers during Gao Xin's lantern festival was Jing, not Hou, Yi Ying and Jing might have been a good match too. Although Yi Ying was calculative every step of the way, the moment she heard of Jing's death, she set aside all her plans, disregarded her clan's opposition and the eyes of the world, put on her wedding dress and rushed thousands of miles all by herself to Qing Qiu mountain. She was determined to kill Hou and avenge Jing. Only, only... the man who came with a lantern that dim night. It was you after all!

-- 桐华tonghua @ Weibo, 4-10, 16:30  (year unknown)

 solarlunareclipse:

She met the albatross demon sometime around noon the day after her wedding night. I think she meets XL, kills the albatross demon, meets Left Ear, and starts telling her story about Jing on that same day. In her story, she says she met Jing on the night of the full moon 32 days ago. However, 32 days ago was not a full moon since the moon cycle is 29.5 days. The full moon should have been 30-31 days ago.

That's what I thought too, but 32 days back is exactly a full moon night. 32 days is 2 days pass XY and Jing s wedding night, take 30 days out of it and it fits a full moon.