blabla100:

I won't watch it either, what I love about Wuthering Heights is the gothic desolated atmosphere

I see it the same way.

For me, it's not even Katie and Heathcliff who are the main characters of this book, it's the world they find themselves in. That's why it's so hard to adapt this book. Because it's not even about a specific love/hate story. They're just two small figures in a large, beautiful, mysterious, dark mystical landscape.

@MountainPine

This is Tong Hua's exact quote

"A woman attaches her life to a man, while another woman lives her own life no matter how strong her love is.)
Lost you forever "Sauvignon Blanc" conveys a very "real" kind of emotion.
I always feel that love in this world stirs the soul, but it is not everything in life.
Family, friendship, ideals, responsibilities... In life, people have all kinds of ties, and there are also many happiness that do not come from love.
"Sauvignon Blanc" is because of deep love, because it cannot be obtained and cannot be forgotten.
However, I am willing to carry this feeling and continue living.
Life is this meeting and then another farewell, it is forgetting and starting over.
You were here, you left.
Although longing is hard to dispel, I still smile when I see the beautiful rainbow.
It has been two years since I published a new book, this is the new story "Sauvignon Blanc" for you.
---Dear readers, my companions on the journey! Without you, there would be no successive stories of mine. Thank you all!"
Tong Hua

About catherine and heathcliff, honestly I don't remember the sequence of events much, what stayed with me was mostly the atmosphere and the emotional violence of it all, the details not so much. Oh, and kate bush's fenomenal song, altough I personally prefer angra's version.
If I'd have to make a guess based on what I recall, maybe she could have found some degree of balance in life, definetely not happiness, but perhaps some stability. It's  hard to tell though, because I don’t  remember how her situation evolved before Heathcliff returned.
 On top of that, there's also that statement of hers, "i am heathcliff", so if I stricly look at  what hathcliff became after her death it's even harder to imagine that Cath's life would have turned out significantly better in the long term without him.
His desperate command and plea for her to return and haunt him, torment him, has always stayed with me. That moment is incredibly powerful. I can even see a parallel here with XY’s mermaid outstretched hand, both gestures feel like a desperate cry of longing that goes beyond reason.

However, I personally see cath and heath  fundamentally different from xl and xy in terms of foundation. I can see both couples existing on the same emotional spectrum, but at opposite poles.
If xy and xl are bound by a beautiful poison that refines and elevate them, then Cath and Heath are trapped in a drug that burns and destroy them to the bone.  Basically, the distinction lies in direction, Cath and Heath can't exist outside of each other versus XY and XL, who nurture each other’s freedom and autonomy. XY with her obsession that she didn't meet him before his adoptive father, so she can let him live freely and XL by turning her three nothings into 3 powers.

I am not really a fan of TanJianci's music to be honest, but you made me curious. I couldn't find it on youtube though, I see only the dance clip.

"I've watched a lot of doramas about love triangles, but in the end, the questions of whom the main  character really loves have never arisen. Except for this story. Is there another similar story that has caused so many discussions, misunderstandings, and completely opposite readings of the plot?"

Hm, not exactly the same, but kind of similar.
 Ice Fantasy, but only if you can get past the bad special effects, a boring main couple and tons of filler episodes. The ost is amazing and the second pair’s story is the highlight of the drama (and the reason that kept most of the audience invested),  though the ending is frustrating and gives little closure. However,  whenever the second pair is on screen it’s pure magic, they captivated me just like XL and XY did. Some side stories are quite great too. Yea, this was 10 years ago, so by today’s standards it might feel a bit outdated, but it’s still worth a try.
They don't have the depth or the layers of XL–XY, but
their relationship is also elusive
multiple identities
from their stances they are enemies
he is totally devoted to his brother
hard to guess his feelings
There’s no love triangle, so the question isn’t who he loves, but whether he loves her.

https://youtu.be/_Ez8u5cvHrc?si=O35mvQMYcJU8u6Mk

Empress ki, epic from beginning to end!

Totally unrelated, but farewell my concubine for an incredibly powerful movie.

 HeadInTheClouds:

I think they could, but do they want to?

PS I just read the comments of people on Twitter after watching it... and they're terrible. And why does that make me so happy? 🤦🙈

wow so beautiful. thank you liddi.

 liddi:

Wishing all who celebrate a very blessed Lunar New Year! 

It's so good to see that the thread continues to be active after all this time. Regretfully, real life being as it is, has made it difficult for me to participate at the moment. I did start listening to excerpts from the audio book again recently, and to my surprise, I still find myself tearing up, a testament to its effect on me after all this time.

For now, let me share memories of Xiang Liu relived through the concept art from the official artbook...

Thank you for sharing these, liddi. All of the pictures are gorgeous!

I almost missed XL sitting up in the tree branch in the first picture. 

Can I ask what the caption says for the second image? At first I thought it was depicting the scene after XL injured XY (when she recognized and saved CX), when XL brought her to a pool in a cave near QS Town where she could heal, but then some of the details made me second guess that. The male figure seems to have light-coloured robes, possibly white, but seems to have black hair. Maybe because XL disguised himself when he went to work as an assassin-for-hire so he could get medicine to help heal XY? But then the female figure seems like she might be washing her hair in the pool instead of recuperating from injuries... which seems more like an XY / TSJ thing? Or maybe the female figure is unconscious and her head is resting on her arm, but for some reason like 80% of her body is outside of the water? I'm hoping the caption will clarify. 😅

It's quite pleasing to see Gourd Lake roughly in the shape of a gourd in the third picture.

I love that they chose to capture the fateful meeting of XL and the real FFB in the vast and inhospitable far north in the fourth picture. 

Going by the fifth picture, I guess this art is meant to be based more on the drama adaptation than the novel? But I'm kind of surprised they chose to not include the moon and barely any stars in that picture. 

The seventh picture is my favourite. You know from our discussions, and my fic, how I feel about the epilogue scene. So incredibly poignant.

It's too bad the artist decided not to depict any of their underwater scenes. They were so good, and I feel like they're particularly difficult to capture well in a drama, whereas a painting would have a better chance at capturing them well. 

I'm a little surprised that they didn't depict the walking-on-the-lake-under-the-full-moon scene from the drama, but I guess the novel version of that scene (on the ocean, which I prefer) has already been depicted beautifully in (official?) artwork for LYF. 

 liddi:

I have added a few more artwork to my original post which I originally missed out, including the artbook cover, the underwater stroll, Xiao Yao wishing the stolen time would never end, and the original concept of the ice crystal globe - before and after Xiang Liu's modification.

Yay you added more!

 liddi:

I have added a few more artwork to my original post which I originally missed out, including the artbook cover

It's funny, the different directions one's mind can go in...

I look at this and part of me thinks about how XY and XL are each in lofty, isolated locations (a mountain peak and tree branch respectively) but those two similarly lofty locations are forever separate from each other and the two could only meet if one or both of them was willing to descend from their lofty, principled place (their undying loyalty). Wheres TSJ waits below in the accessible valley, where XY will eventually join him after finally descending from her isolated mountain peak.

And part of me thinks about how all XY ever wanted was a true companion, someone who fully recognized and appreciated her true self and her unique talents, who would stay by her side so that her long immortal life would be full and not lonely. But while XL has Chubby beside him, his demon bird mount and constant companion for centuries until his death, XY was forced to leave her demon bird mount / companion behind when she was a child, and she is left with only a bird-shaped kite, an artificial imitation of the real thing. 

And then part of me is cracking up at CX and Feng Long over on the side together in their own little bromance world despite the fact that they're part of the four-man reverse harem set-up and supposed to both be suitors who like and want to marry the FL. 

 liddi:

 AH :
Can I ask what the caption says for the second image? At first I thought it was depicting the scene after XL injured XY (when she recognized and saved CX), when XL brought her to a pool in a cave near QS Town where she could heal, but then some of the details made me second guess that. The male figure seems to have light-coloured robes, possibly white, but seems to have black hair.
I know right? Initially I thought it depicted Jing showing up after Xiang Liu left but the caption refers to Xiang Liu (though the depicted character is certainly not white haired). I guess it could be him still in his assassin disguise...

White robed white haired Xiang Liu walked into the cave with the white jade box in his hand.
There was a small pool in the cave. Wen Xiao Liu was afloat in the pool, unconscious.
Xiang Liu took out the elixir from the white jade box and poured it all into the pool.

Well that's strange. I guess I had the right scene, but then the caption also kind of adds to the confusion. 😅

Oh my goodness, these are stunning. 

Genuinely breathtaking. 

Such a good scene. And everything is there. The stars. The moon. The ocean. Their island and the countless other islands scattered across the ocean. The two of them, side-by-side, in a rare moment where they don't have to worry about their identities or loyalties and can just be themselves and savour the beauty of the world and enjoy each other's company.

 liddi:

Another example of a questionable caption is in this artwork - the scene is clearly from the time Xiang Liu took her to play when she expressed her wish to visit the uncharted islands, and felt that their time was like a stolen day, living in the present without a care for tomorrow. Yet, the caption describes a badly wounded Jing emerging from the ocean and passing out on the beach (presumably after surviving Hou's attack and coming back alive). Seriously?

Um. I'm going to have to pretend I didn't read that last part.

I've never thought, "Maybe it's a good thing that I can't read this fluently." before, but I guess there's a first time for everything. 

 liddi:

I missed out the underwater scene, which I have added to the original post. The caption describes the very first time he brought her on their underwater stroll, though the depiction of him in the shell reminds me of the scene in the novel when she woke up from her restful sleep in the seashell and blushed when she wondered if Xiang Liu too saw the shell as their love nest.

The underwater scenery is beautiful but... am I blind? I see the giant clam shell and some vague sea-creature shapes, but I don't see XL or XY?

 liddi:

I was really disappointed that the scene was not included in the artbook as well, particularly since it is such an iconic YaoLiu scene.  I agree that the official poster included in Vol 2 of the original novel does beautifully capture this scene already, but I still would have loved to see the concept art behind that gorgeous scene in the drama too.

Yes!

 liddi:

It is interesting to see the change in the ice crystal globe from the concept art.  The concept art shows a progression - in the original, the mermaid had one hand over her heart while holding out the other hand in supplication to the merman. The modified globe shows the hand over her heart now holding a man's hand while her supplicating hand is empty, with the merman now situated at the periphery of the globe. In the drama, the modified globe appears to retain the mermaid's pose and the original merman, while adding an additional merman below. I still wonder why the drama retained the merman instead of changing it into a figure of a man.

I don't think you'll be surprised to hear me say (again), that I prefer the novel version of the ice crystal globe. I liked that the merman was facing away from the mermaid while she stretched out her hand towards him (with her other hand over her heart). I liked that XL did not change the mermaid or the merman, and simply added the figure of a man (not a merman) who took the mermaid's outstretched hand. XY and XL are both at home in the sea and can hear the song of the merpeople, and they are alike. It makes sense for them to both be represented by merpeople. And in some ways it was the things that made them alike that made it impossible for the merman to turn around to face the mermaid and take her hand. Whereas TSJ (I don't subscribe to the theory that the added man is meant to be FBB) is different, and because of that difference, he is not the 知音 that the mermaid stretched her hand out to, but XL adds that figure to the globe before secretly returning it to XY (after also orchestrating TSJ's return to her) because the different man is able to face the mermaid and to be the person to take her hand in the end when the merman cannot. And therefore it only makes sense for TSJ to be represented by a man, not a merman. So I like that the concept art kept that detail from the novel, even though the drama didn't. 

But I've desperately wanted to see a high-resolution, detailed, and very accurate rendering of the novel version of the ice crystal globe (with the merman facing away from the mermaid!) for ages. One day!

At last, the map of the Great Wilderness from the official artbook (@Kokuto we don't need to guess anymore!)...

It includes a location not included in the novel nor mentioned in the drama (at least not that I can see) 一线天 (literally "A Sliver of Heaven")... referring to a narrow slit in the mountains through which the sky is visible as a thin line.  The theories I read believe this refers to the narrow pass where the Xiyan Great Army ambushed the Chen Rong remnant army, and Xiang Liu fought for 6 days and nights before his death.

荆渡 Jing Crossing is the very first strategic Gao Xin location that the Xuan Yuan army conquered to ensure that their supplies from Xuan Yuan would still be accessible via the waterway as they advanced deep into Gao Xin.

The military strategy map... part of which is visible in the drama:

 blabla100:

Thank you for the pictures, liddi! 

You're very welcome! Yes, they initially sold the artbook along with individual character merch... but I only got the artbook as I purchased it much later. Glad that you liked most of the pictures. None of the depictions of the crystal globe (both the concept art and drama) are true to the novel description. It still boggles the mind why this is the case. 

As for the cover, you make a good point. Xiao Yao and Xiang Liu are the only ones with conceivable eye contact as well, which reinforces the impression that their relationship is reciprocal.