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Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

liddi
 MayaDavid:

Hi all, thanks for the wonderful discussion. Visiting this thread has now become a daily routine of mine. I saw the three book covers that Windiaaa posted in the other thread. Does anyone know what plant is in each of the book covers? The one in volume 3, miss you forever, is that acacia?  Also there seem to be two dragonfiles in that cover. Is there any Chinese symbolism attached with dragonfiles? 

Welcome! Do join us and share your thoughts!

Yes, the pictures refer to red beans (rosary peas), also known as 相思子 seeds of lovesickness or 相思豆 lovesickness beans. From what I know, it should not be called acacias, which are a totally different family of plants altogether.

I concur with @Kokuto that the three covers refer to the red beans in different seasons.

In Feng Shui, dragonflies are considered to be a bringer of luck and good fortune, representing the arrival of good changes and opportunities. The short but wonderful life cycle of the dragonfly is also regarded as a reminder to cherish and make full use of every opportunity.   -- cr. Sohu

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windiaaa041293

@liddi 

Ah, so that's how it is.
Thank you very much liddi for the correction.^^
So does what XY use also include red beans?

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MayaDavid

Kokuto and liddi, thank you both. I thought the leaves in the two plants in book 2 and 3 are different. If they do represent the same plant in three different seasons, I wonder what the different seasons represent with respect to the three volumes. Thanks for the information about the dragonflies. The “short but wonderful life cycle of the dragonfly” does remind me of what the novel mentioned about life being a mix of encounters and separations and how even a short encounter could be unforgettable.

Interesting discussion on Chapter 43. Personally, even more than the lovers bug, chapter 43 was the one that convinced me where XY’s heart truly lies. I am not as eloquent as you wonderful people, but since XL appeared, XY’s behavior was very contradictory to a woman who just lost her fiancé. She was in awe of his demon form, her heart raced uncontrollably, she ate well, she pouted, she grabbed his hair, she twirled, she taunted the seagull demon, and she slept well. And I thought that she even felt a little jealous of furball. In any case, I felt that she was so happy to be with him. And just a chapter before, she married Jing under the moon and said that she will not forget Jing even if it hurt. In chapter 43, she did ask XL about having seen Jing, cried and sang a song. However, those actions felt more like a reaction to XL’s harsh response.

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HeadInTheClouds
 liddi:
红豆 (red beans), otherwise known as 相思子 (seed of lovesickness / yearning) are not acacia beans, but rosary peas. The entire plant is toxic, but especially the seeds:

Are you aware of the poem that referenced this bean and its symbol for yearning, liddi? There is one part of this poem that gets referenced regularly in Chinese dramas. I can recite it by heart in Vietnamese :-)

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windiaaa041293

Aah... looks like you were right @liddi.@kokuto.
The plants on each cover seemed to be red beans.
So, who does Tonghua tell in her 3 books? ^^ 

Speaking of the legend of red beans, I remembered Farwell's poem in chapter 50, about a husband who left his wife to go to war.

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liddi
 HeadInTheClouds:

Are you aware of the poem that referenced this bean and its symbol for yearning, liddi? There is one part of this poem that gets referenced regularly in Chinese dramas. I can recite it by heart in Vietnamese :-)

There are several poems that reference it. Which one are you referring to? 

One of the most famous is 相思 Lovesickness / Yearning by Tang poet 王维 Wang Wei:

相思Yearning
红豆生南国
Red beans grow in the Southern kingdom
春来发几枝。
New branches grow in the spring.
愿君多采撷
I hope that you will gather more
此物最相思。
These that represent the greatest yearning.


I personally know red beans very well, it being a symbol of love and yearning for my husband and I during our courtship days when we were both in different countries at the time.

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windiaaa041293

@Maya david

I agree with you.
There's nothing wrong if she tries to look for Jing or misses him, after all, he's her future husband.
But ....
First, she didn't intend to commit suicide there.
Second, why did she insist on coming to the sea alone even though she knew it was a trap?
Third, if she intended to commit suicide, she should not try to get out of the coffin, she would not remember Miao PU and cx.
Even when she was in the whirlpool she was really afraid that she would die.
Fourth, to whom does the ocean belong?
I remember in one of Yangzi's interviews: she believed in XL, that whatever the circumstances, he would definitely come to save her.

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HeadInTheClouds
 liddi:

There are several poems that reference it. Which one are you referring to? 

One of the most famous is 相思 Lovesickness / Yearning by Tang poet 王维 Wang Wei:

相思Yearning
红豆生南国
Red beans grow in the Southern kingdom
春来发几枝。
New branches grow in the spring.
愿君多采撷
I hope that you will gather more
此物最相思。
These that represent the greatest yearning.


I personally know red beans very well, it being a symbol of love and yearning for my husband and I during our courtship days when we were both in different countries at the time.

That's the exact one :-)

Long distance relationship will bring out those feelings of yearning. Such a complicate emotions - sweet and bitter - but more bitter when there's no hope of a reunion :-(.

Sounds like there is a happy ending to all that yearnings for you and your hubby. 

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Kokuto
 MayaDavid:
Kokuto and liddi, thank you both. I thought the leaves in the two plants in book 2 and 3 are different. If they do represent the same plant in three different seasons, I wonder what the different seasons represent with respect to the three volumes. Thanks for the information about the dragonflies. The “short but wonderful life cycle of the dragonfly” does remind me of what the novel mentioned about life being a mix of encounters and separations and how even a short encounter could be unforgettable.

My guesses ...

The winter of the first book refers to the 'frozen' beginning state of the characters.  Their past trauma has frozen their emotions, so they are hiding, like seeds in winter, trying to avoid the hurt of loss.

The second book is spring or summer.  Emotions and love have awakened and "bloomed." The characters are revived and full of emotions and hope.  

The third book is autumn.  The characters have matured and changed (hence the dragonflies), their choices and emotions have narrowed, been pruned, as they face winter's cold harshness.

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MayaDavid

windiaaa041293, that is an interesting suggestion. Personally, I did feel that XY genuinely wanted to go find Jing when she left for the sea after receiving the message from the little white bird. However, I strongly felt that her behavior was very contradictory when she met XL. Tbh, it felt like she forgot all about Jing and her grief once she met XL. She only seemed to remember when XL was harsh to her. 

Kokuto, your guesses about the seasons make sense to me. Especially the spring season being tied to “love confessed” and the first book with winter and all the suppressed emotions. That is a beautiful description of the characters’ journey btw.

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windiaaa041293

@liddi ,is this acacia red bean?

I looked it up on AliExpress and found this picture of red acacia beans.

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nathsketch VIP
 MayaDavid:

Hi all, thanks for the wonderful discussion. Visiting this thread has now become a daily routine of mine. I saw the three book covers that Windiaaa posted in the other thread. Does anyone know what plant is in each of the book covers? The one in volume 3, miss you forever, is that acacia?  Also there seem to be two dragonfiles in that cover. Is there any Chinese symbolism attached with dragonfiles? 

Oh! A new friend! Hi Maya! Welcome!


Wonderful gifs made by our wonderful  Elise <3

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MayaDavid

@nathsketch  Beautiful gifs of an amazing, amazing actor!! Thanks for the welcome and thanks for keeping all the XL related threads going. I have had a few good laughs browsing through the other threads!

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liddi
 windiaaa041293:

@liddi 

Ah, so that's how it is.
Thank you very much liddi for the correction.^^
So does what XY use also include red beans?

The red beans shown in Ep19 of the drama are the lovesickness beans I mentioned, also referred to in Wang Wei's poem.

I can't find any exact reference to the poisons she actually used in the novel. The only time we see an actual description was when she created the crystal globe, which used 雪山冰魄 ice soul/spirit from Snow Mountain that wrapped around an injured ice silkworm demon and absorbed its poison; as well as various types of rare herbs and poisons. 

However, I love how the novel describes the evolution of her poison-making process:

小夭开始花更多的时间炼制毒药，夜深人静睡不着时，她在榻上摆弄毒药，边摆弄边思量如何才能把毒药做得更好看。是更好看，而不是更有毒。

她脑中有被天下人尊奉为医祖的炎帝留下的《百草经注》，高辛和轩辕珍藏的医书随她翻看，小夭并不怀疑自己做的毒药的毒性，她现在喜欢做好看的毒药。看到凤凰花，她琢磨了几日，又花费了几日几夜，做了一朵栩栩如生的小小凤凰花，花色明艳、花香迷人。看到晚霞，她做出了熙彩流金的毒香屑，犹如将潋滟晚霞从天际采了下来。

每一份毒药，都是她的一个念想，一段心情，她把它们做出来，看它们在她手中盛放，再将它们仔细装好，送出去。

小夭猜度着相柳收到这些毒药时，不知道会是什么感觉，会不会骂她变态。

Xiao Yao started spending more time refining poisons. In the dead of night when she cold not sleep, she would sit on the pallet and fiddle with poisons, thinking of how to make the poisons look appealing. That was, to make it prettier, not more toxic.

From memory, she knew the "Hundred Herbs Manual" left behind by the Flame Emperor who was revered by the world as Yi Zu [Ancestor of Healing] . She had read through Gao Xin and Xuan Yuan collection of medical journals. Xiao Yao did not doubt the toxicity of the poisons she made, but now her interest was in making pretty poisons. When she saw poinciana flowers, she would ponder for days and spend several days and nights to make a delicate lifelike poinciana flower with vibrant colours and intoxicating floral fragrance. Upon seeing the sunset, she made poisonous flower petals of glorious gold like the glowing sunset plucked from the sky.

Each one of her poisons encapsulated a thought, an emotion. She created them, watched them bloom in her hands, then carefully packed them to be sent out.

Xiao Yao wondered what Xiang Liu would think when he received the poisons. Would he label her as a pervert?

-- Vol 1 Ch16

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liddi

I wonder whether Xiao Yao ever made good on her promise to walk backwards...

相柳问：“你很想毒死我吗？”

小六诚实地说：“我又不是轩辕的士兵，你我之间现在还没有生死之仇，我只是想抽你百八十鞭子。”

“你这辈子就别做梦了。”相柳又喝了一杯酒，飘然而去。

小六气闷地对十七说：“我迟早能找到他的死穴，毒不倒他，我就倒着走。”

Xiang Liu asked, "You really want to kill me by poison?"

Xiao Liu honestly replied, "I am not a Xuan Yuan soldier, and there is no blood feud between us. I simply wish to whip you 180 times."

"You can stop dreaming in this lifetime." Xiang Liu drank another cup of wine and floated off.

In anger, Xiao Liu told Shi Qi, "I will find his weakness sooner or later. If I can't take him down by poison, I will walk backwards."

-- Vol 1 Ch2

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“相柳长期服用各种毒药练功，这天下没有任何毒药能毒倒他，他的血才是天下至毒。”
"Xiang Liu has been using various poisons to cultivate his powers for a long time. No poison in this world can take him down, his blood is the world's greatest poison."

-- Vol 3 Ch13  (Chapter 46)

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