Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 blabla100:

Very good analysis, H19279, you summarized everything very well. XY is quite pitiful. 

I just figured out something and changed the post about hibiscus. This flower is special for FFB

@HeadInTheClouds @windiaaa041293 @blabla100

You're welcome. I may not be able to participate or translate as much, especially in the few weeks but will see what I can do leading up to it.

 blabla100:

Back cover

" The geese at the border have flown high but the person still has not returned, Only the wind and moon behind the curtain is carefree."

To me these fragments from vol 2 and vol 3 back covers sound similar to the Voodoo King's poem.  

The Voodoo King sighed “Our Jiu Li folk ballad sings ‘The twisted roots of the parasol tree entwine on land, the doves do not fly alone in the sky, the pair of mandarin ducks in the water always die together.'”

Just a quick note here. The Bai Li ballad does not refer to doves, but a mythical jian bird where each bird has only 1 eye and 1 wing, so it needs another bird to fly together with. Which in turn emphasises the love and co-dependence that they need in order to survive, to always be together.

@HeadInTheClouds

Love your analysis of Xiang Liu's appearance reflecting his inner qualities.

"I find it interesting that out of the 4 main characters, it’s Xiang Liu, the one who was born into the worst circumstances, with the worst childhood and with the worst reputation, who actually showed the purest heart and selflessness. We readers struggled with his decisions so much because we, like Xiao Yao and the other characters, are inherently selfish and weigh everything on the scale of gains and losses. So we find his choices and actions difficult to accept.
Maybe Xiang Liu had to die in the end because someone like him doesn’t or can’t exist in this mortal world. Or Maybe because he’d finally paid all of his debts or learned all of the lessons that he needed to move to the next stage towards enlightenment. Tong Hua does favour him; she allows him to achieve nine lifetimes worth of learning/paying in one."

And you just triggered more pain. I think for me, it is the pervading sense of injustice of it all on his behalf... why it had to end this way for him, when he had prepared the best possible arrangement for everyone else. He loved her so dearly that he would do anything he could to minimise her pain by keeping her as much in the dark as possible, but why? What about himself? He saw his own wishes less than everyone else's, or I would venture to say, his wishes was to fulfil the dreams of everyone he loved. And this is why I still cannot move on.

@H19279

Thank you very much for the insightful, in-depth analysis of the flowers that correspond to each character. Just goes to show there are so many nuances that can be found in the novel, if we knew where to look. I think the theory of the hibiscus is particularly obscure and not as easily perceived because it is so blatantly associated with Jing in her actions and words, but definitely holds merit with your analysis.

 Elise:

I just checked their profile and they were online 4 days ago. I'm guessing they moved on from the story :)

A wise Fei Fei. Unlike us mere mortals :)

But I'm now having a new-found sense of enjoyment of this story. Xiang Liu truly is the greatest character in this story so he needs to go out with a bang worthy of his greatness. Xiao Yao is completely undeserving of him, so I'm finally glad that she'll end up with that sorry, broken, emasculated wimpy fox and live a "not tragic" ending ('cause happy that ending certainly is not :D). And I'm even happier with all those interpretations that make it seem like she'll live a lifetime of regret and that Xiang Liu will always be a shadow on her relationship with Jing.

@blabla100

The swan symbolizes faithful love.
just like the story behind the poem title chapter 32.

 liddi:

"塞雁高飞人未还 The geese at the border has flown high but the person still has not returned," - Isn't the person who did not return Xiang Liu?

 blabla100:

Vol 3 思无涯 Unending Yearning (Miss You Forever)

Back cover

" The geese at the border have flown high but the person still has not returned, Only the wind and moon behind the curtain is carefree."

@Windiaaa041293

The bird mentioned in the poem at the back cover of vol 3 is 飞雁 . That is the same bird in the poem used for title of chapter 32 (摸魚兒－雁丘  -  (by Yuan Hao Wen) )

A famous pass on the Great Wall  in Shanxi China which appeared in many costume chinese dramas named after this bird 雁门关 , Yanmen Pass - Wikipedia 

In Chinese-English dictionary, it is usually translated as wild goose. 

秋 風 起 兮     白 雲 飛。

Qiū fēng qǐ xī bái yún fēi.

Autumn winds rise, white clouds fly,

草 木 黃 落 兮         雁 南 歸。
Cǎo mù huáng luò xī yàn nán guī.
Leaves turn yellow, wild geese return south.

蘭 有 秀 兮     菊 有 芳，
Lán yǒu xiù xī jú yǒu fāng,
Orchids flourish, chrysanthemums are fragrant,

懷 佳 人 兮     不 能 忘。
Huái jiā rén xī bù néng wàng.
I long for my lover, I cannot forget.

The poem is similar to poetry from 李煜 Li Yu, 《长相思·一重山》"Everlasting Longing, A Mountain Range"

 One mountain range, two mountain ranges, Faraway peaks against lofty skies and cold mists, Yearning like flaming maple leaves. Chrysanthemums bloom, Chrysanthemums wilt, The geese at the border have flown high but the person still has not returned, Only the wind and moon behind the curtain is carefree.

In fact, after watching "Zeng Promise", I always put Xiang Liu and Chi Chen together. In fact, as a demon race that is not recognized by the gods or humans, it is also a lonely and difficult way to survive. Their understanding of emotions is always a little different from ordinary people.

But the difference is that Chichen is a talkative, talkative, outgoing and confident. Xiang Liu has no mouth, and often does more than he talks. So I think some of Xiang Liu's ideas can be combined with Chi Chen's ideas to infer.

Chichen and Aheng said:

The separation was right in front of them, and Ah Heng felt that there were some things that she still needed to make clear to Chi Chen, "I only married Shaohao for......""

While Chichen was getting dressed, he said, "I don't care if you've ever been married, the problem between you and me is not Shaohao."

He turned back to look at Ah Heng, "Everything depends on you, what I want is your place!"

His palm was placed against Ah Heng's heart, "Are you willing to give me your sincerity?"

Ah Heng nodded vigorously.

Chi Chen smiled, staring into Ah Heng's eyes with bright eyes, "As long as you are willing to be sincere to me, that's all. All the difficulties in the world will recede!"

In fact, Xiang Liu has never regarded Tu Shanjing or anyone as his love rival, at least that's how Xiang Liu is in the novel. His attitude towards Xiaotian will always depend on Xiaotian's attitude towards him.

Xiaoyao sometimes feels that Fangfeng Bei is like a child who has been lonely for a long time. He has played with countless toys and has long been boring. Now that he has finally found a playmate, she can't help but can't wait to play with him, wanting to share everything with him. It looks playful, but it's actually the most sincere.

This paragraph actually reminds me of the conversation between King Shennong and Ah Heng:

King Shennong said: "Chichen likes you, have you thought about what to do?" Aheng raised his head in panic and hurriedly denied, "Chichen is not serious, he is just for fun and novelty."

King Shennong stared at Chichen, with fatherly kindness and worry in his eyes, "You are wrong, he is the most serious person in the world. His love is love, from the heart, without any distracting thoughts, and extremely sincere." A pair of swallows just flew above their heads , King Shennong pointed and said: "They seem to be frivolous. They just seek love every year and never promise to be together for the rest of their lives. But they will never leave each other for life. Your father gave your mother a grand wedding and promised to be together for life." How has he treated her these years?"

Ah Heng stared blankly at the swallows going away. After a while, he whispered: "I lived in the Baili tribe for a while, and found that the Baili tribe's believers only live in the present day., they think that as long as they are happy in front of them, it will not matter even if they die immediately tomorrow.