Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 liddi:

1 day ago
 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.

 liddi:

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".

 blabla100:

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.

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.

 blabla100:

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.

 Wanning94:

Noticeably a certain group are still hideously trying to mislead viewers by their nose, misinterpreting whole novel (selling their delusional theories and magazines etc.)

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. 

 Wanning94:

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

 HeadInTheClouds:

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. 

@nathsketch

Awesome art, nathsketch.  I love TJC's XL, but I don't really see myself as his fan, but you managed to make him look as great as XL and FFB. 

 nathsketch:

Thank you thank you <3

Let us know ehn they are on your store, and drop the link. XD

 AH :

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?......

 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. ^^"

Agreed! 

 HeadInTheClouds:

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.

 HeadInTheClouds:

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. 

 Milky Way:

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.

OoO...going to bookmark these for future reads. Ps. If you use chorme, you can right click and use google translate. its not perfect but it does a decent enough job.