shizaisanxiao

[shizaisanxiao]

hello, if possible can you explain how if one want to write Xianxia, should do, I have researched it but the only thing that came for me is tropes and Taoism is a bit hard to understand. I'll be gratefully.

Hello! This is genuinely a very hard question to cover in full, because xianxia is a genre that is very deeply entwined with China's culture and philosophy. I strongly suggest to read up and to familiarise yourself with materials such as Chinese mythology, legends, culture, and philosophy to start with.

The cultivation aspect of characters in xianxia actually alludes to the pursuance of self and enlightenment in alignment with the law of the universe (the natural order). Immortals and deities alike are not exempt from this natural law—to go against it (i.e to commit sin/crime that goes against the eastern philosophies). There is an overall idea of ascension going on here: that even normal mortals that are born humans to human parents, can attain immortality or the status of a deity through the choices they make and the actions they take. Sometimes, it's because of a significant sacrifice they've made for the greater good.

After this first ascension (human -> immortal / xian) happens, the pursuance towards this idea of enlightenment and to shed their mortal shackles (not just their body, but any earthly delights that binds them to the physical realm such as passion or desire) does not stop. Xianxia generally focuses on this second phase. It can be a story about the obstacles they face while they're trying to get to a place of higher enlightenment (hello love interests that may or may not be decidedly evil or generally against the law of good), or a story about how they're taking on the responsibility of keeping the natural law of the universe intact (e.g keeping mortals safe from demons). It can even be a story where they got demoted because of something they did (murder? mass murder? or such) and are trying to get back to their previous status. The more familiar you are with this concept, the more spins you can put on it. It can even be a story of a deity/god falling in love with an immortal/mortal and how they struggle to stay together despite the punishments given to them by the heavenly laws because it goes against the natural order. This is generally seen in most xianxia webnovels.

Just like wuxia, you may have noticed that xianxia does have sects. What these sects usually represent are different schools of philosophy that is decided by the sect leader who created it and is passed down to the next successor. People of that sect live and practice the school's philosophy to attain the previously mentioned higher enlightenment, that's why they make a big deal of it when one of their members go or act against that very philosophy itself (regardless of if altruistic or selfish reasons).

As you can see, there's a lot of philosophy at play in the genre. It's more than the presence of immortals and demons that makes xianxia what it is. It's for standing up for the righteous and the good—sometimes even if it's not what the heavenly mandates believe it to be. Sometimes, it's about the struggle about doing what's right even when your heart doesn't want to because it's human and therefore still selfish (not letting go of your lover and being a general obstacle in their path towards enlightment). It also brings into question what is considered good and what is considered evil, as well as grey areas that are covered. Once again, philosophy.

Definitely read widely, and watch similar dramas if that's more fun to you than reading! It's a struggle trying to break something that encompasses so many elements down into little bits I hope this wasn't too confusing for you.

[shizaisanxiao]

About 男神／女神／大神

I can't count the number of times I've seen people translate 男神 into boy girl, and 女神 into girl god / goddess. While the literal translation is correct, that's not really what it means.

男神 and 女神 are internet lingo. They're both statuses that a particular individual can have, but they are not titles. They can be stand-ins for titles, but they are absolutely NOT titles. Please.

神, which literally translates into god, is less of an actual god in any religion, but more of a status—god-tier status.

"She is such a god-tier artist!" has the literal same meaning to "她是繪圈裡大神！"

大神 is directly related to an individual's ability. When they are extremely good at something, their status is likened to that of a god (god-tier). This status is usually bestowed upon them by their fans, or people within their community. As mentioned before, since it is directly related to their ability, it is possible to strip them of their status. This typically happens when someone seen as 大神 says or does something inappropriate/illegal that the public disagrees with, or if they had a sudden drastic drop in the quality of their work.

男神/女神 just refers to how close a man or a woman is to your ideal embodiment of a god—in your personal opinion, and no one else's. You can think of this term with the same meaning as calling someone your bias. You worship them because of their looks / how their voice sounds / how perfect their behaviour is (i.e Tom Hiddleston), and therefore you elevate their status to being your personal god/idol.

One person's 男神/女神 is not another's 男神/女神.

Such as, I can say Yoo Junghyuk is my bias. 劉眾赫是我的男神 (for real tho go read ORV)

It doesn't mean that Yoo Junghyuk is your bias. You might not even know who they are.

The status of 大神 is bestowed upon an individual via unanimous agreement of the community.

Such as, Miyashita Yuu (famous Utaite on youtube) is god-tier.

男神/女神 can be a fictional person or a real life person. (Hatsune Miku is my goddess!)

大神 must only be someone who exists in real life. (You literally cannot say Hatsune Miku is a 大神 because they don't exist! There's no ability to be said of!)

Hope this helps.

Source: myself, because 劉眾赫是我的男神 (cough) (Mother tongue Cantonese, Second tongue Mandarin, and also goes around asking people to join The Church of Yoo Junghyuk)

[shizaisanxiao]

I've decided to drop the Secretary title because I've gotten to the latter part of the book and it's just the typical alpha male x his secretary. I'll pick something else I've finished and liked. That teaches me to translate before completing the book!

I'll probably pick up 一級律師 (World Class Lawyer) by 木蘇里 or 在逃生遊戲裡當最6的主播 (Horror Escape Top Streamer) by 慚時

[shizaisanxiao]

The moment the last carriage left the outer city area, a huge mushroom cloud rose from District 6. Lu Feng's hands had completely covered An Zhe’s eyes.

Little Mushroom, Ch. 25

Commission for Abel

Excuse my poor animation skills but this is how I see the end of 25th chapter.

[shizaisanxiao]

Working for the ruthless general as his secretary while pretending to be a Beta

Original title: O裝B給暴戾上將當男秘 Author: 公子柔 (gongzi rou) Genre: ABO, Futuristic setting

Blurb

JUST IN: ——EMPIRE GENERAL LUKAS ORDERS TROOPS TO SURROUND MORTON HOTEL, VOWS TO FIND ONE NIGHT STAND ASSAILANT!

It didn't take long for the news to spread—from the Empire Daily to various social media sites, the same story was being broadcasted to the public through their personal terminal device.

The news photo accompanying the articles was of General Lukas in his army uniform.

In the picture, Lukas stared coldly directly at the camera. Despite it being a mere photograph, it was impossible to ignore the weight of aggression in his gaze and the imposing manner in which he carried himself with—a mark of his status as a Triple-S ph(pheromones) ranked Alpha.

Aside from being an Alpha of such a high ranking, the General himself is also the Empire's best defense and their best offense. He is the Empire's sword, a presence greatly feared by others, and was a huge contributing factor towards the erection of the Empire's Protection Barrier. Thus, half of Omega population in the Empire were in tears.

While Lukas' aggressive personality remains to be a huge put off for Omegas, it didn't get in the way of them daydreaming about him as their Prince Charming.

Who was the one audacious enough to have a one night stand with him?!

By then, various channels were selling stories of love and romance: from "A day together as two loving husbands" to "The possessive General's most doted lover: the bride who ran away", and countless speculations on the identity of the individual involved in the General's one night stand. Could it be the Empire's top actor, well known for their beauty? Or perhaps a noble prince from Ancient Earth?

Was the General finally putting an end to his single lifestyle?

Was the Empire finally getting a General's Lady?

Since the General had no idea who the mysterious person is, perhaps someone could impersonate them and take over their identity? ——so said the Omega population of the Empire.

Shortly afterwards, a clip of an interview of the General quickly made the rounds around the internet.

In the video, General Lukas was completely surrounded by eager reporters. "What are your plans after identifying this mysterious person?"

At this, General Lukas began to scowl.

"Kill them," he said, scoffing.

???

The reporters wondered if they had misheard.

"General, you mean... "

"They're shameless and despicable," General Lukas said, revulsion clear in his voice. "Find them, then kill them."

"..."

Something... isn't quite right?

...none of this is as expected!

---------------------------------------------

Notes: Sentences restructured for English and for readability. I've done my best to stick as close to the original as possible. Lukas generally speaks in a sharp and curt tone. He's stingy with his words, but I can't cut down on any more words than I already have. You can probably guess who the mysterious one night standee is, lmao. Pheromones was shortened into ph because it shares the same vibe as 'moist'. I'll likely refrain from using this word as much as I can in translation.

In the original, Lukas referred to the offender as an object. But I can't say one night stand object, can I...

[shizaisanxiao]

List of danmei setting

This list is by no means exhaustive. Readers tend to choose novels based on story setting and MC characterization. Some authors will also indicate if the story is told from the bottom's pov (主受), or the top's pov (主攻).

Story setting:

種田 : Farming. Story is pretty much based around farming elements. Farming / agriculture can be for food, magical plants, or even more. The farm has important significance to the plot.

末世: Apocalypse. Can also be combined with other settings.

明星／巨星／娛樂圈: Entertainment Industry/Superstar/Idol

網配: Voice Acting. Refers to voice acting groups that are usually online based. MC may or may not be a member of the VA group.

美食: Food. Tends to be based around cooking. MC is good at cooking and the world he is living in is probably living off of vitamins and nothing else.

生子: Pregnancy. Yes, male pregnancy.

機甲: Mecha. Novel tends to be based in futuristic settings. May or may not have zurg.

蟲族: Zurg. Beware, your MC might be a zurg. I once read a novel where MC is a zurg, and his zurg form is a caterpillar the size of a cat. He also eats mineral rocks. Otherwise, your MC is probably fighting against the zurg.

重生: Rebirth. MC died and is offered a second life either by a system, or just woke up in someone else's body randomly one day without realizing they had died.

快穿: MC travels through multiple dimensions, worlds, and timelines, for the purpose of completing tasks that the omnipresent System had set for him. Usually hops through a lot of different settings for variety.

穿越: Isekai-ed. Might be into a book, into another world, or into a dimension of higher planes.

網遊: Online games. They're either professional gamers or MC played a game and fell in love with the no.1 player of that game. Choose one.

架空: Fanciful setting. No real life persons, places, or logic has been referenced. Whatever the authors says is, goes.

校園: School / academic setting. Can be in high school or university.

黑幫: Mafia

科幻: Sci-fi

仙俠: Xianxia Chinese Fantasy. If you know what MDZS is you'll know what this means. Flying swords, people fighting against gods, fantasy realms, martial arts, you get it.

甜文: Fluff novels

虐文: Angst novels (usually high-angst to be grouped into this category)

List of character settings:

These tags are usually added before the top or bottom to denote their character and role.

渣: Scoundrel, or just bastard. Basically a huge asshole.

冷漠／冰山: Cold-hearted, unemotional, indifferent.

面癱: Someone who does not express their emotions

忠犬: Loyal

流氓: Hooligan or rogue. Is usually a rough personality.

強勢: Domineering

溫柔: Gentle, caring

腹黑: Inwardly evil (白切黑means outwardly kind but inwardly pure evil)

作死: Someone who often tests someone else's limits for fun

傲嬌: Tsundere

總裁: CEO / President personality

毒舌: Cynical / cutting personality. What they say may not be their true feelings.

女王: Queen. Expects obedience from their CP, is usually cunning and clever.

病嬌: Yandere.

白月光: Someone whom the other reveres and looks up to, but can never hope or wish to be together with

天然: Natural. Can usually mean naive.

弱: Weak. All rounded weak personality.

年下: Younger than the other half of the CP

陽光: Sunny disposition

美人: Extremely outstanding in terms of beauty and charm

大叔: Uncle. Implies that this character is middle-aged.

[shizaisanxiao]

The genre of danmei

Danmei, or 耽美, is in itself a genre of literature that are stories about love between men. Danmei is usually further separated by the setting of the story (e.g zombie apocalypse / 喪屍文 ) and the characterization of its main leads (e.g stoic top x yandere bottom / 面癱攻 x 病嬌受). There are many different types of genre and settings within danmei, which I may make a list of later (if I remember).

While a danmei novel can involve sex between the characters, the focus of danmei is on the beauty of love that exists between two men. Therefore, danmei novels may not always start out with characters who are gay, but who eventually falls in love with a man and therefore accepts that he is gay. Danmei novels that focus heavily on sex are usually categorized as 肉文 (meat novel).

The term danmei was taken the Japanese term たんび (tanbi), which refers to the English term aestheticism (the Aesthetic Movement), originating in the 19th century. It is an art movement that emphases aesthetic value and effects—of literature, fine art, music, and other arts. This meant that the art of the movement was produced with a view toward being beautiful first and foremost, rather than serving a moral, allegorical, doctrinal or other such purpose — "art for art's sake". Through this movement, the philosophy of Aesthetes is such that there is admiration and constant striving for beauty and love, among other things. It is their ideal that life should imitate art, and therefore bring their romantic ideals closer to life. (Wikipedia)

The word 耽 (dan) translates into indulgence of-, an addiction of-, or stayed for-, stop for-,. The most common term using 耽 is 耽誤 (delayed out of mistake). 

美 (mei) comes from 唯美, which refers to the aesthetics of beauty and love. As you can see, danmei as a term will come together to mean delayed by the idealism of beauty/love/romance.

The majority of most danmei novels are published on 晋江.  Other similar sites are 长佩, 白熊 (mobile app), and 书耽. Out of all of the sites, despite their bad  rap for how corporate treats their contracted writers, 晋江 remains to be the go-to platform for all danmei writers and readers. Think of it as the AO3 of all other fanfiction sites such as fanfiction.net and wattpad. With money.

Danmei writers write danmei as a job. By this, I mean that it is possible that they depend on danmei for their monthly income. The beginning chapters of a novel are usually free, to hook readers into the story, after which they will change into VIP readership (入V, V stands for VIP) for paying readers only. Readers are to pay a certain amount per each chapter, and on top of paying for the privilege of reading VIP chapters, they are able to tip the authors as well.

As an example, you may read chapters 1—20 for free, and you would have to pay for chapters 21 and onward. This is why the beginning of most danmei novels tend to be action packed, in order for the readers to be emotionally invested, so that they would pay to be able to read the rest. It is also why some novels tend to fall apart in terms of story and action with many filler chapters in the middle. More experienced writers are able to write well balanced chapters despite the entire novel being 200+ chapters long. That said, writers do need to eat, so if it is possible to pay for a chapter, I would strongly recommend that you do so.

(Personally I prefer reading fully completed novels, so that I won’t have to suffer through a novel that ends up going into hiatus... forever. Banished into the shadow realm I guess.)

Common novel terms:

入V：Otherwise known as VIP readership. All chapters marked for VIP readership requires the reader to pay for the chapter. Each chapter may be paid for individually, or as a subscription. A percentage of these profits will go to the writers, and the rest to the platform on which the novel is hosted.

求營養液：Writers would usually include these in the footer of chapters, inviting readers to tip them. It is basically their way of saying “buy me a coffee (on ko-fi) if you like my work!”, except the tipping is done through the hosted platform.

加更：Due to the huge volume and demand of chapters required in a novel, most writers would have a reserve of finished chapters to fall back upon. Chapters are usually published one by one on a scheduled basis (e.g once per day/week). 加更means that they will tag on an additional chapter to the original schedule. It’s also the author’s way of saying thank you to their loyal readers who have supported them.

日更：日 means daily, and 更means renew (更新). Any novels tagged with this means that a new chapter will be uploaded daily.

爛尾：This term refers to novels that end up in hiatas (forever), are not and never will be completed, or there is an ending written for the novel but it really sucks in terms of story. This is not to mean that the story had completed on a bad end, but to mean that there are lots of remaining plot holes that were never explained, loose ends, and shaky plot. Think of a story where the previous 80 chapters were about how the top had badly abused the bottom, and then in chapter 81 they’re suddenly married and the bottom is magically not suffering from trauma despite the evidence in the previous chapters and now they’re settling for a baby in a happily-ever-after that came out of nowhere.

爽文：Refers to stories where the main lead is often an unstoppable character—be it in terms of intelligence, looks, or brawl. The story aims to instill the thrill of victory within its readers, and is supported by the plot. Novels of this nature are often easy to read, require no detective work from the reader, and typically ends with Happy Ending. These are intended for pure entertainment and amusement purposes (see potato chip novels).

Example: The MC is a quiet and antisocial student. This is well known by his peers. Unknown to them, he is actually a genius, and ends up top of his cohort in a term exam. A classmate who resents him for his good grades challenges him to a basketball match, with the intention of giving him a hard time on the court. Since he’s skinny and always sits out during gym, the classmate is certain the victory is his. The MC completely fleeces him during the match. A well known professor is then invited to the MC’s school for a talk. MC requests to speak with the professor after the talk, and the classmates laugh / jeer at him. It ends up the professor is the MC’s uncle.

打臉：Can be translated into ‘slapped on the face’. The slap is often by means of being proven wrong, after having said or done something to negate the actions or words of someone else. It does not refer to a physical slap, but the sting of challenging someone head-on and then being proven wrong.

(Example:

Classmate: I saw you come out of the professor’s car (or some other similar situation)! You’re fucking him for money, aren’t you? How else are you going to explain the branded goods you have? Aren’t you shameless? I’m disgusted to even be in the same class as you, just you wait until I report this to the principal—

MC: ...

The Professor™: I’m his uncle. Would you mind repeating your previous sentence? I didn’t quite catch that I’m afraid.

Classmate: (literally feeling so attacked right now.))

肉：NSFW scenes

清水：The exclusion of NSFW scenes in a novel, where the novel is ‘clear and pure as water’

抓蟲：Bug catching refers not to actual real bugs, but to errors existing within the novel. This can be as simple as the wrong word being used (對不起becoming對不其), and as complicated as scenes in different chapters not matching up, or plot holes that are overlooked or unexplained etc.

HE: Happy end

BE: Bad End

TE: True End

攻：Top / Seme

受：Bottom / Uke

I honestly prefer just saying top/bottom. Gong/Shou is simply the hanyupinyin used to write and to pronounce these words. But they really just mean top/bottom.

If there are other terms/phrases that you have come across and would like to know more, feel free to send in to me via ask.

[shizaisanxiao]

Hello! I am 百鬼. This blog is created solely for my personal entertainment and not for profit, to translate and explain slang and phrases often seen within danmei novels, as well as translating danmei I’m currently reading / interested in. Hopefully I will be able to shed some light upon Chinese culture as well.

I am fluent in both English, Simple Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. If there any translations within existing novels that do not make sense, I will be happy to clear it up for you to the best of my ability. Please do not ask me to translate school setting novels or xianxia (仙俠) novels. I tend to not read those.