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glorious-sunset · 9 months ago

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Character Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

What’s in a name? For the characters of LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil), a whole lot of hidden meanings! These are not apparent to English viewers. Here are my translations and interpretations of these meanings.

DongFang Qing Cang - 东方青苍: “East, Cyan, Dark blue”

The surname “DongFang” means East, the direction of the rising sun. Both Dongfang Qingcang’s (DFQC) personal terrace at Silent Moon Palace and the replica Arbiter Hall he built for Xiao Lanhua (XLH) face East, and capture the most beautiful sunrises. DFQC (and previous generations of DongFangs) are well-respected by their people and enjoy the best locations and residences in Cangyan Sea.

The “Cang” in DFQC was named for his realm, “Cang” Yan Sea, as he was expected to be its leader and follow the path set for him by his father, and Lady Yan before him. Lady Yan chose to rid herself of emotions in order to wield Hellfire, and DFQC’s father forced the same decision onto him. The hanzi (mandarin character) for “Cang” in DFQC and Cangyan Sea means dark blue, and the darkness of this colour represents the darkness of the path he was expected to follow.

But “Cang” is not the only colour in DFQC’s name! The “Qing” in his name means lighter shades of blue/green, or cyan. And despite his prescribed mission to emotionlessly conquer the three realms, DFQC has many lighter, more peaceful shades to his character that reveal themselves as the series progresses. He forms a friendship and brotherhood with his enemy Changheng, who shares with him a love of playing music, art and cuju! And he rises above the cruel dictator of Shuiyuntian who almost annihilated his people, by sending his people to aid Shuiyuntian.

(The aurora borealis in Cangyan Sea is also cyan and dark blue :D DFQC might have been named for this as well as for Cangyan Sea!)

Xiao Lan Hua - 小兰花: “Little Orchid Flower”

We are first introduced to our female lead as “Xiao Lanhua”, which is not a name, but a description of what she believes her true form to be, a little orchid flower. But this was a disguise given to her by her parents and upheld by Siming. Her real name is Xiyun.

Xi Yun - 息芸: “Every breath”

The character for “Xi” in XLH’s true name is the same as the “Xi” in her realm, “Xishan”, and means breath (of life). Just like DFQC, she is named for her realm, as she was the intended leader of Xishan as its Goddess. The Xilan tribe of Xishan had powerful healing magics, and hers is the most powerful of all, with the ability to resurrect the dead with her blood, thus providing the breath of life. She uses this to great effect, resurrecting DFQC in ep. 26, everyone who died on the battlefield in ep. 31, and freeing the 100,000 sealed soldiers of the Moon Tribe.

The “Yun” in her name meaning every, combined with “Xi” can be interpreted as “every breath”. Sadly, XLH’s every breath is for one purpose and brings her closer to her one destiny. She is fated to sacrifice herself to save the three realms from Taisui. If this had happened, then like Lady Chidi before her, her sacrifice would soon have been forgotten.

Chi Di - 赤地: “Red/Barren Earth”

The “Chi” in Lady Chidi’s name means red, and paired with “Di” meaning earth, can also mean barren earth. She is the only official in Shuiyuntian seen wearing Red, as even the current God of War, Changheng, conforms to the same white and pale blue robes that other officials wear. Chidi is therefore a standout who asserts her individuality and does not conform to expectations. Her way of thinking outside the box, led to DFQC and his 100,000 Moon Tribe soldiers being completely blindsided by her sacrifice 30,000 years ago. It also led to her breaking heaven��s laws to resurrect Ronghao, to her later detriment.

Chidi wields powerful earth magics, as represented by her name. These are so powerful that she is able to seal the 100,000 soldiers of the Moon Tribe within the barren earth of Xuanxu realm. Her mighty Shuofeng sword is also swallowed by the barren earth and her magic cannot be reversed without her primordial spirit.

Xun Feng - 巽风: “Obedient wind”

The “Xun” in Xunfeng means to obey, and the “Feng” means wind. His name can be interpreted as either “obedient to the wind” or an “obedient wind”. Like the wind, Xunfeng lacks substance, confidence and ability, and is disrespected by his people during DFQC’s imprisonment. Many contenders try to steal his position as Moon Supreme, and he almost dies on the Wind Plain until DFQC arrives to save him.

But Xunfeng cares fiercely for his people. In his attempt to protect them, he collaborates with Ronghao without knowing his identity or motivations. He is thus “obedient to the wind” where Ronghao is an unknown and unseen entity, like the wind. Xunfeng is unable to discern that Ronghao is keeping Cangyan Sea in a constant state of civil unrest and tormenting the souls of deceased Moon Tribe members until much later, with DFQC’s help!

Shang Que - 觞阙: “Watchtower”

“Que” meaning watchtower is an apt description for DFQC’s lieutenant and right-hand man. Shangque has many talents suiting him to this role! These include his ability to be stealthy, gather information discreetly, undertake covert missions successfully, act as a powerful defensive force, and a healing one due to his skill with Chinese medicine. Like a watchtower, he kept watch for 30,000 years during DFQC’s absence on all events occurring within the three realms. His loyalty and love for DFQC, whom he views as a brother and whose return he awaited for 30,000 years, are astounding!

“Shang” paired with “Que” can mean lacking sustenance. This is the state Shangque was in when orphaned as a young boy, and many tried to take advantage of him and his dragon body. If not for DFQC saving him, he would likely have perished from hunger or been murdered :(

Jie Li - 结黎: “Dark knot”

Jieli suffers from much internal torment which is like a dark knot inside her. From the moment she was born, she never knew or received love, and was raised by people who continually exploited her, physically harming her and threatening her life. That she is even capable of loving and caring for others is a miracle! Unlike Shangque, nobody like DFQC ever stepped in to save her and care for her.

Jieli cares deeply for both XLH and Shangque. Her life under threat, she makes some bad choices such as spilling a drop of Chidi’s blood onto the Bone Orchid. This is one of many dark and knotty situations she encounters. Although she soon decides she would rather die than hurt XLH, Dieyi poisons Shangque to force her obedience.

Yun Zhong - 云中: “Among the clouds”

Yunzhong literally lives among the clouds, but his head is also in the clouds. He is very narrow-minded and cannot think outside the box. When XLH does not fit within the eight-class system of Shuiyuntian, he immediately decides she is Moon Tribe (even before the Bone Orchid protects her) without considering other possibilities. He is so strict with Changheng that he would rather execute the most powerful asset to Shuiyuntian (and his brother!!) than tolerate the slightest disobedience! Throughout the series, he is intent on exterminating the Moon Tribe and almost does in ep. 31 on completely false pretences.

Chang Heng - 长珩: “Steadfast bird”

Like the golden bird brooches that the celestials wear to represent their tribe, Changheng is a model citizen of Shuiyuntian. He is steadfast and loyal to his duties and puts these above his personal desires. When trying to rescue XLH from Cangyan Sea in ep. 13, he is honest with her that he cannot break the rules of Shuiyuntian, and only hopes that Yunzhong will be reasonable and lenient towards her! Changheng is far more steadfast and loyal than the average celestial. He is the only one apart from Ronghao to visit Chidi’s grave on her death anniversary, honours his brotherhood with DFQC after returning to the immortal world, and after learning Ronghao’s secret identity, listens to his side of the story.

Dan Yin - 丹音: “Crimson tidings”

Twice, Danyin is the bearer of important news, relaying her visions from the Tianji mirror to the sacrifice of her own desires. First, she tells a wounded and imprisoned Changheng about his wedding to XLH in the mortal realm, causing him to start a mortal tribulation. Then, she tells Yunzhong and the High Council about XLH’s true identity as the Goddess, saving Changheng from execution and leading to his wedding with XLH.

Rong Hao - 容昊: “Vastly compromising”

Ronghao has “one tiny earthly desire”, that his beloved master can live. What he is prepared to do to achieve this includes burning the souls of dead celestials and Moon tribe, massacring the entire Xilan population including their women and children, forcing his master to endure 30,000 years of cruel mortal tribulations and using evil qi to keep her alive. His willingness to vastly compromise both himself and her leaves Lady Chidi aghast.

Die Yi - 蝶衣: “Butterfly costume”

Dieyi is a shape-shifter and the different forms she takes, butterfly or woman, are her costumes, which help her to be sneaky and nefarious.

Xie Wanqing - 谢惋卿: “Withering sigh”

Having forgotten her life as Lady Chidi, Xie Wanqing feels incomplete without knowing why, expressed by her sad sighs. Chidi is forced to endure countless mortal tribulations just like this one and die (wither) repeatedly. In each of these lives she is condemned to be murdered by the one she loves!

Xiao Run - 萧润: “Mournful wealth”

Both Xiao Run and his true self as Changheng come from positions of wealth and noble status. But both of them mourn the loss of freedom that comes from this – although Xiao Run is more of a carefree rebel! :D

Si Ming - 司命: “Arbiter of fate”

Using the power of her position as Arbiter of Fate, Siming has repeatedly defied heaven’s laws and changed fate! She resurrects Ronghao as an immortal, creating a new destiny leaf for him. She released the convicted dragon Chang Yuan and married him. And she instructs DFQC on how to also defy nature’s laws and change destiny! :D

Chang Yuan - 长渊 “Steadfast abyss”

He is the deep abyss that Siming falls into, as in choosing him, she accepts the fate of being imprisoned with him in the Ruins of Myriad Heavens for the rest of eternity. But at least he is steadfastly loyal to her.

Tai Sui - 太岁: “Very Ancient”

This most ancient of tricksters could not be defeated by numerous generations of Goddesses, who merely sealed him beneath Xishan. Over his very long life spanning hundreds of millenia, he has learned to tell whatever lies are needed to manipulate others and ensure his survival.

Here is a link to my article: Location Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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glorious-sunset · 9 months ago

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How Immortals age in cdramas – clues from LBFAD

Many of our favourite cdramas sweep us into the beautiful fantasy world of the Xianxia genre, where immortal beings live for thousands of years! But they look so young?! How does ageing work for these lucky immortals in terms of human appearance? LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil) gives us a few clues about this mysterious process!

Details are below, but in a nutshell, immortal beings grow quickly in childhood then the appearance of ageing slows down and stops! Sometimes their hair turns white when they are drained of energy making them look older than they should! For spirits who have cultivated from plant or animal form, it works differently as they transform directly into adult human form :) I created a graph of the immortal ageing process vs. human appearance based on clues from LBFAD (appears further down, yes I am a math nerd and proud :D ).

Young child

Our first clue to the mysteries of immortal ageing is Changheng, who was a few hundred years old during the Battle of Two Tribes (30,000 years ago) and is described as having been only a young boy at that time (let’s say around 7). Babies born to immortal parents mature (relatively) quickly into young children over a few hundred years, but ageing slows down after that.

Shangque was also a young boy when he was orphaned and rescued by a young DongFang QingCang (DFQC). Since Shangque describes DFQC as like a brother to him, they are likely of a similar age and DFQC was also a young boy at that time - both a few hundred years old.

Pre-teen

Shangque says that he has served DFQC for 38,000 years since DFQC saved him (in ep. 17). For the last 30,000 of those, DFQC was imprisoned in Haotian tower. Therefore, DFQC had been aged just over 8,000 years during the Battle of the Two Tribes - rough guess 8,500 – 9,000 years old since he was a young boy when he saved Shangque. The Battle of Two Tribes occurred soon after killing his father* and physically, his appearance was of an 11-year-old at that time (the actor was 11 during filming).

At this time, Xunfeng’s appearance was of a 9-year-old (actor was 9), and his age probably around 5,000 years old (based on graph below :D )

Xiao Lanhua’s (XLH) first life with her parents in the beautiful mountains of Xishan was also cut short when she was the same age as DFQC entering Haotian Tower. Her actress was also 11 during the tragic massacre of her tribe, and she began a new life as a little orchid flower spirit hidden in the mortal realm.

(*We know that the Battle of Two Tribes occurred soon after the death of DFQC’s father because XLH tells his father’s spirit in ep. 17 that 30,000 years have passed since his death).

Early 20s

The immortals Xunfeng, DFQC and Changheng have the appearance of young men aged 21, 22 and 23 (the age of their actors during filming) and represent the early 20s demographic in human appearance! 30,000 years have now passed and their immortal ages are around 35,000 for Xunfeng, 30,500 for Changheng, and 39,000 years for DFQC. (Sadly for DFQC, his body had been unconscious over these 30,000 years while imprisoned in Haotian tower, but his disembodied spirit had stayed conscious and pounded on the Haotian matrix every day.)

Thus immortals aged 30,000 to 40,000 years seem to take on the appearance of humans in their early 20s. Wouldn’t it be great to stay 21 for thousands of years?! :D

Early 30s

The ages of most of the other characters are unknown, but we have one more clue from an older immortal! We know that Supreme Liyuan is aged over 80,000 years, as he tells “Changheng” in ep. 12 that he is over 50,000 years older than him, and Changheng himself is aged ~30,500 years. Physically, Liyuan’s human appearance is mostly that of a 33-year-old man (the age of his actor during filming). What is strange about his appearance is his hair, which had turned white during the Battle of Two Tribes and never recovered – more on this phenomenon further down.

The Immortal ageing process

Based on the clues LBFAD gave us, here is my take on the ageing process for immortal beings born to immortal parents. Plant spirits, and animal spirits (mentioned in the novel but not the drama) that cultivate into human form are discussed separately below.

Hair turning white

We sometimes see the hair of immortals turning white when they are drained of their energy and cultivation. It happens to three immortals in LBFAD. The first is Ronghao – he uses up half of his cultivation to heal Changheng in ep. 13. His face and lips drain of blood and his hair starts to turn white.

DFQC’s hair also turned white during the Battle of Two Tribes. First he was weakened by his battle with Lady Chidi, then Lord Dong, Supreme Liyuan and the entire High Council of Shuiyuntian ganged up on him, separating his body and spirit and imprisoning both with the Haotian matrix. It also turns white when he is possessed by Taisui in ep. 36.

Back to Supreme Liyuan. Along with the others in the Heavenly High Council, he poured his spiritual energy into creating the powerful magical seal of the Haotian matrix 30,000 years ago. Liyuan is one of Lord Dong’s peers, and he and Lord Dong likely worked especially hard to seal DFQC. The process was so draining for Lord Dong that he has been in seclusion since then, leaving his son Yunzhong in charge. Liyuan managed to stay out of seclusion but his hair hasn’t been the same since! It used to be black during the scenes where he enters fatherhood but now seems to be permanently white. (Assuming Danyin and Jieli were born shortly before the Battle of Two Tribes, this would make them around Changheng’s age).

Cultivated spirits

XLH is a special case and has lived three lives in LBFAD (In her third life, she tells Changheng in ep. 35 that she remembers her previous two lives). In the first, she aged “normally” as above after being born to immortal parents. In the second and third of her lives, she cultivates directly into adult human form from a plant spirit form after cultivating for a period of time. This is what generally happens for plant and animal spirits cultivating into human form in Xianxia.

In XLH’s second life, she was an orchid plant in the mortal realm for 28,500 years or less (or so Siming told her). Time runs faster in the mortal realm, where a few hours in the immortal realm is equal to a few months in the mortal realm. Then Siming brought her to Arbiter Hall, cared for her, and she transformed into human form! At the start of LBFAD, she is 1,500 years old (as she says in ep. 2) and mentally a young girl on the brink of adulthood. She then quickly matures through the drama.

In XLH’s third life, DFQC meticulously cared for her orchid form so well every day that her transformation process is much shorter! (the drama doesn’t specify how long but it took ten years in the novel). After transforming this time, she retains the memories of her previous two lives, and is a mature and responsible goddess with the appearance of a woman in her early 20s.

Lived experience

The lived experience of both DFQC and XLH was interrupted early. DFQC was aged only ~9,000 years when he was imprisoned in Haotian tower. XLH was similarly aged when her tribe was massacred and she was reverted back to a plant spirit with no human form. The child actors for both were 11 during these tragic events. XLH re-emerges 1,500 years prior to the start of LBFAD, then frees DFQC in ep. 1. Thus compared with other “young” characters like Xunfeng and Changheng, their total lived experience is much less, and they are most comparable (and compatible! :D ) with each other.

Here is a link to my article: Character Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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