#—xin’s reading list

[staydandy]

Justice in the Dark (2023) - 光·渊 - Whump List

List by StayDandy Synopsis : The story set in a sci-fi-esque Xinyuan Civilization Year 253 where the rising crime rate and its relation to "zero-degree empathy" have become a hot topic of interest. A murder case leads to the discovery of a criminal organization, and the culprit turns out to be someone with "zero-degree empathy". Police officer Luo Wei Zhao finds that things are not as simple as they seem. And wealthy playboy Pei Su seems to be caught up in the middle of everything. There is someone pulling the strings behind these cases. In the end, the public realizes that genes cannot determine whether a person is good or bad. People can overcome genes; people can choose freely. As long as there is hope in their hearts, even in the dark abyss, there will be a day they'll be back in the sun. (MDL) AKA : Light Abyss | Light the Darkness | The Light in the Night | Silent Reading | Mo Du

Whumpee : Pei Shu played by Zhang Xin Cheng (right) • Luo Wei Zhao played by Fu Xin Bo (left)

Country : 🇨🇳 China Genres : Action, Thriller, Mystery, Psychological, Censored Adaption, BL / Boys Love

Notes : This is a Full Whump List • Adapted from the novel MoDu (Silent Reading) (默读) by Priest • Went on hold after only 8 of 30 episodes aired in February 2023. • Word is it has been Canceled & removed from it's official streaming platform, Youku. Though it's been reported on twitter it's because of legal issues; copyright and unfair competition lawsuits that Youku is wrapped up in. Supposedly they're trying to work on it & hopefully make a comeback.. idk, I wouldn't hold your breath. • If the day ever comes I'll of course update this list - but for now, this is a complete list. • If you want to read the novel that the show is based on you can find it here. (I'm currently on bk 4) • TW : Suicide, Animal Cruelty

Episodes on List : 7 Total Episodes : 8

*Spoilers below*

01 : (near end) Pei Shu is shocked by crime scene photos, blood phobia, dizzy

02 : Nightmare (TW : animal cruelty) … (TW : suicide)

03 : Nightmare, wakes gasping, holding his neck … Luo Wei Zhao is in a fight, back cut with an axe.. jumps out a 3rd story window

04 : … continued from previous ep. ... While driving the getaway car Pei Shu see's blood, ears ringing, nauseous, dizzy, unresponsive.. retches/pukes … checked by paramedics … Wei Zhao passes out

05 : Hospitalized

06 : (near end) Pei Shu's arm is wrenched & forced to sit, pulse checked

07 : Nightmare (apparently it's a form of self-hypnosis) … arm in a sling … [flashback] car crash, passes out, wheeled on gurney

[panstarry]

‼️ DONATION SKETCH COMMISSIONS OPEN ‼️

hello! i'm xin and i'm opening comms to support organizations in palestine right now — i will draw for you if you dm me proof / receipt of your donation (minimum of $20) to any of the groups listed here:

FUNDRAISER FOR THE FAMILY OF WADEA AL-FAYOUME

MEDICAL AID FOR PALESTINIANS

PALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS

PALESTINIAN PRISONER SOLIDARITY NETWORK

ANERA

BUILD PALESTINE ORGANIZATION MASTERLIST

MIDDLE EAST CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE

BAITULMAAL

‼️ NOTES ‼️

i'm taking as many as i can until i burn out. turnaround of a few weeks; incredibly swamped w/ work rn so i may not get to all of them

if u cant give directly, dm me. u can send the money to me + ill donate it for you + send a sc as proof

here is one of many reading lists and further resources that you can check out. please also see PYM's reading list as well as decolonizepalestine's website.

@/palipunk also has a robust masterlist of resources and @/lesbolshevik has another list of organizations to check out.

you can vet any of the above charities and others using charitynavigator or charitywatch; feel free to add on.

if you are unable to donate, consider taking part in boycott/divest/sanctions or hopping in a protest near you. if you get into any legal trouble while there, reach out to palestine legal for help.

thank you for reading. stay safe, take care.

[shizunitis]

Luo Binghe & Tianlang-Jun: Origins. And a Bit of Projection.

Disclaimer: This is basically just a collection of quotes from The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, Volume 3, accompanied by (adjective) thoughts, and then even more relevant quotes listed at the end. If I could, I’d paste the entirety of Chapter 18.

“As expected, I can’t bring myself to hate humans.” — Vol. 3, Chapter 21: Always Together

I will always be conflicted on the topic of Tianlang-jun, and it annoys me. There is so much I could say about him, and so little I can successfully articulate. He is, to me, more confounding, complex and tragic than Shen Jiu.

He’s pitiful and awe-inspiring, wicked and affable, cunning and wide-eyed in his curiousity. He is a compelling, heartbreaking character. He alternates between emotionless wisdom and mournful apathy. I admire how his knees don’t buckle under the weight of his grief, but how he crumbles at the barest hint of hope. How rage claws at him and, still, he can’t figure out how to make it stick.

I empathise with him. I understand him.

But then, in the distance, Luo Binghe's indifferent voice disturbs the silence, causing me to drop my drink onto the floor and this post onto your screen:

“He’s not my father.”

It’s an interesting exercise, exploring their relationship in reconciliation fics. To see them interact (semi-)honestly, watch them take turns filling up the chasm between them. It’s wonderful. Every fic I’ve read centred around them was a delightful read that I still think about.

However. I cannot see Tianlang-Jun, as I understand him, as Luo Binghe’s father. And not just because of the 3rd Novel’s events.

But because Binghe had hoped for something; he did have that wide-eyed wonder. He did hold one last window open, for the sake of an improbability he couldn’t quite, just yet, dismiss.

It’s what (most) orphaned and/or adopted childred do.

Though Luo Binghe had never said a word about it before, Shen Qingqiu knew that he harbored some fantasies about his birth parents. […] In fact, he’d always secretly fantasized about whether his parents might still be alive, and how well they’d treat him, and how they’d never let him suffer the mildest slight. — Vol. 3, Chapter 17: Tianlang

It is the most human thing; to want to be helped, accepted, invited by those given to you. A family is given to you. Whether you believe it an act of the divine, of nature, of coincidence, it isn’t something you fight for. It’s the first and, arguably, only thing you don’t have to fight for in life.

Depending on a multitude of factors, that can be a blessing or a curse; but where there is room for interpretation, questions left unanswered, most childred—Binghe included—will turn to their imagination, and try to make sense of it. Usually, to comfort themselves, to reassure themselves that surely, if their family could, they would have.

And, yeah. Most likely, if the Palace Master had gotten punted into the Sun like he fucking deserved, they would have. But does it matter?

In the face of a bleak reality, what comfort is a could-have-been?

He liked to call Luo Binghe “that son of mine,” but he didn’t seem to possess any concept of fatherly affection. […] Luo Binghe was in fact…someone who was unloved by even his own parents. — Vol. 3, Chapter 15: Holy Mausoleum

What use are good intentions to an abandoned child? What consolation is it, to say, They gave birth to you, when that child has seen no evidence of their care? Does it dry their tears, that their mother can’t be here, but she surely would have wished to be? That their father would protect them, if only he knew of them?

(And don’t make me tell you about the visceral horror I felt reading the Origins chapter. I’ve yet to make my peace with it. MXTX, Airplane, whoever: you’ve ruined me.)

The washerwoman was and continues to be, to Binghe, his only mother. And I would argue, that’s healthy. Even independent of his other traumas (Abyss, Shizun’s betrayal, Xin Mo’s influence, living on the streets, etc, holy shit Binghe) Luo Binghe will not accept anyone else as his mother.

“Who is this Su Xiyan?” Luo Binghe asked coldly. “My mother was a mere washerwoman.” — Vol. 3, Chapter 18: Origins.

It may seem callous. It probably even is! But it is a healthy line he’d drawn by his own initiative. It’s what helps him, what he feels he needs to do in order to do right by his mother, and his own heart.

And! Tianlang-Jun doesn’t seem to give much of a shit, either!

Won’t, probably, even in the future, once the dust will have settled. He is exhausted, weary with carrying the corpse of his love, the loss of his nephew. Whatever goodwill he shows, it’s a perfunctory sort, because he can’t afford more.

So. Uhh.

Tianlang-Jun is not a character I can love, nor one I can hate. Usually, I can’t help but be inclined to love complex characters. Like them, too—though that’s more of an action-based thing rather than just said character’s personality.

But with Tianlang-Jun, I’m stuck whichever way I turn. If I want to love/like him, I’m drawn back by Binghe’s pain and disappointment. If I try to hate/dislike him, I’m drawn back by his own history and grief.

In conclusion:

I don't know! I'm not really trying to, like, prove anything. I still love the aforementioned TLJ & LBH fics, I still love their dynamic. I started walking and ended up exactly in the same space. This, perhaps, could be considered a Heavenly Demon Family Mobius Strip!

I'm not really trying to say anything. It just… makes me feel conflicted, and angry, and whenever I allow myself to think about it a bit more, sad.

But.

However!

Alas.

Nonetheless, even.

As a reader and—on my better days—a writer, all I can say is:

As promised/threatened: some selected passages, for your reading pleasure:

So, it looked like neither the father nor the cousin had any intention of acknowledging Luo Binghe. — Chapter 15: Holy Mausoleum

He liked to call Luo Binghe “that son of mine,” but he didn’t seem to possess any concept of fatherly affection. — Chapter 15: Holy Mausoleum

Tianlang-Jun lifted his hand, took a look at Luo Binghe’s snow-pale face, and commented indifferently, “He looks like his mother.” “His eyes look like yours,” came a chill voice from the side. — Chapter 15: Holy Mausoleum

The faint hopes and dreams Luo Binghe had held in his heart for many years had been mercilessly pulverized into so much dust. […] [Tianlang-Jun] refused to speak a single word of their relationship and had been utterly ruthless back in the Holy Mausoleum. […] To his parents, Luo Binghe was an unwanted child. — Chapter 18: Origins

“If he was my father, why didn’t he bring it up earlier? Why not tell me?” The most Tianlang-Jun had said was that single line he offered while beating up Luo Binghe, devoid of either praise or criticism: “He looks like his mother.” He looks like his mother. What of it? But that was all. There was nothing more. — Chapter 18: Origins

Luo Binghe was indifferent. “He’s not my father.” […] Luo Binghe shook his head. It was unclear what he was stubbornly clinging to, but he repeated, “He’s not my father.” — Chapter 18: Origins

Luo Binghe raised his smiling face, his eyes shining brightly. “Mother was the kindest person in all the world to me.” — Chapter 19: Shen Jiu

[pre-reform-voice]

Watching Heaven Official's Blessing with my Mom - season 2

For the record, she's 70, I'm 40. I introduced her to the Donghua because I knew she'd love it.

"I think your husband* has a few screws loose." (About Shi Qingxuan trying to turn Xie Lian into a woman.)

"Be nicer to him. I'd drop you at once." (About the Earth Master being rescued, then carried.)

"Are you sure this is your husband?" I confirmed this. "Oh honey, I think your husband is gay." (Same as above, pretty much only a blink later.)

She had an eye-rolling contest with Mu Qing when he and Feng Xin fought while Xie Lian was under arrest. She would have won.

"Oh, but he's whipped." (About Hua Cheng helping to free the prisoners in Qi Rong's lair. She believes he might not have bothered. I'm a bit on the fence about this, knowing how he made Eming - and more to the point, how he did not. But I can hardly tell her that.)

There was no verbal response to Qi Rong aside from an exhausted "Pitiful." She observed him with the same expression she might use on a particularly slow dog.

"Now there's a guy you know never got laid." (She said this when Shi Qingxuan threw her breasts at Feng Xin. I was howling with laughter, she thinks it was in agreement, but it was obviously a bit more hysteria-tinged.) She also noted my husband is a brat. I can't argue with that.

She asked me if Xie Lian killed that guy at the end. I told her if she wants to know that she'll either have to be VERY patient until season 3 comes - or be moderately patient and read the books where that answer doesn't come at once, either.

*I told her that on the fuck - marry - kill list Shi Qingxuan is number two. I told her that fuck is Pei Ming because that man has experience. The way Xuan Ji clings to him, he must have some skill, too. Kill is Shi Wudu, but I did not say that to her, just that it's a character she hasn't met. She knows I dislike the Water Master, but she doesn't know how much. I didn't give that answer lightly, in my defence. There are very few characters I resent enough in TGCF, if any, but I had to name someone.)

[mando-cyare]

Bitter Night, Maul x Reader, 18+

Read here

WARNINGS: SMUT 18+, Explicit sexual content, Harassment (not by Maul), Attempted Assault, Blood and Injury, Touch Her You Die Vibes, Implied/Referenced Drug and Alcohol Addiction, PTSD, VERY mild pain kink, Emotional Sex, Traumatic Backstories, Implied Murder (distant past), Developing Relationship

Summary: You and Maul go out and spend an evening together. But when someone starts a fight, Maul spirals, and you do your best to pull him back from the edge. Maul grapples with the person he was, the person he wants to be, and why your presence is so damn comforting. (No use of Y/N)

Tag List (if any of you guys are still here lol also if you had asked to be taken off the tag list and I still tag you, I apologize, just dm me) @raviolixxx @bumgarners @gotham-city-uber-driver @nxctuaryninetythree @mh073099 @bai-xin-yi @sagyunaro @octopus-on-the-moon @shadowwolf777 @darth-void

[ryin-silverfish]

Hi! I read your posts about Su Daji, and I believe one of them were about her being the literal incarnate of the Moon Fox of the 28 mansions.

I was wondering if there's any lore surrounding the 28 mansions, and if there are any incarnates of them other than her

I more specifically wanted to know about the Moonbird of Net, but I wouldn't mind learning about the others!

Well, tiny correction: Su Daji is not the incarnate of the Heart Moon Fox, but Wu Zetian, China's one and only female emperor, is said Lunar Mansion incarnate in Flowers in the Mirror, a Qing dynasty novel.

In another Qing dynasty novel, Shuoyue Quanzhuan (说岳全传), the notoriously corrupt historical figure, Qin Hui's wife, was the Maiden Earth Bat (女土蝠) incarnate: having been killed by the Golden-winged Peng for farting during Buddha's lecture, she would take revenge on his reincarnation, the heroic general Yue Fei.

About the 28 Lunar Mansions themselves: originally, they are kinda like the Chinese equivalent of the 12 zodiac in western astronomy.

Like, think of the sky as a belt, divided into 4 quadrants, each quadrant containing a giant constellation that represents the Divine Beasts of the Four Directions: Azure Dragon(E), White Tiger(W), Vermillion Bird(S), Black Turtle(N).

Each of these giant constellations can then be broken down into 7 smaller stars/star clusters, corresponding to a section of the sky. They are used to mark the position of the moon during a given month, as well as determine the seasons via the sun's location in a given mansion.

Azure Dragon: 角(Jiao)、亢(Kang)、氐(Di)、房(Fang)、心(Xin)、尾(Wei)、箕(Ji)

White Tiger: 奎(Kui)、娄(Lou)、胃(Wei)、昴(Mao)、毕(Bi)、觜(Zi)、参(Shen)

Vermillion Bird: 斗(Dou)、牛(Niu)、女(Nv)、虚(Xu)、危(Wei)、室(Shi)、壁(Bi)

Black Turtle: 井(Jing)、鬼(Gui)、柳(Liu)、星(Xing)、张(Zhang)、翼(Yi)、轸(Zhen)

However, like many things astronomy, they were later appropriated by astrology and used in divinations, by assigning an element/phase and an animal to each of these stars, making them into the "Beast Stars" (禽星) who can faciliate or obstruct each other, with different implications on your best course of action that day.

Now, look back at the list above. Each vertical column is assigned an element, in this order: Wood, Metal, Earth, Sun, Moon, Fire, Water.

So Star Lord Mao of the White Tiger Quadrant would be the "Sun Rooster Star", Star Lord Xin of the Azure Dragon Quadrant would be the "Moon Fox Star", etc.

But wait, there is more! Outside of the Beast Star divination system, traditional Chinese astrology also viewed the starry sky as the Heavenly Emperor's palace, with each constellation representing an area/building/resident of said palace.

Following that line of thought, people in the Tang dynasty came up with a catchy poetic star catalogue, 步天歌("Song of the Sky Pacers"), in which the 28 Lunar Mansions are kinda like managers who watch over their own group of stellar officials.

And the big 4 quadrants they are part of? Well, they are like four departments, each with their own general themes.

These themes aren't absolute; for example, the Azure Dragon Quadrant represents the front gate all the way up to the main palace halls, so they have a lot of stellar officials in charge of chariots, gates and honor guards, but also...grain baskets.

As for the Moonbird of Net, a.k.a. Bi Yuewu the Moon Crow Star: well, ain't this the damnest coincidence, I actually had an old OC concept based on this very Lunar Mansion!

Bi the Moon Crow

In traditional Chinese astrology, the Bi star was the god of rain, the "Master Rain"(雨师) to the "Duke Wind"(风伯) of Ji star: it was believed that whenever the moon came near this star, there would be a huge storm.

Since the Grand Compendium of the Three Religions' Deities stated that "Master Rain" was actually a one-legged divine bird called Shang Yang, who first appeared in 孔子家语 as this little creature who'd dance before every downpour like a goofy weather forecast guy, I drew his Stellar Beast form as a one-legged crow.

(OC-specific stuff below, not mythos canon)

He is very skilled at creating cloud formations, to the point where he got "borrowed" by the Wind and Thunder Bureau more than some of the Water-aligned Lunar Mansions.

After the Havoc, he has also become the new guy in charge of the Peach Garden(one of the constellations falling under Bi's section of the sky is Tianyuan, the Celestial Garden).

Anyways, traditional Chinese astrology is super fascinating, and I've only gone into a tiny fraction of it here. Hope it helps, though!

[nemainofthewater]

This poll might look a little familiar.... Due to a timing mix-up yesterday, I am proud to present the 'Best Non-Sword Weapon' poll take 2: Electric Boogaloo!

This time I've chosen to group the options by weapon with wielders in brackets*. Due to space issues, the media that each of them come from is under the read more, and this is definitely a non-exhaustive list!

*Except Xie Lian, who by virtue of winning the previous poll has been brought straight through to part two!

Thank you to everyone from the NiF discord and the watch party discord (and especially @shadaras) who have been amazing at suggesting characters with non-sword weapons! Couldn't have have done it without you! Also thank you to @thebansacredbanned who looked up the names of various obscure characters for me.

Propaganda, examples, and write-ins absolutely welcome!

Fan Wen Kexing (Word of Honour) Shen Qingqiu (SVSSS) Qing Ming (Yin Yang Master)

Umbrella Lord Grim (The King's Avatar) Chu Xuanji (Love and Redemption) Zhan Shiqi (Ancient Detective) Su Muyu (Blood of Youth)

Musical Instrument The Lan Sect (The Untamed) Wei Wuxian (The Untamed) Huang Yaoshi (Legend of the Condor Heroes)

Gun Wang Zhi (Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty) Fan Xian (Joy of life, novel)

Spear/Staff Sikong Qianluo (Blood of Youth) Hong Qigong (Legend of the Condor Heroes) Sun Wukong (Journey to the West) Guan Yu (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) Wu Zhu (Joy of Life)

Knives/Other Bladed Weapon Tang Lian (Blood of Youth) Yang Lu (A Journey to Love) Xiao Mei (House of Flying Daggers)

Whip Chu Wanning (Erha) Gu Xiang (Word of Honour) Jiang Cheng and Yu Ziyuan (The Untamed)

Bow and Arrows/Crossbow Bo Ya (Ying Yang Master) Yan Xiaoyi (Joy of Life) Mei Changsu (Nirvana in Fire, Novel) Xiao Yao, Fangfeng Yiying, and Fangfeng Bei (Lost You Forever) Strip of cloth Xie Lian (Heaven's Official Blessing)

Needles Gong Yu (Nirvana in Fire) Wen Qing (The Untamed)

Giant Bell Wu Xin (the Blood of Youth) Demon Monk (Mysterious Lotus Casebook)

[https-immotmari]

❝ Is it chill that you're in my head? ❞ ─── mari's mutuals!

WRITER'S LIST OF (DELULU) COMRADES!

in which, mari shows you who she builds friendships with even through online! also, love toya aoyagi ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ

. . .@melops-postoffice! ( Lili / she/her / they/them)

or rather formerly known as liqi's-postoffice, if desire any type of manhwa/isekai type of fanfic then you'll definitely going to love her project! especially if you're also a fan of akuneko (devil butler with a black cat). of course, she's into a lot of fandoms like project sekai, cookie run kingdom, honkai star rail, etc!

. . .@sweetkiitsunez! ( Kiit / she/her / they/them )

well, kiit actually restarted her acc in tumblr so, make way for her rebirth of a acc! kiit's one amazing person even though i've only met kiit through discord but, still one awesome person! please be warned that kiit's works may have dark theme so, please be responsible in what you read.

. . .@herri-writes! ( Herri / she/her )

the reason why I found ensemble stars, no joke. girlie hasn't been rather active since I think she's busy with schoolworks and her private life (she's much older than me) though her works are quite on point. I recommend her acc for anyone!

. . .@invui! ( Yinnie / she/her )

the one I used to bully back in the server, especially when it was june back then hehe. this acc is actually her sideblog I think, with her main acc tagged there of course. I honestly recommend her acc for anyone especially if you're a fan of kpop!

. . .@bianjay! ( Keith / he/him )

this guy is one cutie-patootie once you chat/meet him, seriously! also, this is yin's kid, everyone say hi to him. he's also a kpop stan alongside his mom, like mother, like son they say. his acc is mostly reblogs about kpop, often TXT, memes, gifs, etc. though, I think he's also into some fandoms outside of kpop.

. . .@moonvityy! ( Emmie / she/her )

if i remember correctly, emmie and kiit are like the oldest among us here. it's no wonder why emmie got that mama bear vibes lol and is a lamli bennet simp fr. say hi to lamli's wife, everyone hehe.

. . .@xlvr-renas! ( Karu/Xin / he/him / they/them )

my ride and die bestie when it comes to teasing the others💗I think he, alongside with Keith, would send c'mon, baby, america memes in the serve and then due to that, I felt goofy and send a meme myself. boschi simp.

. . .@fwoomiufy! ( Miu / she/her )

ammon lead's wife, everyone! besties since we too are delulu about certain butlers hehe, though, a sweetheart one! I, alongside some in the server, send ammon fan arts and she just malfunction.

. . .@pudding-pompurin, @pluckpleepplop!

they're rather new mutuals of mine! I hope we can get along real well (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

. . .@reikaoproducer! ( Kiyo / she/her / he/him / they/them )

ngl, I'm a huge fan of their project sekai sideblog! can't believe that their main acc is mutuals with lil' ol me ヾ(•ω•`)o! I recommend any of their acc like seriously! their writing is so good and the way the scenario or story goes it's like heaven!

. . .@sukiyukiii! ( Suki/Yuki / she/her / they/them )

a newcomer in the tumblr app, everyone say hi! yuki is actually my best friend in real life so, gotta be more careful with my post since two of my bestfriends are now following me ( of course, I followed back ). thank you for the genderbent project sekai au, especially the Eizou, crumbs 💛💛💛 I recommend project sekai users there to interact nicely to her! she's a sweetheart dw!

. . .@emoszart! ( Scarlet / they/them )

another one of my bestfriends in real life now taking form into a tumblr acc. her mind is one of the reasons why I'll take HUMSS. I recommend her acc for those who want like a dark, mysterious, fantasy type of lore and drawing! she's one of the best artist, I can assure you that ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ

WRITER'S END NOTE!

so, yeah! that's all my mutuals for now! overall, all are lovely people to interact with so don't be nervous around them. ′ヾ(≧▽≦*)o

[linghxr]

Analyzing Chinese Names: Syllables & Tones

It’s been a while since my last post about Chinese names. In one previous post, I wrote that I wanted to explore tones and syllable structure in Chinese names. And now here we are. I ended up shifting my focus a bit throughout the process, but I’m still excited to be sharing my results.

These questions/ideas guided this post:

Sometimes you don’t know how a name is written because you’ve only heard it or seen a transliteration. Setting aside the written language (Chinese characters), what syllables/sounds are most common?

I have read about naming conventions regarding tones. For example, using a mix of tones (instead of reusing the same tone) gives names a dynamic flow. So how are tones distributed in names?

Buckle up, everyone. This is gonna be a long one.

About the Data

I started with the data from my previous in-depth post about Chinese names. Like before, most names are from contestants on idol shows or members of idol groups. I added more names in this category and also some names of athletes (since for athletes it is also relatively easy to discern gender). In total, there were 4361 names (2340 female, 2021 male). Most names belong to individuals from Mainland China, but there are also names belonging to people from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. See my past post for more details.

I had to do a lot of work to process the name data for this analysis. I will add some details towards the end of this post for those who are interested. I just want to note here that: 

I did some work to account for tone sandhi for yi 一. As a result, you may see this character labeled as 1st, 2nd, or 4th tone.

I also applied tone change rules when there were multiple 3rd tones in a row (but not for surnames as it shouldn’t change there).

I had to correct for duoyinzi 多音字. Most of the time, it’s pretty clear which pronunciation is used, but there are some ambiguous cases.

I use standard Mainland pronunciation, not Taiwanese pronunciation. Characters like 薇 are pronounced differently in these locations.

I’m an imperfect human and probably didn’t catch everything. So keep that in mind.

Given Names (Overall)

First we will examine the overall results for all syllables across all given names to get a nice overview. Then we will dive into single-character given names vs. two-character given names.

Top Given Name Syllables (w/ Tones)

Pictured: Some of the most frequent characters for the top 11 syllables.

List format: Syllable / count Corresponding characters that occurred more than once

Yǔ / 263 宇 雨 羽 语 予 禹 瑀

Xīn / 229 欣 鑫 馨 心 昕 新 歆 芯 薪

Jiā / 216 佳 嘉 家 加 珈

Yì / 201 一 艺 奕 逸 亦 毅 懿 翊 义 易 翼 忆 意 译 轶 熠 羿 亿 薏

Zǐ / 139 子 梓 紫

Qí / 134 琪 琦 奇 祺 麒 淇 齐 棋 其 岐 崎

Wén / 116 文 雯 闻 纹

Jié / 112 杰 洁 婕 捷 颉 倢

Yù / 102 玉 钰 煜 昱 郁 裕 喻 谕 毓 育 誉

Jùn / 99 俊 峻 珺 骏 浚 竣

Yáng / 99 洋 阳 扬 杨 炀 旸

Top Given Name Syllables (w/o Tones)

List format: Syllable / count Corresponding characters that occurred more than once

Yu / 419 宇 雨 玉 羽 钰 语 瑜 予 妤 煜 禹 昱 郁 俞 渝 裕 于 喻 瑀 谕 余 娱 愚 毓 育 誉

Yi / 356 一 怡 艺 奕 仪 依 逸 亦 伊 毅 宜 懿 翊 义 祎 易 翼 苡 忆 意 译 轶 颐 乙 以 熠 羿 亿 倚 薏

Xin / 232 欣 鑫 馨 心 昕 新 歆 芯 薪 信

Jia / 217 佳 嘉 家 加 珈

Jun / 165 俊 君 峻 钧 军 珺 均 骏 浚 竣

Zi / 157 子 梓 紫 姿 兹

Qi / 151 琪 琦 奇 祺 绮 麒 启 淇 齐 棋 其 岐 崎

Hao / 141 豪 浩 昊 皓 灏 淏 濠

Wei / 139 伟 玮 威 维 薇 蔚 微 炜 唯 纬 葳 为 崴 巍 𬀩 苇 韦

Xiao / 136 晓 小 笑 筱 孝 潇 篠 箫 肖

Given Name Syllable Tones

List format: Tone / count

2nd / 2729

1st / 1993

4th / 1885

3rd / 1167

Single-Character Given Names (单名)

There were 948 single-character names in total. That comes out to about 22% of all 4361 names. 

Top Single-Character Given Names (w/ Tones)

List format: Syllable / count All corresponding characters

Xīn / 41 鑫 欣 昕 馨 新 心 锌

Yáng / 29 洋 扬 杨 阳 旸 炀

Yǔ / 20 宇 雨 禹 羽 瑀 语

Lì / 18 丽 立 莉 俐 栎 栗

Yì / 18 艺 奕 逸 忆 易 毅 燚 羿

Yuè / 18 悦 玥 越 月 粤 跃

Jié / 17 洁 杰 倢 婕 捷 颉

Hào / 16 浩 昊 淏 灏

Jìng / 14 静 婧 靓* 竞 靖

Qiàn / 14 倩 茜**

*Can be pronounced jìng or liàng. I went with jìng. **Can be pronounced qiàn or xī. I went with qiàn.

Top Single-Character Given Names (w/o Tones)

List format: Syllable / count All corresponding characters

Xin / 41 鑫 欣 昕 馨 新 心 锌

Yu / 31 宇 雨 钰 煜 玉 瑜 禹 羽 昱 渝 瑀 语

Yang / 29 洋 扬 杨 阳 旸 炀

Yi / 23 艺 奕 怡 逸 一 忆 易 毅 燚 祎 羿

Wei / 22 伟 威 炜 维 蔚 薇 𬀩 玮

Hao / 19 浩 昊 豪 淏 灏

Jing / 19 静 晶 婧 靓* 璟 竞 菁 靖

Li / 19 丽 立 莉 俐 李 栎 栗

Ying / 19 颖 莹 影 滢 赢 瀛 盈

Yue / 18 悦 玥 越 月 粤 跃

*Can be pronounced jìng or liàng. I went with jìng.

Single-Character Name Tones

List format: Tone / count

2nd / 308

4th / 264

1st / 253

3rd / 123

Full Name Tone Patterns for Single-Character Given Names

Look at the darker “stripes” for the 2nd tone. The 3rd tone’s low popularity also stood out to me.

List format: Tone of surname, tone of given name / count

2nd, 2nd / 140

2nd, 1st / 127

2nd, 4th / 123

1st, 2nd / 80

1st, 4th / 73

1st, 1st / 68

2nd, 3rd / 52

4th, 2nd / 45

3rd, 2nd / 43

1st, 3rd / 39

3rd, 4th / 37

4th, 4th / 31

3rd, 1st / 29

4th, 1st / 29

4th, 3rd / 17

3rd, 3rd / 15

Two-Character Given Names (双名)

Now for two-character given names. There were 3413 total (about 78%). First I will look at these given names as a whole. Then I will separately examine the 1st syllable and 2nd syllable positions.

I was very interested to see the most common name going by sound and not characters. Living in the US, I often see transliterated Chinese names with no characters in sight. This effectively “merges” names that are distinct in Chinese. All I can do is guess what the characters (and thus tones) are.

Top Two-Character Given Names (w/ Tones)

Pictured: Character combinations that occurred more than once for the top 12 two-character given names.

List format: Given name / count All corresponding character combinations

Jiāxīn / 17 嘉欣 佳欣 佳薪 佳鑫 嘉新 嘉歆 嘉馨

Jiāyí / 12 佳怡 嘉怡 佳仪 嘉仪 家仪 家怡

Xīnyǔ / 10 心雨 新宇 心语 欣宇 欣雨 鑫宇 馨予

Xīnyuè / 10 馨月 心玥 昕玥 欣悦 歆玥 馨悦 馨玥

Hàorán / 9 浩然 皓然

Jùnjié / 9 俊杰 俊洁

Chénxī / 8 晨曦 晨熙 晨晞 晨晰 晨溪

Jiāqí / 8 佳琦 家齐 佳琪 嘉琪 嘉祺 嘉齐

Shānshān / 8 珊珊 杉杉 姗姗

Xīnyí / 8 心怡 欣怡 心仪 鑫怡

Yìwén / 8 一文 奕雯 艺文 译文 逸文

Yǔqíng / 8 雨晴 语晴 宇晴 雨情

Top Two-Character Given Names (w/o Tones)

List format: Given name / count All corresponding character combinations

Jiaxin / 17 嘉欣 佳欣 佳薪 佳鑫 嘉新 嘉歆 嘉馨

Jiayi / 16 佳怡 嘉怡 佳仪 佳依 加一 嘉仪 嘉艺 嘉谊 家仪 家怡 家毅

Xinyu / 15 心雨 欣妤 新宇 心妤 心玉 心语 欣宇 欣雨 鑫宇 馨予

Junjie / 12 俊杰 军杰 俊洁 钧杰

Xiaoyu / 12 小雨 晓玉 晓钰 小钰 晓宇 晓瑜 晓雨 笑语

Yifan / 12 一凡 艺凡 一帆 一幡 一璠 依凡 屹繁 怡凡 薏帆

Xinyi / 10 心怡 欣怡 心仪 欣佚 鑫一 鑫怡

Xinyue / 10 馨月 心玥 昕玥 欣悦 歆玥 馨悦 馨玥

Yuqing / 10 雨晴 语晴 宇庆 宇晴 钰清 雨情

Two-Character Given Name Tones

The grey square is due to the 3rd tone tone change rule.

List format: Tone of given name 1st syllable, tone of given name 2nd syllable / count

4th, 2nd / 560

1st, 2nd / 421

3rd, 2nd / 373

2nd, 2nd / 304

4th, 1st / 282

3rd, 1st / 191

1st, 1st / 183

2nd, 1st / 177

1st, 4th / 169

2nd, 4th / 152

1st, 3rd / 134

2nd, 3rd / 130

4th, 4th / 121

3rd, 4th / 120

4th, 3rd / 96

Full Name Tone Patterns for Two-Character Given Names

Pictured: The top 10 full name tone patterns for two-character given names.

I found these results very interesting. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve read about how using certain sequences of tones creates a pleasant-sounding flow. I had some fun saying aloud names that fit these patterns and judging the dynamic ups-and-downs of how they flow.

List format: Tone of surname, tone of given name 1st syllable, tone of given name 2nd syllable / count

2nd, 4th, 2nd / 273

2nd, 1st, 2nd / 179

2nd, 3rd, 2nd / 179

2nd, 4th, 1st / 138

1st, 4th, 2nd / 135

2nd, 2nd, 2nd / 129

1st, 3rd, 2nd / 98

2nd, 3rd, 1st / 95

2nd, 1st, 4th / 92

1st, 1st, 2nd / 89

These are only the top 10 patterns. See the bottom of the post for the full list.

Two-Character Given Names: First Syllable

Top First Syllables for Two-Character Given Names (w/ Tones)

List format: Syllable / count Corresponding characters that occurred more than once

Jiā / 171 佳 嘉 家 加 珈

Yì / 138 一 艺 奕 逸 亦 翊 易 义 懿 翼 译 亿 忆 毅 羿 薏 轶

Zǐ / 123 子 梓 紫

Yǔ / 115 雨 宇 语 羽 禹 予

Xīn / 95 欣 心 馨 鑫 新 昕 歆 薪 芯

Xiǎo / 79 晓 小 筱

Jùn / 69 俊 峻 珺 竣 骏

Sī / 63 思 斯

Yù / 53 玉 钰 煜 昱 郁 裕 喻 毓 育 誉

Mèng / 49 梦 孟

Top First Syllables for Two-Character Given Names (w/o Tones)

List format: Syllable / count Corresponding characters that occurred more than once

Yi / 201 一 艺 奕 怡 依 逸 亦 翊 伊 宜 易 苡 义 乙 以 懿 翼 译 亿 忆 毅 祎 羿 薏 轶

Yu / 188 雨 宇 语 玉 钰 羽 禹 煜 俞 昱 郁 于 渝 裕 予 喻 毓 瑜 育 誉

Jia / 171 佳 嘉 家 加 珈

Zi / 133 子 梓 紫 姿

Xiao / 118 晓 小 笑 孝 潇 筱

Xin / 98 欣 心 馨 鑫 新 昕 歆 信 薪 芯

Jun / 84 俊 峻 君 钧 军 珺 竣 骏

Jing / 67 静 婧 景 敬 靖 晶 京 竞

Zhi / 61 智 志 芷 之 治 知 祉

Si / 60 思 斯

First Syllable Tones for Two-Character Given Names

List format: Tone / count

4th / 1059

1st / 907

2nd / 763

3rd / 684

Two-Character Given Names: Second Syllable

Top Second Syllables for Two-Character Given Names (w/ Tones)

List format: Syllable / count Corresponding characters that occurred more than once

Yǔ / 128 宇 雨 羽 予 语 瑀 禹

Qí / 100 琪 琦 祺 奇 淇 齐 棋 麒 岐

Xīn / 93 欣 鑫 馨 昕 心 新 歆 芯

Jié / 83 杰 洁 婕 捷

Wén / 68 文 雯

Yí / 63 怡 仪 宜 颐

Lín / 61 霖 琳 林 麟 淋

Tíng / 61 婷 廷 庭

Yuán / 59 源 元 媛 圆 园 缘 原

Yáng / 58 阳 洋 扬 杨 炀

Top Second Syllables for Two-Character Given Names (w/o Tones)

List format: Syllable / count Corresponding characters that occurred more than once

Yu / 200 宇 雨 玉 羽 瑜 妤 予 钰 语 昱 煜 谕 郁 余 瑀 禹

Yi / 132 怡 仪 一 毅 依 艺 逸 亦 伊 宜 懿 颐 义 奕 意 祎 熠 翼 轶

Qi / 105 琪 琦 祺 奇 淇 绮 齐 棋 麒 岐

Xin / 93 欣 鑫 馨 昕 心 新 歆 芯

Jie / 83 杰 洁 婕 捷

Wei / 75 伟 玮 薇 维 威 微 炜 蔚 葳 崴 纬

Hao / 74 豪 昊 浩 皓 濠

Jun / 72 君 俊 钧 峻 军 均 珺 骏

Wen / 68 文 雯

Yuan / 68 源 元 媛 圆 远 园 渊 缘 原

Second Syllable Tones for Two-Character Given Names

List format: Tone / count

2nd / 1658

1st / 833

4th / 562

3rd / 360

Surnames

Because the majority of the population shares a relatively small number of surnames, I decided to only look at tones.

Surname Tones

List format: Tone / count

2nd / 2047

1st / 1072

3rd / 640

4th / 602

Just take a look at the top 20 surnames in China. Clearly, the 2nd tone is dominating. There’s only one 4th tone surname!

Data Processing

I segmented the names so each character was alone. I just did this in Google Sheets, because that’s where I store the names I’ve gathered. Then I exported the data in CSV format.

I discarded names longer than 3 characters—because these are less common, I decided not to address them to make things easier for myself.

I used the pinyin library for Python to obtain pinyin for each character. I used the numerical format (ie. “ni3”) so that I could easily obtain the syllable w/o tone, the syllable w/ tone, and the tone. I also utilized pandas and numpy. This was done in Google Colabs. I made the unfortunate mistake of not commenting my code, and I wrote it a while ago, so I now I have no idea what is going on (whoops).

Next I dumped this data into a tibble in R for the real analysis.

For as many 多音字 as I could identify, I had to check and potentially fix the pinyin transcription. For example, I had to make sure that 曾 was going to zeng1, not ceng2. Honestly, I’m sure I missed something, but this was so, so tedious. This is also the step where I accounted for the 3rd tone tone change and yi 一 tone change rules.

I used a Python script to convert the toneless pinyin to my own syllable notation system. This was tricky to figure out, but fortunately I was able to use some code I already had from a project I was involved in during college.

I added the syllable info to my giant tibble in R. Because everything was separated into surname, given name 1st character, and given name 2nd character, I also had to create some new columns to combine information to get information for whole given names and full names.

Then it was basically a lot of pipes. Here’s an example: names %>%  filter(nchar(names$name) > 2) %>%  group_by(given_struc) %>%  summarise(count = n()) %>%  arrange(desc(count)) %>%  view()

Bonus Lists

There were some other things I was curious about but felt didn’t have a place in the main body of this post.

I wanted to see which syllables were represented by the most unique characters in my dataset. If the number of unique characters is high, that’s a sign that I would probably have trouble guessing which character someone’s name contains.

I was also curious about open vs. closed syllables and closed syllables ending in /n/ vs. /ŋ/. For instance, take a pair of names like Yixin and Xinyi or Xinling and Lingxin. These names consist of the same syllables in a different order. I wanted to know which order is more common.

Syllables with the Most Unique Characters (w/ Tones)

List format: Syllable / count All corresponding characters

Yì / 27 一 艺 奕 逸 亦 毅 懿 翊 义 易 翼 忆 意 译 轶 熠 羿 亿 薏 佚 佾 埸 屹 异 弋 怿 燚 翌

Qí / 15 琪 琦 奇 祺 麒 淇 齐 棋 其 岐 崎 圻 祁 祈 骐

Yú / 14 瑜 妤 俞 渝 于 余 娱 愚 宇*** 愉 榆 舆 雨*** 鱼

Yù / 14 玉 钰 煜 昱 郁 裕 喻 谕 毓 育 誉 寓 浴 芋

Xīn / 12 欣 鑫 馨 心 昕 新 歆 芯 薪 妡 忻 锌

Yuán / 12 源 媛 元 园 圆 缘 原 嫄 沅 湲 芫 袁

Líng / 11 玲 灵 凌 翎 绫 伶 羚 铃 龄 苓 陵

Xī / 11 希 熙 曦 溪 晞 惜 熹 兮 浠 晰 西

Hóng / 9 宏 红 弘 鸿 泓 虹 洪 闳 汯

Lì / 9 丽 莉 立 力 俐 利 俪 栎 栗

Zhēn / 9 珍 真 臻 蓁 祯 桢 榛 甄 贞

***3rd tone character that is pronounced as 2nd tone due to appearing before another 3rd tone character.

Syllables with the Most Unique Characters (w/o Tones)

List format: Syllable / count All corresponding characters

Yi / 45 一 怡 艺 奕 仪 依 逸 亦 伊 毅 宜 懿 翊 义 祎 易 翼 苡 忆 意 译 轶 颐 乙 以 熠 羿 亿 倚 薏 佚 佾 埸 壹 夷 屹 异 弋 怿 沂 洢 燚 翌 谊 铱

Yu / 33 宇 雨 玉 羽 钰 语 瑜 予 妤 煜 禹 昱 郁 俞 渝 裕 于 喻 瑀 谕 余 娱 愚 毓 育 誉 寓 愉 榆 浴 舆 芋 鱼

Qi / 20 琪 琦 奇 祺 绮 麒 启 淇 齐 棋 其 岐 崎 圻 期 柒 栖 祁 祈 骐

Wei / 20 伟 玮 威 维 薇 蔚 微 炜 唯 纬 葳 为 崴 巍 𬀩 苇 韦 卫 惟 未

Yan / 19 妍 言 燕 彦 艳 岩 延 谚 嫣 琰 雁 晏 研 颜 砚 衍 严 炎 焱

Yuan / 16 源 媛 元 远 园 圆 渊 缘 原 嫄 愿 沅 湲 芫 苑 袁

Xi / 16 希 熙 曦 汐 溪 晞 玺 喜 惜 熹 兮 浠 习 晰 禧 西

Xiao / 15 小 笑 筱 孝 潇 篠 箫 肖 宵 效 枭 校 萧 霄

Yun / 15 云 芸 韵 昀 赟 允 匀 沄 筠 韫 妘 澐 蕰 蕴 运

Zhen / 15 振 珍 真 臻 蓁 祯 震 镇 朕 桢 榛 甄 贞 轸 圳

Two-Character Given Name Syllable Structures

This is the top 10 out of 14 (the bottom 4 were very rare).

List format: Structure of given name 1st syllable, structure of given name 2nd syllable — example / count

Open, open — ex: Jiayi / 821

Open, closed-n — ex: Yijin / 701

Open, closed-ng — ex: Yijing / 468

Closed-n, open — ex: Jinyi / 450

Closed-ng, open — ex: Jingyi / 308

Closed-n, closed-n — ex: Jinyan / 206

Closed-ng, closed-n — ex: Jingyan / 157

Closed-n, closed-ng — ex: Jinyang / 141

Closed-ng, closed-ng — ex: Jingyang / 139

Open, closed-er — ex: Xue'er / 14

Full Name Syllable Structures for Two-Character Given Names

This is the top 29 out of 36 (the bottom 7 were very rare).

List format: Structure of surname syllable, structure of given name 1st syllable, structure of given name 2nd syllable — example / count

Open, open, open— ex: Li Jiayi / 370

Open, open, closed-n— ex: Li Yijin / 336

Closed-ng, open, open— ex: Wang Jiayi / 273

Open, open, closed-ng— ex: Li Yijing / 228

Open, closed-n, open— ex: Li Jinyi / 225

Closed-ng, open, closed-n— ex: Wang Yijin / 223

Closed-n, open, open— ex: Chen Jiayi / 178

Closed-ng, closed-n, open— ex: Wang Jinyi / 165

Open, closed-ng, open— ex: Li Jingyi / 151

Closed-ng, open, closed-ng— ex: Wang Yijing / 146

Closed-n, open, closed-n— ex: Chen Yijin / 142

Open, closed-n, closed-n— ex: Li Jinyan / 104

Closed-ng, closed-ng, open— ex: Wang Jingyi / 97

Closed-n, open, closed-ng— ex: Chen Yijing / 94

Open, closed-ng, closed-n— ex: Li Jingyan / 86

Open, closed-ng, closed-ng— ex: Li Jingyang / 75

Open, closed-n, closed-ng— ex: Li Jinyang / 66

Closed-ng, closed-n, closed-n— ex: Wang Jinyan / 62

Closed-n, closed-n, open— ex: Chen Jinyi / 60

Closed-n, closed-ng, open— ex: Chen Jingyi / 60

Closed-ng, closed-n, closed-ng— ex: Wang Jinyang / 45

Closed-ng, closed-ng, closed-ng— ex: Wang Jingyang / 45

Closed-ng, closed-ng, closed-n— ex: Wang Jingyan / 43

Closed-n, closed-n, closed-n— ex: Chen Jinyan / 40

Closed-n, closed-n, closed-ng— ex: Chen Jinyang / 30

Closed-n, closed-ng, closed-n— ex: Chen Jingyan / 28

Closed-n, closed-ng, closed-ng— ex: Chen Jingyang / 19

Open, open, closed-er— ex: Li Xue'er / 8

Closed-ng, open, closed-er— ex: Wang Xue'er / 4

Extended List(s)

Full Name Tone Patterns for Two-Character Given Names

2nd, 4th, 2nd / 273

2nd, 1st, 2nd / 179

2nd, 3rd, 2nd / 179

2nd, 4th, 1st / 138

1st, 4th, 2nd / 135

2nd, 2nd, 2nd / 129

1st, 3rd, 2nd / 98

2nd, 3rd, 1st / 95

2nd, 1st, 4th / 92

1st, 1st, 2nd / 89

2nd, 1st, 1st / 88

2nd, 2nd, 1st / 84

3rd, 1st, 2nd / 83

3rd, 4th, 2nd / 81

1st, 2nd, 2nd / 73

4th, 4th, 2nd / 71

4th, 1st, 2nd / 70

1st, 4th, 1st / 69

2nd, 3rd, 4th / 68

2nd, 2nd, 3rd / 64

2nd, 1st, 3rd / 59

3rd, 2nd, 2nd / 59

2nd, 2nd, 4th / 56

4th, 3rd, 2nd / 56

2nd, 4th, 4th / 54

2nd, 4th, 3rd / 47

1st, 2nd, 4th / 43

4th, 2nd, 2nd / 43

1st, 1st, 3rd / 42

4th, 4th, 1st / 42

1st, 3rd, 1st / 41

3rd, 3rd, 2nd / 40

1st, 1st, 1st / 35

1st, 2nd, 1st / 35

1st, 2nd, 3rd / 35

1st, 1st, 4th / 34

4th, 1st, 1st / 34

3rd, 4th, 1st / 33

1st, 4th, 4th / 31

3rd, 2nd, 1st / 30

1st, 3rd, 4th / 29

4th, 2nd, 1st / 28

4th, 3rd, 1st / 28

3rd, 2nd, 4th / 27

3rd, 3rd, 1st / 27

3rd, 1st, 1st / 26

4th, 2nd, 4th / 26

1st, 4th, 3rd / 23

3rd, 1st, 4th / 23

3rd, 2nd, 3rd / 21

3rd, 4th, 4th / 20

4th, 1st, 4th / 20

4th, 1st, 3rd / 19

3rd, 4th, 3rd / 18

4th, 4th, 4th / 16

3rd, 1st, 3rd / 14

3rd, 3rd, 4th / 14

4th, 2nd, 3rd / 10

4th, 3rd, 4th / 9

4th, 4th, 3rd / 8

If you made it to the end, I am seriously impressed by your dedication. Thanks for checking out my nerdy ramblings about Chinese names! Don’t forget to check out my past posts on this topic for more. I hope they will help demystify Chinese names and make learning about Chinese names less intimidating.

A Closer Look at Chinese Names

Reading Chinese Names: Female Names

Reading Chinese Names: Male Names

[flowersdiceandlove]

Last night I wasn’t feeling good, so my mom—my wonderful, amazing mom who I love and am so lucky to have—offered to read some of Heaven Official’s Blessing to me. I’d just finished book 6 and hadn’t started 7, so she read the first chapter of book 7 to me. She has fun doing it. She reread about the first half of book 1 and a chapter here and there in the others volumes in the past, so this wasn’t the first time she’s done this. She’s unused to the Chinese names, and so I have to remind her who the characters are. Here is an incomplete list of how I remind her of the characters.

Xie Lian = the main character (luckily she knows this one by now)

Hua Cheng = the love interest (she got him mixed up with mu qing last night for some reason. Normally I don’t have to remind her)

Mu Qing = the sarcastic/condescending one

Feng Xin = the angry one

Pei Ming = he’s flirtatious (and with only that two word explanation of him, she read his line perfectly. Exactly how I imagined it)

When Fu Yao and Nan Feng were in it, I used Mu Qing and Feng Xin’s explanations respectively.

She messes up the pronunciation, but has finally remembered (at least most of the time) that “x” makes a “sh” sound and “q” a “tch” sound. She also has endless trouble with the gege = guh guh wanting to pronounce it jee jee. She also often says Xian Lian instead of Xie Lian and just can’t quite get Hua Cheng right. She really is trying though.

Also, also when it was revealed what the “giant” in the Kiln was, she was so shocked and her expression alone caused me to laugh for several minutes.

And, before you ask, yes, she likes HuaLian.

Two more things. 1) she absolutely loves the tremendous masculinity/Ju Yang euphemism, and it has become something I bring up to make her laugh. 2) she always forgets the word “fuck” is used in the books. Every. Single. Time. No matter how many times she reads it.

This post has not been intended as a roast to my mom. She’s amazing , and I love it when she reads this to me. It’s a little way we can spend time together and she can enjoy my interests with me. If anything this is me bragging about her awesomeness, sprinkled with comedy. Anyway, wish my mom luck on learning those Chinese names. They really are hard for her to learn. 😬🫤

[redacted-coiner]

min-, fin-, nbin-

lin-, glin-, agin-

nin-, mvin-, xin-

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[keepyourpantsongohan]

Eight Principles of Shinobi Knowledge in Naruto and parallel Confucian ethical values:

Virtue (ren - co-humanity/altruism)

Justice (yi - disposition to good and sense/competency to do so)

Ceremony (li - rites/customs)

Wisdom (zhi - the ability to see what is right and wrong)

Loyalty (zhong - reciprocal faithfulness with a ruler)

Faithfulness (xin - trustworthiness/integrity)

Prudence (jié - continence/self-control)

Filial Piety (xiào - respect for one's parents, ancestors, and societal hierarchy)

Ebisu lists these eight principles off to Naruto and Konohamaru in Chapter 2, and they seem to be in direct parallel with the Five Constants and Four Virtues. My knowledge of Confucian ethics is passing at best, so my interpretation of it may be different than another person's reading. But I find it very interesting which of these are followed by the characters, and which aren't.

Kakashi explains why he stays helping Tazuna in Chapter 21 with the words, "To know what is right and choose to ignore it is the act of a coward. Like Master, Like Man [...] True shinobi do not merely dance to the tune of whoever pays the Piper." In that quote alone, Kakashi seems to be upholding wisdom (knowing that's right), justice (doing the good) and virtue (doing something for others' sake rather than for self-gain).

However, on the other hand we see Kakashi disregard filial piety (shame towards his father as a child, refusing to abide by hierarchy with friends and colleagues, both when he is a shinobi under the Hokage and when he is the Hokage himself), loyalty with a ruler (in placing Naruto's plea for Sasuke's life above the village/the Hokage), and prudence (in not moderating his chakra usage in battle, in risky experiments like having Naruto aim a rasenshuriken at him). So, while he is sometimes described as a model shinobi, what's most interesting to me are which principles Kakashi chooses not to follow.

[jennaissantes]

THAT FEELING WHEN… wait what?

𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝�� 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩, 𝙨𝙪𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚? …𝙣𝙤? 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣?

“enemies to lovers is messy, but its a nice messy.”

➤ A MID-JULY , enemies to lovers based COLLAB BY PRETTYWON AND IWONZZI

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

GENRE ➤ fluff, angst (?), crack

WARNINGS ➤ profanity, i have no idea actually. we’ll add them later 😋

SUMMARY ➤ being enemies with someone is complicated on its own. now add liking them secretly to it.

written by lily [ @jennaissantes ] and xin [ @prettywon ]

𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄

RELEASING ON: 2nd Aug

SYNOPSIS : You and Riki were the hardest workers on the newspaper staff. Despite this, you two are never to be seen working together. He avoids you and you avoid him, until you're both put up for the task of running the "Love Seekers Column." As the column gains popularity, so do you and Riki, and no good can come from that. OR You and Riki are forced to work together. Why are his small habits, formerly irritating beyond means, suddenly so charming?

GENRE: fluff, crack

READ HERE

𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄 𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟔𝟕

RELEASING ON: some time soon ig 💀

SYPNOSIS: You and Jungwon have been bitter enemies since elementary school. So bitter that the two of you even made a whole list of rules for each other, that you followed, to this date. There were exactly 67 rules, the last being “never fall in love with each other”. It may have seemed a joke back then, but with you and him partnered up to host the school dance, (and maybe your tiny little almost nothing crush on him), it’s starting to not feel like a joke anymore.

GENRE: fluff, angst (?) and crack

READ HERE

note from lily: um. so maybe we did plan this in the span of a very short time but. Here it is!!! i definitely did not enjoy working with them for this ew i had to let them contaminate my dms 🤣. but in all seriousness i am. Very excited for this and i hope you guys are too 🤭 lilyxin forever ig.

𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐃 © 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘𝐖𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 JENAISSANTES 2022

[eyesforahead]

TGCF FAKE SCENARIO

Read all of the passage.

A battle has happened. The listed gods/ghost + ??? Are disappearing/fading. You can only save one! Who is it?

Let's pretend the listed gods/ghost can actually die this easily. Or sealed. If this still doesn't satisfy you imagine then that the person you'll save will be waved from feeling extreme torture for eternity. If you choose the last one know not everyone can handle torture.

Your actions do have consequences. Let's say you save Hua Cheng without Xie Lian he would not be able to live. You've wasted the chance there.

Think wisely.

This is just for fun if this make's no sense I basically don't care. This is for fun.

So my viewer,who do you save?

Mu Qing not Ming Fan 💀 I CAN'T BELIEVE I REALIZED THIS MISTAKE YEARS LATER 😭😭

[richincolor]

Title: Sound the Gong (Kingdom of Three #2) Author: Joan He Genres: Fantasy, Historical Pages: 368 Publisher: Roaring Brook Press Review Copy: Purchased Availability: Available now

Summary: All her life, Zephyr has tried to rise above her humble origins as a no-name orphan. Now she is a god in a warrior’s body, and never has she felt more powerless. Her lordess Xin Ren holds the Westlands, but her position is tenuous. In the north, the empress remains under Miasma’s thumb. In the south, the alliance with Cicada is in pieces.

Fate also seems to have a different winner in mind for the three kingdoms, but Zephyr has no intentions of respecting it. She will pay any price to see Ren succeed—and she will make her enemies pay, especially one dark-haired, dark-eyed Crow. What she’ll do when she finds out the truth—that he worked for the South all along…

Only the heavens know.

Review: [An extensive list of content warnings for Sound the Gong can be found here.]

Sound the Gong is a direct continuation of Strike the Zither, and that strongly affects its structure. This book is paced like the second half of a much longer story rather than as a more traditional sequel, so while the book has its own self-contained plots arcs, it also concludes many plots that were started in the first book. Author Joan He recommends rereading Strike the Zither before reading Sound the Gong, and I heartily second this. Sound the Gong does almost no recap, so if you (foolishly, like me) try to go in without at least reviewing the recap of Strike the Zither, you could be lost quickly. I attempted going in cold and ultimately ended up rereading Strike the Zither instead (which was a lot of fun).

Zephyr continues to be a compelling narrator in her determination to help Ren be victorious in her war, no matter the cost. Zephyr’s strategist mindset is cold and ruthless, and her pangs of conscience don’t often win out against the prospect of victory. Her godhood gives her an edge in some respects, but it also means she can repeatedly suffer in horrible ways. In a note at the start of the book, Joan He wrote, “The reality of war, conversely, remains relevant to this day and is therefore preserved wherever necessitated by the story.” As one of the chief strategists, Zephyr shoulders a significant responsibility for what happened during the war and to the world that was built after it. Her character arc is fascinating, and I loved the ride, even when I was distressed by what she was doing.

In my review of the first book, I noted that there wasn’t much time to develop Zephyr and Crow’s rivalry/relationship; this second book remedied my concerns on that front (in a way that I was not at all expecting but very much enjoyed). Once again, their battle of wits was as cutthroat as it was compelling, and I appreciated that the narrative did not try to sugarcoat the terrible effects their stratagems had on the world in general and directly on each other. I loved where this story took the two of them, and the book’s coda was a wonderful way to explore the effects of their relationship on the world.

In addition to Zephyr and Crow, the wider cast had their moments to shine. I particularly enjoyed the deeper explorations of Ren, Cloud, and Cicada in Sound the Gong and how Zephyr’s views of them changed over the course of the book. Ren and Cloud challenged Zephyr’s view of herself and them, and of the role of a strategist Itself, and the book was all the better for it. I do wish we had gotten more of November, but that is a minor complaint weighed against all the fantastic character development from everyone else.

Recommendation: Get it now if you’re in the mood for a sweeping war novel. Sound the Gong is a strong conclusion to Strike the Zither, providing payoff for Zither’s many setups and exploring what it means to be desperate to win, no matter the cost. Zephyr and Crow’s complicated relationship plays out in unexpected but interesting ways, and Zephyr’s choices and character development are handled masterfully. This duology Is one I will definitely be revisiting.

Extras: Exclusive Interview: Joan He On Sound The Gong

Read an excerpt of Strike the Zither on the publisher’s website

[hualian-fic-recs]

Hi! So, I’m an avid Hualian fan fic reader, but I may or may not have lost two very similar fan fics that I just need in my life.

They’re both Fangxin Guoshi!Xie Lian and his time in the coffin. The first one is basically one where he loses his memories (because of a ghost? I don’t really remember why) and thinks he’s hallucinating while in the coffin. Hua Cheng comforts him and tells him that he’d be there the next day, but it turns out that Xie Lian’s past and present selves had switched, so as far as his past self was concerned, Hua Cheng lied to him. (Hua Cheng ended up going back and helping him out, but the pain was beautiful).

The second one I remember far less of. All I know is that by the end, Hua Cheng, Mu Qing, and Feng Xin opened the coffin. I think it was also a time travel thing, but I really just loved the reactions.

If you or anyone else knows them, or could keep their eyes out for them, I’d really appreciate it. And if you have any other coffin fics to suggest I’d love to read it!

Hey there! Ok I found a few that might be the first one:

use me as your stepping stone by EyeElm1654

The Things We Lost by strawberry_ia. Its WIP

The other is a little vague, so I'm just going to list some feely coffin fics and hope one of them is what you're looking for!

Bloody Coffin, Bed of Butterflies by fullmetalpotterhead

Give me your suffering by fullmetalpotterhead

The Awful Dread that Chokes by Naamah_Beherit

Beginning; Anew by SunflowerQueen1. WIP

Galatea by zarasu

As The Rain and Seasons Pass by Jiu_Lei

mindsick, heartbound by goneforthestars

Hope this helps!