#Chinese author

[ihearttseliot]

It ain’t special, but it’s something. White rice, dumplings, saltfish, okra, tomatoes, and onion.

[royaltea000]

Certified DILF chaser

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

cosplay of main character li huowang 李火旺 from next big chinese IP 道诡异仙dao gui yi xian/Dao of the Bizarre Immortal (chinese fantacy-thriller-suspense fiction based on dao culture) and the last part is the trailer of anime unreleased yet

[gennsoup]

"You know what I think? I think this whole concept of women being docile and obedient is nothing but wishful thinking. Or why would you put so much effort into lying to us? Into crippling our bodies? Into coercing us with made-up morals you claim are sacred? You insecure men, you're afraid. You can force us into compliance, but, deep down, you know you can't force us to truly love and respect you. And without love and respect, there will always be a seed of hatred and resistance. Growing. Festering. Waiting."

Xiran Jay Zhao, Iron Widow

[twinklecupcake]

Begging people to not mix up Japanese and Chinese wedding traditions/clothing.  I just saw an LMK fic mention a character wearing “a traditional wedding dress, a red shiromuku.”

Which first of all isn’t even red, it’s white, it’s right there in the name, and second of all holy hell no, that’s Japanese.

Not to mention the actual wedding was a Western Christian one.

[its-not-a-pen]

mind the fourth wall guys, we've just renovated the place...

[guzhufuren]

most important reason why it would be nice for more people to know about and watch Meet You At The Blossom when it airs cause its success can create an opening for so many future uncensored bl and gl adaptations of chinese wuxia/xianxia novels with the help of Thailand. from SVSSS to Female General and Eldest Princess, as long as it becomes a hit and goes smoothly and makes money. we already have 5 thai adaptations of danmei this year and it could go so much further

[stayuntilthefoglifts]

No, we're not soulmates. This is not divine intervention. And this is most certainly not chance. I willed this. I knit the threads of fate myself until they spelled your name. I love you intentionally. I love you with every bit of conscience I was born with.

[cruyffista]

[aquitainequeen]

I feel deeply for Natsu Hyuuga, author of Kusuriya no Hitorigoto/The Apothecary Diaries. On the one hand she's written such a brilliant story, and the character arcs and relationship between Maomao and Jinshi are some of the best I've seen in years. On the other hand, she's been very upfront about how Jinshi was originally just meant to be a comic relief character, she doesn't like him, finds him annoying and wonders why he's so popular. Basically:

[hesbianyaoi]

The Soukokus and the Four Symbols: Pt 1

STARTING OFF BY SAYING: This is just a fun connection/"theory" (if you would call it that) I made while reading BSD, so not everything will be connected exactly to the T. I just love mythology and Byakko has already been confirmed to be a celestial being thanks to chapter 119, so in any case, buckle up and enjoy my insanity.

WHO AND WHAT EXACTLY ARE THE FOUR SYMBOLS?

The Four Symbols—also known as the Four Guardians or the Four Gods—are constellations and mythological creatures in Chinese (and other countries in the Sinosphere) culture that are believed to be the protectors of the four cardinal points: the North, South, East and West.

They also had correspondence with the Five Phases (Wuxing), the philosophy that the fundamentals to the universe were composed of elements and their relationships to one another. These elements include nature, seasons, times of day, directions, and colors.

The Four Symbols are the Azure Dragon of the East, the White Tiger of the West, the Vermilion Bird of the South, and the Black Tortoise of the North.

Sound familiar?

It's like how Soukoku + Shin Soukoku is associated with the colors blue/red and black/white. This alone wouldn't be enough for me to make this entire thing such a big post in the first place, though; it's the very nature of everything else in Bungo Stray Dogs concerning the Soukoku's and the subtle symbolism they have connecting them to these divine beings.

For the sake of my own mind, we'll be discussing Shin Soukoku in this post, as they have the most relevance to the recent update and to their associated guardians/gods. Interesting since they create such a unique Singularity, right?

ATSUSHI: BYAKKO, THE GUARDIAN OF THE WEST

We have the most information about Byakko thus far, so it only seems fair to start off with her.

Byakko's associations with Wuxing include the color white, sunsets, autumn and its desolation, and the west itself. These are things Atsushi is commonly associated with, such as sunset/moon symbolism, how the sun sets in the west during the autumn equinox, even his joke title of the Wimp of The West in chapter 33.

Atsushi's white tiger is something we already know is highly sought after from all around the world, and we already know that the tiger itself is a "bookmark" to locate the book. The Book is obviously representative of something otherworldly, something as heavenly as its association with creation and life, and of course, Byakko is the literal guide to finding it. Because of course she is.

Byakko is more than just a white tiger; it is the embodiment of justice, protectiveness, and righteousness. It is the king of beasts and a capable warrior. She's more than just an ability (as we see in Dead Apple, alongside Rashōmōn, since they're the only two that take their own forms compared to everyone else's abilities being mirrors of themselves) as she resides inside of Atsushi's body as another physical being entirely.

Canonically, abilities are described as receiving their power by their user's souls, which is why an ability will disintegrate once their user dies.

But Byakko is not just Atsushi's ability; she is an entire being residing within him, two souls in one body. And not just any being, but a god.

It's also speculation on my part, but Byakko is often referred to as the "key" to finding The Book when in actuality, she's most likely protecting it. Fitting of the White Tiger's role as a guardian of justice and morality—if it fell into the wrong hands, balance would be broken.

AKUTAGAWA: GENBU, THE GUARDIAN OF THE NORTH

Also known as the Black Warrior of the North, as the character 武 translates to warrior/knight and is a much more faithful translation. Compared to Atsushi's more blatant connection to Byakko, Akutagawa's connection to Genbu relies more on subtlety, which I would say picked up during chapters 117.

His death, becoming a vampire, and the time spanning from his death until now could also count as a form of hibernation, given the fact tortoises hibernate and winter is the prime time for hibernation to occur, which aligns with Genbu's associations with Wuxing: the color black, winter and its frost, midnight (prime time for traditional vampires), and the north itself.

From the beginning, Akutagawa has always been associated with black as his signature color. Rashomon, his armor, is his protective "shell" like that of a tortoise. In the most literal sense, he is a warrior—a true knight, further emphasized by Bram's final wishes and desires to protect. It's also worth mentioning that the Tortoise is revered as a pillar of support during challenging times.

Honestly, need I say more?

Genbu is also associated with resilience, wisdom, and most importantly, immorality. The story of the Black Tortoise (Xuanwu) varies from legend to legend, but the general base for the story is the same: Xuanwu was once a mortal who achieved enlightenment and became immortal by pulling out his stomach and intestines, the last remains of his human parts. Once he pulls them out, they become demons, and he must subdue and tame them—quite literally overcoming his own sins.

In a twisted sense, Akutagawa's death was a form of enlightenment.

He dies believing that Dazai truly didn't abandon him, that this was all just a test, and thus he dies with a smile on his face. Now that Akutagawa is awake, he doesn't remember anything besides his knightly duties. It is a new beginning for him, one without the demons of his past weighing him down internally.

He is anew. He is enlightened.

SO, WHAT COULD THIS MEAN?

That's the thing. It could mean nothing at all except for speculation. It could mean something bigger in store for the future of the story. The point is that we don't know what could happen or what any of this could mean outside of correspondence with mythological archetypes. Regardless if this actually contributes anything to the plot, the similarities between Akutagawa-Atsushi and the White Tiger-Black Warrior were too fun to resist talking about, which brings up another point.

Byakko and Genbu, Baihu and Xuanwu, Atsushi and Akutagawa, the new Double Black. They all represent the same thing: balance.

The tiger is representative of its protectiveness and righteousness whilst the tortoise is associated with its wisdom and the strength of a warrior. All four guardians are responsible for the balance of the cosmos and nature itself, and for the Soukokus, it is the same.

The balance they fight to keep is not only between themselves and each other but for Yokohama, for the fabric of reality itself. (And it's something I want to go deeper into when I focus on Dazai & Chuuya next.)

[abyssal-debonair]

You’re a grown man with the trauma of a little girl. ... I don’t mean that trans men cannot speak about the misogyny they experienced; it’s just now, most people will look at me and not see the layers of patriarchal violence I experienced. The song “Sweet Cis Teen” asks: Am I a boy or am I just my trauma? But all of my experiences did not magically disappear the moment(s) I realized I am a man, nor were they left behind. It was traumatic being a Chinese woman. I was spat at, harassed, fetishized, assaulted, told that my worth depended on others, my experience and abilities invalidated. My bodymind holds these memories and shapes itself with them, and I do not want to trivialize these memories because they continue to inform who I am and my politics.

this entire essay is worth a read, but the quotations I pulled out are the ones that strike me deeply, being the most relatable to my own FtM experience.

[dearmyloveleys]

extremely random thought: ik this is a *general* convention in historical cdramas and cnovels, but whenever I read/hear their full names “wei wuxian” “shen qingqiu” etc, as a Modern Era Chinese person, sometimes it feels like I’m scolding them through the text BXNDBSNSNS

[conscbgb]

Thanks to Priest for writing the novel adapted into this beautiful series, thanks to Chris and Xuan for givin' life to these 2 characters in the most perfect way, thanks to all the team who worked on it and as Chris once said "Unknown is not just a BL, it's the story of all of us"

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

王鹤棣wang hedi at the set of chinese costume drama 大奉打更人da feng da geng ren

[poomphuripan]

so about tong...

Mek Jirakit (Tong): And at first, P'Pep (the director of My Stand-In) said "Tong is not a bad person, Mek. He just has ambition.” I was like okay, I'm not a bad person. When I started playing in the series until the story ends I still haven't seen any goodness in him!!!!! P'Pep is deceiving/fooling the cast!

Mek retweeted the tweet of Pepzi explaining why the Thai team adapted to make May (Ming's sister) a nicer person as opposed to her novel counterpart.

Mek: And when will we get to see Tong's good side? Pepzi: EP. 13... (note: My Stand-In has 12 episodes)