#Zhi-Hui Chen

[morethanwonderful]

God there are SO many stories that use a tragic death as an initial character motivation/a way to thrust a sheltered character into the real world, and so many of those where it's specifically a woman's tragic death as the inciting incident for the male protagonist's journey, but no other instance of that trope has cause me anywhere near as much heartache as Jiangli/Chen Baishao from Tai Sui.

Like, Jiangli gives up her life to save Xi Ping, and the story never ever lets you forget that she has become a part of him in this way. And Xi Ping never forgets it either.

Almost the entire second book is the story of Xi Ping going on an epic journey to avenge Jiangli's ruin and death. He names himself Jiangli when he needs a woman's name as "Zhao Qindan's" servant in book 3. Hundreds of years after her death in the extras, he takes "Mr Peony" as his final stage name and wears a white peony in his hair to honor her. One of the last twists of the novel is that Xi Ping being saved by Jiangli's life swapping talisman was fate, a destiny passed down from his probable ancestor Yuan Hui being saved by his mother in the exact same fashion.

A trod upon, cast aside sex worker gives up her life to save a boy that was a little kind to her, and in the process, she sets into motion the chain of events that will one day rewrite the entire world and topple all the systems that led to her abuse and destruction. A girl sacrifices herself for her crush and in doing so becomes an impression on the heart of the world's very last living god. Jiangli dies in the first story arc and she is inextricably tied to the cycle of fate and fall of immortality that the whole story centers upon.

In the final arc of Tai Sui, when Zhi Xiu and Xi Ping talk before deciding how to save the world together, Xi Ping speaks of Jiangli in fondness and in painful melancholy as a friend. He corrects a rumor that gives him credit for an accomplishment he helped her with. He maintains her as her own person separate from himself, but carries her death always as a part of him.

She doesn't change him exactly, because Xi Ping is by nature loath to be changed, but her imprint is always there deep in the core of his being.

There are so many ways that Xi Ping is marked by her death—so many ways that he carries her with him both consciously and unconsciously. She is dead and written out of the narrative and Xi Ping will never let you forget that she was a part of it. He grows around his grief for her, but it never goes away.

There's just the intense aching melancholy surrounding Jiangli and Xi Ping that makes me feel like nothing else. The tragic young woman death by origin story trope is so tired, but I can never be mad at this instance bc Chen Baishao is the all-time fucking example of it.

[shookethdev]

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

NAKU 🫵

[shewholovestoread]

My Journey To You - Thoughts and Impressions Part 1 of 2

I realise that I've been missing these past few months, i've been on a consumption binge but with little to no bandwidth to write about any show/film irrespective of how much I may have loved them. (depression is an ass) But I can, once again, feel thoughts tingling in my brain and I've decided to get back to writing, something that I deeply enjoy. Anyway, enough about me, let's get started.

To keep the post from getting obscenely long, I'm going to split it into two. This post will be about the technical aspects of the show. Part 2 will focus on the characters.

My Journey To You is a 2023 fantasy, Wuxia show (shows/films that are based in ancient China with martial arts warriors being capable of superhuman feats, like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). It was highly anticipated owing to the amazing trailer (one of the best I've seen)

Plot: The series tells the story of Yun Wei Shan, a spy longing for freedom, who infiltrates the Gong residence to complete a mission. In the eerie and treacherous Gong residence, she encounters love and friendship, embarks on a journey of self-discovery, and finds the determination to move forward. Together with the rebellious nobleman Gong Zi Yu, they grow and mature through their shared experiences. (via mydramalist)

It stars: Yu Shu Xin (Yun Wei Shan), Zhang Ling He(Gong Zi Yu), Ryan Cheng (Gong Shang Jue) and Lu Yu Xiao (Shangguan Qian), Tian Jia Rui (Gong Yuan Zhi), Jolin Jin (Gong Zi Shang) and Sun Chen Jun (Jin Fan)

Written by: Edward Guo.

Series directed by: Edward Guo & Luo Luo

I'll talk about everything I liked before I get into the stuff that I didn't.

Right off the bat, this show has some of the most gorgeous characters you'll come across and this applies to both the men and the women. The costume and make-up departments do an amazing job making already attractive people look ridiculously attractive. They also help the actors really inhabit the world seamlessly. The costumes are especially incredibly detailed and intricate, you can see the care that went into crafting the look for each of these characters. Shout-out to Huang Wei (costume designer) and Shi Hui (Make-up)

One of the best aspects of the show is the cinematography by Wei Hong. This show is aesthetically beautiful, so many absolutely stunning shots. Chinese shows (and Korean shows) love slow-motion shots, and while at times, it can be a bit much, this show makes great use of them, especially during the fight scenes.

The cinematography is helped to a great extent by the excellent production design, courtesy Jiyao Zhang. Like the costumes, the production design too is detailed and intricate. The world feels fully realised and yet also lived in. Each of the different clan mansions, the Front Hill and Back Hill are so incredibly different and distinct that you can immediately tell where you are. An insane amount of hard work went into the show and it shows in every frame.

You can tell that they had a good budget to work with and every bit of it was spent on making the show look as stylized as possible, there is not an ounce of realism to be found here, cue slow-motion beautiful hair flying shots. (Every day I bemoan my inability to make gifs) But the screencaps below illustrate the beauty of the show, it's so gorgeous that you could literally use screencaps as wallpapers.

The fight scenes in the show are some of the best I've seen. They are intense and thrilling and always coherent, you can always tell who's fighting who. The fight scenes are also so aesthetically pleasing, like an exceptionally deadly dance.

Now, we come to the not-so-great stuff.

First off, the marketing. The show was marketed and advertised as an action fantasy show and while there is action and it is excellent, it's not an "action" show. The main focus of the show is on the characters and the internal power struggle of the Gong family. There are also whole scenes, sometimes making up the bulk of an entire episode which are just conversations. I've seen a lot of viewers disappointed and it makes sense. they thought they were coming for action and instead they got verbose conversations.

The pacing also comes to a near-halt in some of these scenes and instead we're treated to lengthy expositions which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it becomes tedious when it happens repetitively.

Now, let's come to the worst thing about the show, it's ending, specifically the last 5 minutes. This end is ridiculously mindbogglingly bad when you consider that there is almost no confirmation on a 2nd season. It's just such a bad idea to end on a cliffhanger like this. If they wanted to leave things open for a potential 2nd season, they could have ended with the Wufeng elders coming together at that character's home, possibly to hold them ransom or something, like literally anything else.

if you're planning on watching this show and I do recommend it, keep in mind that it does get slow and don't watch the last 5 mins of the show. Trust me, you'll like the show a whole lot more if you follow that approach.

Part 2 HERE

[fandomside]

Nirvana in Fire Rewatch Episode Eighteen

Events:

Xia Chun finds the music scroll. Banruo finds a secret room and Fei Liu's toys. No one finds the secret passage to Jingyan's manor.

MCS begs Meng Zhi and Nihuang to be careful not to let Jingyan suspect who he is.

Prince Yu scolds Banruo for searching. She flatters him and he patronises her. It's icky. She tells him a Southern Chu merchant has been talking about Liyang's relationship with a Southern Chu hostage prince.

Jing-ping and Hui-fei discuss a possible marriage alliance with Southern Chu.

Jingyan visits MCS in the night to tell him he's been sent on military business. He asks him why he's helping him and if he knew Prince Qi. MCS deflects.

Mu Qing tells his sister about the decision in the latest ministerial corruption cases. (This is a very cute way to deliver exposition.) Minster He of Personnel is demoted and sent to a province. Minster Qi of Justice is sentenced to exile.

Jingyan helps the Emperor decide on Cai Quan for Minister of Justice.

The Emperor decides to visit Jing-pin.

Names and titles:

Yujin calls Li Gang 'Li Gang-dage'.

Prince Yu refers to 'Liyang-gugu'.

Characters:

Mu Qing isn't as stupid as he looks; he's worked out there's a pattern with events lately, where Prince Yu and the CP keep losing power.

MCS is genuinely worried about the future of the country if the next emperor isn't strong.

The Emperor is frustrated that the faction fighting has cost him two ministers. My dude you brought this on yourself.

The Emperor is angry everyone gets scared whenever he mentions Chen-guifei or Prince Qi. My dude you brought that on yourself.

One of the Emperor's criteria for succession is 'which of them is most like me?'

MCS - see below

Time:

It's mid-spring.

When did Meng Zhi and Nihuang discover the other knew MCS was Lin Shu? Did I already note that?

Misc:

There's no imperial princess of age to be married.

The Chu take divination seriously.

MCS's reasons for not telling Jingyan:

Jingyan can proceed without emotional distraction.

Jingyan doesn't have to think of Mei Changsu's feelings.

Jingyan wouldn't like Lin Shu doing underhanded things.

JIngyan would try to protect Lin Shu as his first priority.

Also, it makes it emotionally easier for me (MCS).

It stops us arguing with each other.

I am poison and Jingyan is pure.

[zhoufeis]

cdrama ask meme

send me a number and I’ll reply with a gifset

1: hidden love or lighter and princess 2: love between fairy and devil or the starry love 3: legend of fei or word of honor 4: till the end of the moon or the untamed 5: who rules the world or zhaoyao 6: the killer is also romantic or the queen of attack 7: the eternal love or the romance of tiger and rose 8: love like the galaxy or goodbye my princess 9: oh! my sweet liar or a girl like me 10: the love by hypnotic or i’ve fallen for you

11: lan wangji or xie yun 12: zhou fei or lu zhaoyao 13: wen kexing or wei wuxian 14: li xun or zhu yun 15: ban hua or rong xia 16: bai fengxi or cheng shaoshang 17: shaodian youqin or chao feng 18: gu xiang or yan hui 19: hei fengxi or li chenlan 20: xiao lanhua or dongfang qingcang

21: hei fengxi / bai fengxi or wen kexing / zhou zishu 22: li chenlan / lu zhaoyao or shaodian youqin / liguang yetan 23: dongfang qingcang / xiao lanhua or lan wangji / wei wuxian 24: gu xiang / cao weining or tianqi / yuemi 25: yan hui / tian yao or ban hua / rong xia 26: ling buyi / cheng shaoshang or tantai jin / ye xiwu 27: li qian / li mingyue or xiong xiruo / li hongbin 28: zhu yun / li xun or sang zhi / duan jiaxu 29: han shuo / chen qianqian or liang weiwei / jing qing 30: chu xiuming / shen jin or zhao cuo / tian sanqi

[eyenaku]

Ji ji fu ji ji

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

[taisuiartgallery]

Guidepost

General Tags:

Art

Digital Art

Traditional Art

Fic

Video

Animatic

Memes

Comics

Crossover

Spoilers

Full list of more specific tags under the cut:

Character Tags:

Because there are So Many Characters, I've taken a page from E. Danglar's book and sorted them by region.

Southern Wan (Jinping)

Xi Ping

Zhou Ying

Wei Chengxiang

Bai Ling

Xi Yue

Pang Jian

Old Madam Xi

Xi Zhengde

Cui Jinjin

Zhao Yu

The Karma Beast

Chen Baishao (Jiangli)

Southern Wan (Xuanyin)

Zhi Xiu

Lin Chi

Wen Fei

Luo Qingshi

Zhang Jue

Lin Zongyi

Yao Qi

Chang Jun

Princess Duanrui

Su Zhun

Zhao Yin

Li Fengshan

Southern Wan (The Southern Mines)

Lü Chengyi

Liang Chen

Southern Wan (Other)

Zhao Qindan

Xu Rucheng

The Heart Demon

Western Chu

Qiu Sha

Hui Xiangjun

Yu Chang

Xuanwu

Zhuoming

Xiang Rong

Tao-er-nainai

Southern Shu

Wangge Luobao

Northern Li

Xie Chu

Kunlun's Third Elder

Wu Lingxiao

Accompanying Plant Tags:

Reincarnation Wood

Snow Shuffler

Late Autumn Red

Eternal Spring Brocade

Heartless Lotus

Item/Weapon Tags:

Tai Sui Qin

Zhaoting

The Law Breaker

The Unbound Furnace

Discard the False and Keep the True

Ship Tags:

Xi Ping/Zhi Xiu

Xi Ping/Zhou Ying

Zhi Xiu/Xi Ping/Zhou Ying

Wei Chengxiang/Zhao Qindan

Xi Ping/Yu Chang

Lin Chi/Hui Xiangjun

Qiu Sha/Hui Xiangjun

Qiu Sha/Hui Xiangjun/Lin Chi

Lin Chi/Wen Fei

Miscellaneous Tags:

Zhou Ying's Cat

The Sea of Stars

The Dragon Vein

Scenery

Fic Tags:

Gen Fic

Story Arc Tags:

(Any drawing/comic of a specific scene will have the relevant arc tagged. Tags for early arcs aren't necessarily spoiler-free.)

Midnight Song

The Dragon Bites Its Tail

Fragrant Jade Miasma

Demon Country

The Mountain Falls

Indignant Cicadas

Traveler Abroad

Unbound Knife

Eternal Flame

The Storm Begins

Flower in the Mirror

Tomb of the Sage

A Life of Regret

Conclusion

The Extras (Overall)

Antiquity Extra

New Capital Extra

Western Chu Extra

Frost and Snow Extra

Jinping Extra

Bonus Secret Info

For those of y'all that scroll all the way to the bottom of this tag list, here's an extra fun fact: this blog is run by ya girl Andromeda Grassbreads. You can find me TaiSuiposting over on my meta blog @morethanwonderful.

[nguyenthiennhuong]

Lời bài hát 裂缝中的阳光 / Ánh Sáng Qua Khe Hở

you duo shao chuang shang ka zai yan hou you duo shao yan lei di shi zhen tou you duo shao ni jue de bu neng gou bei dong de tong zhi neng chen mo you duo shao ye wan mei you jin tou you duo shao de ji mo wu ren su shuo you duo shao ci de meng hai mei zuo yi cheng kong deng dao hei ye fan mian zhi hou hui shi xin de bai zhou deng dao hai xiao tui qu zhi hou zhi shi chao qi chao luo bie dao zui…

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have IP Man 2008 Original title Yip Man

[twilightronin]

Ip Man 2008

[binging-asian-dramas]

The Flaming Heart. 6

Story: 5

Acting: 10

Chemistry: 6

Comparable to: You Are My Hero (cdrama) ; DDay (kdrama) ; Descendants of the Sun (kdrama) ; Love 911 (kdrama)

The title of the series sounds like a pirates boat or a name of a pub which should’ve been my first big clue on how nutty and ‘meh’ this drama was going to be. It’s a cross between the (us versions) of Greys Anatomy and Chicago Fire but very much downgraded. Even the main leads to me don’t have much chemistry together unfortunately. The firefighters team just so happens to have all young men with (two older ones) and one woman, side note they shower a lot 🤷‍♀️. The medics also just so happen to have all women on their team with only one man and the team leader as the older man…..shocker (insert heavy sarcasm here) You can imagine where the romance is going to happen now. Despite the cliches in that you also have situations where you’re scratching your head in disbelief watching either the firefighters carryout the most simplest scenario that is highly exaggerated in a low budget way or the medics carryout a scene that is just plainly medically wrong. Nonetheless it does have its many faults but it also does have some entertaining enjoyable and humorous moments too.

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Magic Star (2017)

Gifs of Intro of cdrama “Magic Star”

ENG SUB【奇星记 | Magic Star 之鲜衣怒马少年時】 EP01吴磊 Leo Wu主演

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItvyV-qTU2A

[eacbooks]

Gu Gong Ming Hua Mei Ji. 2Vols. (Chinese Edition)

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30808745968&searchurl=sortby%3D0%26vci%3D65071755&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title2

[drwcn]

How To Name Your Chinese Characters: 

1) LAST NAMES: 

I’ve pasted the Top 100 common last names in alphabetical order, and bolded the ones that appear in CQL:   

B: 白 Bai C: 蔡 Cai ; 曹 Cao ;  常 Chang ; 曾 Ceng ;  陈 Chen ;  程 Cheng ;  崔 Cui ; D: 戴 Dai ; 邓 Deng ; 丁 Ding ; 董 Dong ; 杜 Du ; F: 范 Fan ; 方 Fang ; 冯 Feng ; 付 Fu ; G: 高 Gao ;  葛 Ge  ; 龚 Gong ; 顾 Gu ; 郭 Guo ; H: 韩 Han ; 何 He ; 贺 He 洪 Hong ; 侯 Hou ; 黄 Hua ; 胡 Hu ; J: 贾 Jia ; 蒋 Jiang ; 姜 Jiang ; 江 Jiang ; 金 Jin ; K: 康 Kang ; L:  赖 Lai ; 李 Li ;  黎 Li ; 廖 Liao ; 梁 Liang ; 林 Lin ; 刘 Liu ; 陆 Lu ; 卢 Lu ; 路 Lu ; 吕 Lü ; 罗 Luo ; M: 马 Ma ; 麦 Mai ; 毛 Mao ; 孟 Meng ; N:  倪 Ni  ;  牛 Niu ; P: 潘 Pan ; 彭 Peng ; Q: 钱 Qian ; 秦 Qin ; 邱 Qiu ; R:任 Ren ; S: 邵 Shao ; 沈 Sheng ; 史 Shi ; 石 Shi ; 施 Shi ; 宋 Song ; 苏 Su ; 孙 Sun ; T: 陶 Tao ; 谭 Tan ; 唐 Tang ; 田 Tian ; W: 万 Wan ; 王 Wang ;  汪 Wang ; 魏 Wei ; 吴 Wu ; X: 邢 Xing ; 夏 Xia ;  蕭 Xiao ; 谢 Xie ; 徐 Xu ; 许 Xu ; 薛 Xue ; Y: 阎 Yan ; 严 Yan ; 杨 Yang ; 姚 Yao ; 叶 Ye ;  余 Yu ; 于 Yu ; 袁 Yuan ; Z: 张 Zhang ;  赵 Zhao ; 郑 Zheng ; 钟 Zhong ; 周 Zhou ;  朱 Zhu ;  庄 Zhuang ;  邹 Zou ;

Above are all single character last names, but there are some double character Chinese last names, seen below (list not exhaustive): 

独孤 Du’Gu ;  公孙 Gong’Sun ; 南宫 Nan’Gong    欧阳 Ou’Yang ;  司马 Si’Ma ; 上官 Shang’Guan ; 宇文 Yu’Wen ; 长孙 Zhang’Sun ; 诸葛 Zhu’GE ; 

2) GIVEN NAMES/COURTESY NAMES

《Elements》: 

Light*： 光 (guāng) - light，  亮 liàng - bright / shine， 明 (míng) - bright， 曦 (xī) - early dawn， 昀 (yún) - daylight， 昭 (zhāo) - light, clear，照 (zhào) - to shine upon，

Fire: 焰 (yàn) - flames， 烟 (yān) - smoke，炎 (yán) - heat/burn， 烨 (yè) - dazzling light，  

Water: also see “weather” OR “bodies of water” under nature; note the words below while are related to water have meanings that mean some kind of virtue: 清 (qīng) - clarity / purity， 澄 (chéng) - clarity/quiet， 澈 (chè) - clear/penetrating， 涟 (lián) - ripple， 漪 (yī) - ripple， 泓 (hóng) - vast water， 湛 (zhàn) - clear/crystal， 露 (lù) - dew， 泠 (líng) - cool, cold, 涛 (tāo) - big wave，泽 (zé)，浩 hào - grand/vast (water)，涵 (han) - deep submergence / tolerance / educated

Weather: 雨 (yǔ) - rain， 霖 (lín) - downpouring rain， 冰 (bīng) - ice， 雪 (xuě) - snow，  霜 (shuāng) - frost 

Wind: 风 (fēng) - wind

* some “Light” words overlap in meaning with words that mean “sun/day”

《Nature》:

Season: 春 (chūn) - spring， 夏 (xià) - summer， 秋 (qíu) - aumtum， 冬 (dōng) - winter

Time of Day: 朝 (zhāo) - early morning / toward， 晨 (chén) - morning / dawn， 晓 (xiǎo) - morning， 旭 (xù) - dawn/rising sun，昼 (zhòu) - day，皖 (wǎn) - late evening，夜 (yè) - night 

Star/Sky/Space: 云 (yún) - cloud，天 (tiān) - sky/ heaven，霞 (xiá) - afterglow of a rising or setting sun，月 (yuè) - moon，日 (ri) - day / sun，阳 (yáng) - sun，宇 (yǔ) - space，星 (xīng) - star

Birds: 燕 (yàn) - sparrow， 雁 (yàn) - loon， 莺 (yīng) - oriole， 鸢 (yuān) - kite bird (family Accipitridae)，羽 (yǔ) - feather

Creatures: 龙 (lóng) - dragon/imperial

Plants/Flowers:* 兰 (lán) - orchids，  竹 (zhú) - bamboo， 筠 (yún) - tough exterior of bamboos， 萱 (xuān) - day-lily， 松 (sōng) - pine， 叶 (yè) - leaf， 枫 (fēng) - maple， 柏 bó/bǎi - cedar/cypress， 梅 (méi) - plum， 丹 (dān) - peony

Mountains: 山 (shān)， 峰 (fēng) - summit， 峥 (zhēng)，

Bodies of water: 江 (jiāng) - large river/straits， 河 (hé) - river， 湖 (hú) - lake， 海 (hǎi) - sea， 溪 (xī) - stream， 池 (chí) - pond， 潭 (tán) - larger pond， 洋 (yáng) - ocean

* I didn’t include a lot of flower names because it’s very easy to name a character with flowers that heavily implies she’s a prostitute. 

《Virtues》: 

Astuteness: 睿 ruì - astute / foresight， 智 (zhi)， 慧 (hui)， 哲 (zhé) - wise/philosophy, 

Educated:  博 (bó) - extensively educated， 墨 (mo) - ink， 诗 (shi) - poetry / literature， 文 (wén) - language / gentle / literary， 学 (xue) - study， 彦 (yàn) - accomplished / knowledgeable, 知 (zhi) - to know， 斌 (bīn) - refined， 赋 (fù) - to be endowed with knowledge

Loyalty: 忠 (zhōng) - loyal， 真 (zhēn) - true 

Bravery: 勇 (yǒng) - brave， 杰 (jié) - outstanding, hero

Determination/Perseverance: 毅 (yì) - resolute / brave， 恒 (héng) - everlasting， 衡 (héng) - across, to judge/evaluate，成 (chéng) - to succeed， 志 (zhì) - aspiration / the will

Goodness/Kindness: 嘉 (jiā) - excellent / auspicious，磊 (lěi) - rock / open & honest， 正 (zhèng) - straight / upright / principle，

Elegance: 雅 (yǎ) - elegant， 庄 (zhuāng) - respectful/formal/solemn， 彬 (bīn) - refined / polite， 

Handsome: 俊 jùn - handsome/talented 

Peace: 宁 (níng) - quietness/to pacify, 安 （ān) - peace, safety

Grandness/Excellence：宏 (hóng) - grand，豪 (háo) - grand, heroic，昊 (hào) - limitless / the vast sky，华 (huá) - magnificent， 赫 (hè) - red/famous/great， 隆 (lóng) - magnificent， 伟 (wěi) - greatness / large，轩 (xuān) - pavilion with a view/high，卓 (zhuó) - outstanding

Female Descriptor/Virtues/Beauty: 婉 (wǎn)，惠 (huì)， 妮 (nī)， 娇 (jiāo)， 娥 (é)， 婵 (chán) (I didn’t include specific translations for these because they’re all adjectives for women meaning beauty or virtue) 

《Descriptors》:

Adverbs: 如 (rú) - as，若 (ruò) - as, alike，宛 (wǎn) - like / as though，

Verbs: 飞 (fēi) - to fly，  顾 （gù) - to think/consider， 怀 (huái) - to miss, to possess， 落(luò) - to fall, to leave behind，梦 (mèng) - to dream， 思 (sī) - to consider / to miss (someone)，忆 (yì) - memory， 希 (xī) - yearn / admire

Colours: 红 (hóng) - red， 赤 (chì) - crimson， 黄 (huàng) - yellow， 碧 (bì) - green，青(qīng) - azure，蓝 (lán) - blue， 紫 (zǐ) - violet ，玄 (xuán) - black， 白 (baí) - white

Number：一 (yī), 二 (er) - two, 三 (san) - three,  四 (si) - four,  五 (wu) - five, 六 (liu) - six, 七(qi) - seven, 八 (ba) - eight,  九 (jiu) - nine, 十 (shi) - ten

Direction: 东 (dōng) - east， 西 (xi) - west， 南 (nan) - south， 北 (bei) - north，

Other: 子 (zǐ) - child, 然 (rán) - correct / thusly

《Jade》: *there are SO MANY words that generally mean some kind of jade, bc when ppl put jade in their children’s name they don’t literally mean the rock, it’s used to symbolize purity, goodness, kindness, beauty, virtue etc*  琛 (chen), 瑶 (yao),  玥 (yue),  琪 (qi),  琳 (lin)

《Spirituality》

凡 (fan) - mortality 

色 (se) - colour, beauty. In buddhism, “se” symbolizes everything secular

了 (liao) - finished, done, letting go 

尘 (chen) - dust, I’m not… versed in buddhism enough to explain “chen”, it’s similar to “se”

悟 (wu) - knowing? Cognition? To understand a higher meaning

无 (wu) - nothing, the void, also part of like “letting go” 

戒 (jie) - to “quit”, but not in a bad way. In buddhism, monks are supposed to “quit” their earthly desires.

极 (ji) - greatness, also related to the state of nirvana (? I think?) 

[gravitydefyingtears]

Danmei Roundup

I suddenly realized that ever since MDZS opened the doors, I’ve steadily gone through a good amount of danmei. 👀 Since I’m apparently doing anything except write my final paper, I compiled a list of stories I’ve come to know either through their novels or audio drama adaptations (or both). Any of them look familiar? lol

Adding/updating the list as I go + highlighting some of my favs.

Period Fantasy: Wuxia, Xianxia

人渣反派自救系统 — 墨香铜臭 (Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System — Mo Xiang Tong Xiu) *system/transmigration*

魔道祖师 — 墨香铜臭 (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation — Mo Xiang Tong Xiu)

天官赐福 — 墨香铜臭 (Heaven Official’s Blessing — Mo Xiang Tong Xiu)

铜钱龛世 — 木苏里 (Copper Coins — Mu Su Li)

二哈和他的白猫师尊 — 肉包不吃肉 (Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun — Meatbun Doesn’t Eat Meat)

Sci-Fi/Survival (? idk what 无限流 is called)

全球高考 — 木苏里 (Global Examination — Mu Su Li)

地球���线 — 莫晨欢 (The Earth is Online — Mo Chen Huan)

Modern Setting

Crime/Mystery

犯罪心理 — 长洱 (Criminal Psychology — Chang Er) 

默读 — Priest (Silent Reading — Priest)

破云 — 淮上 (Breaking Through the Clouds — Huai Shang)

皮囊 — 潭石 (Skin — Tan Shi) 

Gaming

你师父我人傻钱多 — 莫晨欢 (Your Shifu is Stupid Rich — Mo Chen Huan)

网恋翻车指南 — 酱子贝 (How to Fail at Online Dating — Jiang Zi Bei)

你亲我一下 — 引路星 (Give Me a Kiss — Yin Lu Xing) *celebrity* 

Schoolyard Romance

我喜欢你的信息素 — 引路星 (I Like Your Pheromones — Yin Lu Xing) *abo*

伪装学渣 — 木瓜黄 (Fake Slackers — Mu Gua Huang)

信息素说我们不可能 — 毛球球 (The Pheromones Say We've Got No Chance — Mao Qiu Qiu) *abo* 

Celebrity/Entertainment Business

我嗑了对家X我的CP — PEPA (I Ship My Adversary x Me — PEPA)

情敌每天都在变美 — 公子于歌 (My Love Rival is Getting Prettier Every Day — Gongzi Yu Ge) *system/transmigration*

我只喜欢你的人设 — 稚楚 (I Only Like Your Persona — Zhi Chu)

营业悖论 — 稚楚 (Fanservice Paradox — Zhi Chu) *boy group*

小行星 — 微风几许 (Little Asteroid — Wei Feng Ji Xu) *abo*

落池 — 余酲 (Falling Into the Pond — Yu Cheng)

迪奥先生 — 绿野千鹤 (Mr. Dior — Lv Ye Qian He) *crack/amnesia*

职业替身 — 水千丞 (Professional Body Double — Shui Qian Cheng) *rebirth*

没钱 — 吕天逸 (Broke — Lv Tian Yi) *system/supernatural*

���销号说你喜欢我 — 螽斯 (Clickbait Media Accounts Say You Like Me — Zhong Si)

Supernatural/Fantasy

论以貌取人的下场 — 月下蝶影 (The Consequences of Judging a Book by Its Cover — Yue Xia Die Ying)

我开动物园那些年 — 拉棉花糖的兔子 (Those Years I Opened a Zoo — La Mian Hua Tang de Tu Zi) *system*

临时保镖 — 绿野千鹤 (Last-Minute Bodyguard — Lv Ye Qian He)

Slice-of-Life/Other

飞鸥不下 — 回南雀 (Flying Gulls Never Land — Hui Nan Que) *adopted brothers*

安知我意 — 北南 (Know My Heart — Bei Nan)

刺青 — 不问三九 (Tattoo — Bu Wen San Jiu)

燎原 — 不问三九 (Wildfire — Bu Wen San Jiu) 

烧不尽 — 回南雀 (Eternal Burning — Hui Nan Que)

腹黑和腹黑的终极对决 — 羲和清零 (Behind the Scenes Hunter — Xi He Qing Ling) *corporate battle*

… … …

And then there are some more I started to various extents:

这题超纲了 — 木瓜黄 (Beyond the Outline — Mu Gua Huang) *schoolyard*

不要在垃圾桶里捡男朋友 — 骑鲸南去 (Don’t Pick Up Boyfriends from the Trash — Qi Jing Nan Qv) *transmigration/system*

魔尊也想知道 — 青色羽翼 (Mo-Zun Also Wants to Know — Qing Se Yu Yi) *period fantasy/system*

可爱过敏原 — 稚楚 (Adorable Allergen — Zhi Chu) *schoolyard/adopted brothers*

欢迎来到噩梦游戏 — 薄暮冰轮 (Welcome to the Nightmare Game — Bo Mu Bing Lun) *sci-fi/transmigration/survival?*

恶性依赖 — 金刚圈 (Unhealthy Attachment — Jin Gang Quan) *modern*

营养过良 — 芥菜糊糊 (Nutrition Overload — Jie Cai Hu Hu) *cats*

S.C.I. 谜案集 — 耳雅 (S.C.I. Mystery — Er Ya) *crime/mystery*

嚣张 — 巫哲 (Audacious — Wu Zhe) *schoolyard* 

穿成反派总裁小情人 — 林盎司 (Transmigrated as the Villain CEO’s Little Lover — Lin Ounce) *transmigration/entertainment business*

一不小心和醋精结婚了 — 一枚纽扣 (My Accidental Husband is Full of Vinegar — Yi Mei Niu Kou) *modern*

碎玉投珠 — 北南 (Sui Yu Tou Zhu — Bei Nan) *80s/90s setting*

兼职无常后我红了 — 拉棉花糖的兔子 (After I Started Working as a Wu Chang, I Became Popular — La Mian Hua Tang de Tu Zi) *modern/supernatural*

新时���，新地府 — 林知落 (New Times, New Hell — Lin Zhiluo) *supernatural/modern/crack*

两A相逢必有一O — 厉冬忍 (When Two As Meet, There Must Be One O — Li Dong Ren) *abo/schoolyard*

破云2：吞海 — 淮上 (Swallow the Sea — Huai Shang) *crime/mystery* 

[screaming-apple]

TOP 5 TV DRAMA EACH YEAR WITH THE HIGHEST BAIDU INDEX RANKING

(from 2011 to 2021/known internationally)

🔥2011:

No.1: Scarlet Heart (Bu Bu Jing Xin)

No.2: The Temptation To Go Home (Hui Jia De You Huo)

No.3: The Lock Heart Jade (Gong Suo Xin Yu)

No.4: The Glamorous Imperial Concubine (Qing Shi Huang Fei)

No.5: Palace (Gong)

🔥2012:

No.1: iPartment season 3 (Ai Qing Gong Yu)

No.2: The Magic Blade (Tian Ya Ming Yue Dao)

No.3: Locked Beaded Curtain (Gong Suo Zhu Lian)

No.4: Empresses Of The Palace (Hou Gong Zhen Huan Zhuan)

No.5: Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar Of Sky (Xuan Yuan Jian Zhi Tian Zhi Hen)

🔥2013:

No.1: Little Daddy (Xiao Ba Ba)

No.2: We Get Married (Zan Men Jie Hun Ba)

No.3: Prince Of Lan Ling (Lan Ling Wang)

No.4: Swordsman (Jin Xiao Ao Jiang Hu)

No.5: Legend Of Lu Zhen (Lu Zhen Chuan Qi)

🔥2014:

No.1: iPartment season 4 (Ai Qing Gong Yu)

No.2: My Love From The Star (Byeoreseo On Geudae)*

No.3: Swords Of Legends (Gu Jian Qi Tan)

No.4: Boss & Me (Shan Shan Lai Le)

No.5: The Empress Of China (Wu Meiniang Chuan Qi)

🔥2015:

No.1: The Legend Of Mi Yue (Mi Yue Zhuan)

No.2: My Sunshine (He Yi Sheng Xiao Mo)

No.3: The Journey Of Flower (Hua Qian Gu)

No.4: The Lost Tomb (Dao Mu Bi Ji)

No.5: Nirvana In Fire (Lang Ya Bang)

🔥2016:

No.1: Ode To Joy (Huan Le Song)

No.2: Love O2O (Wei Wei Yi Xiao Hen Qing Cheng)

No.3: The Princess Weiyoung (Jin Xiu Wei Yang)

No.4: Go Princess Go (Tai Zi Fei Sheng Zhi Ji)

No.5: Descendants Of The Sun (Taeyang-ui Huye)*

🔥2017:

No.1: In The Name Of The People (Ren Min De Ming Yi)

No.2: The First Half Of My Life (Wo De Qian Ban Sheng)

No.3: Eternal Love (San Sheng San Shi Shi Li Tao Hua)

No.4: Princess Agents (Chu Qian Zhuan)

No.5: Ode To Joy season 2 (Huan Le Song)

🔥2018:

No.1: Story Of Yanxi Palace (Yan Xi Gong Lue)

No.2: The Story Of Minglan (Zhi Fou? Zhi Fou? Ying Shi Luo Fei Hong Shou)

No.3: Ashes Of Love (Xiang Mi Chen Chen Jin Ru Shuang)

No.4: Legend Of Fuyao (Fuyao)

No.5: Ruyi’s Royal Love In The Palace (Ruyi Zhuan)

🔥2019:

No.1: Joy Of Life (Qing Yu Nian)

No.2: Go Go Squid! (Qin Ai De, Re Ai De)

No.3: Hope All Is Well With Us (Wo Men Dou Yao Hao Hao De)

No.4: The King’s Avatar (Quan Zhi Gao Shou)

No.5: The Untamed (Chen Qing Ling)

🔥2020:

No.1: The Bad Kids (Yin Mi De Jiao Luo)

No.2: Nothing But Thirty (San Shi Er Yi)

No.3: Go Ahead (Yi Jia Ren Zhi Ming)

No.4: Find Yourself (Xia Yi Zhan Shi Xing Fu)

No.5: I Will Find You A Better Home (An Jia)

🔥2021:

No.1: Crime Crackdown (Sao Hei Feng Bao)

No.2: My Heroic Husband (Zhui Xu)

No.3: You Are My Glory (Ni Shi Wo De Rong Yao)

No.4: Word Of Honor (Shan He Ling)

No.5: Rattan (Si Teng)

(*) Korean dramas. I have no idea why there are two of them on this Chinese dramas list but okay, they are still accepted here.

The list in picture form: (You can see the Baidu index of the dramas here - click in to see better)

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So, what do you think of this ranking? How many of these dramas do you know of/have you watched? Which is your favourite?

(The tags can not cover every drama. So I have tried my best to pick out some I think would be more well-known among international fans.)