#Zhuo Zhi

[nuisancehelicopter]

"Did Guan Yue teach you these techniques?"

"He did. He's better than you."

"Guan Yue, how could you let Zhuo Yu be hurt like this?"

[7amsunflw3r]

december 3rd.

“here.”

the words brushed against the wind as y/n stuck his arm out towards the boy -no, man- in front of him. he looked away, the trees that covered yu qing’s tennis courts giving him a protective barrier for his embarrassed self.

maybe the slight blush on his cheeks grew a little brighter because the sun beamed down on them, and maybe his heart began to beat a little faster since he finished his match with sweat dripping down his face. even with those factors, he knew that wasn’t the reason why.

it was the same reason it always was. zhuo zhi. it was always zhuo zhi.

zhuo zhi was the reason the sun burned in the middle of the day, the reason he served every ball to the other side of the court. he - and zhuo zhi alone - was the reason the world kept spinning.

“are you going to take it?”

y/n’s voice was a little louder, his arm becoming sore as he extended the object in his arm out a little further. it was a light blue sweater with navy blue flowers embroidered into the cuffs.

it wad pretty, different from the things y/n wore on a daily basis. instead of keeping it for himself on the cold winter day, he held it out to zhuo zhi.

zhuo zhi finally looked up from his spot on the court, eyes squeezing softly as they gazed upon their chosen god. “i don’t see why i need a sweater, i’m hot still.”

clenching his jaw shut, y/n’s eyes met with zhuo zhi’s. his heart refused to slow down, only beating faster with every second their eyes were together as one.

“please, just take it.”

the silence that hung over the courts as it slowly turned to evening was deafening, making y/n go insane. zhuo zhi broke the silence with a sigh as he stood up and readjusted his main player uniform.

“fine.” his fingers clasped around the cotton, hand skillfully and gracefully placing it over his shoulders. zhuo zhi looked even more handsome with it on, head held high as he continued to meet y/n’s gaze. “does this mean something special? or are you nice to me after all these years.”

“it means i love you zhuo zhi.”

the world returned to a silence that somehow increased the humidity of the air, each breath painful and thick as he waited for zhuo zhi to reply, to change in anyway.

zhuo zhi’s face broke into a soft smile, a small chuckle escaped his mouth as the wind cleared the tension. he hopped the net, his beloved racket clattering to the floor as he instead used that hand to grasp y/n’s.

that hand, full of callouses and rough skin, never felt so perfect in his palm.

“oh? so you’ve given me a sweater to say you love me. i take it now i’m supposed to repay you with a date?”

y/n smiled, punching zhuo zhi’s arm gently to get a reaction from the man. the birds chirped as zhuo zhi and y/n packed up, the blue sweater that covered zhuo zhi brushing against the bare skin of y/n’s arm.

“i expect this date to be amazing, zhuo zhi.” y/n almost grumbles, reluctant to admit his affections.

zhuo zhi refuses to answer, instead choosing to wrap his arm around y/n as they walked through the streets, each other the only thing the world could offer.

y/n proceeded to give zhuo zhi a sweater every december third to signify his undying love. because he loved him, and he always gave him cotton.

[loveeverythingaboutlove]

[ohmyitsfaith]

Happiness Actually, written by ohmyitsfaith and @ttheweirdguypp

Inspired by Love Actually, Happiness Actually follows the lives of six high school couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic year of high school, in China.

Table of contents

Chapter 1: Prologue

Start of something new

Chapter 2: Reaching out to you

Beginnings are always beautiful. Well, most of the time. Golden pair are in a beautiful relationship, Jingwu learns something he never thought was possible, Song Ci gets a gift from a mysterious person, alpha pair suffer from a decision that could end very badly, perfect pair are in a secret relationship, rival pair learn something about each other and Xinglong notices something he hasn't before.

Chapter 3: I am here for you

Some things are easier than others. And sometimes all we need is someone standing beside us and telling us "it'll be okay". Golden pair face some issues, Song Ci receives more mysterious gifts, alpha pair cook together, Zhuo Zhi starts to doubt Siyang's words, rival pair are still rival pair and A-Yan gets surprised by a late night visitor.

Chapter 4: No rest for the wicked

Things are sometimes easy, sometimes harder. It really just depends on who you're watching. Golden pair are happy together, Jingwu has some new thoughts that he doesn't understand, alpha pair go to a club, perfect pair enjoy a nice date together, but things go south for rival pair and Xinglong makes a new discovery.

Chapter 5: Cruel fate

There isn't a rainbow without a storm. And by now, everyone can attest to that. Golden pair face the facts, Song Ci and Ji Jingwu get into a misunderstanding, alpha pair deal with the results of their situation, Mu Siyang screws things up even more, Zhang Baiyang lies to his boyfriend, and A-Yan figures something out that turns his world upside down.

Chapter 6: Even the darkest stars shine bright

Even when it looks grim for your future, do not lose hope. Jiale seeks out Zhuo Zhi, who shares his sadness, Dayong gets help from his grandmother, Jingwu overhears the rumors, alpha pair say goodbye, Siyang packs up his suitcase, rival pair wallow in sadness and anger, and Xinglong and A-Yan get compared to a husband and wife.

Chapter 7: Of all the things

Of all the things, this had to happen? Well, when you're in a relationship, things tend to go a way you don't expect them. Golden pair seem to try to make amends while adorable pair fall deeper into the hole they dug themselves, alpha pair experience the meaning of weights falling off their chest, perfect pair continue their shenanigans, rival pair make up in their own way and Xinglong does something he didn't think he'd do.

Chapter 8: For you

The letter Siyang wrote for Zhuo Zhi

Chapter 9: True to myself

Staying true to your feelings and to yourself can sometimes be challenging. But sometimes all you need is a little push to get there. Golden pair kiss and make up, adorable pair talk things out, Shiting is recovering with his boyfriend there to support him, Zhuo Zhi races to catch Siyang before he leaves, Qiao Chen makes Baiyang explain what the hell happened and A-Yan finally reacts to Xinglong's confession.

Chapter 10: Everything to me

Everything is looking up for the moment, but something big is coming. Golden pair are happily together, adorable pair is enjoying their new relationship, Bai Shiting is overwhelmed by his boyfriend's worry, Zhuo Zhi tries to have a call with Mu Siyang, rival pair enjoy their lunch date and narrator pair navigate their new relationship

Chapter 11: News

Newspaper article announcing the meteor shower (that A-Yan read).

Chapter 12: Now you see me

Finally seeing things the way they are. And seeing people the way they are. Jiale goes on a shopping spree dragging Zhuo Zhi with him, adorable pair go on a date and pick up Zhuo Zhi from the mall, alpha pair spend some quality time together, Siyang is back from Germany, rival pair have a sleepover and our narrators talk things out.

Chapter 13: I love you

Love is one of the best feelings in the world. But maybe happiness is actually more important. Jiale goes through with his plan, adorable pair's plans get destroyed, Shiting learns something that's life changing, perfect pair finally reunite, rival pair are... rival pair and A-Yan surprises Xinglong.

Chapter 14: See you later

Every story must come to an end. But this isn't goodbye. It's see you later.

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Dashing Youth (2024)

Senior Brothers 'Love' the Youngest so much ❤️🤣 #neohou #dashingyouth #chinesedrama

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XORSTk6G1OY

[nem0lux3]

RIGHT BEFORE PRIDE MONTH ENDS—

[pi-ying-xi]

Xiaosheng is fully happy being a 电灯泡 here, and no amount of glaring from a-Jiang is going to intimidate her.

This was cute. Zhuo Lanjiang is a cutie even though his subordinates go around shutting entire streets down and tying people up so that Shangguan Zhi can question them.

[swiftletinthecloud]

The brothers Zhi Jian and Zhi Mo are so funny. 

The entire scene of Liu Yan taking care of a sick and unconscious Mu Zhuo Hua is absolutely hilarious, especially with the Zhi brothers. The three of them have no fucking clue what to do while Zhuo Hua’s sleep talking and reciting study notes in her sleep!

The brothers bursting in to protect Liu Yan as Mu Zhuo Hua’s clinging to his knee and sleep talking so they think they interrupted and are scramming out of there while in the screenshot below Liu Yan is going “no wait don’t leave me” LOL 

Liu Yan trying and having trouble feeding Zhuo Hua medicine 😆

The Zhi brothers always coming in at the most awkward moments LOL

He’s like, please help me 😭

Younger Zhi bro pushing his big bro up to bat 😆

Zhuo Hua’s finally going to get her medicine. And throughout all this, she’s still sleep talking and reciting study notes in her sleep, which the older Zhi brother points out sounds a lot like she’s subtlety dissing Liu Yan. Liu Yan’s like, no, these are actual quotes she’s reciting. 😆 

[joemomrgneissguy]

Yuanxiao

The following is a recipe as presented in Tasting History by Max Miller. If you enjoy it, I would highly encourage checking out the Tasting History youtube channel or buy the Tasting History cookbook.

From History The cooking method uses glutinous rice that has been ground into a fine powder. Inside the wrapper the filling comprises the flesh of walnuts and white sugar. Water is sprinkled on the filling and the balls are rolled around in flour to form them. They are as big as walnuts. This is the same as what the people of the Jiangnan region call tagyuan -Liu Ruoyu, Zhuo zhong zhi (translated by Roy Chan)

"Yuanxiao is a ball of glutinous rice stuffed with a sweet walnut filling, but it's the source of this seventeenth-century recipe, the Zhuo zhong zhi by Liu Ruoyu, that has a story worth telling.

The Ming Court, under the teenage Tianqi Emperor, was run by a powerful and scheming eunuch named Wei Zhongxian. Powerful and scheming eunuchs were actually quite the trend in Imperial China, but none were as formidable as Wei. He, along with the emperor's nurse, Madame Ke, removed all others who held power over the emperor. Some were banished, some starved to death, and others were forced to commit suicide. The pair kept the young emperor ignorant of the goings-on in his empire while they ran the government.

During Wei's reign of terror, a young eunuch named Liu distinguished himself as an excellent calligrapher, an uncommon skill among the eunuchs of the Forbidden City. His work caught the jealous eye of the illiterate Wei Zhongxian, who, unfriendly to any he believed smart enough to challenge his power, demoted the young scribe to work in the stables. Liu toiled there for several years and added the moniker Ruoyu, which meant "the dumb," to his name to remind himself that feigning stupidity might serve him better in the Wei regime.

But the powerful eunuch eventually found a use for Liu Ruoyu's talent: forgery. Wei had procured a number of blank documents already stamped with the emperor's seal. All he required to govern with impunity was for someone to fill the documents with whatever decrees he wished. Liu was just the man for the job.

The scheme did not last long though, for when the Tianqi Emperor died at the age of twenty-one his younger brother, Zhu Youjian, came to power as the Chongzhen Emperor. Though only sixteen, Zhu had not yet fallen under Wei Zhongxian's influence, and the new emperor banished the troublesome eunuch, executed Madame Ke, and imprisoned any who had helped Wei, including Liu Ruoyu. While in prison, Liu wrote the Zhuo zhong zhi, part protestation of his innocence and part treatise on daily life in the Forbidden City. His writings included a number of recipes, such as this one for Yuanxiao."

Modern Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups (140g) whole shelled, raw, unsalted walnuts

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, melted

2 cups (225 g) glutinous rice flour (sweet rice flour)

Makes 16 Yuanxiao

Cook time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the walnuts to the pan in a single layer. Heat them, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Once the walnuts are toasted, remove them from the pan and set aside on a plate to cool, about 10 minutes. Once they are cool, crush the walnuts by hand or in a food processor, until they become almost a coarse flour.

Mix the crushed walnuts, sugar, and butter in a bowl until combined. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Remove the mixture from the refrigerator and divide it into 16 portions. Using clean hands, roll each portion into a ball and set aside.

Fill a large bowl three-quarters full with cold water. In another large bowl, add the glutinous rice flour. Working in batches of 3 or 4 balls at a time, roll the balls in the flour until covered. Put the balls in a fine-mesh strainer. Dip the strainer with the balls briefly in the water, then return to the flour and roll again, coating completely. Repeat this process 7 to 10 times, or until there is no visible filling. Repeat the process until all the balls are coated. note that cracks may appear in the coating, but as long as the filling is not visible, that is okay.

Fill a large pot half full of water and set it over high heat. Bring the water to a boil. Working in batches, boil 3 or 4 balls until they float to the top, 2 to 3 minutes. Note that the balls will expand, so leave plenty of room in the pot. Once the balls have floated to the top, add a cup of cold water. The balls should sink a bit. Adding cold water will stop the boiling and allow a skin to form on the balls. Allow the water to return to a boil and wait until the balls float again. Remove the balls and set aside. Bring the water back to a boil and repeat the steps with the remaining balls until finished. Serve warm.

[simply-whump]

In Blossom (花间令) - Whump List

Whumpees : Pan Yue played by Liu Xue Yi and Zhuo Lan Jiang played by Li Ge Yang

Synopsis : In the sinful city of Heyang, very well-liked Pan Yue married Yang Caiwei, who was despised by everyone. However, Yang Caiwei was murdered on their wedding day. The suspected culprit was none other than Pan Yue. Reborn from death, Yang Caiwei became known as "wicked woman" Shangguan Zhi. (MDL)

Genres : Thriller, Historical, Romance, Fantasy

Warning! Possible spoilers below!

Pan Yue

Ep 1 : None

Ep 2 : (38:22) Jumps into the water, gets cut, concern for him

Ep 3 : None

Ep 4 : (27:14) Scar reveal — (38:43) Drunk, sleeping, helped to walk

Ep 5-6 : None

Ep 7 : (Flashback) (04:41) Grieving, crying, drinking, fighting, hit, stabbed, collapses, passes out — (Present) (28:20) Injured by a wolf while protecting someone, concern for him

Ep 8 : (12:56) Wincing, concern for him — (18:58) Trying and failing to treat his injury, helped, treated, wincing, in pain — (26:06) Waking up from a nightmare

Ep 9 : None

Ep 10 : (26:03) Wounds reopened, treated

Ep 11 : None

Ep 12 : (32:00) Remembering painful memories, strong headache, collapses, concern for him, groaning in pain, panic attack (Gif Set)

Ep 13 : (01:40) Panic attack, helped to calm down — (12:53) Trapped, surrounded by gas, coughing, hurting his fist by punching hard rock, worried for someone — (Flashback) (20:08) Imprisoned, chained

Ep 14-16 : None

Ep 17 : (35:43) Teary-eyed

Ep 18 : (30:31) Arm scratched, concern for him

Ep 19-20 : None

Ep 21 : (12:15) Attacked by bugs, bitten, concern for him, attacked, fighting, vision blurry, loses his vision completely, falls from a cliff, blind, stumbling, worried for someone, crying — (22:13) Still blind, treated, eyes bleeding, treatment failed — (25:23) Bandage on his eyes, remembers painful memories, ptsd, stumbling — (Flashback) (29:40) Stabbed — (Present) (30:26) Walking with a blindfold, guided — (42:07) Still blind, eyes white, last chance treatment used, in pain, eyes bleeding, concern for him, passes out, wakes up in bed, blindness cured

Ep 22 : None

Ep 23 : (31:06) Attacked, hit in the head (semi-comedic)

Ep 24-27 : None

Ep 28 : (31:48) Attacked, stabbed, passes out, concern for him — (32:42) Unconscious in bed, pulse taken — (35:00) Weak in bed, concern for him

Ep 29 : (31:13) Kneeling in the rain, food spilled on him, kneels all day, stumbles while trying to get up, helped to walk (Gif Set)

Ep 30 : (10:18) Punched twice, pushed to the ground — (18:36) Angry, restrained, kicked 

Ep 31 : None

Ep 32 : (30:34) Manhandled 

Zhuo Lan Jiang

Ep 1-4 : None

Ep 5 : (Flashback) (39:34) Barely conscious, injured, treated — (Present) (40:00) Drunk, stumbling, passes out, arm injured 

Ep 6 : (11:36) Wakes up, arm bandaged 

Ep 7-12: None

Ep 13 : (37:21) Fighting, hit 

Ep 14 : (32:40) Stopping a blade with his bare hand, bleeding

Ep 15-20 : None

Ep 21 : (33:28) Imprisoned, emotional

Ep 22 : (14:32) Still imprisoned, refusing to eat — (21:30) At sword point, shoulder stabbed — (26:43) Worried for his father — Depressed

Ep 23 : None

Ep 24 : (15:34) Waking up from a nightmare

Ep 25 : None

Ep 26 : (19:48) Drinking — (23:00) Bleeding, concern for him, wound treated, wincing in pain

Ep 27-30 : None

Ep 31 : (31:00) Fighting, hit, restrained, tied, tortured, whipped, bloody, stabbed twice, knife twisted, passes out (Gif Set) — (38:45) In a cell, chained, bloody, weak— (42:38) Still in a cell, bloody and heavily injured, shaky breathing, stabbed and killed 

Ep 32 : (04:31) Dead body brought to loved one — (Flashback) (27:15) Stabbed himself so that his dead body would leave an important clue to his friends — (Present) (41:28) Grieved 

>> Another Whump List with Liu Xue Yi

>> More Whump Lists

[nuisancehelicopter]

[optimnihilist]

jingrui and no good very bad 25th birthday party:

- ive never been glad to not have a lot of birthday guests. what the fuck, man.

- no wonder the princess was so focused on jingrui,,, every time she called him gege i wanted to yell at her to stop talking before he like. fainted.

- xie yu is a very, very good actor to have deceived the zhuos for two and a half decades. the fucking audacity of this man. jesus christ.

- on the other hand, meng zhi and xia dong standing together like a clique of bitchy mean girls was wonderful, thank you.

- i wasn’t quite sure whose armory fei liu was in at first and my first thought was, ‘oh no, who let this kid loose in an armory!’ he gets a little bit of sabotage. as a treat.

[loveeverythingaboutlove]

New works!!

[hils79]

Hils Watches In Blossom - Ep 11

I love that at this point even Pan Yue finds all of Zhuo Lanjiang's attempts to woo Yang Caiwei amusing

There she is again giving gifts intended to woo her to another man. Poor Zhuo Lanjiang. His gifts get given to another man, and his attempts at a date also involve a third person

I mean that would solve a lot of problems. There's not a love triangle out there that can't be solved by an OT3 (or an OT4 if Yang Caiwei's girlfriend wants to join them)

FFS boys let's not get into competitive crime solving

Well, that's two of the murder victims that have turned out to be abusive pieces of shit. Is the killer some sort of vigilante? Is it Batman?

He about to go shake the murderer's hand (I jest)

I love that all of his suspicions seem to hinge around that the fact that Shangguan Zhi is respectful of corpses. "No other woman would be cool with dead bodies. Must be my dead wife."

I love her. She can't tell anyone she did the autopsy herself so she faked a haunting of the coroner by his former master and told him what she'd found

Pan Yue has no time for misogynistic bullshit and that is very sexy of him

Okay, Sherlock

I AM FILING ANOTHER CASE FOR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS CAUSED BY FAKE FACIAL HAIR

[fandomside]

Nirvana in Fire Rewatch Episode Twenty-two

Events:

Liyang and Jingrui apologise to the Zhuo. They embrace Jingrui.

Liyang goes to her husband and suggests he commit suicide for the honor of the Xie family, but he wants to fight to the bitter end.

Prince Yu settles the Zhuo family in his manor.

MCS, Meng Zhi and Jingyan confer. They exposit at Meng Zhi to clarify the plot, saying that Prince Yu, after having met the Southern Yan prince and princess and noted the resemblance to Jingrui, arranged for them to go to the birthday party. Meng Zhi thinks it's a coincidence that Southern Yan were visiting at this time; Jingyan's not so sure.

The Emperor gives Prince Yu is given the task of investigating the Xie case. The Zhuos have confessed to everything.

At Prince Yu's suggestion, the Emperor spares Liyang and her children, because they are of imperial blood and for the sake of the Grand Dowager, who is ailing. Ordinarily they would be executed.

The Xie daughter dies in childbirth but the child lives. MCS has a fit when he learns but says his heart will get harder.

Xia Jiang is introduced. He grounds Xia Dong for getting involved at the birthday party.

Xia Jiang visits Xie Yu in prison and says if XY keeps his mouth shut about their old alliance, his life will be spared.

Jingyan does (offscreen) impressive stuff on a hunting trip with the Emperor and Southern Chu, and is rewarded. Courtiers try to visit him but he refuses their gifts.

Xie Yu has confessed to some things but not others, such as the eunuch killing, which is more serious because the eunuch was an envoy of the emperor.

Prince Yu and MCS discuss Xia Jiang's relationship with Xie Yu, and MCS suggests that maybe Xia Jiang is helping Xie Yu now because Xie Yu has done things for him in the past.

Characters

The Zhuo are okay with Jingrui in the aftermath but less so with Liyang.

The relationship between Liyang and her husband is very weird and I still don't understand it. She even says she'll kill herself to join him in the afterlife.

MCS looks relieved when the Zhuo forgive Jingrui.

Jingyan thinks this was all necessary to make a clean break between Jingrui and his father. Meng Zhi's not so sure; he's worrying about MCS's feelings. Jingyan is more concerned about MCS's physical wellbeing after the night he's had.

When Jingyan says something slightly critical of MCS, Meng Zhi jumps to defend him, and Jingyan looks startled. Afterwards, MCS scolds him, saying that a lowly strategist is not on the same level as a prince and a general (Meng Zhi is a general).

Xia Jiang gets introduced with very ominous music.

Xia Jiang teaches his disciples their job is to investigate for the Emperor, not to care about what the Emperor does afterwards. Justice is irrelevant.

The Emperor is very pleased to see Xia Jiang.

Xia Jiang has good instincts. He's been in the capital less than a day, but he already suspects there's someone behind Xie Yu's sudden comprehensive downfall.

Time & place

Liyang owns her own separate manor which she and her children will go and live in.

Southern Chu is peaceful except for skirmishes with somewhere called Mianyi.

The Xuanjing Bureau was founded by the first emperor of Da Liang.

Xie Qi dies 24 hours after the party. Xia Jiang arrives about a week later.

[masterofrecords]

The Ravages of Time episode 3

So at the end of this card it says “excerpt from “The Records of the Three Kingdoms” – biography of Liu Bei. “The Records of the Three Kingdoms” does have a Liu Bei chapter, but it is titled “Biography of the Former Lord” (and in the translation below he will be addressed as such, according to the original source as well as the text on the card in the donghua). There is, however, a computer game titled “The Records of the Three Kingdoms, Biography of Liu Bei”. As you can imagine, that made my search a little more complicated than it had to be.

“The Records of the Three Kingdoms” has never been fully translated into English, but there were plans to do so, that were regrettably discontinued. Still, William Gordon Crowell, who was working on the project, kindly made the otherwise unpublished completed parts of the translation public, along with his translator’s notes.

The donghua card presents an abridged version of the opening paragraphs of the chapter; I took the liberty to edit Dr. Crowell’s translation to fit the card text as well as for general readability or to bring them in accordance with the terminology I use in my other translations. I have omitted most of the notes except for the explanation on Liu Bei’s looks; I suppose the details on geography and personas mentioned there will be of little interest to most, but if you want to know more, I encourage you to look into the full translation – it is available for free and easily googlable.

Episode 3

From historical records on Liu Bei The Former Lord was surnamed Liu and had the given name of Bei and the courtesy name Xuande. He was a native of Zhuo prefecture in Zhuo commandery, and he was the descendant of a son of Emperor Jing of the Han, Prince Jing of Zhongshan [Liu] Sheng. The Former Lord's grandfather Xiong and his father Hong served in provincial and commandery offices. Xiong was recommended as filially pious and incorrupt, and he rose to become prefect of Fan in Dong commandery. When the Former Lord was young, he was left without a father. With his mother he wove mats to make a living. In his youth, when the Former Lord would play beneath a tree with other small children from his clan, he would say, “I must ride in this feather-covered chariot. His uncle Zijing said to him, “Don't talk so foolishly! You'll bring destruction on our house!” When he was 15, his mother sent him to study. With his clansman Liu Deran and Gongsun Zan of Liaoxi he became a disciple of the former grand administrator of Jiujiang commandery, Lu Zhi who was from the same commandery. Liu Deran's father, Yuanqi, frequently gave the Former Lord material support. Yuanqi's wife said, “Each has his own family. How can you regularly do this?” Yuanqi replied, “This boy is in our clan, and he is an extraordinary person.” The Former Lord did not enjoy studying. He liked dogs and horses, music, and dressing in fine clothing. He was 7 chi 5 cun (173 cm) tall, and his hands hung down to his knees. He was able to look back and see his own ears [1]. Humble before good people, he did not manifest his happiness or anger in his look. He enjoyed associating with braves, and in his youth he fought and hung out with them. The great merchants from Zhongshan, Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, had riches of several thousands in gold. They sold horses, and they made a circuit through Zhuo commandery. They happened to see Liu and were struck by him, so they presented him with much money and wealth. With this, the Former Lord was able to assemble a group of followers. At the end of the reign of Emperor Ling, the Yellow Turbans rose up, and every province or commandery called up righteous armies. The Former Lord led his adherents, and under Colonel Zou Jing attacked the Yellow Turban bandits with distinction. He was appointed commandant of Anxi. – excerpt from “Records of the Three Kingdoms” – Biography of Liu Bei

[1] These physical idiosyncrasies were thought perhaps to be signs that Liu Bei had been destined to be ruler. Miyakawa Hisayuki has suggested that this description of the large ears and long arms may show the influence of Buddhist iconography from the sutras that had recently arrived in China. The size of Liu's ears, at least, appears not to have been a literary invention, for Lü Bu referred to him as the “big-eared boy.” “Looking back” and being able to see his own ears perhaps means they could be seen with his peripheral vision. The “braves” were ruffians with a code of honor, albeit one at odds with officially sanctioned moral values. Generally viewed by the government as potential threats to the social order, they were often considered heroes by the populace.

And into the spoilers we go!

Shuijing villa - Shuijing means bright, can be used in the sense of a person's brilliance. Literally means "bright as a mirror". The villa here refers specifically to a mountain villa.

I'm afraid there isn't much I can say about the Liu Bei and his companions in the context of the coalition against Dong Zhuo. It is for sure known that they participated in the campaign, but that's about it. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms popularized some fictional events of it, like the 3-vs-1 fight of the trio against Lü Bu, but I'm not sure if those will be included in this donghua. Liu Bei is described as a cunning tactician though, so I can imagine the donghua scenes happening.

Still, I'll give a bit more background info on all three. Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are probably the most famous example of sworn brothers. Around the time of the Yellow Turban rebellion (more on that on another episode) they gave the famous oath in the peach garden - or at least, so the legends and "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" say. The actual chronicles only mention the three were "as close as brothers", but the idea is still firmly ingrained in the collective conscious. There are even temples dedicated to the three of them - lit. called "Temples of the Three Righteous".

The above text only mentions he helped his mother make straw mats, but in the cut part shoes are also mentioned; as such, Liu Bei is sometimes worshiped as a god of shoemakers.

Largely thanks to the novel, Liu Bei is commonly regarded as an example of a benevolent and humane ruler, because of the author's preference for him. Considering that The Ravages of Time is mainly considering Sima Yi's point of view (and Liu Bei and Sima Yi will later lead rivaling kingdoms) I was actually rather surprised by the rather sympathetic portrayal of him in the donghua.

Still, while Liu Bei's political decisions and ruling philosophy can be discussed at length, there is no doubt that his choice of companions caused him trouble more than once.

Liu Bei was considered the eldest of the three brothers; the second was Guan Yu (courtesy name Yunchang). His life has been even more glorified than Liu Bei's - and since the Sui dynasty (581-618) he's been considered a deity. In fact, to this day, he is worshiped both in Buddhism and Taoism, as well as respected in other philosophies and religions, to say nothing of the Chinese folk tradition.

Still, despite this truly overwhelming veneration from pretty much all the following dynasties, the records say that despite his righteousness, he was "unrelenting and conceited", which proved to be his downfall..

Finally, the third brother was Zhang Fei (courtesy name Yide), whose main shortcomings - his quick temper and brutality - are the things he's most well-known for, and in a lot of ways he can be seen as the opposite of Guan Yu. While there are accounts of him composing poetry in the middle of the battle, it is by far overshadowed by his cruelty towards his soldiers and the fights he got into, sometimes dragging his sworn brothers into trouble as well.

(Just to complete the picture, yes, Zhang Fei is also sometimes worshiped along with Guan Yu.)

Regardless of all that, both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were regarded as mighty warriors "worth a thousand men", as well as loyal followers of Liu Bei's.

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Some final thoughts - it definitely feels like the story is playing up the future main players to keep the cast a little more manageable and maybe to put the more recognizable faces in early. Also the extra drama! It's definitely fun, so I'm not complaining XD