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moononmyfloor · 7 months ago

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A Rec and Appreciation post for a Bilibili FMV I found for The Spirealm :)

IMPORTANT: Contains spoilers for all the way through to the show! You've been warned!

Link to the edit: You don't need an account to watch things on Bilibili, but if you do, remember to give it a thumbs up! 💕

The song used and will be discussed by me in relation to the clips of the drama used in the fmv is 人间不值得 (The Human Realm is Not Worth It) by 黄诗扶 (Huáng Shīfú).

Disclaimer: 1. I'm not Chinese by any means, I only happen to be a student who loves this song very very much for its nuances and symbolism and it always makes me so happy to see a fandom I like has gotten an edit to this song. This post is an attempt to get more like-minded people to appreciate it! All the translations are from here where you can read even deeper to the lyrics and learn the background of the song. 2. I will be posting screenshots from the edit that correspond significantly to the song lyrics for those who'd like some help with noticing the parallels. Again, and obviously, this means SPOILERS! Don't proceed if you don't want to be spoiled. I won't be sharing gifs nor clips from the edit because that'd be straight up reposting and I don't want to do that, and a single screenshot may not be sufficient for you to understand what's happening in the scene unless you've seen the show/fmv.

Without further ado!

渡口爱上深山, 薄雪中意晚莲 -A Crossing Ferry falls for Deep Mountain, Thin Layer of Snow likes Evening Lotus

A ferry transportation wouldn't be done in an area with deep mountains, it requires a flat and calm body of water. Lotuses don't bloom in the snow-falling season. Aka this means two things that are star-crossed. Hence: 🥲

夕阳熬红双眼想等来晨钟聊聊天- Setting sun waits till its eyes turned red, hoping it can chat with morning bell Again, the setting sun cannot meet the morning bell. The vidder has used a scene of Ruan Lanzhu sitting with his eyes closed on a bench, waiting for Jiushi- it's not that specific so I'm not including a screenshot.

心上人在梅边柳边偏不在身边- Person on heart is by plum or willow, but not by (the person singing the song)

A Hongloumeng reference to say that your beloved is not by you but elsewhere, see the link above for more details. -A scene of Jiushi patting Lanzhu's shoulder and going away for a door challenge while Lanzhu stands agonized-

小白蛇浇透临安许仙却没带伞- Little white snake is drenched in the rain of Lin An, but Xu Xian forgets to bring an umbrella

From the legend of White Snake and Xu Xian, they meet on a rainy day and Xu Xian gives White Snake an umbrella. Here, the lyrics say he forgot aka things didn't happen the way they should've.

-The clip chosen for this line is more happy because they both got to use the umbrella hehe-

少女压坏秋千书生十年落选- Young girl crushes the swing, scholar fails at exams for ten years

A little girl on a swing and a scholar who passes the exams are nice things to imagine, but the lyrics say the contrary happened. The edit shows scenes from the case of the bullied school girl and the classmate who betrayed her, who both had their youths ruined. :(

命运总是挑挑拣拣诸事不成全- Fate is always picky and things just can’t be fulfilled

-Scenes from the first case (snow village), not using screenshots because the line itself isn't very specifc and therefore neither is the scene-

小和尚没化到缘又路过烧鸭店- Little monk doesn’t get offerings, then happens to walk by a roasted duck shop

Describes a situation where your life sucks and then some more.

-The scene of the little beggar fainting from the Child trafficking case put in contradiction with the scene of Jiushi enjoying skewers with Xiong Qi.-

The chorus:

拈杯酒眯着眼说专心看人间- Pinching a cup of wine and squinting eyes, saying (I/you/whoever) is looking at the human real with full concentration

The song is advising you to take a cup of wine, let go and just observe the world around you. Scenes of Lanzhu and Jiushi having swigs/sips of drinks is followed by them happily gazing up at New Year fireworks. It's pretty self explanatory.

看长安建安与潘安都想沾一沾- (seeing) Chang’an Jian An and Pan’An, wanting to touch them all

Chang'an was an ancient Chinese capital, Jian'an was a literaty gathering, Pan'an was a historical man who was famous for his beauty and loyalty to his wife (the character Liu Xueyi's was modelled upon for the recently aired drama In Blossoms🤭) aka these three things are unrelated except for rhyming. So it's basically like saying "You want this, you want that too" and to just chill and embrace it all; your mortal desires and sorrows.

The scenes used are from the night street celebrations from the Child trafficking case, and are not specific to the line except for that the aesthetics match that of Chang'an night scenary in Tang dynasty period dramas. (And maybe Jiushi staring at Li Dongyuan's handsome face refers to the Pan'an part heh)

神仙掐指算此去少圆满- Gods making predictions, this trip shall lead to little fulfillment 得来失聚了散千万莫求全- Losing what has been found, parting after reunion, don’t try to aim for perfection at all

Means that sometimes gains and loses just cannot be helped.

-Scenes of Li Dongyuan's last moments- 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

借泥炉烧碗饭在檐上种��烟- Borrowing earth stove to make meal, planting cooking smoke on the top of the eave

-cooking scenes from the show, self-explanotory-

管小寒大寒与心寒都来暖一暖- No matter if it’s Small Cold, Big Cold, Or heart cold, all come over and warm up

Xiao Han and Da Han are two of the wintry solar terms of traditional Chinese calendar. Heart Cold is; well, having lost hope and being unhappy. The song tells you to get together and warm yourself up whether your coldness is external or internal.

好提胆闯人海再叩风月关- So that you can build up the courage and venture into the crowd, knocking on the door of profanity (of life) Now this line may look simple but is really iconic to the show. It means to build up your guts [lit:gallbladder] (through the power of the warmth from forming bonds as mentioned above), so you can go out and enjoy all the beautiful romantic things in life, and bravely knock on the doors (HA) of each levels of life as you go. The scenes used are Lanzhu and Jiushi marching into door challenges, them sitting and enjoying quiet moments together, and DOORS. Bejeezus...

兜兜转转八十一难我们走着看- Around and around through 81 tribulations, we shall see how it goes Another cleverly utilized line. 81 tribulations are what the main characters underwent in Journey to the West in order to bring the Buddhist texts, and if you've finished Spirealm, you know the 12 doors are inspired by the 12 links in the Law of Dependent Origin of Buddhist philosophy. In simpler words, the 12 links are the reasons for your mundane sorrows, longings and confusion, and 81 tribulations are the hardships you undergo because of them. The core scene used is Jiushi completing the 12 doors of the game, followed by the friend gang badass-strutting into the case scenes, fitting for the part "let's see how it goes".

竹马去寻竹马青梅意兴阑珊- Bamboo horse goes searching for bamboo horse, blue plum feels discouraged

Now this is my FAVORITE line 😆 I always love to see what the vidders do with this part when this song is used on a BL edit. This comes from the famous poem line, “郎骑竹马来，绕床弄青梅”:” boy comes on a bamboo horse, circling around the bed and playing with plum branch”. It refers to boys and girls who are meant to be each others' since childhood. But sometimes, the bamboo horse (boy) doesn't go for a blue plum (girl), and will seek another bamboo horse instead, yeah? The scenes chosen are first Lanzhu and Jiushi, chased after by Li Dongyuan, leaving behind the exasperated Zhuang Rujiao 😂 Our poor lil blue plum!

伯牙琴弦摔断叔夜刚绝交山巨源- Bo Ya breaks the string on his Qin, Shu Ye breaks off from Shan Juyuan

This line is about two legendary friendships, in the first pairing Bo Ya broke his Qin after his friend's death because nobody could appreciate his playing better than his friend, and the latter pairing broke up because of diff ideals.

The scenes used are when Jiushi and his ex bff used to be together, and broke up later.

知己半路就散结发总另结新欢- Good friends part half-way, spouses marry someone else

-Yixie crying holding Qianli, the nurse whose lover betrayed her in the sanatorium arc-

小情侣恰好遇见喜鹊没来上班- Young couples who happen to meet when the magpies are not on duty

Refers to the Chinese fairytale Magpie Bridge where magpies helped the couple meet once every year, and without magpies they wouldn't get even that chance.

The scenes used are: 🥺

长生岂能如愿古稀尚靠垂怜- How can longevity be fulfilled, it depends on heaven’s mercy to live to one’s 70s

Jeebus, have I mentioned this vidder is a GENIUS? The corresponding scene used is the big baddie of the show standing tall and playing almighty, and the happiness of our good guys is at his mercy, followed by the scene of 50 Years Later HUHU

老病倒比莺莺燕燕多陪二十年- The Old and the sick somehow gets 20 more years than the happy young couple

LOL the vidder knows how to be a troll, too. As the song says "Old and sick gets to live", Chen Fei and the lady friend (I don't even rem her name) who couldn't have been more background charactery if they tried, and they got to move onwards with their lives in peace while "happy, young" Zaozao and Dongyuan didn't 😔

小嫦娥偷吃灵药却反而羡人间- Chang’e takes magical elixir, yet feels jealous of the human realm

The moon goddess, who enjoys longevity but is full of regrets about the life she left behind.

-Zaozao, who is finally under the spotlight she always deserved, but... *bawls harder*

The chorus from before repeats, that tells you to have a drink, chill and look at this world, not care so much about this and that, to not push yourself too hard because it isn't worth it, have a meal with your loved ones to chase away the cold instead, build up the courage to endure the beauty and challenges (DOORS) of the life.

Complimentary scenes follow:

人生在世不称意呀失眠或失恋- Living in this realm is often unsatisfying, losing sleep or losing love

-For "unsatisfying" part, past-and-present scenes of the son and mother from the Triplet case, for "Losing Sleep" part Lanzhu staring at sleeping Jiushi on the same bed and then the chocolate scene, the younger sister's confession being rejected in the Sister Drum case and the Lady in the Rain for "Losing Love" part.-

只劝你来把个盏侃呀么侃大山- (I) suggest you drink (the wine) up, then have a nice long chat

-The scene where Lanzhu wordlessly empties the can after Dongyuan's incident, followed by memories of when they were eating and chatting together, and also those of Qianli's 🤧

The final part:

喝完大酒撑条船说今生不靠岸- After a big drink go ride on a boat, saying never to dock till the end of this life 去天涯海角浪个遍失意当尝鲜 -To the edge of the horizon and corners of the sea, taking disappointment as fresh experiences

-Scenes of Lanzhu and Jiushi together, braving the challenges-

这一路手握剑身侧有千帆- Holding a sword on the way, with thousands of sails passing by

-The girl from the school bullying case, now grown bright and confident, wielding a sword (that was SUCH a great moment! You go, darling!), followed by the now-regretless Door Ghosts smiling happily in the last episode.-

时不时回头看看百味是人间- From time to time, turn around and look, hundreds of tastes makes up the human realm

-Lanzhu looking back at Jiushi for one last time, Jiushi looking back before entering a door- *sniffles

Followed by happy montages of all their friends, and Chestnut.

时不时也睡个懒觉醒来多加餐- From time to time, sleep in, and eat an extra meal when (you) wake up

-A scene of Lanzhu tucked in cozily, Jiushi stretching awake from a sleep, well into daytime, and for the "Extra Meal" part, that giant drumstick platter Lanzhu and Rujiao made Dongyuan get for them 😁.-

AAAnd DONE! Phew, that gotta be one of the longest posts I've made in one sitting. If you are still here, thank you so much for your patience and attention, I hope you enjoyed this brilliant fmv meta! Don't forget to give the vidder the love they much deserve, and read up the AveX link for more thorough understanding of the song itself.

Toodles for now!

More posts by me

#the spirealm #kaleidoscope of death #bilibili edits #fmv rec #song appreciation #the spirealm spoilers #the spirealm fmv #The Human Realm is Not Worth It #人间不值得 #黄诗扶 #Huáng Shīfú

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limbus-limousine · 7 months ago

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Hello. Given you asked for asks, here's a query I'm most certainly not legally obligated to make: What are your opinions on Ishmael and Hong Lu? To be clear I'm speaking of them individually and not as a ship but if you'd like to talk about that I would like to listen

I like the both of them a fair bit!! I started liking Ishmael a lot more after her canto (as has been happening to me with every other character) and to be honest, I really appreciate her specially because i feel she didn't get a lot of love previously. Always saw people calling her boring and such but to me it was always kind of evident that she was just... Very closed off, and maybe too paranoid for her own good. I really like the contrast she has (but mostly had, since she's been notably making an effort to better herself, which I also love to see) with the rest of the group. To many she came off as the voice of reason, which made her reactions in Canto V feel more drastic. However I always saw some excessive paranoia and worry on her that clashed with the carelessness of many of the other sinners... I also really dig how her meeting Queequeg again was written, the hug and all, it was very heartfelt (cried really hard on the canto finale. I miss doomed sailor yuri)... I really hope we get her to have more specific interactions with other characters as well, make her personality and the changes to it shine a bit more! (Still bitter about people calling her boring)

As for Hong Lu, to be honest, I don't want to form too much of an opinion YET. Mostly because I haven't read the book and, we don't know a lot about LCBHong Lu either. Though his character is very interesting and promising in my opinion, it surprises me that he hasn't had that many interventions, but it does make sense if you think about it. Considering the whole thematic of being very sheltered, whenever Hong Lu talks it's almost always to say something family related/compare things to childhood experiences. I do relate a bit to that and Im very excited for the corresponding canto as well... I do wish I had more to say about him but I've been a bit slow on reading source books and Hongloumeng definitely won't be my fastest to finish LOL

On the ship, to be honest I have no particular thoughts! I like most ships between sinners and at most I'll just be sort of neutral about the ones I don't really engage with I think. To me.its more about the portrayal and characterization than the pairing itself + very open to shipping one character with multiple different characters both separately or at the same time too, don't care if it's romantic/platonic/secret third thing. I really like the Jade whale ship name though we should name more pairings like that I thinkm. Also it IS funny to have a paranoid, weathered sailor hanging out with this freak who didn't care to move when acid started falling from the stomach ceiling of a whale...

#answered #limbus company #project moon #just need to say that despite drawing the same characters over and over #i love all sinners dearly #Hold them all close to my heart... my bugs

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evadingreallife · 2 years ago

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Im having Realizations™ about Qiu Haitang's role (svsss) in the plot of both pidw and svsss as a whole and OH MY GOD WILL I EVER BE FREE FROM THE DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER? Why is it always a random Begonia (*cough* Qiu Haitang *cough*) that heralds the beginning of the end™??

My love-hate relationship with my old hongloumeng thesis knows no bounds but hey, at least I can catch ALL THE RANDOM BEGONIAS in chinese media right?? The terribly out-of-season and mistaken-for-good-omens but-actually-GREAT-HARBINGERS-OF-DOOM-begonias right???

Just like Miss Qiu Haitang-as-in-Begonia here coming out of the woodwork with her charges against sqq, ready to kickstart the Fall of sqq and the rise of lbh rip

#svsss #mxtx svsss #scum villain #qiu haitang #hongloumeng #the dream of the red chamber #honestly that ba thesis on the role of the garden in the dream of the red chamber scarred me #now its just begonias everywhere #and ill-type girls living with foster families that casually are called lin something #give me a break #mxtx #scum villian self saving system #shen qingqiu #luo binghe

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xuxunette · 4 years ago

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The Song of the Flowers’ Burial

Translated by myself from Chinese. Chapter 27, Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin.

Lin Daiyu, the girl who writes this poem in the book, contemplate the sadness of waning spring. She buries the fallen flower petals to give them a place to rest.

Flowers wither, petals fly; drifting blossoms fill the skies; Faded colours, waned scent; who for them shall lament?

Soft gossamer float and cling, webs tangled in groves of spring; Falling catkins by wind sent, to the sewn screen lightly blent.

In the inner chambers, this girl cherishes the dusk of spring; Her breast laden with sorrow, nowhere her woes can she bring.

A flower hoe held in her hand, she exits the sewn screen; Bear she tread on the fallen petals whilst her footsteps fling?

Willow fluffs, elms pods; each busy with their own fragrant flaunt; Regard the falling petals from peach and pear trees they don’t.

Yet, when next year comes, peach and pear trees will again vaunt; But do they know who will, next year, the inner chamber haunt?

How many moments can radiant beauty and sweet charm last? A gust of gale and it’s hard to tell where to they’ve been blast.

Blooms catch the eye easily, fallen they are hard to see; By the stairs she who the flowers buries, grieves deadly.

The clutched hoe her sole company; hidden tears down spill, free; They splatter the bare stick, leaving traces of drops, bloody.

The cuckoo is silent as dusk extends its yellow sea; Shouldering the hoe, she goes home and shuts the door, heavy.

A bronze lamp glints against the walls; she goes to rest lightly, Cold rain on windows raps; the cover yet to warm isn't ready.

Third moon, and the fragrant nest is already complete; How heartlessly does the swallow on the roof beam take seat!

When next year comes, on new burgeons it will again feed; But does it know the girl will be gone and the nest emptied?

In a full year, three hundred and sixty days elapse; Wind as swords and frost like spears, ‘round the flowers press their wraps.

What, exactly, has caused this strange girl such outrage? Toward spring she feels half regret; another half rage.

Regret for spring that sudden comes; rage for it sudden goes; As without a word it greets, and as silently it fleets.

Last night, from outside the courtyard played a sad melody; Flowers and birds sang their soulsong in wistful symphony.

Soul of flowers and soul of birds, both are hard to retain; Birds turn mute and flowers shy away when she asks in vain.

She wishes that a pair of wings from her flanks would now spring; So she could fly, and chase the flowers to the end of skies.

End of skies, where does the fragrant grave lie?

May she with her satchel sewn, collect the flowery bones; And with a handful of soil pure, cover their frivol allure!

That way, as cleanly as they were born, as cleanly they depart; Rather than for them to sink into foul drains and mud endure.

Today, flowers have died, and here she comes for their burial, But who knows when it’ll be the turn for her own funeral?

Whilst she buries flowers, people mock her to be a fool; But who’ll chant her requiem when comes the year cruel?

She closely observes spring’s ruin and the flowers’ slow decay; Because they mirror aging grace, and her own dying day,

In a gust of wind, spring ends and the rosy cheeks of youth fray; Flowers fall, the girl dies, and their names none can say!

Link to Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29889024/chapters/73555665

#hongloumeng #dreamofredchamber #lindaiyu

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slush-pile-rejects · 5 years ago

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river queen

Soft by the rushes the River Queen lives, who fate overlooks and foul fortune forgives, who tallies the raindrops and hours of the day, and writes every word that the rose petals say.

Still sit her eyes, though they gather the rain; behind them, her dreams up the watery lane sway this way and that, over moon, under sun, to the marshy domain of her heart—of the one.

This hut, the Vermillion Prince calls his home, where his nights back-forth sway and his days criss-cross comb, where flies on his vertebrae frolic and play; his songs on his zither may wander—but stay.

In days past, he was golden as summertime bronze, and sat on the shore, mesmerized by the swans. Not far up the water (but one mile or two), yet the current will stab you—run clean through and through.

Implacable goddess, the Little Jug pours, the force of tradition, froth-white past her shores, the pride of her wellspring, her tears, and her fire, and (history knows) unremitting desire.

She licks at the stones like mercurial flame, all mischievous peril, forever untame. Though you cling to fair fortune, one step to the next, her oblivion will chase you: resolved, unperplexed.

The River Queen battles that tide in her dreams, where fate is benign and fair fortune redeems, where she need but imagine, the image is real, an hour from now, she can taste, she can feel.

But by day, it is clear, that the current is swift, not a moment of leisure or languorous drift, no bridge to traverse, no slack-spinning eddy; the day, it runs hard, it runs white and unsteady.

She would brave that demise, though, if he were but true, if he were uncertain, if he wondered too. Oh then, she would claw her way, inch by cold inch, and never lose heart, or surrender, or flinch.

Then why is he silent? Not a whisper she hears, no song of contrition, of his longing or fears. Yes, the river cries loud, and drowns more than mere lives, but she knows his old voice—and it always survives.

Perhaps he has gone, found a way to the source, found a way to resist the high-shattering force. Maybe there, at the start, she is soft, she is kind, the one to whose grace he once bowed and resigned.

Or perhaps he will break her, her course run bone-dry; though it seems most unlike, yet no wish could deny. Or perhaps, in the end, they will lose him, they two, alone on the mountaintop, first at the queue.

So, lost in her tumbling rose petal hopes, run the raindrops and hours of the day down the slopes, and though nothing is done, yet is nothing undone, the reverie lives, underneath next year's sun.

Soft by the rushes the River Queen lives, whom fate overlooks but fair fortune forgives, whom memories keep company all through the night, with the promise of day and its unblinking light.

it’s been a while, this space deserves something substantial

maybe it got it

#poetry #poem #qixi #hongloumeng #faithfulness #love triangle

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maggiecheungs · 1 year ago

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no i’m sorry but dream of the red chamber makes me legitimately insane,,,,, like what do you MEAN she was a flower in her past life and he gave her water and she promised to pay him back with a lifetime of tears,,,, what do you mean ‘the beast of a thousand legs is a long time dying’,,,, what happened to qin keqing????? where did baoyu’s jade go when it disappeared . these two little girls were taken from their families to become actresses for rich families and fell in love with each other so so deeply and then one of them died and the other one burns money for her even though it’s forbidden on pain of beatings or death. wang xifeng is a functionally illiterate teenager who was suddenly put in charge of running the entire jia estate after marrying into the family, and she somehow manages despite that, and then eventually the whole thing comes crumbling down and she is the first one everyone blames. xiangling was kidnapped and and enslaved and abused but all she ever wanted was to write her poems, and then she dies in childbirth and her long-lost father goes to fetch her soul and lead her to the afterlife. they gaslit baoyu into marrying baochai when his grip on reality is already tenuous and diayu is literally on her deathbed... they didn’t even tell him when she died. yuanyang hangs herself from the rafters of her room right after dowager lady jia dies because she knows she’s lost any semblance of control over her own life with her mistress’ passing. ping’er loves xifeng so so deeply and sincerely. all the girls are going to be married away to men and families that could abuse or neglect or exploit them, and they don’t have any choice in the matter. and baoyu cries when he thinks about it because he loves them all so very much. daiyu would rather spend hours burying petals than watch them rot in the stream. after a childhood spent being mistreated by her uncle, xiangyun marries a good husband who she loves, and then loses him almost immediately. all the young people leave the garden eventually and it gets overgrown with weeds. qiaojie is sold by her uncle but saved by ping’er and granny liu and spirited away from the corruption and rot of the jia estate... maybe there’s hope for the children after all. baoyu and diayu love each other so deeply and know each other so intimately and inevitably that they never even try to put it into words, and even the reader is locked out from the bond they share. the stone just wants to experience the passions and tragedies of the mortal world!!! and cao xueqin loved and admired the women in his life so deeply that he wrote hongloumeng partly so that they would be remembered. like????????

#hong lou meng #dream of the red chamber #ellis reads #ellistxt #books #in case you couldn't tell i reread it recently #in may i think?#but i've literally not been able to stop thinking about it since #i think i loved it even more on the reread #it's just. fuck. wow.

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