#if a carp successfully jumps over the Dragon Gate it will become a dragon

[anon-apple]

Hot Soup and Soft Bread 14

Table of Contents and Synopsis <- Chapter 13 Read on WordPress

Chapter 14: Soymilk and Fried Dough II

After more days of heading outside during the day, Zhou Cunqu realized that it almost felt like he was discovering daytime for the first time in his life. He never knew that dawn and dusk carried different scents. In the morning, he walked Zhong Qiuyan downstairs as the latter was heading to work. It was only around 6 am. There were a few breakfast shops around the Qin Qin Homeland community; Warm fragrant scents wafted out from those stores starting first thing in the morning. Qiuyan stuffed a bill inside Cunqu’s hand and said: “Go and try buying breakfast.”

Cunqu walked over. As the owner lifted the lid of the steamer basket to retrieve the buns inside, he nervously said with his head lowered: “One order of steamed buns, two bags of soymilk..”

Cunqu and the owner simultaneously squinted from the hot steam that assailed their eyes. The chubby owner swiftly bagged the buns and soymilk for him, then turned around, busy packing something else, as he called out: “Take care.” He didn’t spare Cunqu a single glance during the entire exchange.

Cunqu sat inside Qiuyan’s car and sipped from the bag of soymilk. He said: “It actually wasn’t that difficult.”

It really wasn’t that difficult. This continued for a whole week until finally, the owner looked at him for the first time. He lifted his head and said: “You new around here?”

Cunqu smiled in response. The owner gave him an extra stick of fried dough in passing, saying it tasted the best when freshly fried. Cunqu thought that the fried dough was particularly delicious. Qiuyan wiped the corner of his mouth for him and asked: “What do you want to eat for dinner? I’ll buy it after I get off work today.”

Cunqu thought briefly and replied that he wanted to eat yellow croaker. 

The door of Liu Xiaoying’s place was slightly open when Qiuyan returned from work. He pushed the door open, and Xiaoying’s four children simultaneously turned to look at him from the couch. Xiaoying herself sat by the dining table, and she said to Qiuyan: “Put it in the kitchen.”

She then said to the four on the couch: “I’m going to cook dinner now, when are you planning to go?”

Xiaoying’s youngest daughter, Qi Zhiqiu, frowned and said: “Mom, how come you didn’t say ‘I’m going to cook dinner now, why don’t you guys stay and have some?’”

Xiaoying didn’t bother to reply and stood up to head to the kitchen. Qi Lanxiang sat amongst the others and suddenly sneered: “You’re going to cook for him his entire life?”

Everyone in the room fell silent. Xiaoying sternly knocked on the dining table, and scolded like she used to when herding students into the classroom: “Go!”

During dinner, Qiuyan picked up a small yellow croaker with his chopsticks and put it into Cunqu’s bowl. Wagging his invisible tail, he said: “I deliberated for a long time and picked all the freshest ones. But since it was already late dusk, there weren’t that many fresh ones left, you know?”

Xiaoying stuck out her own bowl and demanded, “Pick a fresh one for me.”

Qiuyan replied: “Old ladies shouldn’t eat fish, you’ll choke on the bones.” He placed some Shanghai Bok Choy into Xiaoying’s bowl.

Cunqu laughed out loud.

That night Cunqu held a change of clothes and walked into the bathroom to shower. Qiuyan followed him. Cunqu sighed and said: “When did you get perverted enough to follow me even when I’m showering.”

Qiuyan said: “Xiaoying headed out to take a walk…” He asked Cunqu: “The things they said in the living room earlier in the day, did you hear them?”

With his back facing Qiuyan, Cunqu took off his shirt and threw it into the laundry basket. He said, “Yeah, they were discussing which hotel to hold the banquet at, how many tables they needed, what return gifts to prepare. The hotel needed to be reserved in advance, so they were in a hurry to discuss.”

Qiuyan walked up and hugged Cunqu from behind. He kissed Cunqu’s shoulder and asked: “Are you ok?”

Cunqu replied: “I’m fine.”

It’s just that his body would involuntarily have stress reactions to Qi Lanxiang’s voice, so he stayed inside his room and listened to Xiaoying’s music tapes. But Qi Lanxiang’s voice had quite the penetrative power. Cunqu said: “My mom used to be a singer. Then she became a vocal coach at a music school. My dad is a professor.” He suddenly recalled Jiang Langyu. In his entire life, Cunqu only ever rebelled once. In elementary school, he carried his violin case and headed to his violin lesson alone. But he didn’t end up going. Instead, he hid away with excitement and fear in an alleyway near his home. He didn’t do anything that day except sit on a chair someone had thrown out and blank out, waiting out the time of his lesson. He hugged his violin case and tilted back his head, staring at the dried peach slices someone had laid out on their balcony.

When Cunqu looked back down, he saw Jiang Liangyu looking at him from the alleyway entrance. Their eyes met, and he left. Later Cunqu found out that he went to tell Qi Lanxiang that Cunqu did not go to his class.  

Qiuyan let out an “ah?” He mumbled about how he didn’t understand what Liangyu was thinking. Cunqu took off his pajama pants and folded them neatly to the side. He said, “Because we were never the ordinary type of friends.”

Qiuyan asked: “Did they hit you?”

Cunqu replied, that they never hit him growing up. They would only repeatedly point fingers and bring this up in the years that followed, blaming the fact that his violin skills never went anywhere on this one time he skipped class. 

Cunqu turned on the shower, and water splashed Qiuyan in the face. Qiuyan yelped and bit Cunqu’s arm, saying: “You’re bullying me. Gege is bullying me.”

Cunqu laughed. Qiuyan didn’t care if his clothes got wet and started kissing Cunqu. They kissed in the steam, and Qiuyan held Cunqu down there for the first time. Cunqu leaned against him and moaned beside his ear. Right as Cunqu reached his release with his eyes closed, Xiaoying sneezed from outside the door. The two inside the bathroom froze.

Qiuyan quietly yelped: “Shit, shit…why did she come back this quickly.”

Cunqu immediately started instructing him: “I’ll head out first and say I just finished showering. Then I’ll chat with Grandma for a bit. You slowly sneak out.” 

Qiuyan lightly replied: “Yessir.”

--

When Qiuyan switched back to the night shift, he would head directly back to Qin Qin Homeland afterward. Cunqu left the door open for him, and read in bed while waiting for him. Qiuyan pushed open the door and headed in, navigating through several book piles with difficulty. He puckered his lips and said: “Give your husband a kiss.”

Cunqu said that gave him goosebumps. Qiuyan smacked a heavy kiss on his lips and scolded: “You’re allergic to romance.” After scolding, he looked around and found the change of clothes he left inside Cunqu’s closet. He walked to the nightstand and took a sip from Cunqu’s water, tiptoed outside to take a shower, then came back covered in steam.

They would wait for Liu Xiaoying to leave for her calligraphy class before heading down to take their walk. For a time in early September, it continuously rained. They finished their walk and sat inside Qiuyan’s car and listened to the rain.  Cunqu said that he had never realized how pleasantly the rain sounded when it fell upon an umbrella or against the roof of a car. At night, their slippers were placed next to each other. The rain would still be pouring outside the window. Cunqu said that he read a story in his book about how a pet goldfish waited for its owner to fall asleep, wore his slippers, and sat in the living room watching TV. 

Qiuyan followed up: “It’s watching ‘How does a fish successfully jump over the Dragon Gate.’” Cunqu laughed. 

The next morning, Qiuyan yawned as he walked out of Cunqu’s room. He ran into Xiaoying who had just returned from her morning exercises. Xiaoying held the towel she was using to wipe her sweat and asked him suspiciously: “How come these days it seems like you’re at my place every second of the day?”

Qiuyan replied through his yawn: “Excuse you, I go to work every day.” He then slid to the side and poured a glass of room-temperature water for Cunqu. Xiaoying said with her hands on her hips: “No, no. Haven't you been working the night shift recently? You’re here during the day. At night you’re working. The next day you’re here again….”

Qiuyan pushed her and said: “Go and take a shower. Your entire body smells like sweat. Your place is my place. Aren’t you my second grandma…”

Qiuyan escaped into Cunqu’s bedroom and stuck out his tongue, saying to himself: “I’m done for.”

Xiaoying stood outside the door, taken aback. After a while, she mumbled: “I still feel like something’s off…” 

-> Chapter 15

[opmythologyzine]

🌟 Mythical Zoan Showcase 🌟

It’s Kaidou’s birthday, so here’s a Mythical Zoan Showcase just for him! 🎂

Today, we have the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu. It has the power to transform the user into an Azure Dragon from Chinese mythology.

Despite Kaidou being able to transform into an Azure Dragon, “uo” actually means “fish” in Japanese and “seiryu” is the Japanese name for the Azure Dragon. The fruit’s naming is a reference to the connection between dragons and fish in East Asian (especially Chinese) mythology.

Kaidou’s fruit may have drawn inspiration from the Chinese Dragon Gate myth, which states that at the top of a waterfall cascading from a legendary mountain on the Yellow River, lies something called the Dragon Gate. Legends say that many carp swim upstream against the river’s strong current, with very few capable or brave enough to make the final leap over the fall. If a carp successfully makes the jump, it transforms into a dragon. Coincidentally, Wano is reached by ascending a high waterfall that giant koi known as Dream Koi regularly swim up. It is said that these koi dream about becoming dragons.

Additionally, the Azure Dragon in Chinese and other East Asian mythologies is a Dragon God and one of the Four Symbols (”Four Guardians”) among the Chinese constellations, representing the cardinal direction of the East.

A powerful fruit for an equally powerful man!

~~~~~~~~~

⬇️ Legends of the Sea’s other socials!

📜 Carrd  |  📜 Twitter

[megashadowdragon]

reason for odas pick for yamatos zoan and theory on kaidos defeat

Ooguchi no Makami yamato is  a wolf god zoan   and yamatos namesake built shrines to that deity which is why yamato got that zoan

wolf worship started back in the 2nd century A.D. when Legendary Prince Yamato Takeru lost his way in the mountains and was thrown into despair. A white wolf suddenly appeared in front of him, helped guide and lead him out of the deep forest, and saved his life. The Prince deeply appreciated the help of the white wolf, and after that many shrines were constructed dedicated to the wolf gods of the mountain "Ooguchi-no-Magami".

Yamato Takeru is a famous Japanese hero who in legends disguised himself as a woman to get the jump on his enemies. Also of note that he appears in the Persona games as the Persona of Naoto Shirogane, a character who is pretty similar to Yamato.

yamato takeru is yamatos namesake 

That and play up the Legend of Momotaro

so now we have a dog (Yamato) and a monkey (Luffy),  the pheasant? Marco?

Marco has grudge to Kaido on Oden after all.

Another big deal is that he promised to Ace that he would help him free Wano.

While Luffy isn't connected to Oden like Marco and Yamato are, all three of them have strong friendships with Ace in common. And all three of them have fire abilities to boot (Red Hawk/Roc, Phoenix fruit, and presumably Yamato can use those flames she generates in hybrid form).

kaido ate the azure dragon fruit which has connections to chinese mythology

This fruit, with its "fish" designation, references the connections present between dragons and fish in East Asian (especially Chinese) mythology. Particularly, the fruit may draw inspiration from the Chinese Dragon Gate myth, wherein the Dragon Gate is located atop a waterfall cascading from a legendary mountain, on the Yellow River. Many carp swim upstream against the river's strong current, but few are capable or brave enough for the final leap over the fall. If a carp successfully makes the jump, it is transformed into a majestic dragon; thus, a Chinese dragon's large, conspicuous scales indicate its origin from carp. Coincidentally, Wano, where Kaido resides, is reached by ascending a high waterfall that giant koi known as dream koi regularly swim up,with those koi being said to dream about becoming dragons

also

The Azure Dragon (Chinese: 青龍 Qīnglóng), also known as Blue-green Dragon, Green Dragon, or the Blue Dragon (蒼龍 Cānglóng), is one of the Dragon Gods who represent the mount or chthonic forces of the Five Forms of the Highest Deity (五方上帝 Wǔfāng Shàngdì). He is also one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations, which are the astral representations of the Wufang Shangdi. The Azure Dragon represents the east and the spring season

dragons and phoenix have a connection

Dragon and Phoenix are the two of the most powerful symbols of success and prosperity in Chinese mythology. ... Dragon is the 'yin' while phoenix is the 'yang', a perfect balance that is needed for a successful married life. The dragon symbolizes 'man' and phoenix symbolizes 'woman'.

also

The Vermilion Bird (Chinese: 朱雀 Zhūquè) is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. According to Wu Xing, the Taoist five-elemental system, it represents the fire-element, the direction south, and the season summer correspondingly. Thus it is sometimes called the Vermilion Bird of the South (Chinese: 南方朱雀, Nán Fāng Zhū Què). It is described as a red bird that resembles a pheasant with a five-colored plumage and is perpetually covered in flames. It is known as Suzaku in Japanese, Jujak in Korean and Chu Tước in Vietnamese.

which makes people think of a phoenix heck one of the stars in the vermillion bird constellation is called the phoenix

we got yamato, an "enemy" turned ally. luffy, an ally found in recent times, and marco, an old ally. and they're all significant figures so I think marco will fight kaido along with yamato and luffy ( though I hope luffy takes the fight from here in a 1 v1 though possibly  after a 3v1 against kaido luffy takes down big mom 

[cuprum63]

Pathfinders AN 3

Author’s notes for paragraphs 31-51 of Pathfinders.

P32:

I was the insult that broke her

Lucy was born into wealth and was turned into a vampire for no known reason. Cixi longed for eternal life, had a vampire for a teacher, and still wasn’t turned.

monster hunters that comprised the Yihetuan

The Yihetuan are the Boxers. In this universe, they were also legitimate monster hunters.

P33:

The conflict resurrected Dracula by the end of first month.

Circa early December 1899.

merchants who sold invincibility potions as late as 1748

Harmony of Dissonance: the merchant sells medicine jars for 10,000 gold.

the formula itself dates back to the mirage skeletons from before the First Crusade.

Lament of Innocence: the mirage skeleton drops the invincible jar relic.

P34:

Surprisingly, she wasn't in China because of him or the Boxers; she'd come in search of new recipes for her tinned foods empire.

Jonathan Harker wrote about getting recipes for Mina in Dracula. As he’s confined to Exeter by this point, she has to step up and get them herself.

The Harkers have diversified into canned foods by the time of the Boxer Rebellion. Mina’s idea is to see if any foreign foods were adaptable to British tastes. China happened to be next on her tour.

Her mission to build a teleportation node in Peking was a cover story to her own allies

Another parallel with Lucy. Mina’s not loyal to her own group.

she'd grown to hate Jonathan and their son by then

Again, Mina is the reincarnation of Lisa. Loving Jonathan and their son is betraying Dracula and Alucard. Loving at all is betraying herself. This is a reversal of Alucard’s words to Dracula at the end of Symphony of the Night.

I have to add that I wrote Mina and Lucy as two different aspects of Lisa. Lucy, until her turning, had Lisa’s personality and even her visage, but no skills. Mina grew up an orphan, acquiring knowledge and strength, but little of Lisa’s empathy.

and longed to feel the joys of adventure, battle, and good food once again.

A reference to Clan Murray’s motto. As for good food, check out all the food items in the Castlevania games.

P35:

section of her bodyguard

Lucy’s slipping into modern British Army terminology. Here, section refers to the unit size—around eight bodyguards.

only to find that every estate needed to be guarded and staffed

Ever hear of “lumpy assets”? This is a similar idea. You buy one thing and create so many other problems that you’re thrown all the way back to square one.

she employed even more servants and mercenary retainers from wherever they could be found

Mina’s solution, enabled only because of her marriage to Jonathan and the money she looted from Castlevania.

P36:

Unlike any hunter before or since, she infiltrated Dracula's hideout, evaded all detection, and slew him as he slumbered.

This is consistent with Mina’s secretiveness. She and Lucy started so many fires in their youth and were never caught. She taught Lucy a way to become independent. Mina even killed Quincey and covered it up. She’s a natural assassin.

Anyway, not the finest hour for Dracula’s minions.

P37:

She was fleeing up the Yellow River; I chose to outflank her at the Dragon's Gate.

There’s more than one Dragon Gate around; Lucy’s referring to the one in at Longmen. A Dragon Gate is a waterfall that in myths, Asian carp jump over…

old Chinese legend

The legend tells that a carp that successfully jumps the waterfall becomes a dragon.

P38:

one of their leaders neutralized

Pay attention of the word “neutralized.”

P39:

We shadowed Morris and Lecarde as they traveled across a war-torn Europe to eliminate Elizabeth Bartley.

Castlevania: Bloodlines, set in 1917.

one of the Draculinas was betrayed by her servant, Sandor,

Dracula’s Daughter (1936), meaning one of the Draculinas took an alias of Countess Marya Zaleska and was also plotting against Dracula.

At Dark Oaks, we prevented Caldwell from usurping Dracula's power for herself

Son of Dracula (1943). Dark Oaks was a New Orleans plantation and home to the Caldwell family. Katherine “Kay” Caldwell manipulated Alucard (Dracula) into marrying and biting her because of her fear of death. Obviously, in this universe, whomever she manipulated was neither of the Tepes men.

treasure hoard hidden on that Okinawan island

Among other things, the mythical M-Funds of Major General William Frederic Marquat. Here, the funds are named after Mina Murray, and they are not Japan’s property.

and on the mainland, the fifteen swords stolen with the help of Sergeant Cody Belnades

Sign Cody Belnades’ name in cursive. Compress and fudge the writing a bit. The ‘e’ looks like an ‘i’, the ‘n’ turns into an ‘m’, the ‘a’ becomes an ‘o’ if you end too high and especially if you mix it up in the ‘d’, the downward motion used for the vertical line in the ‘d’ looks like an ‘r’, and the ‘s’ blends into the end of the ‘e’ if it’s too small. 

His name becomes Cody Bilmore. He’s the one responsible for the Honjo Masamune’s disappearance, and the swords have never left Japan.

P40:

Schneider clan after they fell in with the Nazis

Reinhardt Schneider was a playable character in the noncanon Castlevania 64. Vampire hunting is still a type of genocide, and as his descendants were blond-haired, blue-eyed, tall, and strong, they embodied the Nazi ideal.

Holmwood LLC

Major antagonists to Arikado and crew in later fics.

Harkers felt our wrath in 1986

The first Castlevania was released in 1986.

elderly Quincey A.J.A.X. Harker's life

Quincey Harker was born on November 6, 1898 in this universe. He would have been 87-88 when he was killed.

His initials stand for “Abraham John Arthur Xavier,” as adding “Jonathan” would be redundant because of Seward. This is where Xavier Lecarde comes in: with his name, the X can be added.

AJAX, also called Typhoon is the name of another Konami game. From this game is the song “Command 770,” remixed as “Golden Bough” for Kokoro Belmont in Otomedius Excellent.

counterfeiting of the AH-64 and F-14

In A-JAX, you fly the Tom Tiger (AH-64) and Jerry Mouse (F-14). The A-JAX 2 Jerry Mouse is also a playable aircraft in Airforce Delta Strike.

P41:

Dracula had been vindicated, his evil surpassed many times over by other forces.

All the tyrants of the 20th century.

God's own flocks committed sins with abandon and still called themselves holy.

Look up any of the Abrahamic religions’ abuses in the 20th century alone, and how many people now belong to no religion. Mathias Cronqvist would be nothing unusual if he’d lived in modern Europe.

Church's crimes be revealed

Among these crimes was the war on Dracula. No matter how justified, the Church deployed a military force to assassinate a sapient being who had legally done nothing wrong. It sends a message that dissent will not be tolerated, and no matter where you run, you will be hunted down.

P42:

Madmen control nuclear powers or slaughter countless innocents while their lackeys gush at how wonderful it is to be creating their paradise.

Welcome to 2017.

Being weak or a victim has not only become acceptable, but desirable.

Tumblr in a nutshell. This is the same excuse used by the HIV+ to avoid being tested and therefore having to disclose their status. For that matter, it was the same mindset that Gandhi encouraged—weakness to invoke sympathy from others.

Meanwhile, people like me end up having to clean up their messes.

The masses have more tools available to improve their station in life than ever before, yet they are firmly committed to remaining ignorant.

You have computers. You have cell phones. You have the internet. You have search engines. Stop hiding in your echo chambers and use them.

P43:

Ecclesian who volunteered her unborn child to serve as the vessel for Dracula's reincarnation

In this universe, a baby receives a soul after birth.

She simply had to get pregnant with her husband from Japan seven months ahead of schedule.

Late April 2016, for a due date of late January/early February 2017. Shortly after the Iraqis retook Hit.

Japanese-Brazilian-American pilot

A clue to the Ecclesian pilot’s true identity..

who stepped up in late November.

Probably around Thanksgiving, if shooting for the solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. Also, this means Soma’s mother wasn’t the first choice.

Phoenix isn't one to leave survivors.

Survivors as in enemies or descendants.

P44:

San Diego hospital

The baby is automatically an American citizen by being born on American soil to parents subject to American law. The Japanese father means the baby is also a Japanese citizen, and while Japan doesn’t recognize dual-citizenship for adults, it does for minors.

P45:

This paragraph changes the meaning of a lot since P39.

Born into nobility, you died from disease and your husband declared war against God.

Elisabetha Cronqvist.

Returned as a doctor, you were burned as a witch and your husband went mad against mankind.

Lisa.

leave behind the drudgery of the match factory

Wilhelmina Murray from this universe.

You became a teacher, then a legal secretary,

Canon from Dracula.

then a vampire hunter and mercenary commander

Inspired by the Fury of Dracula board game and Mina’s role in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics.

Memsahib

A term for married white women in India during the Raj. Also from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and a hint of the Harker business empire’s composition by 2017.

established a crime family to uphold your values as the times changed

To be covered in the fic where Quincey Harker dies.

P46:

Dracula and his son fought against each other in your name, interpreting your memory according to their own beliefs.

Castlevania 3 to Symphony of the Night.

Your former coven sister and apprentice, the first Draculina, still has flashes of self-doubt even now, when she has grown more powerful than any Dark Lord.

Lisa, in this universe, truly was a witch.

The first Draculina is a dark reflection of the games’ vampire hunters. She serves as the penultimate boss of my planned fic series, and the battle is planned to last several chapters against the entire Sorrow crew at once before they end up being whittled down.

The final boss, in case you’re wondering, is a duel between the instigators of the entire series.

Without you, Van Helsing's coalition fell apart.

Also from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Without Mina, her team of Allan Quatermain and Orlando fell apart in 1969 and would not reunite until 2009.

P47:

You won the duel that day at the Dragon's Gate.

Inspired by two Yu-Gi-Oh! episodes, of all things. Like the duel between Solomon Muto and Arthur Hawkins or their grandchildren, Yugi and Rebecca, Mina had Lucy dead to rights and surrendered instead.

You spared me and chose to surrender your mortality and identity for my sake

Here, Mina finally shows where her true loyalties lie: with Lucy.

and like a carp that becomes a dragon, you were reborn into the power you deserved

This is where the legend from P37 is explained if you weren’t reading these notes.

Lucy isn’t saying that she turned Mina into a vampire, but that the Dragon’s Gate was a place where a chosen hero can absorb power. Or it’s one of those locations where you can pick up permanent stat boosts, like the HP/MP/Heart Max Ups from the games.

There’s also the issue that Dracula means “son of the dragon.” By defeating Lucy, Dracula’s last bride, Mina has become a dragon herself. Partially inspired by the Yakuza series, where one of the themes is that there can be only one dragon.

demi-savage hidden under layers of trained refinement .

The demi-savage comes from Clan Murray’s coat of arms. Lucy is saying that under her mask, Mina is a warrior.

your name will be known as the harbinger of the end.

Again, a point from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (volume 3). While Mary Poppins is fighting the Antichrist (Harry Potter), Oliver Haddo tells Mina that she is to be the harbinger of the apocalypse.

Lucy says “your name” because Mina’s new identity is Mina Hakuba. The kanji for Hakuba mean “white horse,” and a white horse is associated with the first horseman of the apocalypse. Adding to this is if Soma doesn’t equip Mina’s Talisman at the right time, he ends up reverting to Dracula.

P48:

Only my sisters—you and the Draculinas—have ever remained loyal to me, and now I must choose a side.

Lucy’s never been loyal to the Draculinas, as she said long ago in P1 and P10.

I can save you from sacrificing yourself at the cost of damning the world, or I can let you be reborn once again as a mortal and become your enemy in the future.

Mina is the last person on Earth Lucy loves. Lucy doesn’t want to let Mina kill herself to be reborn, but she knows she must.

P49:

There never was a choice, was there? This is still your path to walk, no matter my wishes.

Two meanings here: Mina’s life is her own choice, and Lucy is loyal to her.

Maybe in your next life, I will be the one to help you find your path.

They won’t meet until 2045, but Mina has been on Lucy’s trail since around 2038.

P50 & P51:

Farewell, Mina.

And welcome back.

Mina is finally named. Mina Harker dies and her soul is transferred into Mina Hakuba.

[georgiahardisty-blog]

Podcast Transcript

Section 1: Object Description 

Section 2: Podcast Focus

-This podcast explores how the artist uses key motifs in Taoist Chinese philosophy, as well as blue and white porcelain to critically access the impact of American-style consumerism on traditional Chinese culture.  

Section 3: The Dragon in Taoist Chinese Philosophy

-The Apple is layered with an image of an imperial dragon, an auspicious and divine animal, in the continual pursuit of wisdom.

-In Taoist philosophy, the story of the Dragon’s Gate is significant. The Dragon’s Gate is located at the top of a waterfall cascading from a legendary mountain. Many carp swim upstream against the river’s strong current, but few are capable or brave enough for the final leap over the waterfall. If a carp successfully makes the jump, it is transformed into a powerful dragon.

-In essence, the opening of the dragon’s gate is the opening of your soul, which is about reaching your potential, not letting it be stolen, damaged or contaminated by any other sources.

-Most people that getting connected with “your potentials” translates to earning money, status and owning expensive objects. Ironically, it is these very things that corrupt and distract a person from entering the dragon’s gate. 

-Li Lihong’s decision to layer the dragon on a regonisable American brand’s logo is strategic. It offers a critical perspective on the ways in which American style consumerism and commericalisation often injects a superficial set of value into a culture, where self-actualisation is a product of material success rather than wisdom. 

-Therefore, by owning Western, luxury brands, it gives the illusion that that person has “passed through the dragon’s gate”. When in actual fact, they may just be a “carp” swimming outside of it. 

Section 4: The Use of Blue and White Porcelain

-Another important element of this object is the use of blue and white porcelain. Li Lihong’s Apple has a slip-trailed, five clawed dragon chasing flaming pearls encased in a selection a stylized ruyi-shaped clouds. These decorative motifs are traditional of blue and white porcelain and Taoist imagery. 

-Compared with other porcelain styles, the blue and white seems to be more tightly associated with ancient Chinese culture. However, it was not only known within the boarders of China, it was also welcomed in the international trade market initiating its imitation throughout Asia. 

-Between the 16th & 20th century, there were ranges of blue and white porcelain made almost exclusively for export to Europe and later North America. It was viewed a status symbol by royal families and nobles in many Western countries.

-The use of blue and white porcelain in Li Lhong’s Apple presents a sort of irony. The West, particularly the States, are not the primary exporters of products with status-enhancing qualities. 

-Therefore, the use of blue and white porcelain in Li Lhong’s Apple appears to be more than aesthetic choice. I suggest that the stark contrast between the Apple logo and traditional Chinese porcelain reminds the viewer that ‘Made in China’ was one the ultimate mark of sophistication for Western porcelain enthusiasts. 

-Now, on a commercial level, China are widely known as the importers of luxury. They account for approximately a third of luxury sales worldwide. 

Section 5: Deconstructing Li Lihong’s Message

-The political implications that follow from contrasting taoist imagery and blue and white porcelain with Western branded logos is that Western business has become integrated into Chinese culture. 

-What is less explicit, however, is the artists’ message. This pieces shows an understanding of the tensions between old a new. However, there seems to be a balance of both influences in this piece. 

-This piece appears to reflect the notion of ‘Yin & Yang’, a fundamental concept in Chinese philosophy that claims “all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites”. 

-At the core of each side is an element of the other, as represented by the two small dots. One pole cannot be superior to the other because an increase in one will result in a decrease in other. A correct balance between the two poles has to be reached to achieve harmony. 

-The dragon, as it appears on the object, symbolises the yang forces in the universe. The dragon’s active energy needs to be evenly matched, but not overwhelmed.  

-Therefore, I conclude that Li Lihong’s Apple highlights that there are two competing forces jointly shaping the social norms, expectations and the social norms in China, that is traditional Chinese culture and Western influences. He presents the viewer with a friendly warning about the importance of maintaining a sort of harmony and co-existence between the two. 

-I think that Li Lihong presents the viewer with a friendly warning of the importance of maintaining a balance between two cultures.