#shen zhao er

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Towards the Truth (2025)

Triều Vân Tán - Vương Hữu Thạc #wangyoushuo #vuonghuuthac #王佑硕

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9m3iC_9S7do

[duckprintspress]

Queer Book Recs for Speak Your Language Day!

Once a year on Tumblr on May 7th, the account @spyld organizes Speak Your Language Day, a day to encourage people on such an English-centric platform to speak their native languages instead. Duck Prints Press works with creators from over the world, many of whom speak languages other than English as their native tongues (French and German are most common among our folks, but they’re far from the only mother tongues) and so we wanted to join in the celebration for the day by highlighting some of our favorite queer works originally published in languages other than English. Six people contributed to this list (half themselves not native English speakers.). Original language blurbs used when possible!

Where We Go from Here (Você Tem a Vida Inteira) by Lucas Rocha. Original language: Brazilian Portuguese

As vidas de Ian, Victor e Henrique se encontram de uma forma inesperada. Ian conhece Victor no dia em que recebe o resultado de seu teste rápido de HIV. Os dois são universitários. Victor está envolvido com Henrique. Ian está solteiro. Os três são gays.

Dois deles têm a vida atingida pela notícia de um diagnóstico positivo para o HIV. Um não tem o vírus. Um está indetectável. Dois estão apaixonados. Henrique é mais velho e, depois de Victor, pensou que poderia acreditar de novo em alguém.

Victor têm medo do que o amor pode trazer para a sua vida.

Ian sequer sabe se será capaz de amar.

Os três são, ao mesmo tempo, heróis e vilões de uma história que não é sobre culpa, mas sim sobre amor, amigos e sobre como podemos formar nossas próprias famílias.

Guardian (镇魂/Zhen Hun) by priest. Original language: Chinese

Zhao Yunlan heads up a covert division of the Ministry of Public Security that deals with the strange and unusual, blurring the line between the mortal realm and the Netherworld. His cocky, casual attitude conceals both a sharp mind and an arsenal of mystical tools and arcane knowledge. 

While investigating a gruesome death at a local university, Zhao Yunlan crosses paths with the reserved Professor Shen Wei. Zhao Yunlan is immediately intrigued by Shen Wei’s good looks and intense gaze, and the attraction between them is immediate and powerful, even as Shen Wei tries to keep his distance. Shen Wei and his secrets are a puzzle Zhao Yunlan feels compelled to solve as mysterious circumstances throw them together, and their connection becomes impossible to deny.

The Center of the World (Die Mitte der Welt) by Andreas Steinhöfel. Original language: German

Was immer ein normales Leben auch sein mag – der 17-jährige Phil hat es nie kennengelernt. Denn so ungewöhnlich wie das alte Haus ist, in dem er lebt, so ungewöhnlich sind auch die Menschen, die dort ein- und ausgehen – seine chaotische Mutter Glass, seine verschlossene Zwillingsschwester Dianne und all die anderen. Und dann ist da noch Nicholas, der Unerreichbare, in den Phil sich unsterblich verliebt.

Journey Home (A Caminho de Casa) by May Barros. Original language: Brazilian Portuguese

Amara e Luiza are two witches that live in a queerplatonic relationship. When Luiza decides to embark on a journey throught the galaxy in a quest for the lost fortress of Laura, the Dragon Queen, she ends up finding more than expected, while Amara follows her footsteps, hoping it’s not too late.

Roze Brieven by Splinter Chabot. Original language: Dutch

Op zijn verjaardag op 3 maart 2020 debuteerde Splinter Chabot met CONFETTIREGEN. Het boek werd al snel omarmd door de boekhandel en media. En daar bleef het niet bij. Sinds de verschijning krijgt Splinter dagelijks reacties op zijn openhartige verhaal over zijn coming-out. Reacties van ouders, van jongeren die met dezelfde worsteling kampen, van ouderen die zichzelf herkennen in het verhaal, van mensen uit de LGBTQ+-gemeenschap, van docenten en nog vele anderen. Ontroerende, grappige, gekke, treurige en hoopvolle reacties die Splinter stuk voor stuk beantwoordt.

In Roze brieven zijn de meest bijzondere brieven verzameld door Splinter zelf met daarbij de reacties die hij heeft gestuurd. Voor alle lezers van CONFETTIREGEN en voor iedereen die worstelt met zijn of haar identiteit zal Roze brieven een waardevolle bron van herkenning zal zijn. Een intieme en ontroerende bundeling waarin een belangrijke boodschap weerklinkt: Het wordt beter.

Silent Reading (默读/Mo Du) by priest. Original language: Chinese

Childhood, upbringing, family background, social relations, traumatic experiences…We keep reviewing and seeking out the motives of criminals, exploring the subtlest emotions driving them. It’s not to put ourselves in their shoes and sympathize, or even forgive them; it’s not to find some reasons to exculpate their crimes; it’s not to kneel down before the so-called “complexity of human nature”; nor to introspect social conflicts, much less to alienate ourselves into monsters.We just want to have a fair trial – for ourselves and for those who still have hope for the world.

Favorite (Preferida) by May Barros. Original language: Brazilian Portuguese

(no blurb available)

Amatka by Karin Tidbeck. Original language: Swedish

Av ren slump har människor hamnat i en parallell värld. Det är en instabil plats, där orden hela tiden formar verkligheten. Den dagliga kampen för att överleva har skapat ett samhälle fyllt av regler, där kollektivet alltid går före individen. Vanja skickas till det avlägsna samhället Amatka. De människor hon möter där ruskar om i hennes sorg och ensamhet. Hon gör häpnadsväckande upptäckter, som förändrar inte bara henne, personligen. I en instabil värld kan en förändring spridas hur långt som helst.

Thieves (Voleuse) by Lucie Bryon. Original language: French

Arriver à l’heure en cours et étudier ? Très peu pour Ella. Ce qu’elle aime ? Regarder à la dérobée la douce et mystérieuse Madeleine et, bien sûr, faire la fête. Un peu trop, même.

Un matin, elle se réveille avec une gueule de bois carabinée : c’est le blackout. Et la panique. Chez qui a-t-elle passé la soirée ? Et pourquoi son lit est jonché d’objets luxueux qui ne lui appartiennent absolument pas ?

Here the Whole Time (Quinze Dias) by Vitor Martins. Original language: Brazilian Portuguese

Felipe está esperando esse momento desde que as aulas começaram: o início das férias de julho. Finalmente ele vai poder passar alguns dias longe da escola e dos colegas que o maltratam. Os planos envolvem se afundar nos episódios atrasados de suas séries favoritas, colocar a leitura em dia e aprender com tutoriais no YouTube coisas novas que ele nunca vai colocar em prática.

Mas as coisas fogem um pouquinho do controle quando a mãe de Felipe informa que concordou em hospedar Caio, o vizinho do 57, por longos quinze dias, enquanto os pais dele não voltam de uma viagem. Felipe entra em desespero porque a) Caio foi sua primeira paixãozinha na infância (e existe uma grande possibilidade dessa paixão não ter passado até hoje) e b) Felipe coleciona uma lista infinita de inseguranças e não tem a menor ideia de como interagir com o vizinho.

Love Me for Who I Am (不可解なぼくのすべてを/Fukakai na Boku no Subete o) by Kata Konayama. Original language: Japanese

男の子？女の子？『ぼく』らの青春にはナゾがいっぱい!

女子の制服を着て学校に通う高校生、もぐもはある日、カフェのアルバイトに誘われる。 可愛い制服を着て働ける仕事に、最初は喜ぶもぐもだったが、このカフェが『男の娘カフェ』であることを知って…。

This Is Our Place (Se a Casa 8 Falasse) by Vitor Martins. Original language: Brazilian Portuguese

O terceiro romance de Vitor Martins, autor de Quinze dias e Um milhão de finais felizes Ambientado e narrado pela mesma casa em três décadas diferentes, Se a casa 8 falasse é um romance sobre jovens lidando com mudanças drásticas, conflitos familiares e primeiros amores, que mostra que, apesar das gerações mudarem, algumas experiências são capazes de atravessar a barreira do tempo. Algumas casas guardam histórias especiais. A que fica no número 8 da rua Girassol tem muito para contar. 2000: Ana recebe a notícia de que vai se mudar e será obrigada a deixar para trás tudo o que conheceu até agora, inclusive a parte mais dolorida de todas: sua namorada. 2010: Enquanto os pais de Greg passam por um divórcio complicado, ele é enviado para a casa da tia, que é dona de uma locadora em tempos de internet e odeia companhia – e muitas outras coisas. 2020: Beto sempre quis se mudar e seguir o sonho de ser fotógrafo em São Paulo. Só que uma pandemia aparece para obrigá-lo a ficar trancado em casa com a mãe protetora e a irmã aparentemente perfeita. Esta é uma história sobre uma casa e seus moradores, incluindo um vira-lata de três patas chamado Keanu Reeves

Heaven Official’s Blessing (天官赐福/Tian Guan Ci Fu) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. Original language: Chinese

Born the crown prince of a prosperous kingdom, Xie Lian was renowned for his beauty, strength, and purity. His years of dedicated study and noble deeds allowed him to ascend to godhood. But those who rise may also fall, and fall he does–cast from the heavens and banished to the world below. 

Eight hundred years after his mortal life, Xie Lian has ascended to godhood for the third time, angering most of the gods in the process. To repay his debts, he is sent to the Mortal Realm to hunt down violent ghosts and troublemaking spirits who prey on the living. Along his travels, he meets the fascinating and brilliant San Lang, a young man with whom he feels an instant connection. Yet San Lang is clearly more than he appears… What mysteries lie behind that carefree smile?

Golden Hue (Aura Dourada) by May Barros. Original language: Brazilian Portuguese

(no blurb available)

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories (no Chinese title) ed. by Regina Kanyu Wang & Yu Chen. Original language: Chinese

In The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories, you can dine at a restaurant at the end of the universe, cultivate to immortality in the high mountains, watch roses perform Shakespeare, or arrive at the island of the gods on the backs of giant fish to ensure that the world can bloom.

Written, edited, and translated by a female and nonbinary team, these stories have never before been published in English and represent both the richly complicated past and the vivid future of Chinese science fiction and fantasy.

Time travel to a winter’s day on the West Lake, explore the very boundaries of death itself, and meet old gods and new heroes in this stunning new collection.

There are so many wonderful queer books being published in languages other than English. What are some of your favorites, available in translation or not?

View this list, and other books we’ve previously recommend that were originally published in languages other than English, on this Goodreads shelf!

[grassbreads]

I remember before I started Guardian, someone recommended it to me with a note that it tackles some of the same ideas as Tai Sui, but it ultimately comes to very different conclusions. And now having read the novel, I absolutely see what they meant.

While I was reading Guardian, there was one point where I honestly thought things might be building toward an ending where Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei do away with the reincarnation cycle and allow the souls of the dead to return to Chaos/true death. It's been a while since I read these bits, but I believe I recall some lines that could be read as implying that reincarnation (and the subsequent protection from Chaos that it entails) is on some level unnatural. The reincarnation cycle was something artificially created, and even gods were once meant to dissipate back into Chaos/nothingness when they died. There was all that stuff about how Kunlun's soul in particular wasn't even supposed to be put into the reincarnation cycle, which was part of why Zhao Yunlan was so willing to die with Shen Wei.

Given all that, and given I'm obsessed with Tai Sui, "let's just get rid of reincarnation and have the world accept true death/Chaos as its natural end" seemed like a logical conclusion, but that's not where things go at all. Instead, the reincarnation cycle is re-completed to keep running forever, and Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei live happily and immortally ever after as gods.

I think if you quoted "no one can enjoy themselves to the full at a banquet that never ends" to Zhao Yunlan, he'd laugh in your face and tell you that he very much can, actually. Then he'd probably drop some innuendo about what "banquet" he's enjoying in his eternal life.

Anyway, it's interesting that this is the second time I've read an earlier priest novel with such a direct contradiction to the themes of Tai Sui. Sha Po Lang buys into the "good king" myth by way of Chang Geng, and though it implies that Chang Geng's reforms are meant to ultimately pull power away from subsequent monarchs, that progressive anti-monarchy change still comes from the Special Boy Good Emperor. Meanwhile, Tai Sui has a much more ambivalent (at best) relationship with its monarchies, and its most morally upright character, Zhi Xiu, refuses to directly take over Wan when its monarchy crumbles and he's given the opportunity. A lot of the novel revolves around lauding common, powerless people and their collective ability to enact incredible change. Xi Ping is just some guy who happens to stumble his way into the power to change the world and tries his best (with Zhi Xiu's guidance) to make good on that responsibility. He's saved over and over by unremarkable common people like Wei Chengxiang and Tao-er-nainai. He's the opposite of some noble mastermind king guiding a nation in need of a leader.

In the same vein, Guardian ultimately upholds its reincarnation cycle and celebrates the immortal lives of Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, just the opposite of Tai Sui's ending themes. It clings to a positive interpretation of the concept of eternal existence, and it does away with the forces of Chaos entirely. Not to mention, this is a setting with actual gods, ghosts, reincarnation, etc, whereas Tai Sui, despite being Xianxia, is surprisingly atheist in its approach to mythology.

This is just another way that Tai Sui seems to be priest's novel of "what if but actually." What if the self-destructive evil genius character was actually evil and actually destroyed himself? What if the world's toxic social structures were dismantled from the outside or fell apart from their own rot rather than being improved by Good Cops/Good Kings working from within? What if eternal existence was actually a bad thing that needed to be ended?

I just think it's neat.

[avaantares]

Guardian Bonus Bingo: Swelter

Sliding in under the wire for @guardianbingo prompt "swelter" (posted late because I was out of the country and my return flight got canceled, so I got home a day later than planned).

This is a scene for the ever-growing monolith Picture Imperfect, my Alternate First Meeting YOHE fic which has now snowballed to well into six figures 😅 because I absolutely can't keep a plot simple to save my word count. Although the story premise itself was inspired by a 2023 Guardian Bingo prompt, I've added more than 30 chapters and 100K words since writing the initial treatment, so I think it's fair to work new prompts into various additional chapters where appropriate. (I'm just trying to get a few more things cleaned up before I start posting regularly so I don't have to take long breaks between updates. It's really coming, I promise!)

In this story, ZYL falls into the past at a slightly different point, and though Fu You and Ma Gui trust him, Hei Pao Shi is convinced that "Kunlun" is an enemy spy (among other things). Despite his suspicions, the two are ordered to work together on a mission behind enemy lines. They are en route when this scene occurs.

--------------------------------------

Their journey continued uninterrupted—and largely unbroken by speech, though Zhao Yunlan made an effort every so often—until they came within view of a rutted wagon track the following afternoon. Hei Pao Shi glanced up and down the road, scanning for travelers, and seemed about to continue on their way when Zhao Yunlan called, “Hold up a minute.”

Hei Pao Shi glanced back to where he’d stopped, but said nothing.

Zhao Yunlan planted his hands on his hips and stretched his back, which ached as though an elephant had been sitting on it. “Look, I’m as athletic as the next guy, but we’ve been marching since daybreak, and I’m not used to going this many kilo—er, li on an empty stomach. Why don’t we stop for a minute and have something to eat and drink?” He pointed to a few stunted trees growing a short distance away. “There’s a little shade here, and from the look of the landscape up ahead, it’s going to be the last break from the sun we have for a while.”

Hei Pao Shi hesitated, but Zhao Yunlan knew he wouldn’t need to press hard to get his way. Hei Pao Shi had thrown his hood off long before the sun had reached its zenith, and Zhao Yunlan had glimpsed the sheen of sweat on the lower half of his face whenever they had been walking abreast. Although he had never broken pace, the layers of black leather and fabric had to be suffocating under the sun’s steady rays. Even Zhao Yunlan, who had so little body fat that he routinely layered long sleeves with vests or jackets to insulate himself from summer air conditioning, had shoved the fur collar into the top of his pack hours before and tugged the front of his robes open halfway to his navel. It might be slightly indecent for the times, but it wasn’t like there were any young ladies around to be scandalized. Just Shen Wei—and considering how often he’d helped Zhao Yunlan bathe and dress during his time of blindness, he hardly counted anymore.

Not that this Shen Wei had ever seen Zhao Yunlan without a shirt, but still. Communal bathing existed in this era, didn’t it? Though he doubted there were many public bathhouses operating in a society that had nearly been destroyed by a catastrophic meteor impact…

While Zhao Yunlan mused about standards of propriety, Hei Pao Shi evidently came to a decision and marched off toward the cluster of trees. Zhao Yunlan hurried after, only to find that the shelter offered by the spindly grove was hardly worthy to be called shade. Sun dappled the hard-baked earth between the trees, whose leaves were too ragged and sparse to block it out.

“Well, I guess it’s still better than out there,” Zhao Yunlan sighed, swinging his pack to the ground. His clothes where the pack had rested were sticky with perspiration, and he divested himself of his belt and shoulder holster so he could peel the layers of fabric off his skin and let them dry a little.

Across the patch of shade, Hei Pao Shi had his head tilted back to drink from his waterskin. His exposed neck was flushed and damp, and sweat glued strands of hair to his skin. “Xiao Hei, you’re going to sweat all that water out before we even make it back to the road,” Zhao Yunlan observed. “Why don’t you take some of that off?”

Hei Pao Shi glanced over, still drinking, and nearly choked when he saw Zhao Yunlan stripped to the waist. He coughed for a good ten seconds before he managed to sputter, “Take what off?”

Zhao Yunlan blinked at him in unconcealed surprise. He hadn’t banked on the sight of his body horrifying Shen Wei—he’d set that aside for his ego to unpack later—but for the first time, Hei Pao Shi had spoken to him without open disdain, apparently shocked into forgetting how much he hated “Kunlun.” He hadn’t even noticed the Xiao Hei, and Zhao Yunlan had expected some kickback on that one.

It was progress, of a sort.

[cultivationguides]

佛說摩訶迦羅大黑天神經 Fo shuo mo he jia lo da hei tian shen jing

御大黑誓願云 yu da hei shi yuan yun

貧窮眾生與福力 ping qiong zhong sheng yu fu li

短命者成長命 duan ming zhe cheng chang ming

病眾生與良藥 bing zhong sheng yu liang yao

無智者成智者。 wu zhi zhe cheng zhi zhe.

南無本師釋迦牟尼佛(×3) Na Mo Ben Shi Shi Jia Mo Ni Fo

惡心者成善心 er xin zhe cheng shan xin

開經偈 kai jing jie

無上甚深微妙法 wu shang shen shen wei miao fa

我今見聞得受持 wo jin jian wen de shou chi

百千萬劫難遭遇 bai qian wan jie nan zhao yu

願解如來真實義。 yuan jie ru lai zhen shi yi.

佛說摩訶迦羅大黑天神經 Fo shuo mo he jia lo da hei tian shen jing

爾時如來告大眾言今此大會中有大菩薩· er shi ru lai gao da zhong yan jin ci da hui zhung you da pu sha

名日大福德自在圓滿菩薩·此菩薩往昔成等正覺· ming yue da fu de zi zai yuan man pu sha ci pu sha wang xi cheng deng zhen jue

號大摩尼珠王如來今以自在業力故 hao da mo ni zhu wang ru lai jin yi zi zai ye li gu

來娑婆世界·顯大黑天神是大菩薩大會中lai suo po shi jie xian da hei tian shen shi da pu sha da hui zhung

即起座合掌白佛言,我於一切貧窮無福眾生 ji qi zuo he zhang bai fo yan wo yu yi qie ping qiong wu fu zhong sheng

為與大福德·今現優婆塞形眷屬七母女天 wei yu da fu de jin xian you po sai xing juan shu qi mu nue tian

三界游現欲與一切眾生福德· san jie you xian yue yu yi qie zhong sheng fu de

惟願世尊為我說大福德圓滿陀羅尼· wei yuan shi zun wei wo shuo da fu de yuan man tuo luo ni

爾時世尊開貌含笑說咒曰: er shi shi zun kai mao han xiao shuo zhou yue

曩謨三曼多慕噠喃喃摩訶迦羅耶娑婆訶 Namo Samanta Buddhanam Om Mahakalaya Svaha

爾時世尊告大眾言,此天神咒

er shi shi zun gao da zhong yan ci tian shen zhou

過去無量諸佛出世不說若未來惡世中·

guo qu wu liang zhu fo chu shi bu shuo ruo wei lai er shi zhung

有諸貧窮人·聞此陀羅尼名者·

you zhu ping qiong ren wen ci tuo luo ni ming zhe

當知是人·降大摩尼寶珠·湧出無量珍寶 dang zhi shi ren jiang da mo ni bao zhu yong chu wu liang zhen bao

爾時大黑天神白佛言・若有末法中眾生持此咒者·

er shi da hei tian shen bai fo yan ruo you mo fa zhung zhong sheng chỉ ci zhou zhe

我體若五尺·若三尺·若五寸·刻其形象 wo ti ruo wu chi ruo san chi ruo wu cun ke qi xing xiang

安置伽藍·若崇敬家內·我遣七母女天眷屬 an zhi qie lan ruo cong jing jia nei wo qian qi mu nue tian juan shu

八萬四千人福德神·遊行十方每日供養一千人 ba wan shi qian ren fu de shen yiu xing shi fang mei ri gong yang yi qian ren

若我所說有虛妄者·永墮惡趣不還本覺· ruo wo suo shuo you xu wang zhe yong duo er qu bu huan ben jue

若又以種種珍菓美酒等供養者將降甘露 ruo you yi zhong zhong zhen guo mei jiu deng gong yang zhe jiang jiang gan lu

時一起大眾皆大歡喜·信受奉行作禮而去 shi yi qi da zhong jie da huan xi xin shou feng xing zuo li er qu.

大黑天讚 da hei tian zan

願諸世界常安穩

Yuan zhu shi jie chang an wen

無邊福智益群生 Wu bian fu zhi yi qun sheng

所有罪障並消除 Shuo you zui zhang bing siao chu

遠離眾苦歸圓寂 Yuan li zhong ku gui yuan ji

大黑天神咒 da hei tian shen zhou

曩謨三曼多·慕噠喃·唵·摩訶迦羅耶娑婆訶。。。 Namo Samanta Buddhanam Om Mahakalaya Svaha

[the-monkey-ruler]

Lotus Lantern (2005) 宝莲灯

Director: Yu Mingsheng Screenwriter: Nine years Starring: Jun Cao / Shu Chang / Enjun / Jiao / Lin Xiangping Yuqiao / Liu Liu Liu Xiaoqing / Yan Danchen / Xie Ning / Wang Weiguo / Chen Chuang / Ding Jian / Xiaofeng Luo Wei / Pu Shiyan Zhang Zhichao / Tian Erxi / Wu Zhou Jie / Guohua You Benchang / Wang Yonggui / Li Baocheng Zhao / Shujun / Li Jianxun Zhu Yaying / Li Liu Jie / Jiayi Ye Yina / Ma Liqing / Yang Si / Wang Wensheng / Ma Jielin / Tian Xuemin / Zhao Qi / Zong Fengyan / Wan Luo Guangyue / Li Dou / Ying / Tang Nien / Liu Shuxing / Shi Liang / Cheng Sudong / Lu Bing / Wang Xiang / Yao Changjiang / Xi Xianfeng / Yuan Han / Shen Jie / Deng Jia / Guo Ye / Wang Jiayu / DuduMore Genre: Drama / Fantasy / Costume Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Chinese Date: 2005-10-04 (Mainland China) Number of episodes: 35 Single episode length: 46 minutes Also known as: New Lotus Lantern / 新宝莲灯 IMDb: tt4776994 Type: Reimagining

Summary:

Chen Xiang (played by Cao Jun), a young man in a small town, and his father Liu Yanchang (played by Liu Xiaofeng) have been living a peaceful life until one day, Chen Xiang accidentally discovers that he actually contains "magic power" in his body and could pass through walls effortlessly. After his father learned about it, he told Chen Xiang the fact that he had hidden for many years, that is, Chen Xiang's mother was actually the San Sheng Mu (played by Park Meixuan) in heaven. Because she violated the rules of heaven and married herself as a mortal, she was captured by heaven to an unknown destination. Chen Xiang was shocked to learn the truth and decided to overcome all difficulties to rescue his mother. Er Lang Shen (Jiao Enjun), who sees everything in his eyes, is Chen Xiang's uncle and decides to stop Chen Xiang's journey to save his mother. Thus, this difficult trip to save the mother kicked off with the interference of Erlang Shen. During the journey, Chen Xiang met many kind-hearted people and spirits, encountered various resistances, and even wanted to give up. But in the end, it was no match for his determination to save his mother...

Source: https://tv-1.chinesemov.com/tv/2005/Lotus%20Lantern

Link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL10scWhSJdfGojWzhbiYNBCM9KgZi1sk_

[miyokotranslations]

Qiang Jin Jiu - Kapitola 8.

Podezření

Císařská armáda čekala na střídání směn. Byla tak strašná zima, že byli všichni schoulení do sebe.

Císařská armáda byla původně císařskou gardou osmi měst. Bývali nedobytnou pevností císařského paláce v Qudu. Kdyby se dodržovala pravidla, triviality, jako bylo vzetí někoho do vazby, by jim vůbec nebyly svěřeny. Jenomže pak se k moci dostalo osm velkých výcvikových divizí Qudu a povinnosti a odpovědnosti obou stran se změnily. Z císařské armády se stalo břemeno Qudu. Nejenže se zrušila vojenská cvičení, z císařské armády se dokonce stali pochůzkáři. Dnes všichni jejich členové pocházeli z dědičných vojenských domácností, kteří skutečné zbraně nikdy neviděli a jen nečinně čekali na smrt.

Ge Qingqing byl velitelem roty císařských tělesných stráží. Ve skutečnosti se nedal považovat za funkcionáře Qudu, ale pro císařskou armádu, která měla na starosti věznění, byl ideální. To proto, že se museli vzájemně hlídat, když každý den hlídkovali nad Qudu. Kdyby byl hodnostářem o něco vyšší hodnosti, neodvážili by se vzájemně se uplácet dle libosti. Kromě toho byl Ge Qingqing při jednání s nimi mimořádně velkorysý. Císařská armáda tedy přimhouřila oči a nechala Ji Ganga, aby se ujal práce poslíčka.

Ge Qingqing pozdravil císařskou armádu a rozdal horké dušené knedlíky, které s sebou přinesl. Ji Gang ještě nevyšel. Velitel čety si všiml, že vypadá zamyšleně a tak řekl: „Pokud bratr Qing spěchá, do toho - zkontroluj to naším jménem.“

Ge Qingqing se zeptal: „Není to proti pravidlům?“

Velitel čety se zakousl do knedlíku a mávl rukou, aby pokynul císařské armádě, která hlídala zadní vchod, aby ustoupila: „Bratr Qing není nikdo cizí. Kromě toho jsme tenhle Zhao Zui chrám obklíčili tak, že ven neproteče ani kapka vody. Ten uvnitř rozhodně neuteče.“

Ge Qingqing jeho nabídku tedy nadále neodmítal. Otočil se a do chrámu Zhao Zui vstoupil.

Ji Gang seděl pod okapem. Jakmile uviděl přicházet Ge Qingqinga, vstal a zeptal se: „Už je čas?“

„To je jedno - pořád je tma. Strýček Ji může zůstat o něco déle.“ Prohlížel si Ge Qingqing nádvoří chrámu. „Tohle místo není vhodné k žití. A zrovna tu musíte být v té největší zimě. Pak sem pošlu nějaké deky.“

Ji Gang si ale všiml, že má něco na srdci a tak se zeptal: „Co se děje?“

Ge Qingqing zaváhal, než řekl: „Nic zásadního. Jen jsem po cestě potkal druhého mladého pána Xiao.“

Shen Zechuan zvedl hlavu a řekl: „Toho Xiao...“

„Xiao Chiye.“ Řekl Ge Qingqing: „Je to nejmladší syn prince z Libei. Také je to ten... muž z minula. Jeho chůze byla nejistá a smrděl vínem. Musel jít včera večer pít.“

„Dokud to není Xiao Jiming.“ Ji Gang otočil hlavu dozadu a řekl velkému rádci Qi: „Velký rádce neopustil toto místo dvacet let. Pravděpodobně neznáte současné čtyři velké generály Da Zhou. Princ z Libei si zplodil dobrého syna. Ten Xiao Jiming je vážně pozoruhodný!“

Shen Zechuan se však Ge Qingqinga zeptal: „Bratře Qingu, ptal se tě na něco?“

Ge Qingqing se pečlivě zamyslel, než řekl: „Zeptal se mně, kam jdu, a já jsem řekl, že jdu zkratkou, abych se dostal do velitelské kanceláře. Pak řekl, že tahle cesta nevypadá, že by vedla na ulici Shenwu. Dal jsem mu teda vágní odpověď. Předpokládám, že potomek prince to nebude osobně zkoumat.“

„Tahle záležitost se ale týká rodu Xiao. Vyplatí se být opatrný. Později bys měl přeci jen jít do paláce a dát si značku na rozpis služeb.“ Ji Gang si promnul ruce ve sněhu: "Chuan-er, pojďme trénovat.“

„Zadrž.“ Shen Zechuanovy oči byly tmavé a hluboké: „Vzhledem k tomu, že je to ulička v obytné čtvrti, co tam dělal potomek vznešeného rodu tak brzy ráno?“

Ge Qingqing byl zaskočen: „To je pravda... Všechny zábavní podniky jsou v ulici Donglong, což je od obytné čtvrti docela daleko. Má kocovinu a je zima. Proč sem přišel?“

„Drží hlídku u stromu, kde čeká na králíka.“ Velký rádce Qi se zahalil do potrhaného závěsu a otočil se, ukazujíce tak svá záda. „Záležitost Shen Weie se týká rodu Xiao. Slyšel jsem, že ten jeho kop měl vzít tomuhle chlapci život. Ale chlapec je stále naživu a zdráv. Jak by mohl nemít podezření?“

„Neměl nic říkat, pokud to nebyla pravda.“ Shen Zechuan stále cítil úzkost, kdykoliv si na ten kop vzpomněl.

„Ale ne,“ Ge Qingqing zbledl: „To je moje chyba, byl jsem nedbalý. Co bychom teď měli udělat? Obávám se, že teď už je na cestě!“

Shen Zechuan se otočil k velkému rádci Qi: „To nevadí. Protože na to učitel již přišel, jisté má i protiopatření.“

***

Zhao Hui dorazil do velitelské kanceláře císařské tělesné stráže. Přestože zástupce velitele, který s ním kráčel, byl stejné hodnosti, neodvážil se chovat arogantně. Zavedl Zhao Huiho do záznamové místnosti a zeptal se: „Co chce generál Zhao kontrolovat? Tady jsou dnešní rozpisy služeb všech dvanácti kanceláří.“

Zhao Hui zvedl s vážným výrazem knihu, aby se na ní podíval a řekl: „Pro naše bratry císařskou tělesnou stráž musí být těžké hlídkovat v nepřístupných zónách.  Před několika dny se mi dostalo pomoci od velitele roty jménem Ge Qingqing. Dnes jsem mu přinesl dar, abych mu poděkoval. Má dnes službu?“

„Velitelé rot z dvanácti kanceláří jsou pestrá banda. Všichni jsou tady.“ Jak zástupce velitele mluvil, přesunul se ke zdi, kde v horní části visely záznamy o službě, všechny jasně roztříděné.Zhao Hui se jich však dotýkat nesměl - to bylo v paláci tabu.

Zástupce velitele se proto zeptal: „Ví generál, ke které kanceláři patří?“

Zhao Hui odpověděl: „Slyšel jsem, že na ranní směně mohou mít službu pouze ti z císařské přepravní kanceláře, kanceláře paraplí a kanceláře domestikace slonů.“

Zástupce velitele pečlivě prošel všechny seznamy podle jména. Po chvíli se otočil a řekl Zhao Huimu: „Generále, dnes nikdo takový službu nemá. Podívám se ještě jinde?“

Zhao Hui jemně zavřel knihu ve svých rukou a odpověděl: „Není třeba. Najdu si ho sám.“

Jakmile Zhao Hui místnost opustil, obloha se akorát rozjasnila. Pokračoval v cestě, dokud nevyšel z paláce.

Nahromaděný sníh byl na ulici Shenwu čerstvě odhrabaný, ale cesta byla kluzká. Nosiči nosítek, kteří přicházeli a odcházeli, jak přiváželi důležité osoby, se neodvažovali jednat zbrkle. Po cestě se pohybovali opatrně, ze všech sil se snažili neupadnout.

Jak Zhao Hui procházel kolem nosítek, zahlédl nosiče se širokými meči. Kdo mohl tušit, že kvůli tomuhle jedinému pohledu svraští obočí?

„Zadržte.“ Zhao Hui zastavil nosítka a zeptal se: „Používá teď tato nosítka vrchní velitel?“

Samozřejmě - nosiči byli císařské tělesné stráže. Ten, který stál v čele, přikývl. „Víš, koho přepravujeme, a ještě máš tu drzost nám blokovat cestu? Rychle uhni!“

Zhao Hui zvedl ruku, aby poukázal na svůj vlastní autorizační token Libei.

Člen císařské tělesné stráže přikývl a řekl: „Generále, nezlobte se za mou urážku!“

Závěs nosítek se pohnul, když ho nazvedla štíhlá ruka. Jemná tvář líně pohlédla na Zhao Huiho a koketně našpulila rty k osobě uvnitř: „Vaše excelence, zdá se, že hledá vás!“

Ji Lei se akorát vracel s kocovinou. Uvnitř nosítek seděl neuspořádaně, když zvolal: „Zhao Hui! Děje se něco?“

Zhao Hui zíral na císařského tělesného strážce v čele a řekl: „To nic. Slyšel jsem, že šel mladý pán včera pít s vaší excelencí. Akorát se vracíte?“

Ji Lei se usmál a odpověděl: „Takže se bojíte o druhého mladého pána! Mladý pán se vrátil domů v době, kdy jsem akorát otvíral oči. Hledá ho dědičný princ?“

„Jen si nemohu pomoci a mám obavy.“ Zhao Hui se uklonil: „Omlouvám se, že jsem vaši excelenci vyděsil.“

„To je dobrý! Sám jsem odtamtud akorát odešel.“ Ji Lei pokynul rukou. „Kdo se to před chvílí s generálem srazil? Rychle se mu omluvte.“

Císařský tělesný strážce v čele poklekl na jedno koleno a řekl Zhao Huimu: „Tento pokorný sluha, Ge Qingqing, musel být slepý, že nepoznal generála a urazil ho. Jsem ochoten přijmout svůj trest.“

Zhao Hui nepřečetl jeho jméno špatně. Jméno Ge Qingqing bylo skutečně napsané na autorizačním tokenu visícím ze strany jeho meče.

***

I po pečlivém vyslechnutí Zhao Huiho reportu se Xiao Chiye stále díval na vypravěčský scénář s jednou nohou pokrčenou.

Zhao Hui řekl: „Zdá se, že nelhal. Byl pověřen, aby vyzvedl Ji Leie, než se stačil dostat do paláce.“

„Jo.“ Řekl Xiao Chiye nepřítomně. „Pavilon Qingjun je tamodtud kousek. Samozřejmě, že to stihl včas.“

„Ale něco mi na tom nesedí.“ Zhao Hui přejel palcem po jílci svého meče.

Xiao Chiye otočil stránku a zeptal se: „Nemůžeš přijít na to co?“

„Ne.“

„Tak já ti to řeknu.“ Najednou se posadil, zkřížil nohy a ruku si opřel o koleno. „Vstoupil jsi do hlavního města s mým starším bratrem. Jeho Veličenstvo císař se s ním osobně setkalo a přivítalo ho. Těsně za ním následovalo ve slavnostním průvodu dvanáct kanceláří císařské tělesné stráže. Tak jak by tě mohl najednou nepoznat?“

„Těžko říct.“ Odpověděl mu Zhao Hui. „Možná si mě nepamatoval.“

„Ani sis nepřevlékl svoji róbu a máš u sebe meč. I kdyby tě nepoznal, stačilo by, aby trochu zapojil mozek a nikdy by se neodvážil tě napomínat přímo na ulici.“ Řekl Xiao Chiye:„Kromě toho se mi nezdá, že by měl tak špatnou paměť. Vždyť dokázal velmi jasně poznat i mě.“

„Jen mi to připadá jako příliš velká náhoda.“ Přemýšlel o tom Zhao Hui. „Narazil jsem na něho náhodou.“

„Náhoda je přesně to, co chtějí.“ Odložil Xiao Chiye scénář. „Ten Shen...“

„Shen Zechuan.“ Doplnil ho Zhao Hui.

„Nechat ho vstoupit do chrámu Zhao Zui se teď jeví jako prohraný tah.“ řekl Xiao Chiye se zamyšleným pohledem.

***

Ge Qingqing si sundal kožešinový límec a otřel si pot. Wu Caiquan, který byl venku, akorát přiběhl a opakoval: „Děkuju, děkuju! Bratře Qingu, díky bohu za tebe!“

Ge Qingqing odpověděl: „To nic. Vždyť jsme přátelé.“

Wu Caiquan se zazubil a otočil hlavu, aby křikl na osobu v záznamové místnosti: „Starej Xu! Zapiš dneska bratra Qinga. Zastupoval mě při nošení nosítek. Včera večer jsem se nachladnul a dneska ráno se mi motala hlava. Naštěstí tam byl bratr Qing, aby mi pomohl.“

Ge Qingqing sklonil hlavu, aby si setřel pot. „Seš nastydlej. Pojďme spolu pak do obchodu domácnosti Xu pro skopovou polévku.“

Wu Caiquan přispěchal a řekl: „Jasně, zvu tě! Slyšel jsi to, starej Xu? Pojď pak s námi.“

Ge Qingqing poplácal Wu Caiquana po zádech: „Dobře si odpočiň. Když ti příště nebude dobře, nenechávej si to pro sebe, jakos to udělal teď. Prostě mi to řekni.“

Wu Caiquan pokýval hlavou jako štěně. Tak moc toužil po skopové polévce, že se mohl sotva starat o cokoliv jiného.

***

Velký rádce Qi se konečně zachumlal do přikrývky a posadil se naproti Shen Zechuanovi: „Za dalšího půl měsíce bude festival Zhengdan. Qudu bude pořádat hostinu deseti tisíce úředníků. Až přijde čas, všichni komisaři provinční správy a prefekturní dozorčí komisaři vstoupí do hlavního města, aby vzdali poklony. Stále mi není zcela jasný současný stav věcí, tak mi o něm povyprávěj.“

Shen Zechuan byl ve sněhu oblečený pouze v tenkém oděvu, když zaujímal výchozí postoj bojového stylu rodu Ji. Navzdory tomu mu z čela kapal pot. „Princ z Libei je již mnoho let ve špatném zdravotním stavu a tak byly všechny vojenské záležitosti předány dědičnému princi Xiao Jimingovi. S největší pravděpodobností se tentokrát nezúčastní. Pět velitelství Qidongu prokázalo záslužnou službu, když přispěchalo na pomoc císaři. První, kdo si přišel pro svůj udělený titul, byl jeden ze čtyř generálů, Lu Guangbai. Vrchní velitelka Qi by měla dorazit v těchto dnech. S tím budou dočasně sídlit dvě hlavní vojenské mocnosti Da Zhou-“

„Zadrž.“ Velký rádce Qi vylovil ze své přikrývky pravítko a zeptal se: „Kteří čtyři generálové jsou ti čtyři generálové?“

„Obrněná kavalerie na Ledové řece - Xiao Jiming, Ohnivý maják uprostřed vanoucího písku - Lu Guangbai, Vítr ženoucí se přes spálené pláně - Qi Zhuyin, Hrom potápějící nefritovou scénu - Zuo Qiangqiu!“

„Slyšel jsem jen o Zuo Qiangqiuovi, ale vím, že Lu Guangbai je s největší pravděpodobností syn hraběte Bianshy, Lu Pingyana. Ačkoliv šel Lu Pingyan časem střežit pouště velitelství Bianjun, pocházel z Libei. Je to přísežný bratr prince z Libei, Xiao Fangxu. Jestli má tenhle Lu Guangbai sestru, určitě je to snacha rodu Xiao, nemám pravdu?“

„Ano.“ Odpověděl Shen Zechuan, zatímco z něj kapal pot: „Lu Guangbaiova mladší sestra je choť dědičného prince z Libei.“

„Takže jaképak dvě hlavní vojenské síly?“ Otázal se velký rádce Qi: „S tímto propojením je rod Lu krtek, kterého Libei nasadila do pěti velitelství Qidongu. Navíc je v Qudu stále osm velkých výcvikových divizí a císařská armáda pod nimi. Osm velkých výcvikových divizí nemá tolik lidí, jako Libei a Qidong a jejich pověst není ani tak udatná. Nesmíš ale zapomínat, že Qudu je srdcem Da Zhou. To co drží ve svých rukách, je císařův život.“ Potěžkal si velký rádce Qi pravítko v ruce, pak popadl kalabasu a zahřál se několika doušky vína. „Taky si musíš pamatovat, že i když císařskou tělesnou stráž nelze nazvat vojáky, jejich výhoda je mnohem větší, než vojenská. Když císař velí jednotkám, musí mu pomáhat vlivní úředníci a udatní generálové. Generál by měl být na bojišti rozvážný a nebýt vázán příkazy svého panovníka. Pokud je budeš držet pevně na uzdě, bude pro ně těžké ze sebe něco udělat. Nech jim volnost a brzy je začneš podezřívat, že se stávají až moc velkým tygrem. Toto měřítko je těžké správně uchopit. Musíš jednat v souladu se situací a chápat, jak se přizpůsobit změnám. Císařská tělesná stráž je však zcela jiná záležitost. Jsou to zlí psi pod panovníkovým vedením, jejichž řetěz drží pouze císař. Zda jeho sevření zesílí nebo povolí, zda si je bude hýčkat, nebo je odkopne, záleží zcela na císařových náladách. Taková čepel, takový pes - kdybys to byl ty, hýčkal by sis ho, nebo ne?“

Shen Zechuan se přinutil zůstat chvíli v klidu, než řekl: „Mějte je rád a budou příliš svéhlaví! Příliš jim důvěřujte a stanou se zdrojem neštěstí.“

„Tvůj bratr tě toho hodně naučil.“ Řekl velký rádce Qi: „To je pravda. Pamatuj si to. Měj to neustále na paměti! Důvěřuj jim příliš a stanou se zdrojem neštěstí. Udržovat si ctnostné blízko a lichotníky daleko je dobré pravidlo, ale když jsi do toho osobně zapojen, černá a bílá se protnou. Jak bys mohl být vždycky schopen rozlišit, kdo jsou ctnostné talenty a kdo prohnaní patolízalové? Kromě toho existuje mnoho věcí, které ctnostný gentleman nedokáže, zatímco lstiví a opovrženíhodný člověk ano. Císař dlouhodobě sídlí v císařském paláci a tak musí rozumět principu kontrol a protivah a také musí umět naslouchat hlasům úředníků a ministrů. Jak můžeš vidět, s císařskou tělesnou stráží se pojí východní úřad a Libei se pojí s Qidongem.“ Po krátké pauze velký rádce pokračoval: „Voda přitéká, jen aby odtékala. Měsíc přibývá, jen aby ubýval. Víš, proč rod Xiao tentokrát tolik nenávidí Shen Weie? Nejen, že jim po této bitvě není co udělit, ani co jim dát, ale i když bude rod Xiao bojovat v další bitvě, jejich porážka bude porážkou, zatímco jejich vítězství bude také v podstatě porážkou. Už dosáhli svého konce.“

Shen Zechuan se zeptal: „Jejich vítězství bude porážkou?“

„Jejich vítězství je taky porážkou! Nenabídl Xiao Jiming ihned po bitvě svého mladšího bratra? Za každou bitvu, kterou v budoucnu vyhraje, bude v ještě větším nebezpečí. Tentokrát na to doplatil se svým mladším bratrem. Příště to může být jeho žena, jeho otec, nebo dokonce jeho vlastní já.“

[sageukflowers]

→ like or reblog if you save/use  ❤  please, don’t repost

Twitter: @sageukflowers

[swiftletinthecloud]

But the reason why I’m so heartbroken is not because of her death... 

[gabrielokun]

[akatsuki-shin]

sorry for going missing some sad things happen, but I’m alright now :’)

as an apology, here is a cut of SHL Episode 32 fighting scene in HDR

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Towards the Truth (2025)

Vương Hữu Thạc - Triều Vân Tán #vuonghuuthac #wangyoushuo #王佑硕

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

[rainandginkgo]

/screaming internally/ i have been mtl-ing sci 谜案集 for days and now im in case 3 book 2. i LOVE YUTANG AND ZHAO SO MUCH IM SO MUCH IN PAIN ;;;; they are so OP but everyone knows that they are each other achilles heels (and strength). CASE 2 BOOK 2 EXPLAINED EVERYTHING GOD I LOVE THEIR RELATIONSHIP SO MUCH. zhao was like "if one day you are gone i will be a madman" ;;;;; they remind me alot of yunlan and wei. LIKE BOTH COUPLES ARE SO SIMILAR IN MANY ASPECTS AND WHAT I REALLY LOVE THE MOST IS THEY DONT HAVE ANY UNNECESSARY DRAMA. the typical of "we dont need to talk but we understand each other" ;;;;;; there was this sentence when yutang said "you are an expert of research but im an expert of researching you" :))))))) okay. im crying ;;;; im so invested it hurts my heart, how the hell am i supposed to finish mtl-ing 4 books :") tbh the thing im so curious is related to zhao jue PLS SOMEONE ENLIGHTEN ME

[vvlin91]

The Comic Bang Weibo Update:

"We want nothing on 11/11 other than being allowed to air! (stop being so honest) We are basically Mikorin now."

Stop asking me how I spent 11/11

He (Nozaki) said: Let's go on a date. He (Wakamatsu) said: Let's go play basketball. Waka: How did you write this (on the T-shirt)?* Seo: Do you like it? He (Hori) said: Let's go confess our love.

(sad er hu music for Mikorin) Human emotions are not interconnected.

Let me see how you are spending the day!

From the upcoming web c-drama The Comic Bang/开画少女漫 based on Tsubaki Izumi’s manga series Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun.

*The T-shirt said "To protect the world's most precious little Ruosong (i.e. Wakamatsu-chan)" but the original print had someone else's name on it. Seo obviously DIYed it on a whim.

Shen Yue as Zuo Qiandai (Sakura Chiyo)

Wang Jingxuan as Ye Qi (Nozaki Umetaro)

Zeng Keni as Zhou Jieyue (Seo Yuzuki)

Wu Yuheng as Jiang Ruosong (Wakamatsu Hirotaka)

Wang Ruoshan as Lu Dao (Kashima Yu)

Zhao Yiqin as Gu Zhengxing (Hori Masayuki)

Zhou Yanchen as Chai Ziyu (Mikoshiba Makoto)

Useful links:

How the Names are Localized

Watch Trailer Here

[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

[rigelmejo]

Some September 1st Updates

the READING SPEED difference of a novel at my level! I read the first chapter of 撒野 yesterday and this author is at exactly my reading level right now. I hit 0-2 new words each pleco page, which is usually the sweet spot to either guess the word or if I look it up I can pretty quickly adapt to recognizing it in context. Its also the sweet spot where if I only rely on guessing for new word meanings, on a second pass through I can fairly well guess the meaning quickly. 

It was a 32 page chapter in pleco and I read it in 20 minutes. Compared to the 20 pleco page per chapter pingxie fic i just finished (like 124k characters! WOW I read and FINISHED that much!), which was taking 30-40 minutes per chapter (mainly because of number of new vocabulary per chapter being a bit higher). If I’d wanted to speed read saye I could have, I’d have missed some small details but I could have tried if I wanted.

Then I did a second pass later in the day with the audiobook just following along with the text. Realized 1. I knew most words in the audiobook and did not follow as well as i thought - but those first listen throughs without having seen the chapter I did manage to figure out the main character just broke up, just travelled somewhere, ran into a girl and somehow the girls brother showed and the two guys interacted a little and someone was being somewhat helpful, then the main guy met his father trying to ‘pick him up.’ Which is a true but very rough summary of what happens in the first chapter. By reading I could confirm the words I thought were names AS names, figured out WHY the girl was interacting with the main guy and that there were actually two girls in chapter 1, and figure out who helped who and who was the girl’s brother. Also somehow before I looked at the chapter text I never caught that the audiobook mentions a motorcycle despite me knowing that word and it SOUNDING like mota-che/motorche! it sounds like the word and i knew it and didn’t hear it! Then later following the audiobook with the text I realized another issue I had, is I’m not used to listening to soft voices with such faint pronunciations of the final sounds. I’m much more used to deeper crisper pronunciations and being able to rely clearly on initials and finals AS much as tones to recognize the words, whereas this particular audiobook i needed to mainly rely on tones and initials to figure out what word was what - that probably threw me off a bit. It’s probably good for me to get practice listening to such a different voice to what I’m used to. I have definitely learned the deeper the voice, the more I have a far easier time figuring out what’s being said. Also standard accent more like beijing but without a huge amount of ‘er’s just some, and taiwan accent are the easiest for me to hear when i’m not pa

For anyone curious, here is the audiobook for SaYe I’m listening to: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2w27tfjeeaySbMK272NpXwUtsBc-e3YN

Also here’s a chinese audiobook youtube I found: https://www.youtube.com/c/%E6%9C%89%E5%A3%B0%E5%B0%8F%E8%AF%B4%E5%90%AC%E4%B9%A6%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8Cyoushengxiaoshuo/playlists

Which includes The King’s Avatar: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTJaWZoVPdT1ZhIQIKxVci7fVEHr-oX6k

And ErHa: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsxEOGKlBMaFa6CS6Hf5ndy6qTtUL0Au_

Anyway, its a great book right now for reading practice. It’s very much around my level. I will probably stick with this author for a little while and solidify what I know/my base reading level. 

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IN OTHER NEWS:

I am apparently living proof listening-reading, heavy emphasis on re-listening a TON in the background as you work or type or walk/drive whatever, works for learning new words. 

I re-listened to guardian chapter 1 audiobook at least 20-30 times by now, just a tremendous amount. Chapters 1-10 I’ve listened to at least 5 times by now random chapters at random days, and some probably also 20 times. 

I have listened to these chapters enough, that I can officially follow so much that I know nearly every freaking word I hear, I know it immediately on hearing in at least 3 different audiobooks, and the few ‘less familiar’ words I recognize a second after hearing (like hearing ‘audacious’ or ‘glum’ in english it just takes me a second to re-remember), and the very few still forgotten words/specific details I learn From those words I can actually pick up from the context of listening.

 I hear ‘powei’ and somehow forgot it AGAIN? Oh it means ‘rather’ in this context. ‘anli’ well i always hear ‘anlishuo’ as in ‘people say/generally speaking’ so ‘anli’ in this context must mean ‘generally/generally speaking.’ chuanghu? can’t remember it because i was just typing this JUST now and only hearing a few words from the audiobook in the background - well in context its obviously window, but out of context my brain said window and i just couldn’t remember if it was window or curtain but felt curtain had something more complex than ‘hu’ as the second half - just looked it up and my guess was right, even with no context which i’d have had if i’d been listening better and it had been clear it’s window, it still made me think ‘window’ immediately just hearing the sound. ‘xiang yi ge ren’ sounds like ‘looks like a person’ which is the next phrase i just randomly heard. ‘hua le yao ming’ shouted for their life/in awful terror? or that would be ‘huo’, so maybe ‘streaking toward him to take his life’? would make sense in context of a horror scene - i just looked it up and 划了要命 would be the second one. even IF i heard the wrong line, both of those are pretty close to a good guess in context and hua is the only unknown because without context i can’t place if it was hua or huo. i still confuse the words wu and wo for hold etc, but in context i can tell which one it is (wo is hold a hand, hold a face, etc). 

I’m genuinely at a point where I can just completely follow the plot through at least the first 20 chapters from listening. And for most scenes, follow every detail too including stuff like guo changcheng spending half a year not working at home after he graduated, being so afraid of the phone, da qing being fawning to shen wei when they meet and rubbing against his leg, the specific conversation details when da qing runs across zhao yunlan’s car in chapter 2, what zhao yunlan’s room exactly looks like, etc. Its super cool to be able to follow the audiobook so well I can follow the story and details even when I don’t have time to read! It’s so fun! And it was not very hard!

It took 40 minutes of upfront study where you set time aside to focus: 20 minutes to have a program read the chapter aloud while you either see unknown word definitions pop up (like in Pleco) or look them up with some click dictionary as you listen. 20 minutes to go through and listen to the audiobook as you follow along with the text. Then after that, just play the audiobook chapters you’ve done this with whenever you want, either paying attention like when going to bed soon or walking, or in the background like when cleaning or doing busy work or driving. Since background listening can be done easily whenever all you have to do is remember to click play when you want something to listen to. 

I’m honestly blown away by how much 3 months of studying mainly like this (which is quite fun and only requires me to carve out a small amount of actual study focused time) has improved my listening skills. I can now also listen to the 2ha audiobook okay and follow along (provided its a chapter I’ve read before so I have at least some prior context to help me out) - at least so far as that’s what I’m listening to right now. Basically, I can tell Guardian has both upped my vocabulary significantly and also improved my automatic recognition of many words I half-knew and learned since. 

I recently found a new Guardian audiobook read by a deep voice and its lovely (and utilizes music and echo for effects, its lovely to listen to) I hope the poster keeps updating: https://fm.qq.com/show/rd002ED4aN0mYz2L__

I’ve been listening to it lately.

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Also! Directions for using Pleco Android for screen reader:

1. To get any page bookmarked online: 

Open a page in your mobile web browser you want to read. Click the menu, click share, click Pleco Reader (or ‘more’ or ‘...’ then Pleco Reader).

Go to Clipboard Reader. Now when you click text, dictate text megaphone will be an option.

*Since Clipboard Reader is free, you can do this to read in Pleco and have things spoken aloud with no money spent. (Though I find the Reader tool worth the money and add ons).

2. To have any text ‘dictated aloud’:

Go to Pleco’s menu, Settings, Audio, click ‘use TTS if no recording,’ then for Sentence Audio section area System TTS Setting click Speech Services by Google (you can also experiment by clicking other options I am just stating what worked for me, it didn’t work at first I had to make that my default TTS in my Accessibility-Talkback Settings menu on my main phone first and restart my phone before all this). 

Then click the area right below to mess with speed and sound of the TTS voice. 

(Note, to test if TTS is working you can go to any dictionary entry sentence, click the speaker next to the sentence and see if it plays audio. If it does not, you will get an error message and directions on what to change in your phone settings. That is what initially happened to me: I had to go to phone Settings, Accessibility, Talkback, TTS Engine, TTS Engine voice and settings. Pleco recommended I choose Speech Services by Google, and uninstall then reinstall the Chinese voice. Then restart the phone. That worked for me. An additional note: I have Talkback setting on ‘on’ and just have it in my toolbar to use if desired but am not actively using it. If you turn Talkback setting ‘off’ in the actual Settings area of Accessibility, I am not sure if it will affect Pleco’s ability to dictate). 

3. How to put it together: 

Now go to Clipboard Reader and read the page from the internet you wanted or text you pasted, or go to Document Reader and open the document you wish to read. 

Click a word as a place to start. Now you should see both the loudspeaker (for pronouncing the single word) and the Megaphone next to it to start dictating all text. (If your phone is weird like me, you may need to press the megaphone a couple times before the audio works).

If you wish to change dictation reading speed, simply hold down the megaphone and select the speed desired. 

Now that I’ve figured this out I really want to take pictures of my print book, make a pdf, and listen to all the changes.

(Now I just have to fix my weird dictionary in Idiom app and I’m all set on the new phone!)

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All I’ve been doing the past august study wise is just reading pingxie fic and finishing, and listening to audiobooks. It’s been a busy time for me ToT

I do think it proved you can be lazy and still make some improvements though: 

1. Reading in Pleco (or click-dictionary tool of your choice): pick something and read a chapter a day (that’s what I did, obviously the easier this is the less time you’ll need, but aim for around 30 minutes a day and reading material closer to your level if you don’t want to read too long)

2. Listening-Reading Method something above your reading level that you enjoy. Should take 40 minutes a couple times a week to several times a week to hours a week, depending on how intense you want to get with it and how much you’re going to alternate/include the reading portion. I did like 1-2 chapters a week so I was only spending 40 minutes to 1.5 hours a week doing this, or 3 hours one week no time another week. This is definitely something where you can do 6-12 hours one month then coast on it for another month just repeating older material’s audio/re-reading sections (which is what I did with guardian, doing 22 chapters then switching to just listening to audio a lot). 

Once you’ve done a little L-R steps 2 and 3 (in either order, whatever works for you - and doing step 1 if you want more context prior to steps 2 and 3), then just make time during your days to play the audiobook chapters you’ve studied. You don’t need to be focusing every single time (although focusing on actually trying to follow the audio the first time you listen without text to aid you will probably speed up your comprehension a lot by giving you a lot of basic-context to help you comprehend more later). Aim to listen whenever you’ve got down time! Or time where you’d play music or some background youtube video or podcast - walks, exercise, drives, when cleaning, when browsing the web goofing off, when working if you have times when you’d listen to music with lyrics or a podcast in the background without issues, times when you don’t need to focus 100% on listening just putting it on to hear in the background). 

That’s all I’ve done for study since May. It takes me about 30 minutes 5 days a week, plus 1-2 hours listening-reading actively a week. So 2.5 hours plus 2 = 4 hours of active study a week. Sometimes more like 8-10 if I got really into reading something or Listening-reading to several chapters. Then after that (very easy to fit into my life 4-10 hours per week of study) I just play the audiobook whenever I have downtime at work (that’s usually 0.5-4 hours where I just let it play because I forget its on while working on spreadsheets, updates, emails, etc, or play the audiobook while messing around on the internet in my free time at home, sometimes I put on music instead), while walking so 15-30 minutes maybe 3 days a week, while driving far so maybe 20 minutes - 2 hours per week. maybe lets say 2 hours*4 days a week (I don’t remember to listen every day) so 8 hours random listening+1.5 hours walking+1 hour driving per week. That’s 11.5 hours listening in the background or paying attention plus lets say 4 hours of active study a week. So 15.5 ‘study’ hours for chinese per week - an average overall of ~2.21 hours of chinese ‘study’ per day. This isn’t counting when I get into weibo and goof off, get into some chinese show with no english subs and just start watching it (I watched 16 episodes of Humans cdrama in August which is ~10.66 hours for a total of at least (15.5*4 weeks = 62 hours + 10.66 hours -> ~72.66 hours spent ‘with chinese’ in August at minimum. 4 weeks*7 days = 28, so over around 28 days or most of august I did 72.66 total hours/28 days -> or ~2.595 hours of chinese per day as an average. So... my guess that I spend at least 1-2 hours on chinese per day as the average was a decent guess. Looks like I’m usually 2 hours to 2.5 hours daily as an overall average. It’s not that hard to get in that much without a ton of time in the day once you get some listening skills built up ToT Deciding to build up my listening skills has been one of the funnest goals in chinese so far.

Notes on Listening Reading Actively - it also doubles as increasing your exposure to listening to your target language, and the more hours the better even if its passive in the background, just more hours adding up toward your mind getting a better ability to parse the sounds of the language is going to help your overall listening comprehension in general. So even if you don’t pay attention much and can’t follow the whole plot and only catch certain scenes, you will be improving at least comprehension of: hearing words you know, hearing colocations and common phrases and recognizing more automatically which will help with speaking/writing indirectly and reading recognition of those things, overall ability to hear things correctly in different combinations and getting used to the common combinations. 

You will be surprised how much more you can pick up of plot and details the 3rd listen compared to the first, the 5th listen, the 10th listen. It’s wild. Like... I’m listening to the 2ha audiobook and even having never read it in chinese, just knowing basic context, the 2nd read through I caught so much more of the plot throughout just because I had forewarning of when scenes change a lot, what audio plays during some parts I recognized in previous listens, and so I have more focus for figuring out the new details I missed. Whereas the first listen, I didn’t always know WHAT the scene context was until I heard a familiar line or description I remembered from the english version of the scene, but on a second listen I now have a better guess at the scene the lines are probably taking place in before and after those lines I recognized in the first listen. And this continues etc each time you re-listen to something. (So yes, that initial context of knowing what you’re listening to with a previous read of its translation or target language transcript will definitely speed up comprehension pick up - but if you just wanna test what your basic listening comprehension to new content is then it works fine just going into new audio with no prior context its just more difficult at first lol until you build an idea of the context from listening).

The original Listening-Reading Method person did like 40+ hours a week, 8 hours most days, no wonder they made fast progress! They often included reading in some form (hence the name) and later translation, so they also were constantly working on listening AND some reading skills AND eventually often some speaking/writing skills. Doing it my way results in mostly listening comprehension of stuff you could already read to a degree, more automaticity in recognition, and for picking up new vocabulary both in listening and reading. I do extra reading on the side with other stuff to get more reading practice in an isolated way (since I’m trying to push my reading speed up above speaking speed). I always try to do it the way the creator originally intended, but I am not able to focus on things for more than 20 minutes at a time, 40 to a couple hours if I take a break every 20 minutes. So doing it 8 hours just doesn’t work out. 

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I’m fairly happy!

I am on plan for my main goals that started this style study plan: 

1. Improving my reading level to get to start being able to extensively read actual danmei novels - we got there! I am at a reading level appropriate for SaYe at 98% comprehension when I checked, and at a bit above 95% comprehension for Guardian! I’m now continuing with that goal while adding on increasing reading Speed in general.

2. Improving listening skills so I have better automatic recognition of partly-known words from reading (working super well so far - I can tell because ability to watch cdramas in only chinese has improved noticeably and gotten much easier), and so I can start following the main plot and key details of audiobooks of things I’ve read before (working great for guardian, starting to work with other audiobooks provided I listen to the chapters a few times or several times if its brand new material I have no context for, however reading level matters and while things I have prior familiarity with are going very well - brand new materials are still quite challenging in that they require multiple listens for the full plot and several listens before I start picking up most non-plot-critical details).