#translations from chinese

[pandora-books]

"There is, in each man's heart, Chinese writing -- a secret script, a cryptic language…" -- from Translations from the Chinese by Christopher Morley.

[xinyuehui]

―I used to know two people, and your eyes reminded me of theirs. What happened to them? They disappeared.

Link Click: Bridon Arc · S3EP1

[accelactor]

Erik: Don’t worry Charles. As long as I am here, we will stand together even if the whole world is our enemy.

Charles: Thank you Erik, but may I ask why the whole world is our enemy?

Erik: Because I am here.

[s0rr3l]

i’ve jumped feet first into the hole of black myth wukong!!!

and also caved and drew an oc

this is Lǐyú (鲤鱼) meaning carp (uh but i found this through google translate so take that w/ a grain of salt)

carp are considered lucky in chinese culture - its what im basing their ‘powers’ on, they have good and bad luck

and guess who’s lucky enough to be pulled into bmw :)

also gave a name to the destined one since ‘destined one’ is a mouth full

name i picked for him is yēzi (椰子) which means coconut!! was looking up stone fruit and cocnuts re one of them, plus he was (presumably) born on flower fruit mountain, he might have been given a fruit name before being whisked away to train for his destiny

uh anyway not canon but i thought it was cute

massive shoutout to everyone in the black myth wukong/wukong x reader tag bcs y’all inspired me to draw my oc! wanted to join the fun so here i am

[linghxr]

Why you should watch 乘风破浪 and 披荆斩棘 to learn Chinese

What are these shows?

Both 披荆斩棘 and 乘风破浪 follow the same basic format: 30+ celebrity contestants, mostly actors and singers ages 30+, form teams and compete in singing and dancing over several rounds. Viewers vote on their favorite performances and contestants, and 1-3 contestants are eliminated each round. The top contestants form a temporary "group" and appear on a follow-up reality show.

Why you should watch

1. Exposure to different accents

Contestants come from all over the Chinese-speaking world: Dongbei, Sichuan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and even Malaysia. I can personally say that watching these shows has vastly improved my ability to understand the Hong Kong Mandarin accent.

2. Pop culture knowledge

Because the contestants are celebrities, you'll be introduced to dozens of famous actors, singers, etc. Also, you'll hear the many iconic songs that they cover. I've impressed several native speakers with my with knowledge of pop culture and music.

3. Branch out to new media

These shows serve as a gateway to Chinese music, movies, and TV. if you really like the contestants who are actors, you can check out their shows and movies. If you enjoy a certain song or like a contestant who's a singer, you can explore more music.

4. Casual and formal registers

You’ll get to hear casual, unscripted speech while watching the behind-the-scenes and rehearsal clips. But you’ll also get to hear more formal speech when they’re announcing rules and also from the MC who hosts the actual live performances.

5. Incredible talent

Also, you should watch for the awesome performances and general fun. I love seeing the contestants' friendships, and I’m also obsessed with the amazing sets. There are some incredibly talented performers on these shows, and I love getting to see them shine.

Where to watch

All seasons are free to watch on YouTube! Sometimes clips may be muted or missing, probably due to YouTube's restrictions. But the vast, vast majority is available, and when a clip is missing, you can usually do a separate search and find it. I also pay for a Mango TV subscription, which is $1.99 USD/month.

乘风破浪 full episode playlist links:

乘风破浪的姐姐1

乘风破浪的姐姐2

乘风破浪3

乘风2023

乘风2024

披荆斩棘 full episode playlist links:

披荆斩棘的哥哥1

披荆斩棘2

披荆斩棘3

披荆斩棘4

To help you get started, below is a YouTube playlist of my some of my favorite performances (5 per season, except for the most recent season of each). Cause why not! Also, below the cut I'll put more details along with direct links to my favorite performances.

And if you're a fellow fan emotionally preparing for the 披荆斩棘4 finale 🥲, feel free to message me and commiserate!

See similar posts: I watched all the Chinese idol survival shows so you don’t have to (but you should anyway) Tips for finding Chinese-language media you like

Sisters Who Make Waves

Chinese title: 乘风破浪的姐姐 (S1-2) / 乘风破浪 (S3) / 乘风 (S4-5) English title: Sisters Who Make Waves (S1-3) / Ride the Wind (S4-5) *I call it Sisters for short

This series is the original, having started in 2020. The focus was on female empowerment, particularly of women 30+. A lot of the celebrities had slowed down in their careers, and the show served as their reintroduction to audiences. While female empowerment is still a theme today, I do feel it has lessened in prominence.

Season 1

The original, iconic season. You can tell they had a limited budget and not a ton of space, but it doesn't detract at all thanks to the incredible talent and energy of the contestants. And they had no idea what a phenomenon the show was going to be! Many of my most rewatched performances come from the season.

得不到的爱情

大碗宽面

相爱后动物感伤

FLOW

新物种

Season 2

This season has a special place in my heart as the first one I watched! It's the only one I've seen twice (when it originally aired and rewatched with friends). Compared to season 1, you can definitely tell they had a bigger budget and started to refine the format. Also, some of my all-time favorite contestants are from this season.

现在不跳舞要干嘛

归零

快乐宝贝

给自己的歌

我

Season 3

This season was the first with the show's "modern" and fully-developed format, which remains to this day. For example, they started to include more complex sets and recruited more diverse contestants, such as dancers, an athlete, etc. Also, my favorite performance of the entire series, 雾里, is from this season.

雾里

梦中人

山海

孤独颂歌

有吗炒面

Season 4

This season was the first time I felt there wasn’t improvement over the previous season. I think the stage design took a step backward, and I didn't love the international focus. It was hard to identify my favorite performances because I didn't feel strongly about many. That being said, my friends and I still enjoyed this season.

从头

千里万里

下个，路口，见

归途有风

I'm Not Yours

Season 5

Though this season has already ended, I'm not done yet. I watch with friends, so we move at a slower pace. So far, it seems largely in line with season 4. I'll update this post after we finish.

Call Me By Fire

Chinese title: 披荆斩棘的哥哥 (S1) / 披荆斩棘 (S2-3) English title: Call Me By Fire *I call it Brothers as a nickname

A show about female empowerment gets a male spin off? Out of skepticism, I did not plan to check out this show when it premiered in 2021 (after Sisters S2). But at some point I changed my mind, mostly because I had to run out of other shows. Little did I know I would arguably become a more devoted fan of this show than the original!

Season 1

This season had too many iconic performances to count, and in particular, the Hong Kong contestants really took the world by storm. Due to scandals, they edited out 2 contestants (Huo Zun and Li Yundi), which admittedly does make for an awkward viewing experience at times, but you should totally watch anyway.

凄美地

MMA

飞云之下

达拉崩吧

如果还有明天

Season 2

Looking back, season 2 did not have as many stand out performances as season 1, but it does boast my favorite performances of the entire series, 新地球. It also features a fantastic group of contestants, probably my favorite overall cohort of the show.

新地球

袖手旁观

私人生活

理想

凤毛麟角

Season 3

This was the first season to air after I started watching, though I didn't watch it live because I was still on season 2. While it's probably impossible to top the iconic status of season 1, I think season 3 was an improvement over season 2 in terms of memorable performances. We also got the iconic 0713 (2007快乐男声全国13强) contestants.

行走的鱼

爱人错过

Joker

走麦田

有没有一首歌会让你想起我

Season 4

This season is sadly coming to an end, although I have not started the finale yet. I'll start this weekend and update this post in the future after I've had some time to gather my thoughts.

Now I have to go finish 披荆斩棘4 episode 11 so I can watch the finale. Bye!!!

[terrumdurak]

continuing mlp theme.. i'm very impressed by lbh abilities to affect other people dreams and find it a really useful skill - he can share any media without using the internet, that's so freaking awesome!

i think his world will enjoy this little gift

[wigglybunfish]

Good evening and please take these 5/2 human beans gently in your palms.

Hmm? Where are they from, you ask?

Why, it's the one and only Things That Bleed! Written by @ghostly-cabbage , @kkachis , and @artistfingers . In which it establishes the possibility of sometimes family being a child spy, a scary scary assassin, and an eldritch horror boy.

Recently went back for a ... I honestly lost count how many times I've re-read this story. It's a gift that just keeps on giving, sometimes I just like go back to get soaked in the Scenery of quiet and restless hotels and underground parking lots and long car rides. hohoho don't let these mundane elements deceive you >:)

One thing I like to imagine is the post-reveal relationship these three may have, when Alex and Yassen get comfortable around Danny's ghost form, how they might just sit around in some rundown motel figuring out the next course of action but like. With a fun-sized eldritch noodle spreaded out on the bedsheets. Draped over the TV. Curled up in the cool tub or mini fridge. Rolling and eeling under the bed. Letting Alex wear him like a scarf. Yeah... yeah.

I am not certain how soft and fluffy these three can be when they spend enough time (and experience some Horrors) together, so these may be a bit ooc. but, well. I had fun drawing and I have faith in them💪

----------

more info of the fic can be found @thingsthatbleedfic

[zishuge]

Sad Bonus:

Di Feisheng? The devil of Jinyuan Alliance, Di Feisheng? Don't you know it's because of him that my master has been missing for ten years? How could you be with someone like that? Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) | Ep. 13

[ruanbaijie]

谢谢你，成为我长夜中的……[一轮月。] Thank you for being, in my long night, a shining moon.

SNOWFALL 冰雪谣 (2024) 1.15

[twildflower]

og if you want it. Idk. Know how to read it. Wtv.

[easterndelights]

ライオンの隠れ家 Light of My Lion (2024) | EP 8

"The days we spent with Lion, I knew it wouldn't last long."

[faaun]

the way that diff languages sound r so fascinating they're all different and all so vivid

[fitzrove]

just when i thought it couldnt get better. dennis hupka confirmed todolf shipper HSJSKDKSKDK (i'm not joking btw). this is also the context for them putting their arms around each other on stage and dennis doing That lol

[thisonelikesaliens]

omg the scream i scrumpt

watch this MV!

(i may follow up with translations later today)

edit: rough translations under the cut:

對你的好 給你擁抱 Being good to you, holding you in my arms 被我圍繞 是否煩惱 Revolving around you, I know when you're troubled 無理取鬧 我也知道 And I know when you're trying to pick a fight 唯一祈禱 陪你到老 My only prayer is to grow old with you

不明白 不意外 這一切不能重來 I don't understand but I'm not surprised, that we don't get a do-over 不擁抱 不應該 別用說都能明白 I understand even without words, that we shouldn't hold each other 懷抱希望 只剩下無奈 Embracing hope, but only left with a sense of helplessness

要明白 這依賴 卻不是一種關懷 I understand this dependence is not a show of care 別期待 沒期待 期待剩一片空白 No more expectations, only emptiness remains 懷抱期望只剩下傷害 Embracing expectations, but only left with pain

未知的我們 未來的我們 We don't know what the future of "us" looks like 別再掙扎就會很愉快 Stop resisting and we will be happy 拋開了是非對錯 只想與你相愛 Throwing away the notions of right and wrong, I just want to be in love with you 我不會感到後悔 也不再徘徊 I won't regret and will stop wandering 擁有你的 未來 This future with you in it

要明白 這依賴 卻不是一種關懷 I understand this dependence is not a show of care 別期待 沒期待 期待剩一片空白 No more expectations, only emptiness remains 懷抱期望只剩下傷害 Embracing expectations, but only left with pain

未知的我們 未來的我們 We don't know what the future of "us" looks like 別再掙扎就會很愉快 Stop resisting and we will be happy 拋開了是非對錯 只想與你相愛 Throwing away the notions of right and wrong, I just want to be in love with you 我不會感到後悔 也不再徘徊 I won't regret and will stop wandering 擁有你的 未來 This future with you in it

是我偽裝自己獨自心澎湃 I'm putting on a mask, hiding the cresting waves in my heart 忍不住眼淚 轉過身不想讓你看清楚 Unable to hold back my tears, I turn around so you can't see 如果可以重來 想要對你說 If we can start over, I want to tell you 我 和你 永遠不分開 You and I will never be apart

現在你和我 未來你和我 You and I in the present and future 不用掙扎 已經很快樂 We don't need to struggle anymore, we're already happy

未知的我們 未來的我們 We don't know what the future of "us" looks like 別再掙扎就會很愉快 Stop resisting and we will be happy 拋開了是非對錯 只想與你相愛 Throwing away the notions of right and wrong, I just want to be in love with you 感到後悔 也不再徘徊 I won't regret and will stop wandering 擁有你的 未來 This future with you in it

[fishareglorious]

reading the latest chapter of the isokania elope to the americas fic and oh my god.

kakania got scammed by tennant im losing my shit giggling

IM LOSING MY SHIT EVEN MORE BOTH OF THEM GOT SCAMMED BY TENNANT TRYING TO BUY JEWELRY FOR EACH OTHER

[symphonyofsilence]

I was going to yell at people for accusing Jiang Cheng of being classist until I saw some people accusing Mu Qing of being classist...