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smutbunny119 · 4 years

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Cornered; Taeyong x Reader ft. Sungchan and Jaemin

Description: He was powerful, an idol with an established career, money, and a company that could brush this incident under the rug in 5 seconds flat. And what were you? A chubby college intern learning how to do makeup from the staff. You had no power. No power to make him leave you alone, no power to make him stop his insults. He hated you, but even worse, he wouldn’t leave you alone. Lee Taeyong was your worst nightmare. But could Sungchan, a young member of NCT be the one to save you? Or even more unexpected, Jaemin?

WARNING: Contains verbal and physical harassment, sexual harassment, bullying, degradation, non con, and smut, eventual fluff, hurt/comfort, yuh

Genre: Smut, Angst, fluff, hate to love, slow burn.

This is explicit, contains dark shit, and will contain non consensual sex. Reader beware. I do not condone these behaviors at all, it is simply for the story. If it makes you uncomfortable, do not read it.

Chapter One- Idol unleashed

You were dead set on becoming a makeup fx artist for a larger entertainment company. Hopefully big enough to make a living and be a real part of the industry before your late twenties. But for now, any offer would do considering you were a college student struggling to pay off her student loans and needed all the experience you could get. So when you got a partially paid internship offer at SM entertainment (14,000 won/hour on weekends) You said yes without hesitation, even though you had no interest in that type of makeup artistry. Credentials were credentials, and working at SM entertainment was great resume fluff.

When you first arrived at the SM stocking facility to receive a quick vetting from the older makeup artist supervisors, the eldest woman (who looked very chic), gave you a harsh look. “You understand that being a makeup artist of your age, 21, and working alongside idols your age, you are to have no verbal interactions with them that extend beyond professional exchange?” She asked, eyeing you up and down suspiciously. You were confused. Working on idols makeup? You didn’t realize you’d actually have to do idols makeup. You assumed it would all be intern shit like getting coffee and paperwork. You nodded tentatively.

Of course you had no desire to fuckin flirt it up with random k idols you were doing makeup on. You had never really been interested in kpop, although you listened to a couple girl groups here and there. You preferred international music, classical music, oh and you loved Frank Sinatra. Besides, you were not in the mood to be booted from your first internship ever on account of hitting on some fancy idol who wouldn’t look twice at you. No thanks, you had pride.

The makeup artist Senior nodded at you, satisfied with your response.”Alright, I’ll trust you young lady. We usually don’t hire unwed makeup artists on account of the risk, but your professors went on and on about your skills that we decided to bring you in to do some of the strobe makeup for NCT 2020. Understood?”

You nodded, feeling a bit giddy. This was actually going to be exciting.

That afternoon, you collected your supplies from you *official* SM makeup cubical. It was amazing products you were allowed to keep! High quality brushes, velvet foundation, BB cream, glitter in pots, shadows, tints... your dream. Still clutching the quality products in your shaking hands, you walked to the elevator which lead to the 8th floor- The floor you’d be doing 10 of the 23 NCT 2020 members makeup. You had to admit, although you were by no means an NCT fan, doing the makeup of such talented and handsome men would certainly be nerve wracking. You had the concept and instructions on a sheet of paper for each member’s makeup, and you had already memorized it~ Yuta was getting bright red eyeshadow on the very edges of his lids with Mimimal dewy makeup, Jaemin was getting subtle glitter on his under eyes with a brown shadow and natural lip tint- The only problem was, you didn’t know which member was which. You sighed. Oh well, you’d get the hang of it eventually. The elevator doors opened, and a heavy scent of setting spray, hairspray, sweat, hot lights, and a bunch of other smells flew into your face. You quickly exited the elevator into the room with a bunch of idols-23 to be exact- doing a variety of things. Getting their hair done, their makeup applied, changing their clothes (You quickly averted your eyes), and stretching. The minute you walked in though, everything went silent, and their eyes were fixated on you. Mixed expressions of confusion, annoyance, and fear on their faces. It took you a minute to realize that they must’ve not been used to younger women being their makeup artists, and assumed you were either a sasaeng... or confused rando.

The makeup senior woman quickly ran to the front of the room, grabbing you by the arm and yanking you towards the center. “Everyone, listen up. This is Y/L/N. She is a sophomore at Chengdu University of Arts, and will work for the next few months as a makeup artist. I understand you are not used to having college students work as your stylist, but she is very... gifted, and highly spoke of at her college. She has won several awards in the arts, and seeks to expand her portfolio. Thank you!”

You smiled curtly as the makeup Senior gave you a firm pat on the back. You looked around the room with a thin professional smile, nodding slightly to indicate respect and distance. Your eyes were briefly caught on one of the members, you weren’t sure who but he was looking at you very coldly, and began unpacking your supplies. You checked your member list hastily to find the first name on the list. “Sungchan.”

Looking up blankly, you scanned the room for some indication of a “Sungchan.” Realizing you had no clue who this could be, you walked up to a member who looked a bit younger than you with white hair, clearing your throat. The member looked up at you with a awkward smile. “Hello, sorry about this but would you mind directing me to the member who goes by ‘Sungchan?’ I’m not familiar entirely with memeber names yet.”

The idol looked back at you questioningly, before nodding. “Of course. He’s over there by the guy with medium brown hair on the vanity. I’m Jaemin, by the way.”

You nodded politely. “I will be doing your makeup as well Jaemin. I will return shortly.”

You walked quickly away from the idol, feeling your heart flutter slightly at the interaction. He was very handsome, with clear tan skin and a great canvas for dewy glittery makeup. He was gorgeous, and you couldn’t help but feel excited at the prospect of applying makeup to such a clean and fresh face.

Smack

You went crashing into a taller figure, stumbling as you crashed beside them. Instantly panic arose in your body, scrambling to your feet to help the person up. The minute you looked down at the person, your blood ran cold. It was him. The guy you had made awkward not-so-friendly eye contact with. Looking at his face, you were filled with a sense of uncomfortable dread. His narrowed cat like eyes were cold and black. He was gorgeous, easily the most beautiful person you had ever laid eyes on. With dark brown hair, pale smooth skin and an angular unreal face, you would already be intimidated enough to see his face in general. But he was glowering. Full on glaring at you, a look of pure contempt as he ignored you outstretched land, getting to his feet gracefully. Looking you up and down, the beautiful boy narrowed his eyes and leaned in menacingly. You took a step back, nearly tripping on your sneaker laces. “I’m so sorry sir, I didn’t mean to be so clumsy. My mistake.” You sputtered out meekly, bowing your head as you felt your face burn.

“Stop it.” You looked up as you heard his low gravely voice spit out the harsh words. You looked at him confusedly, tilting your head. The boy scoffed, leaning in once more.

“I honestly can’t believe the nerve. You walk in here, with your sloppy hideous clothes and pudgy body. You act as if you have never heard of us like some innocent little makeup artist. Cut the shit. Don’t ‘accidentally’ bump into me. Don’t look at me. Filthy sasaeng.”

You gawked at him. You? Sasaeng? You didn’t even know this boy’s name.

“Taeyong hyung, stop it.” You heard a voice from behind you and you turned around to see Jaemin, clearly concerned for the harsh words being spat at you.

The boy named Taeyong just glared back at Jaemin, eyes flicking between you and him. “Jaemin, zip it. Look at her. Fat little crazy fan girl who thought she’d get a chance with her favorite idol by stalking them. The nerve of her to come here looking like that. Dressed like this.” He made a disgusted face as you hung your head low. You weren’t the most confident in your looks, but you didn’t think you were hideous. You had always been a bit pudgy, but standards here were so strict. You liked your appearance.

The boy named Taeyong walked by you, shoulder knocking into the side of your arm as you scurried away from him towards the guy named sungchan. You were fighting back tears and embarrassment, and you pulled your hair hastily into pigtails before snapping on some latex gloves to keep your makeup sanitary. The guy in front of you, Sungchan, who had observed the whole thing (Everyone had), had a look of concern on his face.

Whipping out the medium beige foundation, you dabbed some of the glossy product onto you back of your glove with the brush. The guy named Sungchan looked at you expectantly, but you didn’t meet his gaze. You weren’t in the mood to be screamed and degraded again, so you wouldn’t take your chances. Dabbing a smooth hydrating toner onto the boy’s flawless complexion, you couldn’t help but feel a few tears slip out of your eyes. It was embarassing, but you were human. You had feelings, and self esteem. Well, you did have self esteem. Sungchan seemed to be concerned, or maybe he just thought you were weird.

“Hello, Y/L/N, I’m Sungchan. How old are you?” He asked kindly, bright smile on his face. You were shocked at the warm introduction, and returned his smile. “Nice to meet you, and I’m 19,” You replied, smoothing the product across his face. The boy’s smile widened, and he glanced at you in the mirror while you began to apply a light eyeshadow across his eyes. “So you’re my age then. Let’s speak informally then.” He responded, making you nearly drop your brush.

This idol wanted you to speak to him informally? Was he serious? You couldn’t help but blush at his friendly personality, and couldn’t keep a smile off your face as you continued applying the shadow. “Alright Sungchan, sounds great!”

***********

As you made your way down the list of idols, you found most were very kind to you. They were all stunning, and you found your eyes glued to their faces even when the makeup was finished. You did makeup for Yuta, who was so polite and courteous, Haechan, who was simply adorable, and the rest of the 6 idols. Including Jaemin, who chatted with you throughout the entire ordeal, complimenting your pink grubby sneakers, awkward hoodie over skirt with sweatpants outfit, and even you messy ponytail. You thought he was just trying to be nice after everything Taeyong said to you, but you still appreciated the gesture. After finishing the older boy’s makeup, there was only one more name on the list. Lee Taeyong. Your stomach lurched as you realized you would have to be near him, touch his face. As if he would even let you. Gulping dryly, you zipped up your products and snapped a new pair of latex gloves on. Your hair was tied back, you roughly put on a mask to minimize exposure to the idol. You didnt want him to stare at your face.

Walking curtly over to where he sat, you bowed politely before unpacking your makeup. Pushing on a pair of glasses to make your work as good as possible, you heard the idol’s chair push away from the desk. “Are you fucking with me?” He asked loudly, causing everyone in the room to glance his way, quieting instantly. “I don’t want this sasaeng’s sausage fingers anywhere near me.” He spat, making you cringe at his wordchoice. The guy you had done makeup on by the name Jaehyun sighed, leaning across the table. “Hyung, she’s a very quick makeup artist. You can request to have a different makeup Noona do your makeup next time.”

You gripped the brush tightly, anger and embarrassment searing through your body. You shouldn’t have to take this. This idol shouldn’t be talking to you this way. The idol scoffed and sat down loudly, causing your makeup bag to crash to the floor, colorful pallets clapping open, makeup spilling everywhere. You just stared at the colorful mess, feeling your face heat with anger. You couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down your cheeks as you picked up hundreds of dollars of beautiful, destroyed makeup. Makeup you would never be able to afford otherwise. You looked up through your teary eyes at the idol. He was smirking at you, arms crossed and legs spread in a entitled position. What a jerk.

Plopping the wrecked makeup onto the table, you yanked a plumping toner out of the side pocket, shaking some onto a face pack. You felt his eyes on yours. Luckily the mask hid your sniffly nose and quivering lip, but your read teary eyes were on clear display. “Take off the mask.”

His words cut through the once again quiet air. You heard someone across the room stand up from their chair. “Jaemin sit down.” You heard another voice say.

Taeyong looked up at you expectantly. “It’s rude to hide your face from your clients.” He said again, amusement across his face. You ripped the mask off your face, holding back more tears. Your face was undoubtedly puffy and red, not exactly the most flattering. You took the face pack out of the toner solution and lifted it to Taeyong’s flawless face, hiccuping still. He looked at you intensely, with an unreadable expression. “How old are you Noona?” Taeyong asked, and you nearly recoiled. Noona? You were six years younger than him. Was he insulting you? “19.” You replied sharply, ignoring his scoff. “I suppose you think I’m going to let you call me oppa.” He said, making a face to himself.

“I’d rather not.” You replied, dotting the makeup onto his skin. You felt a large hand grab your wrist, gripping it uncomfortably tight. “Cut the shit. You are younger than me.” He said, glaring up at you. You ripped your hand from his grip, slamming your makeup onto the table. “Do not touch me.” You said more harshly than you intended. Taeyong briefly had a look of shock on his face, and you could feel the tension in the room. “I will refer to you as Taeyong-Nim. If that is unsuitable I can do Taeyong Ssi instead.”

His face contorted into an expression of rage, and you resumed patting the product into his face. You were doing your best to ignore his gaze, but then you felt a hand on your stomach. you flinched back as the hand gabbed your lower belly, and you shrieked.

You heard loud laughter from him, and you looked up in horror. “Holy shit your stomach is so fat. What the fuck you are fucking chubby as fuck.” You sat there, face numb and body shaking. He had touched your stomach. “God i hate fat and ugly bitches, you are fucking disgusting.” You felt tears finally stream down your cheeks. You couldn’t do this. “Taeyong hyung that’s enough!” Someone yelled across the room and you looked up to see Jaemin running across. He put a hand around your shoulder and lifted you off the ground carefully. You were grateful he was defending you, but you honestly were too scared to thank him. Taeyong took a step towards you, eyes dark and angry. “Stay out of this Jaemin,” He iced, hands clenched tightly into fists. Jaemin didn’t budge.

“Taeyong Hyung please. I really think it’s enough.” Jaehyun spoke to Taeyong over his shoulder, and finally Taeyong clenched his jaw, turning away from you. He stood up, stretched, and peeled off his shirt, letting it fall to the ground. He turned to you and walked past, unclothed shoulder bumping into yours as he passed. He was going to get changed for the show.

Originally posted by haechan

******

The next few days were... hell. From harsh remarks, from Taeyong’s aggressive attitude which was solely reserved for you. It seemed never ending. In addition, Taeyong had begun encouraging you to do his makeup as opposed to avoiding you. Constant insults on your work, appearance, outfit choice, weight.

At night you had nightmares about the pretty boy insulting you, yelling at you. His harsh words and insults seemed never ending.

The following day you walked into work early, hair pulled back in two sleek pigtails and faint pink makeup applied. You were to attend a special party later that night, so you had a fluffy baby pink sweater on with a short white tennis skirt, pink floral necklace, and adorable espadrilles. You may not have looked sexy, but you certainly look adorable. Your older brother had commented on how you looked precious when you FaceTimed him. When you walked into the near empty room you plopped your products onto Taeyong’s makeup table, collapsing onto the chair with exhaustion. It was only 4 AM, and work didnt start for another 2 hours. You tried to focus on staying alert, but before you knew it you were out cold.

You woke up to find a figure standing over you in the chair. You were groggily aware of your surroundings, and noticed the “5:36″ time on the wall clock. Snapping to your senses, you nearly tripped out of the chair when you realized the figure standing over the chair was Taeyong.

“I knew it.” His voice was like ice, and the only light shining behind him in the room made him a shadow, unable to make out any of the features on his face. As he stepped closer and his face came into the light it was like a villain coming out of the shadows. Pure terror clutched your body as you shuffled away from the intimidating figure frantically. Leaning down towards you, you saw the coldness on his expression. The blank gaze that lay behind those beautiful, horrible eyes.

“Stop it Taeyong, that’s enough!” You yelled, trying to push yourself off the ground. Taeyong laughed coldly at your pathetic state, and you felt his large hands shoved you back into the wall painfully. “Dropping honorifics, are we?” He asked, pacing back in forth like a predator. You attempted to run to the door but his hand intercepted you, shoving you back again. “No. You came here early just to rub yourself all over my chair. You really do want me, don’t you you ugly bitch?” He asked, a combination of disgust and crazed amusement on his face.

“I was tired!” You nearly screamed, shoving him back with just as much force. His lips curled with disgust as he continued glaring at you. “I don’t buy that shit. I’ve known enough sasaengs in my life to recognize one.”

You glared back at him. “Taeyong, leave me the fuck alone. I’m done putting up with your unprofessional behavior. I have no interest in your childish games, and I refuse to do your makeup any more.”

Taeyong’s eyes widened in shock for a brief second, and then it was replaced with rage. But you were done. You walked up to your makeup bag to move your stuff over to Doyoung’s desk. He was your first client for today, now that Taeyong was no longer- “You have no right to refuse me.”

Your blood ran cold as those words came from directly behind you, and before you could whirr around you felt yourself harshly pressed into the vanity in front of you, large hand shoving you. You screeched, kicking back to break from Taeyong’s hands, but he was a much stronger than you. “You are nothing, you ugly slut! If I tell you you’re doing my fucking makeup, you’re doing it!” He was full on yelling, and you could barely breathe under his crushing hold.

“T-Taeyong Ssi, st-” You croaked out, shoving him back. He flipped you over, anger and derangement flooding his eyes, You felt his hand wrap around your neck, and you began to gasp as it tightened. He was strangling you, you couldn’t breathe. What the fuck was this psycho thinking? You faintly heard a clinking sound, the clinking of a belt. Your stomach filled with dread as you realized what was happening. He wouldn’t.... would he? You thrashed harder. “Fucking bitch” You heard him say when you landed a kick to his thigh. In an instant you were thrown to the ground, and he was on top of you, straddling your torso. You fought with everything you had, screaming and crying with everything in you. He was so much stronger and taller than you, and you had no defense against him. “Stop, stop stop!” You sobbed, hitting him on the chest, only to have your wrists pinned over your head. Taeyong leaned over so his face was directly above yours. Those dark, soulless, empty burning eyes. Cutting into you. Looking at your fear, your pain, smiling. With his free hand he undid his jeans, eyes never breaking contact with yours. You felt your skirt being hiked up, and you underwear was ripped from your body. You cried harder, begging someone to help you. Taeyong swallowed your cries with a violent kiss, tongue fucking into your mouth painfully. You couldn’t breath. You couldn’t see anything but those eyes, those dark eyes you had thought were so beautiful.

He shoved into you agressivly, fucking into you with violence and anger. Ripping your comfort, your happiness, your freedom away from you. With every painful thrust, your tears came faster. His kiss was bruising, and his lower body’s connection with yours was stretching, painful and cruel. It felt like it lasted for hours, when finally his thrusts became sloppy, uneven. He began moaning, placing a hand around your throat as his grip around your wrists became tighter. You were drooling, tears spilling out and eyes glazed over just hoping for it to end. You couldn’t think, not with him hurting you over and over and over. He let out one final breathy moan and came deeply within you, head throne back and semen spilling out onto the floor. When he finally released you from his iron grip and pulled out of you, you heard him utter “Show you your place fucking bitch,” Before neatly buckling his belt and walking away. As he walked out, he bumped into Sungchan, who said, “Whoa dude, why are you all sweaty and shit?”

Taeyong didn’t reply, only walking out. When Sungchan walked over to his vanity, he heard raspy breathing from across the room and walked behind Taeyong’s vanity. There you were, lying on the ground, skirt hiked over your hips, neck bruised and purple, drooling with blood and cum dripping out of you onto the floor. Sungchan paled, covering his mouth from shock. Rushing to your side, his hands hovered over your body, confusion and fear on his face. Your eyes fluttered open to meet his, and you rasped out, “T-Taeyong. He f-forced himself inside me and wouldn’t stop. I t-tried to stop him.” You could barely get out the words. Sungchan was as white as paper, and he grabbed a cloth off the table, hastily cleaning your thighs and skirt. “I’m so sorry Y/N, I never would’ve guessed he would ra-... do this.” Sungchan looked sick.

You looked up at Sungchan, feeling sick to your stomach. You didn’t deserve to be treated like this, you were not a piece of meet, or a punching back, or a fucking flesh light. You were a human being, and you were not going to let Taeyong ruin your career, let alone your life. Gripping Sungchan’s face with a cupped hand, you spoke softly. “I have no intention of quitting. And no intention of submitting to Taeyong’s cruelty.

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bookofjin · 3 years

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Rise of Sixteen States: 300

(Zhao Xin rebels)

7 February 300 – 25 January 301

(Jin's 1st Year of Yongkang)

Summer, 4thMonth, guisi [7 May], the King of Liang, Rong, and the King of Zhao, Lun, falsely decreed the demotion of Empress Jia to be a commoner. The Minister of Works, Zhang Hua, and the Supervisor of the Masters of Writing, Pei Wei, were both murdered. Palace Attendant Jia Mi and his faction with several tens of people were all executed.

On jiawu,[8 May], Lun falsely decreed a great amnesty, himself to be Chancellor of the State and Commander-in-Chief of All Armies in the Centre and Outside and like Xuan and Wen assisted in the old affairs of Wei.

(Li Te)

1stYear of Yongkang [300 AD], a decree summoned the Inspector of Yi, province, Zhao Xin, to become Great Prolonger of Autumn, and moved the Interior Clerk of Chengdu, Geng Teng, to be Inspector of Yi province and General of Smashing Charges, and follow the clothes and pendants worn by Xin. Xin was Empress Jia's relative by marriage, and when he heard the summons was very afraid.

Earlier, Xin considered Jin's government to be declining, and the Stars of Zhao's Yellow Divinations said “The one whose star is yellow will be King.” Xin thereupon secretly held close disloyal plans and had aspirations of the Liu clan for cutting away and occupying. The lands of Shu had defiles on all sides, and could be used to secure oneself. He therefore poured out the granary stores, to succour and provide for the drifting people, and so gather the heart of the multitudes. Li Te's partisans and kind were all people of Baxi, they and Xin were of the same commandery, and they led many brave and strong. Xin treated them lavishly and considered them as claws and teeth. For that reason Te and others assembled a multitude, and concentrated on robbing and thieving. The people of Shu suffered from them.

Teng several times covertly petitioned:

The drifting people are tough and simple minded, and the people of Shu are weak and timid. Guest and host being unable to regulate each other will surely be the base for chaos. [We] ought to move them back to their original lands. [If we] do not, grant them the narrow passes of the eastern three commanderies. Observe their feelings and attitudes, and do not gradually allow it to grow, otherwise [I] fear the calamities of Qin and Yong will collect in Liang# and Yi.

He also told:

The granaries and storehouses are empty and exhausted, they have nothing with which to respond to the urgencies of spear-points of and arrowheads. Certainly this will add to the sagely court's worries over western concerns.

Xin heard and detested him.

(According to HYGZ2, the “eastern three commanderies” refers to Weixing, Shangyong, and Xincheng, located east of Hanzhong.)

At the time Chengdu was seated in the lesser city, and Yi province was seated in the greater city. Xin was still in the greater city and had not yet departed. The province had received the written decree, and had already dispatched civil and military officials, more than a thousand people, to go and welcome Teng. Teng, since Xin and not yet set out from the province, was at the commandery. Xin summoned Li Xiang's partisans Luo An, Wang Li, and others to take Teng by force, and kill those who had passed on the decree. They where greatly defeated at Xuanhua precinct in Guanghan.

Teng discussed his intention to enter the provincial city. The Board of Merit [official] Chen Xun remonstrated, saying:

Now province and commandery both administer troops, the enmity and discord is deepening daily. To enter the city will surely be a great disaster, It is not as good as calmly lodging in the lesser city, to observe their alterations, and call to arms the various counties to combine villages for protection, and so prepare against the Di of Qin. Chen of the Western Yi is going to arrive, [we] should wait for him. If [we] do not, [we] can withdraw to stay in Jianwei, and go west and cross at Jiangyuan to forestall irregularities.

Teng did not follow.

Winter, 12thMonth [28 December 300 – 25 January 301], Teng led the multitudes to enter the province, and ascend the western gate. Xin dispatched a close intimate, Dai Mao, to attack Teng. Mao told him and then left. Xin again dispatched troops to chastise Teng. Teng's army was defeated, he threw himself off the lesser city and died.

A functionary, Zuo Xiong, carried Teng's son Qi, and relied on a commoner, Song Ning, to hide them. Xin offered as reward a thousand gold, but Ning did not set out. Xin soon after was defeated, and he managed to escape.

The commandery functionaries all ran away and fled, only Chen Xun bound himself and went to Xin, requesting mourning for Teng's death. Xin [found him] right-principled and did not kill him. Xun and a Board of Households official, Chang Chang, together prepared the coffin and tomb, and buried him.

Xin again dispatched troops to confront the Colonel of the Western Yi, Chen Zong. Zong arrived at Jiangyang, and heard Xin had disloyal aspirations. The Master of Accounts, Zhao Mo, advanced to say:

Now province and commandery, are not in concord, surely this will birth a great disaster. However by taking quick action, our office have troops of critical importance. Assist the compliant and chastise the disobedient, and nothing will happen.

Zong increasingly clung to the road, slowing and halting. Hence when he arrived at Yufu Ford in Nan'an, he and Xin's army met each other. Mo made clear to Zong:

Scatter wealth and goods, and recruit soldiers to resist in battle. If we overcome the provincial army, then the province can be gained. If we do not overcome, follow the currents and withdraw, there surely will be no harm.

Zong was not able to again, and said:

Zhao of Yi province was furious at Marquis Geng, and for that reason killed him. He and I have no enmity, how could it be like this?

Mo said:

Now when the province has launched an affair, they surely will establish dominance. Even if we do not fight, we will have no gains.

He talked until tears flowed down. Zong did not listen, and the multitudes slackened. Zong escaped into the grass. Mo put on Zong's clothes, and grappled and fought. Xin's troops killed Mo, and saw he was not Zong, they then searched and looked for Zong, and killed him.

(JS004: 12thMonth [28 December 300 – 25 January 301], a broom star seen in the east. The Inspector of Yi province, Zhao Xin, and Li Xiang, a drifting person of Luoyang [sic], murdered the Interior Clerk of Chengdu, Geng Sheng, the Grand Warden of Jianwei, Li Mi, the Grand Warden of Minshan, Hou Gu, and the Colonel of the Western Yi, Chen Zong. They seized Chengdu in rebellion.)

Xin declared himself Great Commander-in-Chief, Great General, and Shepherd of Yi province. He used the Prefect of Wuyang, Du Shu of Shu commandery, the Separate Carriage Zhang Can, Zhang Gui of Baxi, the Marshal of the Western Yi, Gong Ni, the Prefect of Jiangyuan, Fei Yuan of Jianwei and others as Senior Clerks of Left and Right, Marshal, and Army Advisors. He moved the Grand Warden of Jianwei, Li Xiang, to be General who Daunts the Bandits. He summoned the Prefect of Linqiong, Xu Yan of Fuling, to be Commander of the Serrated Gates. He summoned the various kingly officials, and nobody dared not to go. He also used the Grand Warden of Guanghan, Zhang Wei, the Grand Warden of Minshan, Yang Bin, and the Prefect of Chengdu, Fei Li, as Army Libationers.

At the time Xiang, his younger brothers Liu and Xiang#, his brother-in-law Li Han, Ren Hui of Tianshui, Shangguan Jing [also of Tianshui], Li Pan of Fufeng, Fei Tuo of Shiping, the Di [leaders] Fu Cheng, Wei Bo, Dong Sheng, and others were at the northern gate with 4 000 cavalry.

Xin sent Xiang to block the northern road. Xiang had long standing as Good Commander of Eastern Qiang and was aware of army deployment. He did not employ banners and flag, but raised a lance to make them move in squads. He beheaded people among his section subordinates who had not followed instructions, and the section columns became respectful. Xin detested his uniform orderliness, and wished to kill him but had not yet talked about it.

Senior Clerk Du Shu and Marshal Zhang Can talked to Xin, saying:

The Transmittals state “the Five Greats do not stay at the border”. The General raising troops has begun this way, readily dispatching Li Xiang to hold strong troops at the outside, [I] humbly venture to be puzzled by it. Moreover he is not of our kin and kind, and his heart is surely different. To turn around the halberd and hand it over to [another] person, [I] venture is not possible, and desire the General plan for it.

Xin with composed features said:

The Dignitaries' words precisely fit my thoughts, and can be spoken of as “The one who raised me up is Shang.” This is Heaven sending the Dignitaries to complete my affairs.

(Du Shu is quoting the Zuo zhuan, and Zhao Xin the Analects.)

It happened that Xiang was at the gates, and requested to see Xin. Xin was greatly pleased, and pulled in Xiang to see him. Xiang wished to observe Xin's thoughts and aims, and bowed twice, advanced and said:

Now the Central States are in great chaos, and are again without mainstays and support-ropes. The house of Jin will not be able to flourish again. Your Enlightened Excellency's Way puts together Heaven and Earth, your potency is delimiting their eaves. The affairs of Tang and Wu are truly happening in the present. [You] ought to respond to the Heaven-given time, obey the hearts of the people, help the hundred families among the mud and soot, and cause the beings' feelings to know where to revert to. Then Under Heaven can be settled, not only Yong# and Shu and that is all.

Xin angrily said:

How are these proper words for a subject!

He ordered Shu and others to debate it. Hence Shu and others sent up that Xiang was greatly disobedient and did not follow the Way. Xin therefore killed him, and his sons, nephews and clansmen, more than thirty people.

(HYGZ08: Xiang recommended he declare the great title of Han. Xiang's section subordinates were unrestrained and agitated, Xin and others were hostile to him. Thereupon at a meeting they beheaded Xiang, and his older brother's son Hong and others, more than ten people.)

Xin worried Te and others would make difficulties, and dispatched a person to explain to them saying:

Xiang had improper words, and the response to his crime reached death. It does not extend to his brothers.

He also instructed them to be supervising commanders, and to calm and comfort their multitudes, and returned to Te Xiang's body. That night, Te and Liu thoroughly dispersed the multitudes and returned to Mianzhu. Xin dispatched the former Prefect of Yinping, Zhang Heng, Sheng Qian, and Fei Shu to go and soothe and take them in. All were killed by Te.

The Commander of the Serrated Gates, Xu Yan, sought to be Army Overseer of Badong. Du Shu and Zhang Can firmly held it was not allowable. Yan was angry, and at the provincial postern gate, blade in hand, killed Shu and Can. Shu and Can's left and right then killed Yan. All were Xin's belly and heart.

Li Xiang, courtesy name Xuanxu, was Te's third younger brother. As young he gained a reputation due to his ardent spirit. He served the commandery as Supervisor of Couriers and Master of Accounts, in both cases he was commended by the officials. 4thYear of Yongkang [294 AD], he was examined as Filial and Upright, but did not go. Later, since he was good at riding and shooting, he was recommended as Good Commander, but likewise did not go.

The province considered Xiang's talents to combine both the civil and martial, and recommended him as Flowering Marvel. He firmly refused due to illness. Province and commandery did not listen, and so his name was sent up and made known. The Army Protector of the Centre urgently summoned him, he could not avoid and responded to it. He was designated Cavalry Supervisor of the Centre Army. With bow and horse he was practised and nimble, his bodily strength was beyond other people. At the time opinion compared him to Wen Yang.

Since Luoyang was soon to be in chaos, he claimed illness and left office. He by nature was dutiful and gallant, and fond of helping people with their difficulties. The province's factions strove to adhere to him.

He and the drifting people of the Six Commanderies escaped from difficulties to Liang# and Yi. On the roads and paths there were those who were straving or ill. Xiang regularly kept watch over and protected them, and grieved and cared for them. He aided and provided for the destitute and poor, and greatly gathered the hearts of the multitudes.

When he arrived in Shu, Zhao Xin deeply esteemed him. He discussed the principles of war with him, nothing he did not praise as good. Always when speaking about him to his friends, he said:

Li Xuanxu is perhaps the Guan and Zhang of these times.

When he was about to have disloyal aspirations, he entrusted him with duties of heart and spine, and therefore petitioned for Xiang to be Supervisor of Private Troops. He sent him to summoned and unite the strong and brave of the Six Commanderies, they reached more than ten thousand people.

Due to his merit in chastising rebellious Qiang, he petitioned for Qiang to be General who Daunts the Bandits, to make use of red banners and curved canopy, be ennobled Marquis of Yangquan Precinct, and be bestowed a million cash and fifty-four horses. On the day of his execution, nobody among the gentlemen and myriads of the Six Commanderies did not fell tears for him. At the time he was aged fifty-five.

#r16s

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fyexo · 4 years

Text

200806 LAY's Track-by-Track Breakdown of New Album, 'Lit'

As I continue in my music career, I've wanted to challenge myself more and think about what this new album means to me as an artist. I've realized that I wanted to create something that told my life's story, but also mixed in and talked about the complex things of life. I also wanted to stay true to my culture and show how diverse M-Pop is through combining and mixing different sounds and vibes. M-Pop is a movement that I hope to grow as more people participate in improving it. Many people aren't familiar with M-Pop yet, but my definition of M-pop is songs that mix Mandarin and English or other languages into the lyrics — while putting together ancient elements like legends and folktales with contemporary topics. In my life and career, I've explored all different types of music from traditional Chinese music, to K-Pop, to J-Pop, to R&B and more. Learning and performing all these different genres inspired me to try to bring the world closer through music and promote a message of peace and love with no boundaries. I want to make beautiful fusions and showcase Chinese culture to the world to let them know we have great artists and that we are about peace, love and respecting all cultures. This album is a mixture of hip-hop, reggaeton and trap with a blend of Chinese and modern influences. It features the "Changsha" dialect of my hometown. We included Beijing opera elements, as well as Chinese instruments like percussion, Hulusi (gourd flute) and guzheng (zither). I'd like to express and showcase Chinese culture to the world and make a way for other Chinese artists to follow suit. I like to reimagine myself as the reincarnation of Xiang Yu, and if I was him in my past life then I have to use all my strength in this life to change my fate. With each song on Lit, I hope to show how these deep feelings can be presented through the cultural fusion that is M-Pop. "Lit" I wrote this song for those who have been made fun of or belittled because of their dreams, including myself. I believe that everyone has their own guardian spirit and in the music video, the dragon represents my aspirations. So, I truly think that if you have something you want to go after, you should definitely go for it because even though you don't become a "dragon," at least you know what it takes. "Jade" When I was working on the song with Murda Beatz, I had a Hulusi [gourd flute] and just thought about adding it to the beat. We wanted to make the song about a woman and that's when I thought about naming the song "Jade." You know how other countries have diamonds? In Chinese culture, we have jades instead. This got me thinking about the story of Xiang Yu and his love, Concubine Yu, which I added verses from "Peking Opera" Farewell My Concubine, to tell their tragic story. "Eagle" In China, there are two rulers of the sky: The sun and the eagle. So, in the lyric where I sing, "When it's just me and the sun up the sky/ there's nowhere for those sly hares to hide," I'm thinking about Xiang Yu at his peak dominating; feeling undefeated and full of ambition. "H2O" I had this sudden idea that I wanted to create something really different, so I added a couple of Chinese instruments to the mix such as the guzheng [Chinese zither], traditional percussion and Hulusi. I swapped out the drum track I made in the original demo for this song with the new one I made and added a few changes. "Fly" We put a few sample Chinese percussion sounds into a keyboard, added a bunch of reverbs and some effects to create a whole new feel. When you do that, it creates new percussion sounds. This is about letting go and being in a free state because all I can do is fly. "Soul" This is the last song of the first half of the album that transitions into the next song, "Changsha." After reincarnating, you come back to Changsha (my hometown where I was born) as a child and reborn again after meeting your mother. The song is quite spiritual and is different from the others. Even without a topline over it, I really liked it a lot when I first heard the beat. "Changsha" I received the honor of collaborating with Grammy-winning producer Scott Storch on the track's composition and arrangement. The lyrics were written by my friends Kungfu-Pen from my hometown, PISSY from Chengdu, and myself. We chose to write in Mandarin and in the Changsha dialect since it is about my hometown, and also added some English. To open up the composition, there is a really light melody in the Chinese flute. This song, out of all of the songs in the album, is probably the most driving song that became a huge motivator for me. This is why I wanted it to be the lead single for the second part of the album as it's very special to me. "Mama" I would call this song M-Pop since there are lots of traditional instruments that have a very Chinese, pan-Asian influence. My mother is from Changsha where there is the Xiang River and, to me, flutes represent flowing water. This song is based on the culture of Chinese families with the upbringing of their children, and their love for them. This is the initial theme I went for in this song. In the end where I sing in English, "Let me fly, fly away," this sums up how Chinese parents may want to protect their kids, but this also stops them from dreaming. "Boom" The core of this song has a very Latin and reggaeton vibe, and I wanted it to be a pre-single for the second part of the album to show the versatility in my music. Unfortunately, I do not know any Latin artists and wished I could have added some Spanish lyrics to it. When I get the chance, I hope to learn Spanish so I can make M-Pop more diverse to bring all fans closer together through this music. "Call My Name" I wanted to make this song really interesting where it's kind of like a R&B song that has hip-hop in it and puts together Chinese and English lyrics. Then for the theme, it's a call for love — let's say you like someone, but you can't be together with that someone due to circumstances. "Late Night" I'm talking about my fights with self-doubt and complicated feelings of not knowing whether or not I am on the right path. I'm currently in the process of achieving my goals, dreams and ideals, but I feel like I'm also losing my way. Stylistically, I still define this song as M-Pop. But I also wanted to blend different elements of EDM, R&B,and hip-hop. This is something that will keep maturing within myself when making music. "Wish" This is about unspoken love, but it's also a very sad story. It's like even though the text you've edited over and over again was never sent to the person you love, you know what's going to happen if you do actually send it, so you just accept how it is. What is this wish for? Well, it's for none of this to come true, that you never told that person via text, "I love you."

Lay Zhang @ Paper Magazine

#exo #lay #t: interview #album: lit

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happyzyx · 4 years

Text

LAY's Track-by-Track Breakdown of New Album, 'Lit'

M-Pop is a movement that I hope to grow as more people participate in improving it. Many people aren't familiar with M-Pop yet, but my definition of M-pop is songs that mix Mandarin and English or other languages into the lyrics — while putting together ancient elements like legends and folktales with contemporary topics.

In my life and career, I've explored all different types of music from traditional Chinese music, to K-Pop, to J-Pop, to R&B and more. Learning and performing all these different genres inspired me to try to bring the world closer through music and promote a message of peace and love with no boundaries. I want to make beautiful fusions and showcase Chinese culture to the world to let them know we have great artists and that we are about peace, love and respecting all cultures.

This album is a mixture of hip-hop, reggaeton and trap with a blend of Chinese and modern influences. It features the "Changsha" dialect of my hometown. We included Beijing opera elements, as well as Chinese instruments like percussion, Hulusi (gourd flute) and guzheng (zither). I'd like to express and showcase Chinese culture to the world and make a way for other Chinese artists to follow suit.

I like to reimagine myself as the reincarnation of Xiang Yu, and if I was him in my past life then I have to use all my strength in this life to change my fate. With each song on Lit, I hope to show how these deep feelings can be presented through the cultural fusion that is M-Pop.

by Lay Zhang for Paper Magazine

"Lit"

I wrote this song for those who have been made fun of or belittled because of their dreams, including myself. I believe that everyone has their own guardian spirit and in the music video, the dragon represents my aspirations. So, I truly think that if you have something you want to go after, you should definitely go for it because even though you don't become a "dragon," at least you know what it takes.

"Jade"

When I was working on the song with Murda Beatz, I had a Hulusi [gourd flute] and just thought about adding it to the beat. We wanted to make the song about a woman and that's when I thought about naming the song "Jade." You know how other countries have diamonds? In Chinese culture, we have jades instead. This got me thinking about the story of Xiang Yu and his love, Concubine Yu, which I added verses from "Peking Opera" Farewell My Concubine, to tell their tragic story.

"Eagle"

In China, there are two rulers of the sky: The sun and the eagle. So, in the lyric where I sing, "When it's just me and the sun up the sky/ there's nowhere for those sly hares to hide," I'm thinking about Xiang Yu at his peak dominating; feeling undefeated and full of ambition.

"H2O"

I had this sudden idea that I wanted to create something really different, so I added a couple of Chinese instruments to the mix such as the guzheng [Chinese zither], traditional percussion and Hulusi. I swapped out the drum track I made in the original demo for this song with the new one I made and added a few changes.

"Fly"

We put a few sample Chinese percussion sounds into a keyboard, added a bunch of reverbs and some effects to create a whole new feel. When you do that, it creates new percussion sounds. This is about letting go and being in a free state because all I can do is fly.

"Soul"

This is the last song of the first half of the album that transitions into the next song, "Changsha." After reincarnating, you come back to Changsha (my hometown where I was born) as a child and reborn again after meeting your mother. The song is quite spiritual and is different from the others. Even without a topline over it, I really liked it a lot when I first heard the beat.

"Changsha"

I received the honor of collaborating with Grammy-winning producer Scott Storch on the track's composition and arrangement. The lyrics were written by my friends Kungfu-Pen from my hometown, PISSY from Chengdu, and myself. We chose to write in Mandarin and in the Changsha dialect since it is about my hometown, and also added some English. To open up the composition, there is a really light melody in the Chinese flute. This song, out of all of the songs in the album, is probably the most driving song that became a huge motivator for me. This is why I wanted it to be the lead single for the second part of the album as it's very special to me.

"Mama"

I would call this song M-Pop since there are lots of traditional instruments that have a very Chinese, pan-Asian influence. My mother is from Changsha where there is the Xiang River and, to me, flutes represent flowing water. This song is based on the culture of Chinese families with the upbringing of their children, and their love for them. This is the initial theme I went for in this song. In the end where I sing in English, "Let me fly, fly away," this sums up how Chinese parents may want to protect their kids, but this also stops them from dreaming.

"Boom"

The core of this song has a very Latin and reggaeton vibe, and I wanted it to be a pre-single for the second part of the album to show the versatility in my music. Unfortunately, I do not know any Latin artists and wished I could have added some Spanish lyrics to it. When I get the chance, I hope to learn Spanish so I can make M-Pop more diverse to bring all fans closer together through this music.

"Call My Name"

I wanted to make this song really interesting where it's kind of like a R&B song that has hip-hop in it and puts together Chinese and English lyrics. Then for the theme, it's a call for love — let's say you like someone, but you can't be together with that someone due to circumstances.

"Late Night"

I'm talking about my fights with self-doubt and complicated feelings of not knowing whether or not I am on the right path. I'm currently in the process of achieving my goals, dreams and ideals, but I feel like I'm also losing my way. Stylistically, I still define this song as M-Pop. But I also wanted to blend different elements of EDM, R&B,and hip-hop. This is something that will keep maturing within myself when making music.

"Wish"

This is about unspoken love, but it's also a very sad story. It's like even though the text you've edited over and over again was never sent to the person you love, you know what's going to happen if you do actually send it, so you just accept how it is. What is this wish for? Well, it's for none of this to come true, that you never told that person via text, "I love you."

#long post #zhang yixing #yixing #lay #exo #p: article #omg please read this!!!!!!!!!!!!

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draechaeli · 4 years

Text

Weather, Mountains, and Distance in China as Applied to the Módào Zǔshī Universe

I am a Foreign Teacher living in China and have been doing so for the last eight school years. For five and a half years I lived in Shandong Province, the same province as LanlingJin and I was a three and a half hour drive north of LanlingJin; a two to three-hour drive east and a bit south of LaolingQin; and a five to six-hour drive east and a bit north of QingheNie. For the last two and a half years I have lived in Jiangsu Province (barely) just two and a bit hours southwest of LanlingJin. But Jiangsu is the province of GusuLan and I am six hours north and a bit west of them; and not that anyone cares about MolingSu, but I’m four hours north and bit west of them. I have also travelled to every province, region, and territory that China says is China and most of those in January and February during Spring Festival Holiday. So from this experience I am going to discuss Chinese weather and a few other things that relate to the MDZS universe.

This ended up being way longer than I thought it was going to be. It was written to be read straight through. But as I’m pretty sure I’m the only one that cares and it goes through my thought process on the topic I have labelled each section so you can scroll down until you see the subheading you are interested in.

My Introduction to MDZS

My friend, told me about MDZS and the Untamed like 1 November 2019. I was at first skeptical as I have seen lots of Chinese shows playing in bars, at restaurants, or on long bus trips (the latter being where I’ve sort of had to see entire episodes and films) and generally Chinese TV shows are low on plot and have the same set character archetypes (not the point of this post so feel free to disagree, but I’m not here to argue). So honestly I was skeptical, but November is National Novel Writing Month, so even if I wanted to I hadn’t had the time. I also knew that I was going to be seeing said friend in Cambodia during Spring Festival Holiday and we would watch it then. Prior to going to Cambodia, I travelled with my Chinese friend Dean for eight days, but then he had to return home to spend Spring Festival with his family and I continued in my travelling.

I told Dean about how my friend was going to make me watch the Untamed and how it was based on a book and how it despite restrictions is still pretty gay. Dean didn’t believe me, but a couple days at home with nothing to do and plenty of wifi, and he had watched the Untamed before I could even meet up with my other friend!

Cloud Recesses in the Untamed - Mountains and Canal Cities

So that first scene where you see Cloud Recesses, I was like: oh I know those mountains! And my friend said that most of the places were really in China and sent me this map. As I continued watching well I was mostly caught up in the story but the snow kept bothering me, but there was never snow that stayed on the ground in the Untamed so I forgot it quickly. At a later rewatch I thought the Cloud Recesses mountains looked a lot like the mountains at ZhangJiaJie (the floating mountains that were the model for Avatar) in Hunan further west of where GusuLan is situated. According to the Untamed Wikipedia page the filming was done in Hengdian World Studios and Guizhou (also pretty far west). I am however a fan of climbing mountains and have climbed a lot of mountains in China, so I could be remembering mountains wrong.

Where the questions came up was fanfiction. And I have never stopped reading a fic because they talked about a lot more snow then I had ever seen in the particular area of China. And Cloud Recesses having towering mountains as they depict from afar in both the live action and the donghua. When I’m watching the mountain is a back drop, but often fics make the mountains or snow part of the plot and it’s too late because I already think of Gusu being Suzhou a very famous canal city south of me and we get like once a year two cm of snow that lasts maybe two hours. And the translator’s note at the end of Refinement Part 1 says that Cloud Recesses got its name from a phrase of Jia Dao’s poem, not the height of the mountains.

In general, I know that a lot of English fic writers just didn’t know the weather in China or perhaps hadn’t seen the map that showed you where everything in China was situated. And were using context clues like the disciples of YunmengJiang laying topless on floorboards in the summer heat in the extras from the book or the snow seen in both the Untamed and MDZS the donghua. And I had brushed it off as artistic license the height of the mountain of Cloud Recesses bugged me and made me do research for my own personal piece of mind.

I will admit I have not been to Suzhou, I skipped it when I was being a tourist in Jiangsu Province as the internet said it was a big tourist spot and could be very crowded, so I chose to go to a different canal town. Then I moved to Xuzhou in Jiangsu. And in Chinese the biggest thing is said first so I would have to say in Chinese when asked where I was moving to or later where I lived: Jiangsu, Xuzhou. The other thing I didn’t know despite having studied Chinese in college, that I learned from Dean when I complained about this problem is that all Yu (Yu, Yue, Yun, Yuan) and Xu (Xu, Xue, Xun, Xuan) no matter the tone are pronounced with a umlaut on the u so: Yü, Yüe, Yün, Yüan, Xü, Xüe, Xün, and Xüan. So, despite the fact that I pronouncing (disregarding tone for the following examples, and written by use of correlating English words and names) Xuzhou as Shoe-joe every Chinese person thought I said Suzhou (which I would say as Sue-joe). So, I heard a lot of: “Suzhou?! It’s so beautiful! And with all the water!” never anything about mountains.

Now, Guilin, Guangxi is a city that is absolutely gorgeous and has a lot of mountains, there is one called the Solitary Beauty Peak (152m), which is literally a vaguely rectangular mountain, with very sheer faces (and steep stairs carved in to get to the top), in the middle of a very flat expanse (behind the yellow building in the picture - January 2014).

Which means that similar mountains could be in Suzhou. And Gusu was named after Gusu Mountain so I did an exhaustive search with multiple map apps, google, and baidu to find the mountains in Suzhou and their heights. In the end the mountains in Suzhou are not very tall.

Practical Experience with Snowfall in China

My first year in China my city got snow in December, maybe about 10 cms, but it was cold enough that it didn’t melt; and so we had snow for pretty much the whole winter with a sprinkling of a couple more cms added here and there. That year, I went to the Great Wall in the winter and signed up to go to Mutianyu a section of the wall pretty far from Beijing (north of all places in MDZS), but we couldn’t get to it due to snow, so we went to another section, Juyongguan, which wasn’t snowed out and it didn’t have too much snow on it maybe just a couple cms of snow built up in corners of steps and the like. That was the last time we really got snow that stayed. A few years later we got maybe a few cms but not a lot of snow. When I went to Sichuan (in 2014; where MeishanYu is) I remember leaving the Chengdu airport in a car and looking out the window to see snow dusted palm trees, something I had thought I really wouldn’t have ever seen, but that was probably the most snow that I had seen for that trip. The 12th edition of the China Lonely Planet book does state that the canals of Suzhou are very beautiful covered in snow in December. But based on how I’ve seen less snow further north than Suzhou makes me wonder how consistent it is.

Temperatures on Mountain Tops in China

I went to Ürümqi, Xinjiang the very tail end of June in 2019. July is the hottest time in Xinjiang and the temperature while I was there was generally about 30-45°C. One day I went to Tian Chi a lake in the Heavens Mountain (Tianshan) range, the lake is below the Peak of God (Bogeda Feng) that according to my Lonely Planet is a 5445m peak. Which now that I’m looking at the book, I know I hadn’t before going to Ürümqi, because the book says to bring warm clothing and I hadn’t. I took a tour bus up to the lake (I think that is the most common option. And around the lake it didn’t feel as hot as it was down in Ürümqi and when I went to take the cable car most of the way up Bogeda Feng, I remember seeing winter jackets for rent. At that moment I thought it was strange and pointless in the warmest time for the area despite that it was definitely getting chilly enough that I put on the light jacket (that prior to that point was mainly for sun protection) on. When I got out of the cable car near the top it was definitely cold. Many of the other hikers were in winter jackets and as you climbed up to the peak your breath definitely misted like it was winter! But that is the only time that has happened to me climbing mountains in China. I climbed Huangshan a mountain in Anhui, west and a bit south of Gusu. It has an elevation of 1873m and I climbed it in May, and there was no discernible temperature difference between the top and the bottom of the mountain.

The Yangtze River – divider of whether your home is heated or not

The Yangtze River is what China uses as a divider of north and south China. In the present day this is seen as whether or not your home gets central heating in the winter. When I lived in Shandong province (north of the Yangtze), the central heating was turned on 1 November and turned off the 1 March (I think, I’m remembering that correctly). Each province decides how cold it is and for how long and has different rules for central heating. No matter what you don’t have control over the temperature of the central heating, and everyone has to survive with an AC/Heating mounted wall unit, and/or portable heaters.

Jiangsu is a province that the Yangtze cuts through, which means you might get central heating. I moved to Xuzhou, which is spitting distance to Shandong province, in May (I got transferred to cover a sick teacher). So I was put up in the teacher’s housing on the college campus, and it did have central heating, the flat also had screened in windows above the doors that didn’t have glass and therefore would be open year-round. When I said I wanted to stay in the city and teach for the next year I got an off-campus flat in a community maybe 1.5 kms down the road—no central heating. Fall 2019 my community was offered central heating, we would have had to pay to get it installed, and it would only be installed if enough people said yes because it would be done for the whole community at that point. If we got the central heating it would have only been turned on December-February, and as the Spring Festival break at the school was an entire month it wasn’t worth it. And that time I went to Sichuan (everyone says south, but I think it has a bit of the Yangtze in it) all the restaurants were open fronted with no solid doors at all. Though the AC/Heating mounted wall unit in my hotel room (a small hotel outside of the city proper with a squat toilet in the bathroom (I’ve only seen squat toilets in two Chinese hotels)) was the best heater ever. My hotel room was so much warmer than any flat I’ve had in China, because even if it was a cheap hotel the AC/Heating mounted wall units needed to work well in Sichuan because it was the only source of heat.

MDZS Cities on the Yangtze and Old Names for the River

So west to east the cities that are close/on the Yangtze are: Meishan - north, Kuizhou - north bank, Yiling - north bank, Baling - south bank, Yunmeng - north, Moling south (the Yangtze goes through Nanjing so maybe it has bank space), and Gusu - south (possibly in the delta).

According to the Yangtze Wikipedia Page, which I have kept open in a tab in Firefox for reference since I started writing fic—People in Ancient China didn’t realise that the river was a single river and therefore each section of the river, had its own name and was thought to be its own river (the following is mostly just copied from Wikipedia).

For Meishan, Kuizhou, and Yiling, the river through Sichuan and Chongqing Municipality was known as the Chuan Jiang (川江; Chuān Jiāng) or "Sichuan River." The Wikipedia page specifically states that Yichang modern day Yiling as the last/most eastern city to call the Yangtze thus.

In Hubei, this would be Yunmeng and Yiling, but Yiling followed the pattern of the places further west. And I’m going to assume Baling despite being in Hunan; the river is also called the Jing Jiang (荆江; Jīngjiāng) or the "Jing River" after Jingzhou.

In Anhui (which has no sects), the river takes on the local name Wan Jiang after the shorthand name for Anhui, wǎn (皖).

For Gusu and Moling, it was the Yangzi Jiang (揚子江; 扬子江; Yángzǐjiāng) or the "Yangzi River," from which the English name Yangtze is derived, is the local name for the Lower Yangtze in the region of Yangzhou. The name likely comes from an ancient ferry crossing called Yangzi or Yangzijin (揚子 / 揚子津; Yángzǐ / Yángzǐjīn). Europeans who arrived in the Yangtze River Delta region applied this local name to the whole river.

The dividing site between upstream and midstream is considered to be at Yichang (Yiling) and that between midstream and downstream at Hukou (Jiujiang).

Winter Weather in Terms of Whether or Not Long Underwear Should be Worn in Various MDZS Cities

Another way to think of it is in terms of long underwear. I wore long underwear in my city in Shandong province, the pants, and a long undershirt. Typically, three layers on top when indoors, maybe with a fourth sweater when the room I was in wasn’t heated and thick socks over regular ones. In Xuzhou I wore maybe the long underwear bottoms but not the top because my classroom actually has a heater in it, but I usually wore a sweater. When I visited Xi’an, Shaanxi (YueyangChang and 2hrs west of QishanWen), Nanjing, Jiangsu (MolingSu), and when I went to Chengdu, Sichuan (1.5 hours north of Meishan) I wore long underwear (though it was particularly cold that year in Chengdu). When I went to Hangzhou, Zhejiang (south of TingshanHe; Tingshan is hard to pinpoint), Changsha, Hunan (2 hours south of BalingOuyang), and Wuhan, Hubei (3 hrs north of BalingOuyang and 1.25 hours south of YunmengJiang) I had long underwear with me but didn’t necessarily wear it. I do remember in Wuhan this tree that had little pink blooms on it at the end of January. I didn’t have long underwear with me when I went to Chongqing, I could have sworn I actually went to Kuizhou Ancient City (or another Ancient City/Street) but I can’t find pictures from it. The city I visited before Chongqing, I visited an ancient city so I could be mixing these up. But I remember it being Chongqing and getting a foot massage in an open-air shop in an ancient street and being covered in blankets because it was pretty chilly.

Comparative Temperatures based on their North Parallels

I live in Maine in the US, so a place with lots of snow. When I first came to China my family and I were looking at the map and thought that Maine and my city in Shandong looked to be in a line so the weather would be similar—it wasn’t, but it is a good theory; and something I spent a lot of time thinking might be sound as Maine and Shandong province aren’t on the same parallels so I thought there was still a chance that it would correlate elsewhere. The two most northern sects QingheNie at 37°04’ and LaolingQin 37°26’, according to Wikipedia, which continues to tell me that other notable places on the 37th parallel. The 37th parallel separates out Utah, Colorado, and Kansas on the north side from Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma on the South. It also passes through the Mediterranean Sea; the Aegean Sea; the Caspian Sea; the Sea of Japan; the Yellow Sea; just south of Antequera, Spain; the island of Sicily, Italy; the island of Honshū, Japan; Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan/India; and through Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and South Korea.

I just moved to Zhengzhou, Henan (34°45′50″N), when I asked about the weather I was told it was comparable to Washington DC (38°54′17″N). I keep getting told that Zhengzhou is the centre of China and it is kind of the centre of where all the sects are: north 1.5 hours from YingchuanWang and 5.5 hours from YunmengJiang; south 3.5 hours from QingheNie; and east 6 hours from YueyangChan.

Conclusion for Winter Weather in Gusu and Summary of Chinese Summers

So, based on my experiences, any of the mountains in Suzhou just wouldn’t have a discernible temperature difference from the top of the mountain and the bottom of the mountain. And despite “Snow-covered views of the pretty canal towns of Suzhou in winter” I would assume that it doesn’t actually get that much snow.

So enough about how cold and snowy China is, summer-wise it is generally too, too hot. For the level of cold in the winter, I would have assumed there would be milder summers but where I have lived and visited that has not been the case. When I asked the teacher I was replacing in Shandong about the weather of the city I was told that it went from ‘freezing your pants off to fucking hot’ and it was true one day you’d be wearing a jacket and maybe for a week you’d be in jeans and a tee and then you’d be sweating while wearing the least amount of clothing possible. I’ve definitely seen 30°C days in May.

Rundown of the Climate, Average Temperatures, Rainfall, and Humidity for all MDZS Cities

So you don’t have to here is what Wikipedia says about the climate of the cities of the different areas so you don’t have to look it up yourselves (pretty much copy and pasted):

Baling – (is present day Yueyang different characters and city from the YueyangChang Sect seat). The average high for the year is 21°C/69.7°F and the low 14.9°C/58.8°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of 2.7°C/36.7°F and an average high of 8.1°C/46.6°F. July is the hottest month with an average low of 26.6°C/79.9°F and an average high of 32.2°C/90°F. Average humidity ranges from 73% in December to 79% in June (with a yearly average of 77%). The most average rainfall is in June, the rain heavy months being April-July, compared to the remaining months March and August also have a lot of rain.

Gusu - has a four-season humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and cool, cloudy, damp winters with occasional snowfall (Köppen climate classification Cfa). North-westerly winds blowing from Siberia during winter can cause temperatures to fall below freezing at night, while southerly or south-westerly winds during the summer can push temperatures above 35 °C (95 °F). The average high for the year is 19.9°C/67.8°F and the low 12.5°C/54.5°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of 0.5°C/32.9°F and an average high of 7.7°C/45.9°F. July is the hottest month (by 0.1°C over August) with an average low of 24.8°C/76.6°F and an average high of 31.6°C/88.9°F. Average humidity ranges from 65% in November to 77% in July (with a yearly average of 71%). The most average rainfall is in September, the rain heavy months being June-September, April (102.3 mm) and May (114.5) are petty rainy too, May is still 14mm less rain then July (the lowest of the high rain months).

Kuizhou - has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), bordering on a monsoonal humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) and for most of the year experiences very high relative humidity, with all months above 75%. Known as one of the "Three Furnaces" of the Yangtze river, its summers are long and among the hottest and most humid in China, with highs of 33 to 34 °C (91 to 93 °F) in July and August in the urban area.Winters are short and somewhat mild, but damp and overcast. The city's location in the Sichuan Basin causes it to have one of the lowest annual sunshine totals nationally. With over 100 days of fog per year, is known as the "Fog City" The average high for the year is 22.1°C/71.8°F and the low 15.8°C/60.4°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of 6.2°C/43.2°F and an average high of 10.3°C/50.5°F. August is the hottest month (by 0.2°C over July) with an average low of 24.7°C/76.5°F and an average high of 33.2°C/91.8°F. The most average rainfall is in June, the rain heavy months being June and July, but May and August are petty rainy too.

Lanling - has a monsoon-influenced climate with generous summer precipitation, cold, dry winters, and hot, humid summers. Under the Köppen climate classification, it is in the transition from the humid subtropical zone (Cwa) to the humid continental zone (Dwa), though favouring the former. More than half of the annual precipitation of 833 mm (32.8 in) falls in July and August alone, and the frost-free period is above 200 days. The average high for the year is 19.1°C/66.3°F and the low 9.5°C/49.1°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of -4.3°C/24.3°F and an average high of 4.4°C/39.9°F. July is the hottest month (by 0.7°C over August) with an average low of 23°C/73.4°F and an average high of 30.7°C/87.3°F

Laoling - The average high for the year is 19.3°C/66.7°F and the low 9.4°C/48.9°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of -5.6°C/21.9°F and an average high of 3.4°C/38.1°F. June is the hottest month with an average low of 20.2°C/68.4°F and an average high of 32.1°C/89.8°F. Average humidity ranges from 52% in March to 78% in August (with a yearly average of 63%). The most average rainfall is in July, the rain heavy months being July and August by quite a margin. July has on average 90 mm more rain then June (the month with the third highest rainfall).

Meishan - The average high for the year is 21.3°C/70.3°F and the low 14.3°C/57.7°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of 4.1°C/39.4°F and an average high of 10.1°C/50.2°F. July is the hottest month (though the record high temperature was in August) with an average low of 22.9°C/73.2°F and an average high of 30.7°C/86.5°F. Average humidity ranges from 74% in May to 84% in January, August, October, and December (with a yearly average of 81%). The most average rainfall is in August, the rain heavy months being July and August, June (144 mm) and September (130.4) are petty rainy too, June is still 87mm less rainy then July (the lowest of the high rain months) and September gets 42.5mm more rain than the 5th rainiest month—May.

Moling - has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) and is influenced by the East Asian monsoon. The four seasons are distinct, with damp conditions seen throughout the year, very hot and muggy summers, cold, damp winters, and in between, spring and autumn are of reasonable length. Known as one of the "Three Furnaces" along the Yangtze River for the perennially high temperatures in the summertime. However, the time from mid-June to the end of July is the plum blossom blooming season in which the meiyu (rainy season of East Asia; literally "plum rain") occurs, during which the city experiences a period of mild rain as well as dampness. Typhoons are uncommon but possible in the late stages of summer and early part of autumn. The annual mean temperature is around 15.91 °C (60.6 °F), with the monthly 24-hour average temperature ranging from 2.7 °C (36.9 °F) in January to 28.1 °C (82.6 °F) in July. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from −14.0 °C (7 °F) on 6 January 1955 to 40.7 °C (105 °F) on 22 August 1959. The average high for the year is 20.6°C/69.1°F and the low 12.1°C/53.8°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of -0.7°C/30.7°F and an average high of 7.2°C/45°F. July is the hottest month with an average low of 24.9°C/76.8°F and an average high of 32.2°C/90°F. On average precipitation falls 115 days out of the year, and the average annual rainfall is 1,090 mm (43 in). The most average rainfall is in July, the rain heavy months being June through August. August (143.5mm) is the least rainy of the three and still gets on average 52.8 mm more rain then May the 4th rainiest month. July has the most days of rain (12.3), but both March (only 80.4mm) and August have the second most days of rain (11.8).With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 37 percent in March to 52 percent in August, the city receives 1,926 hours of bright sunshine annually. Average humidity ranges from 71% in April and May to 80% in July and August (with a yearly average of 75%).

Qinghe - has a continental, monsoon-influenced semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), characterised by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon, and generally cold, windy, very dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone. Spring can bear witness to sandstorms blowing in from the Mongolian steppe, accompanied by rapidly warming, but generally dry, conditions. Autumn is similar to spring in temperature and lack of rainfall. The annual rainfall, more than half of which falls in July and August alone, is highly variable and not reliable. The average high for the year is 19.6°C/67.2°F and the low 8.8°C/47.9°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of -6.1°C/21°F and an average high of 3.9°C/39°F. June is the hottest month with an average low of 20.2°C/68.4°F and an average high of 32.1°C/89.8°F

Qishan - The average high for the year is 18.5°C/65.3°F and the low 9°C/48.1°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of -3.5°C/25.7°F and an average high of 5.1°C/41.2°F. July is the hottest month with an average low of 21.1°C/70°F and an average high of 30.9°C/87.6°F. The record high temperature from (1971-2000) in January was 20.7°C/69.3°F which is the lowest of the record highs. The highest was in August at 41.6°C/106.9°F. The most average rainfall is in August but had the most days of rain in September (the rain heavy months being June-September).

Tingshan - The average high for the year is 20.5°C/68.9 °F and the low 13.1°C/55.6°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of 0.9°C/33.6°F and an average high of 7.5°C/45.5°F. July is the hottest month with an average low of 25.3°C/77.5°F and an average high of 32.6°C/90.7°F. Average humidity ranges from 75% in April and May to 82% in September (with a yearly average of 78%). The most average rainfall is in June, the rain heavy months being June-August, March (121.2 mm), May (113.4mm), and September ( 109mm) are petty rainy too, March still has 34.2 mm less rain then August (the lowest of the high rain months). March also has the most days of rain (15.2), followed by June (14.8), then April and July (13.7).

Yiling - has a four-season, monsoon-influenced, humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with cool, damp and generally overcast winters, and hot, humid summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 5.0 °C (41.0 °F) in January to 27.7 °C (81.9 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 17.08 °C (62.7 °F). The average high for the year is 21.6°C/70.9°F and the low 13.7°C/56.6°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of 2.2°C/36°F and an average high of 8.8°C/47.8°F. July is the hottest month with an average low of 24.3°C/75.7.°F and an average high of 32.3°C/90.1°F. Close to 70% of the annual precipitation of 1,160 mm (46 in) occurs from May to September. The most average rainfall is in July, the rain heavy months being June-August; May (124.4mm), and September (115.3mm) are petty rainy too, May still has17.8 mm less rain then June (the lowest of the high rain months). July has the most days of rain (15.1), followed by June (14.1), then May (13.5).With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 24% in January to 49% in August, the city receives 1,568 hours of bright sunshine annually, and summer is the sunniest season. Average humidity ranges from 73% in February, March, April and December to 80% in July (with a yearly average of 75%).

Yingchuan - has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with four distinct seasons. Winters are cool and dry, summers hot and humid, spring begins early and is warm, and autumn is mild and provides a reasonable transition. Rain mainly falls from May to September, as more than 70% of the annual precipitation occurs then. The city has an annual mean temperature of at 14.5 °C (58.1 °F), and its highest average monthly temperature is 27.1 °C (80.8 °F) in July and the lowest is 0.7 °C (33.3 °F) in January. Just over 700 millimetres (28 in) of precipitation falls each year, and there is on average 217 frost-free days and 2280 hours of sunshine per year. The average high for the year is 20.2°C/68.4°F and the low 9.7°C/49.5°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of -3.6°C/25.5°F and an average high of 6.1°C/43°F. July is the hottest month (by 0.2°C over June) with an average low of 23.1°C/73.6°F and an average high of 32°C/89.6°F. The most average rainfall is in July, the rain heavy months being July and August; June (83.5mm) is petty rainy too, but June still has 38.2mm less rain then August (the lowest of the high rain months). July has the most days of rain (11.7), followed by August (10.6), then June (8.4).

Yueyang - has a temperate climate that is influenced by the East Asian monsoon, classified under the Köppen climate classification as situated on the borderline between a semi-arid climate (BSk) and humid subtropical climate (Cwa). The Wei River valley is characterised by hot, humid summers, cold, dry winters, and dry springs and autumns. Most of the annual precipitation is delivered from July (on average has the most rain) to late October with September having the most days of rain. Snow occasionally falls in winter but rarely settles for long. Dust storms often occur during March and April as the city rapidly warms up. Summer months also experience frequent but short thunderstorms. The average high for the year is 19.5°C/67.1°F and the low 9.7°C/49.5°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of -3.3°C/26.1°F and an average high of 5.1°C/41.2°F. July is the hottest month with an average low of 22.3°C/72.1°F and an average high of 32.4°C/90.3°F. Average humidity ranges from 61% in June to 77% in September (with a yearly average of 68%)

Yunmeng - The average high for the year is 21.1°C/70°F and the low 12.8°C/55.1°F. January being the coldest month with an average low of 0.2°C/32.4°F and an average high of 3.9°C/39°F. July is the hottest month (by 0.2°C over August) with an average low of 25.2°C/77.4°F and an average high of 32.2°C/90°F. Average humidity ranges from 75% in December to 83% in July (with a yearly average of 79%)

Dafan Mountain and Phoenix Mountian

That being said, I was trying to find Dafan Mountain on a map for a fanfic I was writing. I have a Chinese copy of MDZS and I was originally having trouble finding the characters used for Dafan Mountain. When I did, Baidu was not at all helpful every webpage was for MDZS and/or CQL. So I asked Dean who replied that he didn’t know, as the places in the book are all made up, at which time I sent him a copy of the map that my other friend had shown me with the actual names of the present day cities for the five main sects. And I did a search for “where is Dafan mountain” which worked for things like: “where is Moling”, for the Dafan search the results were things like which chapter/episode is Dafan or ‘where was Wen Ning before Dafan?’ My confusion came from the fact that the town below Dafan is called Buddha’s Feet—and I have been there. In Chongqing there is a district called Dazu (大足), Buddha’s Feet which had Buddhist cave paintings so there are also mountains. Edit: I went back and looked for pictures, it’s not actually very mountain-y and is named for some giant footprints.

It took longer to find, because as I had learned there is just too many ways that you could write Buddha’s Feet in Chinese and have it interpreted as Buddha’s Feet. In the book it is called 佛脚镇 (Fójiǎo Zhèn) or Buddha’s Foot town, which isn’t a real place in China according to Baidu. So for my own fic purposes I decided that it was going to be in Chongqing. And then later, when I was actually putting together a map on Google I double checked for places like Dafan and found one. 大梵山 Dafan Shan (same characters and everything) is a 207m mountain in South Korea called Keun Beom San (?) 큰범산.

Phoenix Mountain was another one that I had a hard time looking for in the book as there are multiple ways to say Phoenix in Chinese and it is generally a compound word including Feng (风) which usually means wind and the name of the mountain in Chinese is 百风山 (Bǎifèng shān) and could also be translated as the Hundred Wind Mountain. And all though it sounds like a very good mountain name ‘phoenix’ or ‘wind’-wise there is no such mountain that I could find.

My Own Map Making Explained

Before I made my own map I looked for other maps online, ones that talked about the smaller sects. For the purposes of my fic I needed to know where the YueyangChang clan was situated, and where Xue Yang would be, or coming from, or going to. I found this map online. It is a very good map but it uses the present day name instead of the book names so I got super confused. For example that map has a Liyang, Leling, and Yueling, none of which I could find on the MDZS wiki as being connected to a sect.

What I ended up doing is writing the names of the cities into Pleco, a Chinese-English dictionary app, so if I type in yueyang the first three are: Yuèyáng (岳阳) a prefecture-level city in Hunan; yuèyáng (越洋) a verb meaning cross the ocean; and yuè yáng (栎阳) a place in Shaanxi Province. I took the place names and searched for them in my Chinese copy of the book and hit on 栎阳. Then I put it in Baidu, Baidu Maps, and Apple Maps to see where it would turn up—it turned up in Xi’an. Well, Liyang from that second map is also 栎阳. And when I look at the map apps with pinyin the section of Xi’an in question is also labelled as Liyang.

Leling was harder—or easier I guess it depends on how you look at it. I ended up looking it up straight from the second map Pleco suggested 乐陵 the county level city in Dezhou, which I found in the book 乐陵秦—LaolingQin. This I don’t understand at all 乐 is lè or yuè and yet we call them LaolingQin. So there you have it. Edit: while writing the weather section (which I did after this though it comes first in the post) I A. realised I’d been writing Yaoling instead of Laoling and B. that the Laoling County-level City Wikipedia page said that Laoling often gets mispronounced as Leling because the character 乐 is only ever elsewhere lè or yuè.

Tingshan was the last one that gave me problems. It is written 亭山 and there are actually a couple mountains called Tingshan, with the same characters one near Qufu in Shandong province, and two in Zhejiang province one north of Hangzhou and the other sort of south of Hangzhou, in Shaoxing (the one that comes up the most often in Baidu searches). Then I found a Chinese site discussing the ancient city of Tingshan City which is “In today's Zhejiang Deqing County East 24 Li (1 Li = 0.5 km)” so I put Deqing county on my map and then realised that the same site says that Tingshan is also 200 paces southwest of the county and then mentions a Wuxing ji (吴兴记) but I could find a Wuxing District (吴兴区) of Huzhou City the same city as Deqing county. Wuxing was north east of Deqing and that was when I realised that the two possible dots of Tingshan on my map were close to the dot of Yueling on the second map I had found. And I found a Yueling (越岭) in Huzhou and it was southwest of Wuxing (not sure about 200 paces or not), so I differed to the wisdom of that second map.

I have made my own map with the labels of all places I could find on a map. I labelled them with the sect names or if they had no sect associated with them just the city name. Sadly Baixue Temple, Phoenix Mountain, Dust Creek Mountain, Mo Village, and Dafan Mountain/Buddha’s Feet (though my map does include Dazu in Chongqing, as a point of interest) could not be found and added to the map. And of course we have no clue where Sect leader Yao came from and I kind of wish we could send him back off into the nothing, but he is there to add strife I suppose.

River Travel- Lotus Pier wasn’t the closest Sect to Yiling

I got to a part in my own fic where I needed them to take a bout between Yiling and Yunmeng and realised that while Yiling is on the Yangtze, Yunmeng is not and instead is on a tributary of the Yangtze. I did a cursory search for ancient river boat speeds and found an archaeological paper that tested seven ancient boats one of which was a Singapore Sampan it wasn’t very fast. So I just decided to write it off as cultivating boats get people there faster.

Even though I had already wrote the boat scene of my fic when I was looking at my map I noticed Google’s measuring tool. So for fun, I used the Google Maps measuring tool to measure river distance between Yiling and Yunmeng after I put all the city markers on. Yiling is on the Yangtze and Yunmeng has a couple Yangtze tributaries that run through it that meet up in the Wuhan area. The Yangtze dips south after Yiling and then goes back up to Wuhan. Yiling to Yunmeng is 444 km by river if you leave the Yangtze by Jingzhou and travel through Chang Lake (I cheated and connected to Hanshui River with what looks like a manmade river, maybe, it is very straight and appears to cut through the lake) then it is a lot of small rivers to get to Yunmeng. I thought maybe even though the Yangtze goes further south and Wuhan is further east than Yunmeng since it is a bigger river it might still be shorter. However, 397 km east of Yiling following the Yangtze in Baling! I remember in CQL Sect Leader Yao suggests Lotus Pier after the second siege of the Burial Mounds (I might be remembering wrong), but well he appears friendly with Ouyang, and they are a smaller sect.

Conclusion

So, while the sects live in actual places, today they are generally just districts in larger cities, because the urbanisation of China has resulted in many villages becoming districts of bigger cities. And while some of the places in the book are made up (Yunping City being another one that I cannot find anywhere) they are reasonably named that they are not far outside of the realm of possibility. Also China is a large country that discourages people from moving around, as you always have to return to the place of your birth (or your parents’ birth) to get paperwork and the like for visas, etc. Therefore, I believe perhaps inside China the knowledge of where these places are or the height of their mountains or their amount of snow is not something that is thought about by people as much as I think of these things.

#mdzs #cql #the untamed #china #weather #maps #mountains #yangtze river #mo dao zu shi #cloud recesses #geography

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marimeetsmischief · 5 years

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Return to Sender - Ch. 1

Some interconnected ML drabbles for Lukanette February

Read on Ao3

Tags: Delivery Service AU, Sort of a Coffee Shop AU?, no miraculous, Personal Stylist! Marinette, Delivery Boy! Luka, Aged Up

Summary: Personal Stylist Marinette Dupain-Cheng gets dragged into a last minute trip with one of her clients and ends up back in Paris, France, after working in China for four years. A series of fateful encounters brings her face to face with Luka Couffaine, Paris's most popular and well known delivery boy with a talent for music.

Chapter 1: Mine

The soft patter of rain against the cobblestone alley was music to Marinette’s ears as she stepped out of her back door. Since she had moved, no matter what she tried, the apartment always felt too confining and stiff. Which, honestly, it was, compared to the cool and rainy air of Chengdu, and her tiny flat there. Four years of working in southwest China had made her forget about how dry and bland Paris could feel at times.

That wasn’t a problem, exactly, but she did miss the climate of the place she now thought of as home. It was humid, but usually not too hot. That wasn’t even bringing up the lifestyle there either. It was city life without the pressure of an over-expensive and over-saturated market built on tourism. Fashion was part of everyday life, and she could eat at a dingy food stand one night and an aesthetic cafè the next. The best part was that people were always looking for the next interesting thing, and her commissions had taken off because of that.

But now she was back in Paris, staying in a borrowed apartment for the month, all for some event that she had been volunteered for at the last second. Was it an excellent opportunity? Of course. Did she still wish she had never left China? Undoubtedly.

It was a little uncomfortable, but she was still trying to make the best of it. Her parents had been ecstatic when she finally told them she would be in Paris for a whole month. They had even offered her her old room for the month, which she had quickly declined, not wanting to step back into her old life that much. Even with the awkwardness, she was still a little happy to be in the city she had grown up in, and she had plans to catch up with some old family and friends over the month. Plus, her schedule for the event kept her busy enough that she hopefully wouldn’t get too bored for the month.

It was only the morning of her second day, after she had crashed immediately upon landing the day before. She hardly even remembered leaving the airport, let alone getting to her apartment, but she had woken up in a strange bed and reminded herself where she was. After a cup of green tea hadn’t quite woken her up, she had dragged herself through the process of getting ready.

It was only as she looked in the mirror that she had the thought that Chengdu street style was much more adventurous than Parisian, and she hadn’t really packed anything that would fit in. The girl she had been before she left Paris would have been terrified at that, but this version of Marinette took pride in it, and stepped into the alley way with experienced charisma. She was even happier when she noticed the rain, just light enough to not need an umbrella, which was good considering she hadn’t actually packed one. She popped the collar of her blazer and stepped out of the doorway completely. A gust of wind shivered down the alleyway and she pulled the jacket tighter around herself and shaking her scarf loose in the process. She unwrapped it and pulled it off the rest of the way so that she could readjust it, but another strong breeze barrelled into her and knocked it out of her hand. The pale pink fabric fluttered down the alleyway, coming to a stop for just a moment only to be picked up by another wind current. She started after it, lightly jogging to catch up to the scarf and almost wrapping her hand around it before it was carried away again. Giving it a look, as if to say ‘really?’, she sped up behind it. Preoccupied with her annoyance, she didn’t notice the person stepping into the alleyway until they reached out and snagged the scarf from the air and she skidded to a halt in front of them.

“Oh! Uh, sorry, that’s mine,” she apologized quickly, holding her hand out for it. “The wind just kind of swept it up.”

The man smiled slightly and nodded, gently handing it to her. She curled her hands around the now damp scarf, shaking her head.

“Well, uhm, thank you! For catching it, I mean,” she stuttered awkwardly and doing her best to give him a polite smile in return. He didn’t seem to be the talkative type, which wasn’t a problem by any means at all, but it was something contradictory to his look at least. He looked every bit like some kind of alternative rock star, ripped black jeans and a jean jacket covered in patches from a variety of bands. His hair was just a little too long and just a little too messy, with teal dyed tips.

“No worries,” he finally replied and her heart jumped inside her chest. He had what might be the kindest voice she had ever heard, and that was even more startling when paired with his edgy aesthetic. He gave her one last smile and started to turn around and she could feel herself staring awkwardly without any willpower to stop herself. Then, just as he started to walk, she managed to find her voice.

“Wait!” She called a little too loudly, quickly fumbling with her purse. By some miracle, she managed to find a business card and slide it out, holding it out to him. “Sorry. I’m Marinette. That scarf is actually, I guess important, sort of? So thank you, again. If I can repay you in any way, give me a call.”

He raised a brow at her and she flushed, quickly holding her hands up and shaking her head.”I swear I’m not flirting with you, I would never, well I mean, not never, you’re obviously attractive but I mean that totally professionally, I think. Oh, what am I saying, I soun-”

In the middle of her rambling, he burst into laughter and she froze, eyes wide and face as red as a tomato. It took him an embarrassingly long time to finish laughing at her, and Marinette was just about ready to pass out.

“Sorry, sorry, that was just… cute. And, thanks for the compliment, I think. I’m Luka.” He took the business card and gave her one last smile before walking away, leaving her standing there like an idiot with the dorkiest grin on her face. After a long minute, she shook herself out of it and hurried back into her apartment, closing the door and falling back into it.

“Oh. My. God. I am such an idiot.”

#lmfeb2020 #lmfeb #lukanette #marinette dupain cheng #luka couffaine #lukanette month #lukanette fanfic #aged-up lukanette #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug au #miraculous ladybug fanfic #ml fanfic #ml au

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neostar-entertainment · 4 years

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Title: A Booty Call

Pairing: Jaejin-Centric, Jaejin/Daehyeon

Summary: When Jaejin finds himself out on the streets, after facing a difficult situation with his uncle, he makes a call he’s made numerous times but for a much desperate reason this time around.

Warning(s): cursing, recreational drug use, mentions of drug use, family drama (?), mentions of sex

Notes: This is pre-debut just in case I didn’t make it too obvious!

Jaejin was fucked.

Maybe fucked was a slight understatement. He was 99% sure he was homeless, although he was clinging onto that 1% of hope that his uncle would call him shortly and tell him to get his ass back home like always.

Granted, the fact that he was quite literally thrown out and was told to come back to get his things in the morning before having the door slammed on his face made it hard to cling onto that 1%.

He had called a friend of his, although he wasn’t quite too sure if he could depend on someone who he considered more of a fuckbuddy than a friend for something as serious as this.

As he walked down a random street, his mind was racing with thoughts of what the fuck he was going to do, or even where the fuck to go. In his few years of moving from LA, Jaejin really made no plans to travel and get himself familiar with the city of Seoul, or the country in general. He simply remembered the way to from his uncle’s to his part time-job, or to Neostar to do his training. Outside from making it to those two locations and back, Jaejin could probably remember a few grocery stores if anything.

“Fuck…” his legs were hurting from how long he had been walking, and to be quite frank...it was getting late and Jaejin was tired. He sighed to himself as he spotted a bench not too far and trudged his way to sit down, his mind trailing to what happened not even a few hours ago.

“Weed, Jaejin? Are you fucking serious?”

“I haven’t even smoked it-”

“Oh, did you find a way to get it just to flaunt it around the house?! Do you think I’m fucking stupid or something?”

“I didn’t say that.” Jaejin’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet, his mind on full-panic mode, not knowing how the fuck to get out of this situation. Jaejin finished his training early today, and with his uncle’s work schedule he thought he could manage to have a quick smoke session before he came home, however shit quite literally hit the fan when his uncle came home the moment Jaejin had decided to light his blunt.

“For fuck’s sake Jaejin, your parents caught you doing this shit and worse in LA and sent you here to get you away from that shit and you have the fucking audacity to continue it?”

“It’s just-“

“It’s a drug! There’s no ‘just this’ or ‘just that’. You can end up being arrested for this and it’s obvious you’re not taking it seriously when you’re a country away from home and continue to do the same shit that made your parents worried to the point where they called me crying to help you-”

“The fuck? Are you trying to guilt-trip me-”

“Mind your tongue, Jaejin. I can tolerate a lot of shit from you, but this is too much.”

Silence loomed over the relatives, Jaejin’s nerves getting the best of him, making him start to sweat out of nervousness and let his mind go berserk in possibilities of what his uncle meant by that.

“You need to leave, Jaejin.”

Jaejin could feel his face fall, his mouth opened to say something but nothing could come out.

“I cannot and will not support this. If you think you can fool your parents by saying you’re doing better, while continuously doing things that you know none of us will approve of or support, fine by me. But you won’t be doing it under my roof.”

“You can’t be serio-”

“I am. If you think I’m going to be supporting someone who’s smoking illegal substances in my own house, you’ve already lost it. If you want to go back to LA I’ll pay for your ticket, but if you’re planning on staying here you’re on your own, Jaejin.”

“Uncle…” Jaejin’s voice was shaky to the point where he wasn’t sure if his words were coming out coherently. He wanted to clear his throat but a part of him was terrified to make any noise at all.

“Get out, Jaejin...come back in the morning and I’ll have whatever you don’t take packed up. You can tell me then if you’re going back to your parents or not.”

“I-I’m not leaving, I don’t have anywhere to go!” the younger exclaimed, his voice cracking with emotions as he began to panic while the tears began brimming in his eyes.

“That’s...that’s not my problem any longer. I had strict rules when you came here, strict but fair, if you can’t respect them I won’t respect you-”

“I’m your nephew!”

“Go.”

“I’m your fucking family-”

“Jaejin.”

“And you’re kicking me out over a mistake?!”

“Jaejin!”

“I won’t do it-”

Jaejin practically choked on his breath as he widened his eyes the moment his uncle moved towards him, automatically taking a few steps back to mirror his uncle’s actions.

“Please.”

Jaejin…” it was as if something weakened in his uncle as his face fell from the glare he had instilled in himself the moment he had walked in on Jaejin, “this isn’t the first time we’ve had this exact conversation. I’m not going to be supporting this. Please...don’t make it hard and just...just leave.”

Jaejin’s mouth opened and closed several times, his mind desperately trying to figure out something to say, but it was almost as if his mind was too busy painting the images of countless stressful situations Jaejin could potentially find himself in.

“Take whatever you need. I’m going to bed...it’s been a long day. I expect you to be gone tonight, and if needed come in the morning if you want to go back home. If not…”

Silence fell over them once again, and rather than it being a comforting blanket of silence like usual that Jaejin preferred, it felt like it was almost suffocating him. He knew he did something wrong, he wasn’t an idiot. He knew his family had caught him doing worse in Chengdu which is why the topic of sending him here with his uncle was brought up. He knew that getting high should’ve been on the bottom of his priorities, and should’ve been the last thing he ever thought of doing, especially with the pain it brought his parents .

He knew better...and maybe that’s why it made it all hurt more as he couldn’t figure out why he didn’t do better.

Closing his eyes as if it would block the memories out, he wiped away the few tears that had managed to slip, shaking his head as he let out a few curses out.

Jaejin didn’t know where the fuck to go. He would go to Neostar if it wasn’t for the fact the building is off-limits to trainees this late at night as the CEO wanted to make sure they weren’t over-working himself, and he didn’t have the intentions to explain his sob story to the lady in the lobby.

That’s why he (reluctantly) ended up calling Daehyeon.

He was a fellow trainee he had seen countless times, and although they didn’t have much of any interactions aside from dancing together a few times they ended up getting to know each other quite well.

In the practice room. After-hours. In a position that had Jaejin shocked with Daehyeon’s flexibility, but also had their adrenaline at an all-time high at the prospect of staying when they shouldn’t have been, doing something they shouldn’t have been.

Calling him was...uh...awkward to say the least.

Daehyeon instantly thought he was calling as a booty call, only for Jaejin to be on the verge of tears and Daehyeon automatically going from screaming at his brother to shut up to being concerned as all hell.

Jaejin didn’t truly think things through when he decided to call Dae, nor did he really imagine what he would get out of if it when he called, but his answer was gifted to him when Jaejin explained his situation and Dae’s first response was that he’d talk to his family and figure something out.

It might’ve taken thirty minutes, or possibly a bit longer, but Daehyeon had called back and said that he was on his way to pick him.

Jaejin was beyond shocked, to say the least.

Yeah, their first interaction was probably more intimate than strangers should’ve been, but their friendship was only beginning. Hell, Jaejin only learned of Daehyeon’s name after he left the practice room with him that night.

So, the surprise running through him the moment he got the call back wasn’t much of a shock.

Jaejin picked at his nails, his eyes looking up at the night sky, counting the numerous stars in the sky in an attempt to distract himself from his own thoughts. And to be quite frank to Jaejin, looking up and trying to count something that seemed countless was a hell of a lot better than thinking of how much of a disgrace he would be to his parents if he decided to return home.

Jaejin remembered when he had made the same mistake back home, albeit with a bit more of a...dangerous substance. He distinctly remembered the horror on his parents’ faces when they learned of what Jaejin had been doing when he was skipping school, and he remembered the uncomfortable feeling that lingered among them for countless days before they came up with a way to help Jaejin. Granted, he was more than reluctant to even think about getting help considered the fact that...well...Jaejin didn’t think he needed help.

However, the guilt of seeing how his parents reacted to his actions was enough for Jaejin to at least try and do something that they wanted, no matter how hard it was.

The change of location was something his parents decided on, feeling as if the factor of them being swamped with work majority of the time led to Jaejin’s actions, and that sending him to his uncle might be the change that could help Jaejin.

And Jaejin tried, he truly did. It was just...harder than he would’ve imagined. He knew his friends back in LA often joked about how much of a bitch it would be to be on the path of recovery, however Jaejin never thought it would be him enduring the same things he joked about before.

The sound of a car honking interrupted his thought process, causing him to snap his neck down from his sight of the stars to the car in front of him as he squinted trying to figure out who was in the front seat.

“Jaejin!” Daehyeon’s face popped out from the passenger seat window before he managed to open the door and rush towards the aforementioned boy.

Jaejin sat there practically unresponsive as Dae slowed down in front of him before squatting down and slowly reaching out to place his hands on Jaejin’s shoulders.

“Jaejin, can you hear me?”

“Y-yeah, of course I can.”

“Are you okay?” Daehyeon’s eyes were flicked with hues of concern as he reached out to wipe tears that had been streaming down Jaejin’s face without realizing.

“I…” Jaejin went silent as Daehyeon softly placed his hands on the sides of his head. “I-I don’t know.”

“That’s-That’s ok.”

“Ok.”

“Remember our conversation on the phone, right?”

“Yeah, of course.” Jaejin pulled back from Dae’s grasp, as he shook his head softly.

“Just making sure. Do you have anything with you?”

“No...I just...left.”

“Ah, okay, that’s...that’s fine too. You’re okay with coming home with me, right?”

Jaejin simply nodded, his mind reaching the point of becoming too overwhelmed to think of a verbal response.

“Alright.” Dae nodded to himself, before turning around to face opposite of Jaejin, before craning his neck to look back at him “Get on.”

Jaejin’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion before realizing what Daehyeon meant and instantly frowned before shaking his head.

“Jaejin, just...c’mon you’ve been inside of me but are gonna refuse a piggyback-ride?”

The aforementioned boy sighed to himself before wrapping his arms slowly around Daehyeon, his grasp gently getting tighter as Daehyeon got up from his squatting position.

“There we go-”

“I’m not a kid, Dae.”

“Didn’t say you were, Jaejin. My older brother is in the car, by the way, just don’t want to surprise you.” “Does he-”

“He knows you don’t have anywhere to go and that you’re a very close friend of mine that I trust quite a lot.”

“Oh…”

“I didn’t know how much you were comfortable with telling, and although I’m sure my parents will ask a lot, I didn’t necessarily think it was my place.”

“They’re letting me stay without knowing anything?”

“Uh…” Daehyeon hiked Jaejin up a bit, causing the older to clung on a bit more, “Maybe I lied a bit. As far as they know we became best friends since I started training there and you’ve helped me tremendously with my dancing so I don’t get kicked out.”

“That’s not even remotely true-”

“I know, but I don’t think telling my family we became friends during some not-so family-friendly stuff would win them over. Just, uh, share whatever you’re comfortable with, ok?”

Dae smiled at Yeonu in the front seat, whose face was the absolute quintessence of confusion with his eyebrows shot up showcasing his worry-lines on his forehead, a small frown on his face, causing Dae to shake his head in an attempt to tell him to lay off it.

“Want me to sit next to you in the back?”

Jaejin shrugged, a part of him not bothering to truly think of a reply because he felt the events that took place today taking its toll on him, his mental exhaustion transferring into a physical one as he got off Daehyeon’s back only to slip into the backseat as soon as Dae opened the door.

As he scooted to the other side he quickly bowed to Yeonu who mirrored his actions from the driver’s seat, attempting to give a smile that would mask his worriedness. Dae followed Jaejin’s actions, and decided to slip right next to him, but not before leaning forward to whisper a few things into his brother’s ears.

Jaejin once again looked up to the night sky, his eyes fixated on the same stars he no longer had the effort to begin counting.

“Well,” a deeper voice trailed in Jaejin’s ears, catching his attention making him shift his vision, “I’m Yeonu, it’s nice to meet a good friend of Daehyeon’s, Jaejin.”

“Uh, yeah you too.”

Yeonu gave him a tiny smile, one that Jaejin noticed didn’t mask the confusion and worried that had begun swirling in his eyes ever since he had seen Jaejin on his younger brother’s back.

“It’s kind of a long run,” Dae’s voice was gentler, almost comforting without even trying, Jaejin wanted to blame that for the fact that he had begun leaning into the younger boy. “If you want to close your eyes, feel free, I’ve got you.”

Jaejin remained silent, but showed that he understood as his head found its way onto Dae’s shoulder.

“I’ve got you now.”

#kumokocnet #kocsociety #fake kpop idol #fake kpop group #idol!au #oc kpop idol #fake kpop #oc kpop group #oc kpop #idol!oc #male!idol #g: dark moon #c: daehyeon #i didnt even realize?? that this was a plot i had??#until recently when i looked back at their relationships post??#c: jaejin

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a-spoonful-of-home · 4 years

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My Top 17 Foods To Eat In Chengdu

Szechuan cold spicy noodles 四川涼面

These are hands down my favourite food to get in Chengdu. Sitting down in the heat outside with some cold spicy noodles (and a beer - of course) is the best way to spend a hot summers day here. It’s a great mixture of garlic, spring onions, ginger, and lots of chilli oil. I think I prefer cold noodles over hot noodles because it takes the heat down a level. Just writing about these noodles is making me want to go for a walk down to the noodle joint near our complex! An absolute staple of Szechuan cuisine - 10/10!

Steamed buns 包子

Steamed buns, or baozi, kept me alive when we first arrived in Chengdu and were running round trying to get all our documents sorted. They’re so convenient and you can really get them everywhere. I love the snacking culture here in China because it means you’re never very far away from some tasty street food. Steamed buns, sweet or savoury, never break the bank and you can pick one up normally for around 20p/30p. Steamed pork buns are my favourite bun but it’s always fun to try new ones - like the custard buns that you can poke with a chopstick and squeeze all the custard out… granted it can look a little disturbing but it’s still fun!

Dumplings in chilli sauce 红油抄手

Another classic here. I wasn’t a huge fan of these the first time I tried them but now I can’t get enough of them. I think I’ve really worked up my heat tolerance since moving here and now there’s nothing better to me than a big bowl of pork dumplings covered in spicy chilli sauce! It’s the intensely aromatic sauce they’re coated with, made with vinegar, garlic, and roasted chilli oil, that makes these dumplings so irresistible. You can also get dumplings in soup but I prefer the dry dumplings with chilli sauce.

There are lots of different types of dumplings in Sichuan and China as a whole, but Zhong dumplings are named for the family who first made these in Chengdu around 100 years ago - and now they’re recognised officially as one of Szechuan’s most famous street foods! They’re a simple dumpling with sweet soy sauce and chilli oil and they’re great for beginners. James and myself were actually lucky enough to get to go on a dumpling making course when we first arrived - it was really fun!

Roast pork 烤猪肉

This isn’t a Szechuan specialty but it’s still very much available here in Chengdu. My favourite way of eating pork here so far has been where the pork is served on a sizzling plate with a sweet sauce and peanuts. Normally the server will pour the hot sauce over the pork in front of you and it’s great to watch it sizzle. I love it when meals feel more interactive like that. It’s super sticky and sweet and is everything that roast pork should really be!

Hotpot 火锅

I think it would be a sin to come to Szechuan and not try hotpot at least once. Unfortunately, I’m not the biggest fan of hotpot with red oil but I do quite like the version of hotpot at a restaurant near us that uses what I think is some kind of chicken stock/soup to boil the ingredients. This restaurant is Hong Kong themed so it’s not typical Szechuan food. When the food is cooked you dip it in a sauce that you can put together yourself - this is chillis, garlic, soy sauce, and spring onions. There are a few different types of hotpot but some of the most popular here are chuan chuan 串串 (where you get your food on long sticks and place it in the pot) and huo guo 火锅 (where you place the food directly into the pot and scoop it out when it’s ready).

It’s a really fun way to eat though because at most restaurants you start by going around a fridge section of the restaurant with a basket and get to choose what you’d like to boil, then take it back to your table and cook it in the pot with your friends. Chinese style eating is quite different to the UK because typically you share food more instead of ordering just for yourself and I really prefer it like that - it just means you get to try more things and don’t have to worry about ordering something you won’t like! It’s a much more sociable way of dining and it’s just so much more fun.

Eating with friends

It’s always so much more fun to share your cooking with your friends - especially when you all come from different parts of the world. I really love the other teachers in my class and so I decided to cook them some ‘traditional British food’ because Tina, one of the teachers, really loves trying new food. It was also a bit of a thank you for how welcoming they’d been and how much easier the job is working in our team. Of course, being the welcoming people they always are, they came to the dinner with Szechuan food for us to try too! They made us kung pow chicken, fried chicken wings, and mapo dofu (silken tofu in a spicy sauce) and we shared with them a cottage pie, potato and broccoli soup, Hellmann’s egg mayonnaise sandwiches, biscuits with brie, and a steamed syrup pudding - the best of both worlds!

Dan dan mian 担担面

Dan dan mian (noodles) are so called because historically the walking street vendors who sold the dish would have a type of carrying pole (dan dan) that they carried over their shoulder with two baskets containing the noodles and sauce at either end. The name of these noodles is literally translated to noodles carried on a pole. They’re another Szechuan staple food and one of my favourite things to pick up when I’m walking around Chengdu. They're served hot with minced pork in a spicy sauce. They’re also served with preserved vegetables like zha cai 榨菜 (lower enlarged mustard stems) and ya cai 芽菜 (upper mustard stems). Living in Chengdu has meant that I’m a lot more into preserved vegetables than I was in the UK!

Xiaolongbao 小笼包

Now this is definitely not a Szechuan food but you can still get it in some places in Chengdu. It’s associated with Wuxi and Shanghai so I’m really excited to try some more when we move cities! It is a steamed dumpling with broth inside that's typically made from chicken or pork. You eat them using a soup spoon and a pair of chopsticks and bite into the dumpling on the spoon then suck out the soup. There’s a restaurant called ‘Modern China’ that we’ve been to a fair few times. It’s got a huge menu but recently I’ve been ordering just xiaolongbao and calling that my dinner. It’s been wonderful!

Roast Duck 北京烤鸭

Some of the best roast duck that we’ve had in China (so far!) was when we went to Hongyadong 洪崖洞 in Chongqing - which was once the site of the earliest and most developed pier in ancient China. It has since become a popular destination for visitors to experience Bayu culture and houses a large-scale stilt house complex built along the bank of the Jialing River. It was full of food vendors and we ended up going for a dinner roast duck which was skilfully carved in front of us. Again - I just love food where you get to see the chef or servers work with it! The restaurant we visited is called Quanjude and it’s a restaurant famous in China for its roast duck and longstanding culinary heritage since it was established in Beijing in 1864. There’s no way that we’re going to be able to live in Shanghai without at least one trip on the bullet train to Beijing now!

There’s also a restaurant called Bao Bao Ding just near our apartment and they sell really great roast pork and duck with rice. It’s not hard to find and I’ve never found it to be anything other than delicious! James also swears by the spicy duck neck snacks that you can get here but I think they’re still too spicy for me!

BBQ 烧烤

One of the first restaurants that James and I went to near our new apartment was a BBQ joint just across the street and I fell in love with this area! I’m a big kid and I just love getting involved in cooking the food myself so I really enjoy going for BBQ here. You’re supposed to dip the cooked meat in chopped peanuts and spices when you’ve cooked it on the grill and it’s so good. Unfortunately, I went to a different BBQ joint in the city and ended up getting food poisoning (I don’t think that I cooked the chicken enough) and so I’ve got off BBQ for the moment but I’m sure I’ll be able to get back on it!

Sweet water noodles 甜水面

I love these noodles so much - they’re always the star of the show. Most famously, you can get them from the Wenshu temple area where there are plenty of vendors selling this street-side snack. They’re quite different to the other noodles in this list because they’re made using a much thicker, square-cut noodle and are served in a sweet-and-spicy sauce. They're served cold and are very chewy with a rough surface to help them grab every bit of the sugary sauce that they're served in. I really love both the chunky look of these noodles and their mouthfeel and I think they’re always going to be something that distinctively reminds me of our wonderful times in Chengdu.

Pastries 蛋糕

Although I do miss a good Greggs sausage roll - Chinese pastries really are off the hook. We live by a bakery called Holiland which opened in the mid 90’s and became the biggest chain bakery in China. I think that’s fantastic news because we won’t have to go without our Holiland fix in Shanghai! Chinese pastries and breads are typically a lot sweeter and lighter than those in the UK and always seem to be much more creative in their presentation - maybe it’s just because they’re new to me but I really find them to be so beautiful. Some of my favourite pastries here are the hotdog pastries (literally just a hotdog in sweet bread) and the half baked cheese (which is sort of like a cheesecake with no base). It’s a very dangerous shop!

Bubble tea 珍珠奶茶

I really love just how readily available bubble tea is everywhere you go here. Every famous western fast food company that’s come over to China has their own bubble tea (McDonalds is the best one) and there are so many other chains (like HeyTeaGo and Fresh One More Time) which sell some really amazing teas. It’s really going to be one of the things I miss the most when we do eventually move back to the UK. One of the best teas you can get is a watermelon tea with a cheese foam topping. There’s a lot of cheese flavoured things here (like cheese flavoured yoghurt) which I’m really into. It’s not so much a hard cheddar cheese and is more like a cream cheese/mascarpone flavouring (if that). I’m really obsessed.

Vegetarian food at temples

I really like visiting temples. I think they’re such beautiful places that offer a calm that you don’t seem to find in many other places in the city. They also often have vegetarian restaurants nearby and the food is super tasty and affordable. When we went to visit the Leshan Buddha with my parents, we went to a restaurant near the temple there and had a lovely meal overlooking the square. I’m just really into these vegetarian restaurants and love what they’re about.

Cake at the kindergarten

We always bake a cake with the little ones whenever its one of their birthdays at the kindergarten. There’s a great mini kitchen downstairs and they’re so precious in the tiny chefs hats and aprons. The cake itself isn’t the most delicious cake I’ve ever had because we don’t put any sugar in it, so it’s more like a bread with fruit on top, but it’s so much fun to share it with so many excited four year olds. It’s great for them to get to bake the cake and then eat it together. I love birthdays at the kindergarten.

Street food 路边小吃

The best part of living in China is the abundance of street food. There have been so many new things I’ve had the opportunity to try from vendors in the road. It also keeps our cost of living down because they’re never that expensive and can be quite filling! I love just picking up some noodles when I’m out and about, or grabbing some Guo Kui 锅魁 (deep fried meat pie) which tastes a little bit like a sausage roll with lots of Szechuan spices.

Liang Gao (Glutinous Rice Curd) 凉糕

Liang gao is a sweet summer dessert which roughly means 'cold cake' (although it's more like cold tofu thing). It's served with sweet molasses and has a texture like jelly pudding but is just mildly sweet without the sauce. I first had it at the noodle shop near our first apartment and it was a great accompaniment to our noodle feast that we had!

Variety of crisps

China has some really out there crisp flavours. I’m not sure if they’re just novelty or if people really like them but I guess they wouldn’t sell if people weren’t buying them! The most interesting flavours I’ve seen have been lychee sparkling drink flavour and yoghurt drink flavour. Some of the flavours like spicy crab and hotpot flavour are really good but I think I’ll be avoiding the yoghurt for a while longer!

Sugar people 糖人

Sugar people is a form of traditional Chinese folk art using hot liquid sugar to create beautiful shapes and animals. This isn’t really something that is particularly delicious to eat - just because it’s made purely of hardened sugar but it really is beautiful. The reason I love it so much is because I think it’s such an amazing art form and it’s handmade and blown in front of you. I really enjoyed this pig candy because I got to blow it up myself (which a lot of help from the vendor). It’s kind of like glass blowing but you get to eat the finished product (highly recommend not doing this with actual glass).

#china #szechuan #sichuan #chengdu #food

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youtiaoshutiao · 4 years

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Tagged by @cdrama-for-breakfast, thanks for the tag ♥ sorry it took so long!

Rules: Answer all the questions and tag 21 people you would like to get to know better!

nickname: my name is short enough that usually no one bothers!

real name: amy

zodiac: gemini

favourite musicians or groups: probably yuquan (羽泉) considering i have almost their entire discography on my shelf :P

favourite sports teams: nahhhh not a sports person at all O:

other blogs: nope!

do I get asks: occasionally!

how many blogs do I follow: 148

tumblr crushes: dudeeeee.... everyone i follow?? i remain in permanent awe of all the gif makers, all the ppl who post thought provoking metas, all the fanfic writers, and the random academics/studyblrs i follow haha

lucky numbers: hmmm, never had one?? i like 45 for personal reasons

what am i wearing: nondescript green t-shirt and orange shorts for lounging about at home :P

dream vacation: suzhou/hangzhou/chengdu/sichuan/northwest china

dream car: haha i don’t really pay attention to cars, maybe a 5-seater that’s easy to drive and has the camera for reversing

favourite food: nil! i am very undiscerning when it comes to food

drink of choice: milk tea/chinese tea (v partial to tie guanyin lately)/osthmanthus or lychee flavoured drinks? and embarrassed to admit that i am very much addicted to coke zero

instruments: piano till abrsm grade 6, self-taught basic guitar, now learning guqin!

languages: english (1st language), chinese (mother tongue, generally comfortable with it), malay (learnt for 4 years and forgot most of it, but i guess i still can manage basic malay??)

celebrity crushes: if you’re talking about hardcore celeb crushes like the kind where i save pictures and videos of every event they attend and reblog all related posts on my weibo and aggressively read forums discussing them... hu ge, alec su and hu haiquan (of yuquan) from my teenage days. these past few years i’ve kind of mellowed out HAHA (i hope) and just follow celebs i like casually, in which case i’ll add on ren jialun, zhang xincheng, zhou yutong, tan songyun, bai yu, bu guanjin to this list as celebrities whom i follow a bit more closely :3

random facts: i'm currently making my way through the poem 长恨歌 and went to read up more about yang guifei, and learnt that yang guifei was first married to emperor xuanzong’s son?! till the consort that birthed said son died and xuanzong took interest in yang guifei then made her a taoist nun first so that it wouldn’t seem so scandalous before taking her in as imperial consort and giving the son a new wife. seriously... /facepalm/

---- (and your additional questions!)

what’s your favourite drama: this kills me tbh hahaha i can’t choose five let alone one!! ... i can’t answer this HAHA T_T

your favorite drama look: not sure what this means haha sorry!!

your unpopular drama opinion: ok this is a really unpopular almost blasphemous opinion lolol esp in international cdrama fandom but i think daylight entertainment can be pretty hit or miss and sometimes the way they handle female characters can be pretty headdesky (depends)

an ending you would have changed: probably that of With You/最好的我们. it was a happy ending but they wasted too much time post time skip in the last 2 eps on the 2nd male lead and it came at the expense of the main OTP whose characterisations suffered consequently imo

your MBTI type: INFP!

tagging: haha anyone interested in this feel free to say i tagged you! i don’t think i can hit 21 people :P

#personal #tagged #cdrama-for-breakfast

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owldesk · 5 years

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welcome back to the 2020 edition of “liz owldesk guesses the owl power rankings out of nothing!” let’s get started! (as usual, location within the tiers means nothing)

S-Tier -

Atlanta Reign

a great team that has only improved during the offseason.

the editions of edison and sharp plus added time to work together will help this team thrive.

also, all the talent/analysts have been putting atlanta in s-tier and i’m gonna take the risk that they know something we don’t (don’t fuck me, actual owl desk)

San Francisco Shock

this should be obvious. they’re literally the same team that one last year

they’re all still good and are a super flexible team so the hero lock stuff shouldn’t hurt them at all

Hangzhou Spark

pretty much the same team as last year when they came in 4th

hero lock shouldn’t affect them at all

their players are still insane and have had a couple long months to get better

New York Excelsior

idk how others feel about this

their new pickups are super good, even if neither bianca or hotba are quite “meko worthy”

one of the deadliest dps trios in the league (nenne, libero, and whoru) plus the veteran leadership of sbb

jjonak is still good. he may not be the best flex support in the league for certain anymore, but he’s still top 3

the only weakness i see is that they still don’t have a backup main tank for mano. like, c’mon guys. pick up bumper or SOMETHING

A-Tier

Guangzhou Charge

the same team as last year and they made it into the playoffs

have all their players available at the beginning of the season now

SUPER flexible all around, hero lock won’t phase them

they added neptuno, an aggressive support who should fit right in, and wya another great support

London Spitfire

i honestly don’t know how this pick is gonna look in a couple weeks

like yes it’s basically a whole new team

but they players they picked up were all super good (or at least sorta good) korean contenders players

if they’ve built synergy i can see this team going far. OR they’re gonna fall to the bottom of the rankings and this will look stupid. oh well

Shanghai Dragons

super flexible team

their new pickups are GREAT like fleta? void?! izayaki??!! LEEJAEGON!!!!!!!!!???????????

anyways, a good team

Vancouver Titans

maybe i should have put them higher. i love this team sm but like,,,,,,,

i do not see fissure as the main tank going well. i just do not. he’s an amazing main tank but his personality and trying to fit into the prebuilt synergy will be ...interesting

also, side note, i really do not see them ever playing jehong which will be. so sad

still a good team but will have to struggle to the playoffs

B-Tier

LA Gladiators

a really interesting mashup of players

if they get the synergy together they’ll be good and if they don’t i fear for them

PLEASE don’t ever play paintbrush. ever. also, keep birdring healthy and oge from tilting

Paris Eternal

i do not want to put them here. it hurts me to put them here. BUT

in may, sp9rk1e and hanbin will become available to the team. they’re good enough that they can carry any team they’re on to an at least middle of the pack finish. all the rest have to do is keep from fucking it up through the beginning of the season.

that’s why they’re here

Philadelphia Fusion

they have one of the most insane teams EVER like??? fury, alarm, carpe, poko, ivy, etc

so why are they not in a/s tier, you ask? well, i’ll tell you

first up their support line is WACK. either they’re gonna pair alarm, with funnyastro (??????????) or boombox is gonna have to start playing main support. OR alarm is gonna be benched while boombox and funnyastro run around (????????????) it’s just a mess. having two new to owl supports working together OR benching your best support. good luck guys.

second up: chipsa. they have chipsa. enough said

third: THEIR MAIN TANK IS STILL SADO!!!!!!!!!!! whether or not you like sado, you have to accept that he is an average main tank at best. he cannot be the rock on this team of superstars like they need. it’ll be rough.

Florida Mayhem

another kinda weird pick but i believe!!

they got rid of xepher (finally) and have a solid tank line up

they have sayaplayer still AND they got yaki, who’s SUPER good

AND they have gangnamjin, another really good flex support

i believe if they build synergy quick they can go really far

C-Tier

Houston Outlaws

these poor guys have had a rough time and it’s not gonna get any easier

they have, honestly, a really good team. with a few exceptions, they have stars at every spot in their roster

the only problem is that every other team above them in this ranking has the same amount of stars, fewer non-stars, and potentially better synergy

like, look, there are some duos that should be the go-to every time (jecse and rapel over rawkus and boink, for example) but i just don’t put it past this team to ignore that and try to force something that’s really not there

and even if they end up good, i don’t see them (outside of their dps lineup) ever truly becoming great so. c-tier

LA Valiant

their team is nothing. absolutely nothing. looking at this now, i really should have put them lower

i’m just hoping the core of ksf, shax, and mcgravy will keep them from having a terrible season

they’ll win a couple games. probably. maybe.

Chengdu Hunters

exactly the same as last year but without yxl (i feel like there was drama there but i can’t remember)

they have a solid team but hero lock will prevent them from being as surprising as last year

i see them doing pretty well but not spectacularly (same as last year) if there isn’t a breakout performance from a player like yveltal or leave

the edition of leave is very interesting tho. he has the ability to be a star dps........... hm. we’ll see. for now, they stay here

Seoul Dynasty

they DO have profit and gesture now but that’s basically the only two who are gonna have any effect

it really all depends on what the coaches can do, but idk....... wizardheyong proved last year he wasn’t the god everyone thought he was so. we’ll see

i hope they do well and move outta c-tier tho

Toronto Defiant

this team is either gonna be good or REALLY bad

i like all their players. they have talent. it’ll definitely be a meme team

honestly, they even have past synergy between most of them

idk. it could go either way. i hope they’re good, but we’ll see

D-Tier

Dallas Fuel

all their pickups were average to good, but it’s still a dumpster fire of a team. they’re weak in the dps and honestly even in the support

they still have the same head coach. the same org. mostly the same players. a garbage fire of a team

Boston Uprising

much like dallas, they’re still the same system and GM as before. why should this year be any different

a bunch of unknown talent outmatched by all the other teams, a bad coach........ stop me if you’ve heard this one before

so long as huk is still there nothing is gonna change for this team. i feel so bad for them

Washington Justice

their team is too small, not strong enough, and doesn’t have a great coaching staff

like. only 8 players??????? for such a weird league with so much travel?????

elivote and lullish are good but so are all the other tank duos in the league. ark and aimgod are good individually but we don’t know their synergy and their playstyles are v different. corey is very good, but his other two dps partners are only on the average/good scale. the point is this isn’t a great lineup

and there’s WAY TOO FEW OF THEM like JESUS

#just wanted to put my thoughts down #i left this til way too late but #pls talk to me abt these i wanna talk to people #overwatch league #owl #owl power rankings #overwatch #mine

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stuclyblrs · 5 years

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hi everyone! i spent this past semester (spring ‘19) studying abroad in china so i wanted to make a post about my experiences! i hope this can help you in deciding if you want to study abroad and help you while you’re abroad! **this post is directed at study abroad programs through a university in the us - i have never done other programs so i cannot speak about them**

choosing to study abroad

i do want to start by saying you dont have to study abroad. this is something that is definitely being pushed lately by colleges (at least in the us) and it can feel like that you must study abroad to get the full college experience. however, its not something that’s necessary or right for everyone and you don’t need to feel pressured to do so. for me personally, i knew i wanted to study abroad in china long before i entered college whereas some of my friends weren’t interested until they started college and learned more about my school’s programs and hearing from upperclassmen who already studied abroad. some questions to ask yourself when deciding if you want to study abroad

will this benefit you as a person, whether its academically and/or for personal growth?

will studying abroad mean you have to take out more student loans that you don’t think you can fully handle (more on this later)?

is your only motivation only to have a more relaxed semester at a country where its legal to drink and/or for resume building? well these aren’t bad things necessarily - live your life the way you want to! - you might not have the amazing time that you’re thinking you will if these are your only motivations

are you (or will you) be able to mentally/emotionally handle the extra challenges that come with living and studying in a foreign country?

this is just a small amount to consider when choosing to study abroad, but another important thing is do what feels right! feel a calling to study in a specific country - then consider it! don’t think traveling is for you despite everyone pushing for it? - then don’t worry about it!

when and where to go

things to consider when determining when

how long do you personally believe you can handle? will a shorter summer session be better so you’re not away as long or do you want a full year for a more immersive experience?

which semester/summer fits best in your schedule? do the classes offered during this time keep you on track?

things to consider when determining where

what location has classes that fit your major/academic goals? if you’re ideal location doesn’t offer what you need, are you okay with doing a summer session or graduating a semester late?

where are you interested in traveling? have a language or culture you’re really interested in (this is why i chose china for my location!)? is there a place you don’t think you’ll get a chance to visit otherwise?

what are the costs for each possible location like? don’t forget to consider paying for food, transportation, activities, and other travel

if your school doesn’t offer a program in your target location don’t let that deter you from studying abroad. a lot of times universities allow students from other universities to apply to their study abroad programs. start by talking to your schools study abroad office/program to see if there are universities that your school already works with!

money

as i mentioned in determining if you should study abroad, one thing that should be considered is money. if studying abroad means you have to take out extra loans that you’re not sure if you can handle, then it might not be the best choice at the moment - there will be other opportunities in your life to travel and not studying abroad does not mean your college experience is incomplete. do whatever is best for you.

when it comes to determining the cost of a semester abroad, do your research! contradictory to what i just said, in terms of student loans, it was cheaper for me to study abroad due to housing being cheaper. however, i still had to spend extra money on plane tickets, travel, food, and other experiences, so it’s not just the cost of tuition and housing that needs to be considered when budgeting for study abroad. not everything will be budget breaking though, food was incredibly cheap relative to nyc in china, so that was another aspect where my semester abroad was cheaper than normal. additionally, with doing your research on the costs of studying abroad, don’t forget to research scholarships! i received two extra scholarships from my school that were strictly study abroad related and there are plenty of outside scholarships related to general study abroad, different majors, and certain locations.

some tips on saving money for study abroad

once you’ve decided to study abroad work on saving money - set a specific amount of your paycheck dedicated for time abroad, think about maybe skipping getting takeout and cooking at home to put that money towards abroad, possibly get a second job during the summer/other breaks

determine beforehand where you want to travel within the country/neighboring countries beforehand so you can approximately figure out what you’ll need to spend to achieve these travel goals

make a budget for daily expenses (food, transportation to campus if needed) and keep track of your spending

take advantage of programs hosted for study abroad students. about half of my traveling to other cities was done through the study abroad program, which cost a small fraction of what the cost would’ve been if i did it on my own

be flexible! there is a good chance you will go over your intended budget, but it is okay - money can comeback, time will not

with that being said however don’t overdo it, there’s nothing wrong with going a bit over for some extra experiences, but you don’t want to break the bank

homesickness/loneliness

in terms of being far away from my family, it wasnt that big of a change compared to a regular semester as i don’t see them during the school year. however, i did miss nyc and my friends very much. it was hard to deal with at certain points, especially when i was having a difficult time with school but here’s somethings i did to help:

set up times to video chat with family and friends - and try to make it a regular thing

send your friends dumb things that you’re doing - dying over homework, eating good food, some animal you saw on the street, a meme that reminded you of them, and so on they’ll be missing you too

make new friends! i know thats easier said than done, but other students in the program are in the same situation as you and will be feeling homesick. set up a semi-regular time to hang out (i made friends with my roommate and another girl and we hung out nearly every saturday to play games on the switch)

some easy ways to get to know people at the beginning are have lunch/dinner together, talk to people in your classes (especially in language classes if you’re in a country that doesn’t speak your native language), hang out with your roommates

participate in any opportunities hosted for study abroad students that you can. it’s a great way to meet other students and get involved in the local culture while spending less money

finally, its important to remind yourself that you have this amazing opportunity to study in a foreign city/country/culture. it is very normal/expected to feel homesick, but reminding yourself of this helps to bring yourself back into focus and enjoy your experience

balance between academics and traveling

this is something i did struggle with and i still do wish i had planned my time better so i could’ve done more, but in general its about finding balance similar to how you would during a regular semester with classes, extracurriculars, friends, jobs. since i wasn’t involved in any extracurriculars or didn’t have a job while abroad that freed up a lotttt of time that i don’t typically have to focus on school work during the week and travel on the weekends. when planning to travel outside of your host city, you’ll want to plan ahead as much as you can as those times are the hardest times to keep up (i had one class that was based on three papers... and two of them were due after weekend trips hosted by the study abroad program not fun man!) here’s some advice that i have for this

save ‘big’ trips for time off - i went to beijing over our spring break, which was the best time to go as i didnt have to worry /as much/ about my work and i could spend more time there compared to my other travels

spend time in the country either before or after. other than beijing, my other ‘big trip’ was to chengdu/xian/zhangjiajie where i visited these cities back to back right after my finals were done

use the time on the plane/train/car/whatever to do some work. i know its easy to just fall asleep or be on your phone, but you’ll be glad that you did some work once the next school day comes

talk with your professors! they will understand that you are a study abroad student and have limited time in the country - one of the weekend trips hosted by my school left before my friday class but we had quizzes every friday in that class so i just let my prof know that i had this opportunity coming up and he let me take the quiz the next monday

try to do your work during the week to leave the weekends free. i would suggest to even save traveling around your host city should be left for the weekends, unless there is some special event going on so that way you can maximize study time during the week and have the weekend free for travel time!

use whatever planning system typically works for you (traditional planners, google calendar etc.) and as soon as you know you have assignments/tests/quizzes, put that in your calendar and start working towards them immediately. also schedule in time to study so you can work towards tests/quizzes everyday so you can travel without worry

i felt i did a good job of balancing travel and academics, however i felt i didnt explore shanghai as much i wanted to. if i had planned out my study time better, i could’ve opened up more free time on the weekends to go out in the city.

other advice

if you’re not in college yet, make sure you’re researching schools that you look at their study abroad programs and that they have the location(s) you’re interested in!

let your advisor know that you’re planning on studying abroad as soon as you can (even if you’re just thinking about it and aren’t sure yet) so they can help you stay on track and plan for it

with that last point being said, don’t solely rely on them - do your own research, check which classes are offered, save any emails confirming that classes abroad will count for your classes, keep track of application requirements and deadlines and so on

i hope this post is helpful in your study abroad journey! if you have any further questions please feel free to message me✨

bonus! check out my day in the life in shanghai video :]

#study abroad #studyblr #studying abroad #college #travel #college studyblr #college study abroad #university #university studyblr #mine

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