#xuanxue

[luckymoonly]

According to this Venerable one, violence CAN be the solution

[zhivchik]

[glorious-sunset]

Character Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

What’s in a name? For the characters of LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil), a whole lot of hidden meanings! These are not apparent to English viewers. Here are my translations and interpretations of these meanings.

DongFang Qing Cang - 东方青苍: “East, Cyan, Dark blue”

The surname “DongFang” means East, the direction of the rising sun. Both Dongfang Qingcang’s (DFQC) personal terrace at Silent Moon Palace and the replica Arbiter Hall he built for Xiao Lanhua (XLH) face East, and capture the most beautiful sunrises. DFQC (and previous generations of DongFangs) are well-respected by their people and enjoy the best locations and residences in Cangyan Sea.

The “Cang” in DFQC was named for his realm, “Cang” Yan Sea, as he was expected to be its leader and follow the path set for him by his father, and Lady Yan before him. Lady Yan chose to rid herself of emotions in order to wield Hellfire, and DFQC’s father forced the same decision onto him. The hanzi (mandarin character) for “Cang” in DFQC and Cangyan Sea means dark blue, and the darkness of this colour represents the darkness of the path he was expected to follow.

But “Cang” is not the only colour in DFQC’s name! The “Qing” in his name means lighter shades of blue/green, or cyan. And despite his prescribed mission to emotionlessly conquer the three realms, DFQC has many lighter, more peaceful shades to his character that reveal themselves as the series progresses. He forms a friendship and brotherhood with his enemy Changheng, who shares with him a love of playing music, art and cuju! And he rises above the cruel dictator of Shuiyuntian who almost annihilated his people, by sending his people to aid Shuiyuntian.

(The aurora borealis in Cangyan Sea is also cyan and dark blue :D DFQC might have been named for this as well as for Cangyan Sea!)

Xiao Lan Hua - 小兰花: “Little Orchid Flower”

We are first introduced to our female lead as “Xiao Lanhua”, which is not a name, but a description of what she believes her true form to be, a little orchid flower. But this was a disguise given to her by her parents and upheld by Siming. Her real name is Xiyun.

Xi Yun - 息芸: “Every breath”

The character for “Xi” in XLH’s true name is the same as the “Xi” in her realm, “Xishan”, and means breath (of life). Just like DFQC, she is named for her realm, as she was the intended leader of Xishan as its Goddess. The Xilan tribe of Xishan had powerful healing magics, and hers is the most powerful of all, with the ability to resurrect the dead with her blood, thus providing the breath of life. She uses this to great effect, resurrecting DFQC in ep. 26, everyone who died on the battlefield in ep. 31, and freeing the 100,000 sealed soldiers of the Moon Tribe.

The “Yun” in her name meaning every, combined with “Xi” can be interpreted as “every breath”. Sadly, XLH’s every breath is for one purpose and brings her closer to her one destiny. She is fated to sacrifice herself to save the three realms from Taisui. If this had happened, then like Lady Chidi before her, her sacrifice would soon have been forgotten.

Chi Di - 赤地: “Red/Barren Earth”

The “Chi” in Lady Chidi’s name means red, and paired with “Di” meaning earth, can also mean barren earth. She is the only official in Shuiyuntian seen wearing Red, as even the current God of War, Changheng, conforms to the same white and pale blue robes that other officials wear. Chidi is therefore a standout who asserts her individuality and does not conform to expectations. Her way of thinking outside the box, led to DFQC and his 100,000 Moon Tribe soldiers being completely blindsided by her sacrifice 30,000 years ago. It also led to her breaking heaven’s laws to resurrect Ronghao, to her later detriment.

Chidi wields powerful earth magics, as represented by her name. These are so powerful that she is able to seal the 100,000 soldiers of the Moon Tribe within the barren earth of Xuanxu realm. Her mighty Shuofeng sword is also swallowed by the barren earth and her magic cannot be reversed without her primordial spirit.

Xun Feng - 巽风: “Obedient wind”

The “Xun” in Xunfeng means to obey, and the “Feng” means wind. His name can be interpreted as either “obedient to the wind” or an “obedient wind”. Like the wind, Xunfeng lacks substance, confidence and ability, and is disrespected by his people during DFQC’s imprisonment. Many contenders try to steal his position as Moon Supreme, and he almost dies on the Wind Plain until DFQC arrives to save him.

But Xunfeng cares fiercely for his people. In his attempt to protect them, he collaborates with Ronghao without knowing his identity or motivations. He is thus “obedient to the wind” where Ronghao is an unknown and unseen entity, like the wind. Xunfeng is unable to discern that Ronghao is keeping Cangyan Sea in a constant state of civil unrest and tormenting the souls of deceased Moon Tribe members until much later, with DFQC’s help!

Shang Que - 觞阙: “Watchtower”

“Que” meaning watchtower is an apt description for DFQC’s lieutenant and right-hand man. Shangque has many talents suiting him to this role! These include his ability to be stealthy, gather information discreetly, undertake covert missions successfully, act as a powerful defensive force, and a healing one due to his skill with Chinese medicine. Like a watchtower, he kept watch for 30,000 years during DFQC’s absence on all events occurring within the three realms. His loyalty and love for DFQC, whom he views as a brother and whose return he awaited for 30,000 years, are astounding!

 “Shang” paired with “Que” can mean lacking sustenance. This is the state Shangque was in when orphaned as a young boy, and many tried to take advantage of him and his dragon body. If not for DFQC saving him, he would likely have perished from hunger or been murdered :(

Jie Li - 结黎: “Dark knot”

Jieli suffers from much internal torment which is like a dark knot inside her. From the moment she was born, she never knew or received love, and was raised by people who continually exploited her, physically harming her and threatening her life. That she is even capable of loving and caring for others is a miracle! Unlike Shangque, nobody like DFQC ever stepped in to save her and care for her.

Jieli cares deeply for both XLH and Shangque. Her life under threat, she makes some bad choices such as spilling a drop of Chidi’s blood onto the Bone Orchid. This is one of many dark and knotty situations she encounters. Although she soon decides she would rather die than hurt XLH, Dieyi poisons Shangque to force her obedience.

Yun Zhong - 云中: “Among the clouds”

Yunzhong literally lives among the clouds, but his head is also in the clouds. He is very narrow-minded and cannot think outside the box. When XLH does not fit within the eight-class system of Shuiyuntian, he immediately decides she is Moon Tribe (even before the Bone Orchid protects her) without considering other possibilities. He is so strict with Changheng that he would rather execute the most powerful asset to Shuiyuntian (and his brother!!) than tolerate the slightest disobedience! Throughout the series, he is intent on exterminating the Moon Tribe and almost does in ep. 31 on completely false pretences.

Chang Heng - 长珩: “Steadfast bird”

Like the golden bird brooches that the celestials wear to represent their tribe, Changheng is a model citizen of Shuiyuntian. He is steadfast and loyal to his duties and puts these above his personal desires. When trying to rescue XLH from Cangyan Sea in ep. 13, he is honest with her that he cannot break the rules of Shuiyuntian, and only hopes that Yunzhong will be reasonable and lenient towards her! Changheng is far more steadfast and loyal than the average celestial. He is the only one apart from Ronghao to visit Chidi’s grave on her death anniversary, honours his brotherhood with DFQC after returning to the immortal world, and after learning Ronghao’s secret identity, listens to his side of the story.

Dan Yin - 丹音: “Crimson tidings”

Twice, Danyin is the bearer of important news, relaying her visions from the Tianji mirror to the sacrifice of her own desires. First, she tells a wounded and imprisoned Changheng about his wedding to XLH in the mortal realm, causing him to start a mortal tribulation. Then, she tells Yunzhong and the High Council about XLH’s true identity as the Goddess, saving Changheng from execution and leading to his wedding with XLH.

Rong Hao - 容昊: “Vastly compromising”

Ronghao has “one tiny earthly desire”, that his beloved master can live. What he is prepared to do to achieve this includes burning the souls of dead celestials and Moon tribe, massacring the entire Xilan population including their women and children, forcing his master to endure 30,000 years of cruel mortal tribulations and using evil qi to keep her alive. His willingness to vastly compromise both himself and her leaves Lady Chidi aghast.

Die Yi - 蝶衣: “Butterfly costume”

Dieyi is a shape-shifter and the different forms she takes, butterfly or woman, are her costumes, which help her to be sneaky and nefarious.

Xie Wanqing - 谢惋卿: “Withering sigh”

Having forgotten her life as Lady Chidi, Xie Wanqing feels incomplete without knowing why, expressed by her sad sighs. Chidi is forced to endure countless mortal tribulations just like this one and die (wither) repeatedly. In each of these lives she is condemned to be murdered by the one she loves!

Xiao Run - 萧润: “Mournful wealth”

Both Xiao Run and his true self as Changheng come from positions of wealth and noble status. But both of them mourn the loss of freedom that comes from this – although Xiao Run is more of a carefree rebel! :D

Si Ming - 司命: “Arbiter of fate”

Using the power of her position as Arbiter of Fate, Siming has repeatedly defied heaven’s laws and changed fate! She resurrects Ronghao as an immortal, creating a new destiny leaf for him. She released the convicted dragon Chang Yuan and married him. And she instructs DFQC on how to also defy nature’s laws and change destiny! :D

Chang Yuan - 长渊 “Steadfast abyss”

He is the deep abyss that Siming falls into, as in choosing him, she accepts the fate of being imprisoned with him in the Ruins of Myriad Heavens for the rest of eternity. But at least he is steadfastly loyal to her.

Tai Sui - 太岁: “Very Ancient”

This most ancient of tricksters could not be defeated by numerous generations of Goddesses, who merely sealed him beneath Xishan. Over his very long life spanning hundreds of millenia, he has learned to tell whatever lies are needed to manipulate others and ensure his survival.

Here is a link to my article: Location Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

[clj-art-blog]

水云天•昊天塔 | Haotian [Vast Sky] Tower, Shuiyuntian

水云天•神水厅 | Shenshui [Water of Gods/spirits] Hall, Shuiyuntian

上古战场•玄虚之境 | The ancient battlefield, Xuanxu Realm [The realm of mystery]

忘川 | Wang Chuan [Oblivion River]

+BONUS A wonderful spectacle performed by an delightful trio on a magical and entrancing Oblivion River

[codumofr]

Voici une statue bouddhique représentant Maitreya ou aussi connu suite à son rôle de "Maître" et de "Protecteur" du bouddhisme comme Maitreyanatha. Fait de Bronze Dorée et fabriqué en Chine, cette statue date de l'an 536, durant la période chinoise des Dynastie des Jin orientaux (317 à 420). Nous allons donc parler tant de la culture et de la religion de cette période de la Chine que de la représentation de cette statue.

La personne représentait sur la statue est donc Maitreya qui est un "Mahāsattva" ou "Grand Être" en Sanskrit. Le Mahāsattva est un "Bodhisattva" (un Bouddha avant d'atteindre l'éveil) et pratiquant depuis très longtemps le bouddhisme tout en atteignant un niveau très élevé sur le chemin de l'éveil. Maitreya est censée devenir le Bouddha lorsque l'enseignement du bouddha Shakyamuni (Le Dharma), aura disparu lors de ce qui est décrit comme la Fin du bouddhisme de Shakyamuni (Mappō). Cette personne aurait vu le jour entre 270 et 350, sans aucune certitude néanmoins. Il est généralement représenté comme un Saint Homme ou un Prince. Lors de ses représentations assises, ses deux pieds reposent sur le sol, ayant deux interprétations possibles : il n'est pas encore "assis" comme le bouddha ou au contraire, il se prépare à se lever et à descendre sur Terre pour faire ce qu'il doit faire. Il peut d'ailleurs sur ses représentations avoir la tête légèrement baissée pour signifier qu'il regarde le monde. Un petit stupa peut être dans sa coiffure tandis que sa main droite apparaît généralement avec une roue posée sur un lotus tandis que la gauche sera avec une fiole contenant le nectar du Dharma.

Parlons du Bouddhisme durant la période des Jin Occidentaux maintenant. Durant cette période, le Bouddhisme continuera son implantation dans la Chine. Il apportera une contribution au "Xuanxue", un courant philosophique et culturel apparenté au Néotaoïsme chinois. Dans cette dynastie, un moine d'origine nordique, du nom de Huiyan établira sur le Mont Lu situé dans la Chine du Sud un temple qui deviendra un centre de royannement bouddhiste et qui verra naître le mouvement de la Terre Pure (Le bouddhisme de la Terre pure est essentiellement basé sur la foi, la dévotion et la pratique de la récitation du nom du bouddha Amitābha (nianfo), avec pour objectif d’accéder après cette vie à la terre du bouddha d’Amitabha, où la lumière, la longévité et le bonheur sont tous infinis.). Le Nord lui, sous l'égide des Seize royaumes, verra des travaux importants dans la traduction de nombreuses œuvres sous la direction de Dao'an des Qin Antérieurs et de Kumarajiva des Qin Postérieurs et l'égide des souverains. Le moine Faxian qui quittera le domaine des Qin postérieurs pour entreprendre un très long périple qui dura de 399 à 414 vers les sources du bouddhisme sera relaté dans le Foguoji (Relation des royaumes bouddhiques), dont il rapportera des textes.

[beatrixacs]

What gets me is that XLH does have every piece of information to selflessly kill herself with the Chengying sword:

- she knows that DFQC wants to free the 100,000 soldiers in the Xuanxu realm because he promised so - if she kills herself, the soldiers will be freed, - she knows that DFQC doesn't control Hellfire anymore which makes him weaker - if she kills herself, he won't need Hellfire anyway, - she knows that DFQC needs to find a way how to protect his people because the war is coming - if she kills herself, the war will probably stop or the scales will turn, - she knows that the primordial spirit of the Chidi woman is inside the Bone Orchid, feeding on her and gradually  killing her - if she kills herself, the spirit will be freed, - she knows that DFQC made a pact with the evil spirit which is extremely dangerous - if she kills herself, he won't need it anymore.

And that's why she did it. Not only she freed him of the Heart Curse she inadvertently casted but she freed the 100,000 soldiers and saved his life from the evil spirit because colluding with it would lead to his untimely death. She wants him to live even when she can't be with him (for obvious reasons).

She, however, doesn't understand one thing: - why did he claim that he never loved her and that he just played tricks on her. She obviously doesn't believe it and evidently, she never will. And even if she eventually did believe it, it was never a reason for her to stop loving him.

And then we get the scene on the bridge in the Cangyan Sea where DFQC: - comes up with the best kind of love confession he ever could, - explains that the only way to break the Bone Orchid and save her was to stop her from loving him and that's why he lied to her and humiliated her, - thus doing basically what his father did and what she is doing at the moment.

I just... the way the realization hits her like a ton of bricks is so well told. You can see that she was already fragile and that's why she told him to stop talking. And then, he just blurts this out and it's just too much for her, too much for the mask she willingly wears. And she breaks. And it's heartbreaking, twisted, angsty and beautiful in the same time.

Wow.

[thepineapplering]

For me the mermaid Stede thing lives in the same neighborhood than the Xuanxu cave fanvid montage in TU

[chouxtranslations]

Shizun 022 - Matchmaking for female ghosts 

Lu Yunzhen was used to things the second time around. He grabbed yellow paper from his backpack wanting to copy the tv shows, but realized that he hadn’t bought brushes and cinnabar…

Forget it, he’s bad at brushes anyway. Ballpoints are good too. 

Lu Yunzhen was very impressed by Wang Laosi’s customer service and decided to reach out to him again. He neatly wrote out a letter on the yellow paper. 

Haiping city Changle district Fuqiang street Wang Laosi

Hello, 

It’s been a few days. How’s the weather over there? Are you doing alright? I have a bit of a conundrum here that I hope you can assist with. Does there happen to be any single female ghosts who are looking for a partner… 

… 

Hongzhi wanted to study and took a glance, only to once again wonder if the over a decade of study he did of buddhism and xuanxue were all for nothing. He recited sutras for clearing one’s mind several times over to control his shock, recalled his master’s teachings of maintaining decorum, and stood politely to the side waiting for the underworld official to be summoned. 

Lu Yunzhen made some edits and finished the letter. 

Fires are banned in the server room, he couldn’t just burn it. 

Lu Yunzhen was a programmer, he followed the rules strictly. After discussing with Mo Changkong, he decided that having Zhao Anxiang meet the women while tied up was a bad look. Untying the chains, they drew a spirit trapping array in the server room and had him in it instead. 

Master Wuming watched Mo Changkong set up the array with practiced ease, being even better than the work of the grandmaster at the temple. He was massively impressed and offered to stand guard. 

Lu Yunzhen thanked him, then followed He Mengmeng to the office next door. He took out a lighter and looked for a flowerpot to burn the paper in. 

The office was very clean. There were no flowerpots or any containers that could burn paper in. 

Long Jingtian found and cleaned out a garbage can. “Master Lu, is this metal garbage can ok?” 

Lu Yunzhen was unsure. “Probably?” 

Mo Changkong confirmed. “It’s fine as long as it’s not destroyed in the fire.” 

Hong Zhi wanted to chime in, but seeing the exchange he immediately shoved his opinions back in and maintained a stern expression. 

Lu Yunzhen burned the paper with practiced ease and soon got a response. 

A small white paper man with an underworld official’s hat hopped out of the ashes. It responded politely with Wang Laosi’s voice. “Hello sir. I am working on an errand and may take a little time to arrive and thus sent a paperman in my stead. There are many ghosts who are interested in finding a husband. Would sir please state what the requests are like on his end?” 

Lu Yunzhen happily jogged over to ask Zhao Anxiang what his ideal type is. 

He responded shyly. “I’ve never dated anyone and don’t need much. It’s fine if she has a nice personality and isn’t ugly.” 

Lu Yunzhen approved. Unlucky singletons like them would be lucky just to find a partner, who would be ridiculous enough to ask for more conditions? 

He got He Mengmeng to pull up Zhao Anxiang’s employee photo and resume with a responsible attitude and wrote out a detailed introduction on yellow paper. Under the urging of Zhao Anxiang he also added in a pay stub. 

He burned everything for Wang Laosi and made sure to insist that everyone who comes to the match making must do so of their own free will, and that he didn’t want false advertising to fool any woman. 

The paper man responded. “Worry not, sir.” 

He Mengmeng watched the official go and exclaimed, “The underworld officials have such great customer service. They’re better than my company. Five star?” 

Long Jingtian agreed. “Working with integrity deserves a good customer rating.” 

“They’re very down to earth.” Lu Yunzhen joined in the agreements. “They come as soon as I ask with no attitude at all, plus he doesn’t ask for money. It’s fantastic!” 

The group continued to crazily praise the official. 

Hong Zhi listened in a daze. He wondered if he had hallucinated all the previous officials who had their nose up in their sky and couldn’t care less about things. Did they just have bad luck and just never meet a nice one? Next time… should shishu try this specific official when he attempts a summoning? 

Most of an incense stick’s time passed by. 

The garbage can ashes lit up again with Wang Laosi solicitously jogging in with 3 female ghosts in tow. Apparently he didn’t want sir immortal to wait and went straight to Naihe bridge and Siqing palace to put up matchmaking posts. 

This Zhao Anxiang didn’t commit any major crimes and is good at programming, he’s exactly the kind of talent that the underworld is short on. The higher ups already said that he should do some good to cancel out the crimes, then keep being a programmer and maintain the underworld website. 

The female ghosts at Naihe bridge and Siqing palace looked at his data. The thought was that he wasn’t much to look at. But he’s steady, learned, and the sword immortal is playing match maker. Thinking that there should be a future in this, a few bravely decided to come and take a look. 

“They’re all people who made small mistakes like the wraith did. Currently they’re just doing basic jobs in the underworld to save up merits and wait for reincarnation.” Wang Laosi guaranteed. “I personally checked them all, they’re very fitting.” 

Lu Yunzhen looked at the 3 female ghost jiejies, and thought that they were around the same age as Zhao Anxiang, but much prettier. One was friendly with a round face, one was lanky with a bookish feel, and the last was voluptuous with a candid personality. 

He was a little jealous of Zhao Anxiang, having all these high quality candidates even after death… who knows if he would have this kind of luck when he dies. 

It’s rude for men to stare at women. 

Lu Yunzhen withdrew his gaze and politely explained the situation. Under the request of the jiejies, he invited master Wuming out of the room so the pairs can meet and chat in private. 

The jiejies discussed who should go first with some embarrassment, and the ghost with the round face went in first. She came out after a short while and smiled at Lu Yunzhen. “I don’t seem to be very compatible with Mr. Zhao.” 

Lu Yunzhen stated his understanding and gave her a small gift for her troubles. 

The gift was a round and shiny purple fruit that Mo Changkong took out from the seed space. He had said it was a jiuyou fruit and good for soul cultivation. 

The female ghost ecstastically took the gift and thanked him profusely. 

Wang Laosi was so jealous that his eyes were turning red. The fruit was very rare in the underworld and mostly only grew in the palace gardens. It was worth several decades of cultivation and an official like him could only get one by doing a great deed. 

Lu Yunzhen noticed that Wang Laosi seemed to really like it and casually gave him a few. Mo Changkong had said they had plenty anyway. There were 2 full chests in the seed space since it was just some trash that he had forgotten about. It’s not tasty or worth money, but it was pretty, so nice as a gift. 

Wang Laosi grinned from ear to ear. It was great to follow the Yunzhen immortal. He not only gets treasures, but also praises from his boss. It’s only a matter of time til he gets a promotion. 

His attitude became even more conscientious. 

The bookish ghost then went into the room and also came out after a short while. She bowed and quietly replied. “This one is but a plant that withers in the fall, unworthy of the high talents of Zhao gongzi.” 

The underworld had souls from all eras. The female ghosts all had different styles and modes of speech. In Wang Laosi’s introduction he had said this jiejie worked in Siqing palace and was very versed in literature. 

“You’re too modest.” Lu Yunzhen immediately handed over his gift. “Programmers aren’t high talents. When you reincarnate you have to have a grad student at a good university as your baseline.”

“Thank you for your precious words.” The female ghost replied with a smile. 

Lu Yunzhen regretted sending off this well mannered jiejie on Zhao Anxiang’s behalf. Singletons can’t have their standards too high. If girls didn’t like him when he’s alive then they’re not going to like him when he’s dead… He placed all hopes on the last ghost. This jiejie is a little older and just wanted someone steady to spend her days with. Maybe she’ll lower her standards and pick this poor programmer. 

The female ghost readily strutted in. 

This time the conversation was a little longer…

Lu Yunzhen paced in front of the door in anticipation. 

Suddenly the sound of a slap and something heavy hitting the wall came from the server room. 

Lu Yunzhen was shocked and ran in. The female ghost had gone crazed. The room was filled with black hair and her eyes were red with drops of blood. She had grabbed Zhao Anxiang and was slapping him while yelling. “You shameless bastard! You dare to look down on women? When this bitch was leading soldiers to take down bandits your grandad wasn’t even bord!” 

Lu Yunzhen yelled out anxiously, “No fighting in the server room!” 

Wang Laosi threw his soul hooking lock onto the female ghost while Mo Changkong grabbed Zhao Anxiang and separated the two. Luckily the female ghost still kept her sentience and held back, nothing important was damaged. 

Lu Yunzhen checked the server while still in shock and finally let out a breath after confirming everything was ok. He reflected that he was too careless. He asked the two criminals in question what happened. Zhao Anxiang was no match for the ghost while still trapped by magic and was shaking like a leaf from beaten to a pancake. 

“I thought educated folks were supposed to have good characters, who knew he’s just a toad!” The female ghost angrily reported to Lu Yunzhen. “I haven’t even complained about his bald head and he thought I was too old, fat, and unwanted!? Pah! Why doesn’t he take a piss and use it to look at his own reflection!” 

After she started the other two female ghosts also couldn’t help but report their experiences. 

The round faced ghost was told off for having small eyes, not being pretty, and having a boyfriend while she was still alive. 

The bookish ghost was told off for being too skinny, not having a good figure, too ugly, and too smart and makes men lose face. 

Wang Laosi felt a bit awkward. “I thought these ladies were all nice looking. What kind of fairy was he looking for if his standards are like that. And the boyfriends thing, what a talent…” 

Lu Yunzhen was so mad his face was turning dark. 

He gifted the female ghosts, apologized, and regretfully asked them to leave first. Then he went to Zhao Anxiang and asked coldly. “What are you standards for being not ugly? And what other conditions do you have?” 

“My conditions aren’t high.” Zhao Anxiang immediately replied with a bunch of names, all of which were goddesses in the entertainment world or popular online. He grumbled, “aren’t those all normal girls next door? They’re not especially pretty right? Right, and I like someone who doesn’t wear makeup, knows how to do housework, won’t waste my money, and is understanding…” 

Lu Yunzhen took a deep breath. 

The mirror in his heart was shattered. They might both be single programmers, but he’s nothing like this shameless guy. He knows what he’s worth and would never aim for the unattainable. 

He only had two standards! 

And He xuejie made him remove one! 

Is that even reasonable? 

Wang Laosi was also feeling unwilling to continue. He took out his lock. “Forget it, I can take this senseless guy down for hard labour.” 

Zhao Anxiang started a tantrum. “You promised to find me a partner and get rid of my resentment! You can’t go back on your word!” 

Mo Changkong wanted to beat up this piece of trash a second time. 

“Yes, I have to keep my word.” Lu Yunzhen gently held Mo  CHangkong’s fist. He grinned to his ears and his voice became gentler. In a friendly manner, he continued. “Finding a partner is a major life event. Everyone’s standards are different and it’s normal to not see eye to eye with a matchmaking partner. It can’t be forced.” 

Mo Changkong knew that Shizun was a bit mad. 

Lu Yunzhen smiled. “Don’t worry, I understand your type now. You don’t have high standards, you just want someone who’s pure, pretty, cute, sweet, gentle, understanding, and with a good body. I will find someone who is exactly what you want, you’ll absolutely be satisfied.” 

Zhao Anxiang was very happy and heaped him with thanks. 

Everyone was confused at Lu Yunzhen’s promise. 

Long Jingtian asked curiously. “What kind of beauty would accept this moron? Is she blind?” 

“You know him.” Lu YUnzhen smiled at him, walked out of the server room, and took out his phone to call home. Quietly, he said, “Yunu, do you have time? I’m asking for a favor… Een, there’s no need for hidden rules, just teach him a lesson and make him understand his mistakes…” 

Long Jingtian stared with his mouth agape. Suddenly he wanted to light a candle for the wraith.

[the-archlich]

Was there a huge conflict between the different schools of thought (Confucianism, Legalism, Daoism, Mohism) in the Three Kingdoms period?

Yes and no. It's important to understand that the lines drawn between these different schools of thought weren't as firm then as they are now. There were a lot of places where they bled into each other.

It's better to think of it in terms of different scholarly traditions stemming from the interpretations and teachings of different luminaries. In Cao Cao's court, for example, you had a lot of disciples of the scholar Zheng Xuan, who had a somewhat heterodox view on the Classics. These scholars often conflicted with the more orthodox interpretations of men like Kong Rong. Later in Wei, we see the Xuanxue school of men like He Yan, Xiahou Xuan, and Wang Bi in conflict with with other traditionalists like Fu Jia.

[yuexuan]

[Review] 这该死的求生欲

Title: 这该死的求生欲 This Damned Thirst for Survival

Author: 望三山

Length: 224 chapters + 13 extras

Rating: M

Tag: Book transmigration, supernatural, teacher-student relationship, mystery, enemies-to-lovers

Summary [taken from novel updates]:

《Devil》 tells the story of Chi You, the protagonist shou, who was killed by someone and cultivated for revenge with the help of Feng Li, the protagonist gong. When Jiang Luo woke up, he transmigrated into the body of the cannon fodder that killed the protagonist shou.

What’s even worse, he transmigrated at the time when the protagonist shou was already killed by the original body.

At the funeral, Jiang Luo was pushed in front of the coffin.

The deceased body of the protagonist shou in front of him was serene, with a smile at the corner of his lips. However, Jiang Luo knew that he had turned into a malicious spirit and was eyeing covetously at him.

The more dangerous it was, the calmer Jiang Luo became. When his desire for survival reached the critical point, he knelt on the ground with a puff, and forced himself to cry.

With his sincere emotion, he said: “Chi You, I love you so much. Please don’t leave me…”

The chilliness around him smothered slightly.

Novel | Novel[translated]

Comments **contains spoiler**:

I saw this title pop up several times in different places so I decided to give it a try and let’s just say, I have mixed feelings about this book lol The basic premise is that MC (Jiang Luo) transmigrated into a supernatural-cum-fantasy novel as a cannon fodder, to be killed by the ghost of ML (Chi You) after he murdered the ML. In order to survive, MC continues to fight against ML’s ghost. However, their relationship gradually changed, especially after ML realized how similar MC and him are in their “evilness”. As such, ML shifted from wanting to kill MC to wanting to recruit him in his grand mission to bring down the whole xuanxue world. 

Highlights:

I’m not usually a fan of the enemy-to-lover trope because most novels tend to make the ‘enemy’ part shallow, but man, does MC and ML hate each other at the start. They genuinely wanted to kill each other, so it’s rather refreshing to read about it. Also, I like how MC’s constantly trying to out-think ML’s actions, just to prevent himself from getting killed. 

There are adorable side characters, such as Lu Youyi, one of MC’s friends who is just so innocent and dense at times. Or the alive-dead human Teng Bi, who grew fond of MC’s group of friends despite being their enemy at the start. One thing I appreciate is that the author elaborate on some of the side characters’ development/stories. E.g. When Teng Bi died, the MC and his friends spent quite some chapters grieving for him and tried to find ways to bring him back. I’m used to danmei novels where the whole focus is on the main couple, so even if the side characters die, they sort of just shrug it off. It’s nice to see the side characters getting some love too!

Plot-wise, the mystery surrounding ML’s death is intriguing. At first glance, MC is the murderer. But we get more clues later on that there might be something bigger at play, involving different members of the xuanxue world.

I’m also a fan of learning about Chinese mythology and the supernatural, so it’s nice to see these information sprinkled throughout the novel. 

Things I don’t like:

As much as the enemy-to-lover trope is interesting, the way that MC and ML interact, such as their dialogues and behaviors, is…very cringe. MC acts normally around other characters, but the moment he interacts with ML, he starts talking like an edgy teen (e.g. talking about his ‘evil’ compared to ML’s ‘evil’ and how ML found his evilness intriguing). 

The story drags quite a bit at the start with the main couple constantly goading and challenging one another. At some parts the dragging out of the story is too obvious and hard to get through. The plot gets good ~ch 100 in, when the mystery finally picks up and the main couple has somewhat reached a truce. Then the ending gets quite rushed. In the end, we didn’t get to know how Ge Zhu and Ge Wuchen reconcile their differences; Or what happened to Lisha despite ML saying he would use her; and what happens to MC is the real world and so on.

MC is very OP - there’re a lot of times where he would just acquire new abilities out of the blue to deal with tricky situations. It definitely decreases the suspense of the story.

[luckymoonly]

Thank you very much @preludianstaves for the tag!💙

1. Three Ships: Wangxian, Nielan, Xuanxue

2. Earliest ship: Wolfstar (I was writing for them on FF.net at 14)

3. Last Song: The Skye boat song (Craig Duncan instrumental version)

4. Last Movie: Home Alone

5. Currently reading: Lore Olympus vol 2 and Loveless by Alice Oseman

6. Currently Watching: Love between fairy and the devil, anything from Garrett Watts or Watcher on Youtube

7. Currently Consuming: nothing. I still have some baby weight to get rid of.🥲

8. Currently Craving: chips. Oh no, Crispers.🥺

Now tagging @stardustweare88 ,@makecableboyfriendoffical @forrestcat @wheeloffortune-design if you feel like answering these.💙

[glorious-sunset]

LBFAD Closing Artwork – Hidden Meanings, Part 1

Like the opening art, the closing artworks in LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil) hold many significant hidden meanings! The images tell a story and are grouped into themes central to the show. Here are my interpretations of these extremely clever works of art! (Images 1-4 discussed here).

Image 1: Orchid’s Sacrifice (image above)

The Heart-hiding hairpin and flower petals slowly fall to the ground next to the Zhengying sword. These are all that remain of Xiao Lanhua (XLH) after her sacrifice on the Xuanxu realm battlefield in ep. 31. Her sacrifice is true to the theme of selfless love, a central theme of LBFAD. Prior to this, DongFang QingCang (DFQC) had (also selflessly) tried his best to break her love for him, to save her life. But nothing could ever break XLH’s love for DFQC, and her only option to save his life was to sacrifice her own life with the Zhengying sword.

But her sacrifice didn’t end there. Because she wished to bring back the 100,000 soldiers of the Moon Tribe and resurrect the fallen on the battlefield, she sacrificed not only her life but also her spirit, meaning she could never reincarnate again - the ultimate sacrifice! (In parallel, DFQC also sacrifices his life and spirit in ep. 36 for her and the three realms). As she floats in the sky, her spirit disperses and revives everyone. It’s lucky that DFQC had a fragment of her spirit within him that could be extracted - this is the only reason he was able to resurrect her.

Side notes: a) This is a parallel to opening image 1, which also portrayed love as a central theme in LBFAD. b) Flower petals are also seen when XLH fades away from DFQC’s dream sequence in ep. 32, and when she returns in ep. 33. c) Although XLH was wearing the Bone Orchid during her sacrifice, it does not appear in this image - this is because DFQC claims it. He is seen holding it in his hand as he falls comatose into his dream world after her sacrifice. On being transported back to Silent Moon Palace he still holds it in his hands (seen in ep. 32). However, the Heart-hiding hairpin and broken Zhengying sword may have been left behind in Xuanxu realm. DFQC continues to keep the Bone Orchid on his person until the very end of his life, and his own sacrifice (at which point it floats back to XLH in its original crescent moon form).

Image 2: Entanglement

Images 2-4 as a group represent the development of the relationship between DFQC and XLH. Image 2 shows the pivotal moment of their first kiss while lightning strikes. At this time, many important things happen that set the stage, the foundation, for their love to blossom (as well as for other important events!)

a) XLH restores DFQC’s body and spirit (which had been separated), freeing him from his imprisonment. Their spirits entangle with each other. In mending his spirit, she gives him a part of her own spirit, which he later uses to resurrect her. Besides his freedom being necessary to their love story, she needs his help to achieve peace between Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea. DFQC’s position as Moon Supreme and his actions of sending aid to Shuiyuntian, sacrificing himself to defeat Taisui and earning the Glazed Fire lost since ancient times are vital to realising this difficult goal.

b) XLH resurrects DFQC’s tree of emotions, allowing him to feel love and compassion. Allowing him to love her, empathise with both his people and his enemies, and earn the long-lost Glazed Fire of compassion.

c) XLH casts the one-heart curse on DFQC. Not only does this protect her from his initial attempt to kill her, it ensures he must constantly stay by her side, protect her and keep her happy :D His unwavering protection and attempts to restore her vitality make her fall for him. Meanwhile, being forced to accompany her and understand her enables him to fall for her. He first experiences emotions mainly through her, and this stimulates the growth of his tree of emotions. Their physical connection means he immediately knows when she is in danger and can rush to her aid. Being forced to obey her on rare occasions means he has to treat her with more respect and consideration than he might otherwise.

d) Their spiritual entanglement means that electric kisses cause body swapping! :D This is important in eps. 11-12 as while they are body-swapped, XLH comes to understand DFQC’s responsibilities and DFQC is forced to spend three whole days training her on being DFQC rather than ignoring her (as he had been doing).

Image 3: Quality time together

Building on image 2 as the foundation of their relationship, image 3 shows Arbiter Hall as the central stage for the development of their love through quality time spent together! How important is Arbiter Hall to our OTP? For XLH, it has been the only home she knows (in this life) and is filled with memories of her beloved master Siming. Siming would spend all day with her and was the dearest and most important person to her. Now DFQC has arrived and reminds her of Siming in many ways, as he takes care of her, spends time with her, listens to her attentively, blows on her morning dew to cool it down and makes flower soup for her. DFQC now becomes the dearest and most important person to her! :D

For DFQC, his time with XLH at Arbiter Hall in Shuiyuntian has such a profound impact on him, that he is able to flawlessly recreate every aspect of it in Cangyan Sea for her!! All the structures and every brick and tile are exactly the same as Arbiter Hall in Shuiyuntian, he tells her proudly. XLH can’t believe that it is a replica and not the original! “That’s impossible! This place looks exactly like Shuiyuntian” she exclaims. The days they spent together at Arbiter Hall in Shuiyuntian were the happiest and most precious of DFQC’s life. When he loses XLH, he can’t bear to live and burns his spirit to return there in his dream, this time as her husband :(

In eps. 10-19, XLH and DFQC continue to spend quality time together in the replica Arbiter Hall, where they share flower cakes and tea, and fall more deeply in love :) In fact, the set of Arbiter Hall is used in six different situations. Apart from the two in Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea, there is one in the Ruins of Myriad Heavens which Siming created. There are two illusory Arbiter Halls, one in DFQC’s dream and one in the illusion Ronghao created in ep. 15. Finally, DFQC moves one of the Arbiter Halls to Xishan in ep. 33 for XLH. It’s not specified which one but Arbiter Hall in Cangyan Sea is probably the easiest to move for political reasons. No wonder Arbiter Hall is the first location we see in the closing artwork! In terms of significance no other location can beat it :)

Image 4: Commitment

The fruition of their relationship is shown in Image 4. Here DFQC and XLH commit themselves to each other and pledge their love at the Mountain and Moon Festival of Cangyan Sea! This celebration of a rare lunar event occurs only once every thousand years. The full moon is amplified through the lens of the crescent moon-shaped mountain in the distance (the location of Silent Moon palace) and appears as a giant supermoon in the sky!

A new tradition had sprung up during the 30,000 years of DFQC’s absence. Shangque fills them in on the details: “It is said that if couples who are in love carve each other’s name on the Love Lock and hang them on the Bridge of Love on the night of the Mountain and Moon Festival when the mountain and moon meet, then they will be together forever”. Although this is a made-up custom, DFQC and XLH are both charmed by the story and the opportunity to pledge their commitment to each other :D And they both love the idea of spending the rest of eternity together!

As Siming says in ep. 31, “Everything in this world is fated. Ony love is not fated”. Love is a choice, and free choice is an important theme in LBFAD. Despite the whole world being against their union and XLH’s destiny to marry Changheng (twice!), XLH and DFQC choose to love each other and commit to being together.

Both accept steep costs in making this choice. For DFQC, he gives up Lady Chidi’s spirit in the mortal realm and the chance to save his 100,000 soldiers (so he believes) to save XLH. To atone to his people for this and “deserve” to meet XLH at the Moon and Mountain festival, he sentences himself to the cruellest punishment in his kingdom. The nine Bone-devouring spikes he receives cause him unimaginable pain from midnight to dawn every night. For XLH, to be accepted by the Moon Tribe and earn the right to be his wife, she insists on being tortured inside the horrific Fuju cave for three days! (DFQC also chooses to suffer this through the one-heart curse on top of the Bone-devouring spikes D: ) She also gives up Shuiyuntian in favour of Cangyan Sea, accepting that the man she loves cannot give up his responsibility to his people.

To the right of the image are the Love Locks. XLH and DFQC have different criteria in choosing locks (beautiful vs. strong and durable) and independently choose the same lock! Using the Love Locks to pledge their love was clearly meant to be :D As symbolised by these locks, their love is beautiful, strong and durable.

In the artwork they stand on the Bridge of Love at the moment the full moon hits the crescent on the mountain, and pledge their love to each other (as DFQC later describes in ep. 35). DFQC collapses from the torture of the Bone-devouring spikes, the price of his commitment to her, before they can hang the locks. And so the hanging of the Love Locks is delayed, just like their life together is delayed by XLH’s, then DFQC’s sacrifices.

But they do get hung! When DFQC, in a breathtaking scene, hangs both of their locks on the Bridge of Love in ep. 35, XLH is still standing on the bridge. They are both there together, their hearts full of love for each other, and the significance of the locks is realised. They do get the chance to spend the rest of eternity together! :D

Here is a link to my article: LBFAD Opening Artwork – Hidden Meanings

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

[read-marx-and-lenin]

State atheism was not something that Marxists invented out of some evil desire to oppress people or some vapid desire to own the West, and people who don't recognize the idealist and metaphysical nature of religious worldviews are inherently limited in their ability to understand Marxism and dialectical materialism.

There is a reason why Lenin said socialists are atheists "as a rule". There is a reason why Mao attacked xuanxue. Materialism is a vital and necessary component of effective critique and analysis, and without an effective critical and analytic perspective one cannot formulate effective revolutionary strategy. That is not to say that you cannot be religious and also an effective revolutionary, but simply that religious thinking has no revolutionary value. Your thinking must be dialectical and it must be materialist.

if i ran tumblr then correcting someone saying 'religion' to 'christianity' when the thing they're saying applies to many religions across the world and its history would not only result in getting banned but also it would make angry imps come out of your computer to bedevil and inocnvience you and put you in a crusher

[jewelialu]

Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy 14 Dao Companion to Xuanxue玄學 (Neo-Daoism | James Sellmann - Academia.edu

[un-jaseur]

in the shade •

[tragcdysewn]

for a second, she's not sure which emotion is stronger, relief that he's at least trying, or annoyance at the fact that it's an awful attempt. annoyance wins out, as it so often does lately when dongfang qingcang is involved, and she reaches out to smack at his arm, simply for some way to vent their frustrations. "you shouldn't care because she was useful to you! she was a person, and even if she wasn't your friend, shangque and i care about her, isn't that a good enough reason?" they're quite sure they're not included in his list of helpful people, because, despite her best efforts, none of this is easy to explain to someone receptive to it, which he most certainly has not been! they take a step back from him, because clearly trying to hit him is not going to get her anywhere but worse off than she started. "i- you- what is it going to take to get you to just let yourself feel something? i know you can, you're just refusing to do it!" and the faintest voice in the back of her head whispers that maybe the one time he'd been telling the truth was when he'd told them it was all lies, that he'd never actually been able to feel, that it was all fake, that his tears at the xuanxu realm had been her mind showing her what they wanted to see before she died. "you have to feel something, i know you do, i just... i don't know how to help."

Her phone bounces off his chest and clatters to the floor, and he widens his eyes in annoyance. Jie Li-- oh. The helpful one. Dongfang Qingcang frowns, just slightly. "I... care," he says, the words not sitting correctly on his tongue, before he abandons that clear lie and clarifies lowly: "It's a shame that she's dead. She was one of the only useful people I've met." She had told him actual information about his homeland, and helped him consider what he could do here in the meantime. Although really, the news alert announcing her apparent death only solidifies his point, that the fairy's friends for whatever reason have difficulties staying alive. But when will Xiao Lanhua understand that he's not capable of the things they want from him? "What would my false compassion do for her now that she's dead?"