So, I Think I’m Done Annotating My Copy Of First Edition MDZS, Volume 1.

MDZS Vol 4 Annotations

Part 1, pages 1-49

I finally finished Book 4! It was beautiful! I loved it! But a lot of word and phrasing choices didn’t fit my personal interpretation of the MDZS world, and the final chapter of Book 4 was translated based on an earlier version of MDZS, so I have a ton of notes.

Alright. Here we go:

The author is very affectionately roasting LWJ here, and simultaneously showing how LXC is an expert at reading his enigmatic little brother. The contrast between the high-register language of the brothers’ conversation vs the relatively informal narrative language is obvious in Chinese, and serves to make this short and otherwise rather somber exchange more interesting and a little bit fun.

I had a hard time with contractions and slang in this book. I’m sure it’s in all the other books, too, but this time the “gonna”s and “gotta”s and “yah”s rubbed me the wrong way.

Every single character in MDZS (except Xue Yang) is highly educated and speaks with care and precision. WWX talks more colloquially than LWJ (or, rather, LWJ speaks like ancient poetry and WWX just talks), and JC tends to punctuate conversations with criticism and threats, but they all speak like they endured years of formal schooling and have hundreds of classical poems and ancient texts memorized.

As promised, here is my post about the names of the 5 main sects. Along with some possibilities for English-language names. This is a long-ass post, so please bear with me:

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every day people tell me that the untamed is good, i’ve seen the first episode, stop gaslighting me

MDZS Vol 5 Annotations 4

Part 4 of 6, pages 193 - 267

We are now in the Extras!

I’m just here to provide a little bit of cultural clarification (ex: what it means for a gentleman to use his mouth and not his hands, and No it’s not a scandalous sexy allusion) and context (not all cabbages are just cabbages). And maybe complain about the occasional word choice and commiserate over how hard it is to translate sentence structure (Chinese feels much more flexible to me than English).

I remember back in the Firefly days, when I had to tell an acquaintance that “Mei Mei” did not mean “sweetheart” and maybe don’t call her boyfriend that. Not in public, anyway.

More under the cut.

For more about cabbages and pigs: https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/好白菜都讓豬拱了

Yes, you can find places where 面面相觑 translates as “dismay,” but it’s more like “I look at you, you look at me, both of our expressions are blank and helpless (and surprised):” “What is going on with our HGJ?” “I don’t know. Do you hear anything?” “No. You?” “No. Wha?”

I don’t know. Maybe it’s the long-leaved orchids portrayed in so many Chinese paintings; maybe it’s another plant that goes by a similar name. An image search of 兰草 in Chinese is only moderately helpful. Fill in your own best background flora.

Xue Yang is definitely at least a full-height teenager by this time.

MDZS Masterlist.

All the Books I'm Annotating Masterlist.

posting on twitter feels like throwing something you worked on for hours, days, weeks into a river, hoping it'll get swept out to sea for many people to experience, only for it to immediately crash into some rocks and explode. its gone now. if no one sees it in the 0.00003 seconds it exists on their timelines, no one ever will

posting on tumblr is like carefully placing your work in the middle of a dark abandoned factory, and slowly a bunch of weird little goblins manifest from the shadows and touch your work all over with their little raccoon hands and share it with each other. sometimes they find your thing again many years later and excitedly share it again

the weird goblins are much more enjoyable

MDZS Volume 4 Annotations

Part 3, pages 89 - 151.

Some important (I feel) tonal tuning and a little more anti-slang.

More below the cut:

Here is Part 5 of my annotations of First Edition MDZS, Volume 1, pages 264 - 341.

Here’s my response to @pussyibo, who tagged me on a post about Gg’s Li-Ning brand endorsement. 

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杀破狼 Stars of Chaos

My Seven Seas translation live-blog has begun!

(It accompanies my Occasional Yelling Into the Void live-blog of my Chinese re-read of 杀破狼.)

Note #1:

The appendixes are Awesome. Really well done for cultural and world-specific context.

If you don’t know the story yet, I suggest Skipping the Character Guide until at least the end of the first arc (too many spoilers)(just finish the Prologue), and skip the Location Guide (too boring).

Start with the Name Guide on page 434.

On HanGuang-Jun’s peerless beauty

Let us all take a moment to appreciate Lan Wangji’s beauty as described in the novel.

Since he was young, he has always been regarded as a model cultivator alongside his brother. He is famous for his talents, his manners, and his handsome face. He’s generally described to have a pristine face with graceful and elegant features and light eyes almost like colored glass. He has a slender yet muscular figure and he stands tall at 188 cm (from MXTX’s footnote in Chapter 115). However, he is described to have a straight face; at times, even described to look like he was always mourning. His aura is likened to smooth moonlight and other times, to snow and ice. He is second only to his brother Lan Xichen in the (unofficial) list of most handsome cultivators of their generation due to his stern and aloof personality around most people.

Here is a compilation of official art used for the novel and audio drama (since they are done by the same artists) along with descriptions from the novel as narrated not only by Wei Wuxian throughout the entire time he has known Lan Wangji, but also by random people from the cultivation society and even by the average noncultivator humans. Also used some screencaps from the donghua, manhua, and live action since there have yet to be any illustrations for some.

Lan Wangji at 15

Illustration for the Official Vietnamese translation set by Changyang 

Chapter 13: Refinement Wei WuXian made the sound of an oh and asked, “Is he a lad who looks quite pretty?”

Jiang Cheng sneered, “Is there anyone who looks ugly in the GusuLan Sect? His sect doesn’t even accept disciples with unclean features. If you can, find me one who has an average face.”

Wei WuXian emphasized, “Very pretty.” He pointed at his head, “White from top to bottom, wearing a forehead ribbon, and carrying a silver sword on his back. He looked rather handsome, but with his straight face, he looked like he was mourning.”

When Wei WuXian turned his head, he could see the side of Lan WangJi’s face. His lashes were long, appearing to be extremely delicate and elegant. His posture was also very upright, looking straight ahead.

Cover art of Season 1 Episode 5 of audio drama by A-Xin

Chapter 125: Lotus Seedpod Extra (Yunmeng Side) He then turned to Jiang YanLi. “Shijie, do you know Lan WangJi?”

Jiang YanLi said, “I do. He’s the Second Young Master Lan who is said to be very handsome and talented, isn’t he? Is he really that handsome?”

Wei WuXian, “He’s very handsome!”

Jiang YanLi, “Compared to you?”

Wei WuXian thought it over and replied, “Maybe more handsome than me, just the slightest bit.”

Wei WuXian raised two of his fingers, a tiny distance in between them. Jiang YanLi smiled as she cleaned up the plate. “Then he must be really handsome. Making new friends is a good thing, you can now go out to play with each other when you’re free.”

Chapter 125: Lotus Seedpod Extra (Gusu Side)

In this disorderly and bustling town, the entirety of his being truly couldn’t fit in, with the way he seemed untouched by a speck of dust and the fact that he was carrying a sword. The stall vendors, farmers, and bystanders rarely saw someone from such high class.

Lan Wangji at 17

Cover art for season 2 episode 11 of audio drama by Qianerbai

Chapter 55: Courage The glow of the firelight reflected against Lan WangJi’s face as though he was made of warm jade. It illuminated, with utmost clarity, the tearstreaks that ran down his cheek, as well.

Lan Wangji at 20

Cover art for Season 3 Episode 2 of the audio drama by Changyang 

Chapter 69: Departure Lan XiChen and Lan WangJi sat in an upright posture on two snowy steeds as they led the GusuLan Sect’s riding formation slowly forward. The two both wore swords at their waists and arrows on their backs. White robes and forehead ribbons flying in the air, they seemed to be deities themselves. Their snow white boots were so immaculate that it could even be cleaner than the other peoples’ clothes. The Two Jades of Lan truly were a flawless pair of jade, almost as though they were carved out of ice. As soon as they entered, even the air seemed to have become refreshing.

Cover art of Season 3 Episode 3 of audio drama by Changyang

Chapter 71: Departure From there, a white-robed man wearing a forehead ribbon slowly approached, carrying with him a sword and a zither.

The man’s features were of unparalleled grace, but frost and snow seemed to surround his figure. Before he had even drawn nearer, the cultivators quieted on their own, meeting his eyes in respect. The more well-known ones bravened up and went forth to salute him, “HanGuang-Jun.”

Lan Wangji in his 30s (present timeline)

Illustration from the MV of audio drama ending song 人间纵我, illustrated by Changyang

Chapter 7: Arrogance He had an aura of smooth moonlight. The seven-stringed zither that he carried on his back was narrower than most. Its body was black, made using wood of soft color.

The man wore a forehead ribbon with cloud patterns. His skin was fair, features both refined and elegant, as if he was a piece of polished jade. The color of his eyes was especially light, like they were made of colored glass, causing his gaze to be overly distant. His expression held the traces of frost and snow, stern to the degree of being stiff, unwavering even as he saw Wei WuXian’s ridiculous face.

There wasn’t a single spec of dust or wrinkled spot on him, from his head to his feet. It was impossible to find any fault with his appearance. Even so, two capitalized words jumped into Wei WuXian’s mind.

Mourning clothes!

Mourning clothes, indeed. Although all of the clans in the cultivation world used extravagant words to describe the GusuLan Sect’s uniform as the best-looking uniform and Lan WangJi as an incomparable beauty who only appeared once in a blue moon, nothing could help the bitter facial expression that made him look as though his wife had passed away.

[..]

Lan WangJi was silent, staring straight ahead, standing motionlessly in front of Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng was already exceptionally handsome, but as they stood face to face with each other, he still seemed a few degrees inferior.

Cover for audio drama extra “Lan Wangji - Accompanying you to sleep”

Chapter 65: Tenderness Lan WangJi was reading a book, his head down. A paper lantern was on the corner of the desk. Against the soft light of the fire, his face was even more like a piece of fine jade. Even his indifferent expression and his light eyes seemed to have been glazed a shade warmer. He was so beautiful that it seemed unreal. Caught by the moment, Wei WuXian was somehow entranced. Involuntarily, he inched closer.

Chapter 122: Gatecrashing (Extra) While he was sitting on Lan WangJi’s legs, he said, “HanGuang-Jun, your face truly is a total scam. Everyone thinks of you as someone with a clear mind who harbors no lust, a noble and chaste figure. I feel so wronged.”

Illustration for the audio drama season 3 poster by Changyang 

Chapter 87: Loyalty Lan WangJi’s figure was slender. He seemed to be quite the scholarly young master, but his power wasn’t to be disregarded. Not only was his arm strength shocking, his lower body was steady too. But, after all, it was a grown man who jumped from the tree, so although he caught Wei WuXian, he staggered slightly, walking a step backward. Immediately, however, he steadied himself.

Chapter 92: Longing The owner, “Really! No wonder. I was thinking you two good-looking figures must’ve come from a watery and spiritual place like the Jiangnan* region, Young Masters.”

Lan WangJi seemed as if he heard nothing. Wei WuXian laughed, “I can’t compare to him. He’s much more handsome than I am.”

The owner had quite a good mouth. She grinned, “He’s handsome, you’re cute. It’s different, but both are pretty! Oh, right.”

Would like to note that the physical appearance of a person with high cultivation is preserved at its prime. (Wen RuoHan’s level of cultivation was extremely high, so of course his corporal body was also perfectly maintained in its prime. –from Chapter 49: Guile)

Lan Wangji’s 33 scars and the Wen Sect brand mark

Screencap from MDZS donghua season 2

Screencap from MDZS manhua

Chapter 11: Refinement The person in the spring was quite tall. His skin was fair and his hair was black, wet and gathered to one side. The lines which outlined his waist and back were smooth, graceful yet holding strength. In simpler terms, he was a beauty.

However, Wei WuXian was definitely not stunned and unable to avert his gaze because he was looking at a bathing beauty. No matter how beautiful he was, he wouldn’t actually be attracted to men.

Really, it was the things on the person’s back that made him unable to avert his gaze.

There were dozens of intersecting scars.

[]

At the moment, the person in the spring turned around. Beneath his collarbone and near his heart, there was a clear sear.

Chapter 94: Longing The distinct Adam’s Apple, fair-colored skin, and smooth, aesthetic muscles flashed before his eyes so clearly that he didn’t even dare look at them straight, eyes averting slightly. He swallowed unconsciously, somehow feeling a bit parched. Wei WuXian clenched his teeth.

Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen, the top 2 most handsome cultivators of their generation

GIF from audio drama season 1 trailer illustrated by Higga

Chapter 11: Refinement Each place brought up the same kind of people. The GusuLan Sect had always been known for nurturing a lot of handsome men, especially the two jades of the clan’s current generation. Even though the two were not twins, they looked extremely similar to each other, which made it difficult to tell who was the superior one. Yet, although their appearances were similar, their personalities were not. Lan XiChen was gentle and benevolent, while Lan WangJi was overly aloof and stern, keeping everyone at an arm’s length and being the opposite of amiable. This was why, in the list of the bestlooking young masters in the cultivation world, the former ranked first, and the latter ranked second.

LASTLY

Lan Wangji’s rare smile

GIFs from 陈情令 / The Untamed, Wang Yibo as Lan Wangji

Chapter 100: Hatred But Wei WuXian immediately looked up. He very clearly saw beside Lan WangJi’s lips the transient glimpse of a soft smile that resembled sunlight reflected over snow. This time, not only Su She, even Lan XiChen and Jin Ling paused in astonishment.

Chapter 126: Yunmeng Hearing his words, Lan Wangji smiled faintly. The clear and bright light of the cold moon shining upon the lake was dimmed by this smile.

In the space of a moment, Wei Wuxian was left dazzled and felt light-headed. Involuntarily, that smiling expression also spread to his own face.

(All translations taken from Exiled Rebels Scanlations)