I Have Some Nordic Heritage And This Hit Me Right Between The Smile And The Tears.

My books arrived from Taiwan. I’m going to start my Traditional Characters, top-to-bottom, right-to-left re-read from the inn in YunPing (where the bookmark is).

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

😁

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

Keep reading

MDZS Volume 4 Annotations

Part 6, pages 210 - 234

More anti-slang, and a couple more clarifications.

More under the cut

Ok, so. This is weird, not because it’s incorrect, but because it is correct (but I don’t like using the word “strumpet” here).

The direct translation of “满身风尘” is “whole body wind dust,” implying that you’ve been outside for quite some time and are probably tired and dirty, most probably because of travel -- travel fatigue. Makes sense.

But 风尘 also refers to when women are driven to prostitution, likely because society is unstable or dangerous (like in times of war)(or just when times are hard). 风尘女 is another way to say “prostitute.”

So now I’m not sure whether MXTX was trying to say “besides the fact that the woman looked travel-worn,…”; or if she was saying “besides the fact that the woman looked like a prostitute (who hadn’t worked in 11 years?)(and is in normal clothes?)(and isn’t trying to beguile any new customers, either?),…”; or if she’s just conveniently using a word/phrase that means both at the same time in Chinese.

I don’t know why the translators chose “boy.” The Chinese is 少年, which is pretty obviously “youth” or “young person” or even “teenager,” but is definitely not a child.

MDZS Vol 2 Annotations, part 4

Here is Part 4 of my annotations of MDZS Volume 2, pages 199 - 279.

(Silly as it may seem to you, I drink alcohol so rarely that "drinks" to me means "water / tea / soda". Conveniently, Chinese has a word for "alcohol" specifically.)

Nothing to add. Perfectly put. ♥️ Our poor murder twinks ♥️

Common misconception, but the murder twink obsessed with revenge is actually Nie Huaisang. Jin Guangyao is a murder twink obsessed with self preservation first, Lan Xichen second, and the betterment of society through public works of infrastructure third.

Yelling about this again since it's a big pet peeve of mine but please be aware!!! that "kill the wolf" is not!! a valid translation of Sha Po Lang!! it's not even a "literal translation" it's just MTL gibberish trying to make sense of a term with no English translation

pasting the explanation I gave on twt below the cut-

杀破狼/sha po lang corresponds to three different stars 七杀/qi sha ('seven killings'), 破军/po jun ('vanquisher of armies'), and 贪狼/tan lang ('greedy wolf'), which are significant in a system of Chinese astrology called 紫微斗数/zi wei dou shu

when these three stars appear in certain positions in a natal star chart, they compose the 'sha po lang' star formation, which foretells change and revolution, a turbulent fate which could lead to one making a name for oneself in chaotic times, or ending up destitute

famous generals are often born under this star formation as well - as you can see, there are a lot of ties with the themes of the novel itself

but, however, it doesn't really have a proper english translation, hence why i'm in favor of the 'stars of chaos' version of the title

if you want to look at the actual stars (look closer at the vol 1 cover for a little easter egg!)

qi sha = polis/mu sagittarii

po jun = alkaid/eta ursae majoris

tan lang = dubhe/alpha ursae majoris

thank you minirant complete

Rec: The Phenomenon called “Qin Shen Shen”

What is “Qin Shen Shen”?

Qin Shen Shen is a singing duo formed in 2019, in the 1st season of a Chinese music competition show called “Wo Men De Ge” aka “Our Song”. It’s made of Zhou Shen and Li Keqin, two experienced solo singers who met for the 1st time on the show. “Qin Shen Shen” is their team name.

But who are they?

1) Zhou Shen: 

A singer from mainland China, mostly known for singing OSTs of C-dramas and movies, including CQL (Xue Yang’s theme) and DMBJ ChongQi.

28 years old. (5 yrs old, when together with Li Keqin)

Famous for his naturally high-pitched voice, similar to a soprano or mezzo-soprano.

Wants to lower people’s expectations, but keeps blowing people’s minds, so he’s stuck in a vicious circle of growing expectations and one-upping his past self. 

Most famous song is called “Big Fish”. 

Self-professed insecure.

Talks a lot.

2) Li Keqin:

A veteran singer from Hong Kong, who debuted 30+ years ago.

53 years old but is secretly 8 (3 yrs old, when with Zhou Shen) 

Is known for having such great vocal stability when singing live that he earned himself the nickname: “CD-Qin”. 

Will make mistakes in Mandarin but look really cute doing it 

Famous songs include “Half-Moon Serenade” and “Great Auditorium Concert Hall”.

Is a good sport. Is good at sports.

*is stressed* *pretends to stay calm* *slays* *rinse and repeat* 

So why should I check them out? 

“Match made in heaven” is the moniker given to them the 1st time they sang together. That stuck for a reason. Li Keqin and Zhou Shen are a “1+1= greater than 2″. In theory, they’re worlds apart, but combining them sets off sparks. Whether it’s their understanding of how a song should be sung, their skills, or their style in singing duets: all match. On top of that, their voices’ timbre are weirdly complementary. Li Keqin’s baritone fits under Zhou Shen’s floating pitch like an anchor grounding them. Zhou Shen’s sound brings both voices to greater heights. The exponential added value they bring each other as a duo is just a rare find in any circle. In short: You’re in for a musical FEAST.

Chemistry. Chemistry. Chemistry. Complementary in some ways, similar in others, how they magically fit like a glove right off the bat is itself a wonder. Zhou Shen’s “prepare-for-the-worst” attitude goes hand-in-hand with Li Keqin’s apparent optimism. When one throws, the other’s there to receive. Sometimes they complete each other’s sentences, other times they’re like night and day…In all cases, what a team.

Laughs!! So many laughs! When they’re not singing, Qin Shen Shen is a full-time comedy duo. Throwing each other under the bus is a skill they acquired in 0 time and make use of daily. And if they’re not the ones throwing the jokes, they sure are receiving well. Dorks.

Cuteness overload. Both are just incredibly likeable and cute individuals onscreen. (yes both) Unbelievable. You have to see it to believe it.

A heartwarming dynamic. At the end of the day, QSS is a duo formed for a competition on TV. But even with the most cynical eyes, what you see is a dynamic between 2 very different singers of different generations, who have to get to know each other enough to collaborate in a short time, within a dynamic that fits. And it works! Boy do they make it work!! 

Where to check them out?

If you’re short on time, some of their songs to pick from: “Under Mount Fuji”, “All the Lovers in the World”, or “Wild Wolf Disco”. 

If nothing else, give their audio clip a chance: Clean vers of “Under Mount Fuji” without audience reactions, and a compilation of clean audios to cherry-pick from. 

If you decided you want to see more of them, they’re a regular on “Wo Men De Ge/Our Song” S1: Ep. 1 with Eng subs. (More info on the show here) 

Give the “match made in heaven” duo a try!! They don’t disappoint!

MDZS Vol 3 Annotations, part 3

Here is Part 3 of my annotations of MDZS Volume 3, pages 219-312. I hope it helps improve your reading experience!

(It's mostly cultural annotations and reminders of appropriately-untranslated words, with a few "remember when..." notes and a few re-translations of really thorny sentences that I admit have no good translation.)

(I had a field day writing "Good boy" over Jin Zixuan and "lame cousin" over JinZixun, but I didn't include all those notes here. Just be sure to pay attention to if Zixuan/Zixun has an "a" in it or not in Ch 15.)

(By the way, "Wintry Room" sounds really pretty in Chinese and not weird at all. Maybe "Winter Room" would be better?)

This is just The Magnus Institute.

the last unicorn lived in a lilac wood,                  and she lived all alone