A fallen kingdom’s princess Ye Zhen relied on the jiao-zhu to come back to life, wandering among the 9 states, with the guidance of melodies, weaved dreams for others. There are those who are able to achieve their desires, and those who forfil their dreams, and as for the bitterness of reality, they have been softly erased. Music pieces created by illusion, life death, flesh and bones, she is the only God in the illusion, controlling life and death, yet unable to hold onto her own happiness. One and again a chance meeting with the prince of the opponent country, identities weighty on both sides, fate is also heavy on both sides. In the end was it a chance meeting of fate, or the teasing of destiny?
[Ebook][Epilogue in Chinese] [Eng Translation (Prologue & Chapter 1) (Chapter 2 onward)] [Hoa tư dẫn][화서인]
[Audiobook] [Radiodrama One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven][Drama with Eng Subs][Summary of sub-stories 1, 2, and 3] [Specials in English]
Fanmade MV for novel – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwUxHBMdayU
Apart from the main couple’s story, I think the story that touched me the most would be 13Yue’s story.
The stories:
1. 宋凝篇·浮生尽 Song Ning – Fusheng Jin http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/9zGOMx1pN-E/
2. 莺哥篇·十三月 Ying Ge – Shisan Yue http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/PhA-mY_1AKc/
3. 酒酒篇·柸中雪 Jiu Jiu – Pei Zhong Xue http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/JZAM85_9C3Y/
4. 结局·一世安 Ending – Yishì An http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/Sc_tjFQ7v5o/
+1 for 13 Yue
My most favorite TangQi book! I think 宋凝篇 would be my favorite story. Maybe because it came first, but it had the most impact on me. I think 莺哥篇 was the most fleshed out and powerful, 酒酒篇 the most beautiful, and 一世安 the most thought provoking, but for me, 宋凝篇 made me weep and remember it the most.
I was kind of disappointed with the ending of 宋凝篇 even though all of the stories, the characters die. It kind of works into Ah Fu’s noticing how nobody has the courage to live. Kind of sad…
*Oh this is such a sad book. I listened to this expecting it to be fluffy like 3L3W10MPB but ended up crying my eyes out. Why can’t at least 1 of the story has a happy ending? I expect the main story to have a happy ending. I don’t consider them having 15 yrs to live together as happy ending because ultimately she died & he died, sob sob……Btw did I’ve the ending right as I skipped the 3rd story & jumped to the ending:P?
After the 2nd story I took a break because I was too heart broken to continue. I’ll resume it one day, when I am in a very happy mood:P The 1st story is so sad & left a huge impact on me also. But looking back now, I think the tragedy could be avoided if they are less stubborn & full of pride. That general is really stupid as not to know who saved him so minus point for him. Whereas the King in the 2nd story is more sympathetic & sacrificial, my kind of guy, heehee….
Just thought I’d share this:
【派派新晋言情排行榜TOP100】排名大揭晓
1. 《九州华胥引》作者：唐七公子 1547票
2. 《杉杉来吃》作者：顾漫 1164票
3. 《Blood X Blood》作者：妖舟 949票
4. 《盛开》作者：长着翅膀的大灰狼 923票
5. 《岁月是朵两生花》作者：唐七公子 771票
6. 《失落大陆》作者：多木木多 473票
7. 《执子之手，将子拖走》作者：天下无病 470票
8. 《他，来自火星》作者：饭卡 451票
9. 《独家记忆》作者：木浮生 448票
10. 《黑白》作者：朝小城 419票
What poll is this as I don’t know any of the books except Mr 7 one? Why Hua Xu Yin got 九州 in front? Is number 5 the modern book atsu-chan recommended? Heehee, I plan to listen to it soon, my 1st modern book. Nowadays I don’t trust the polls as some of those rated highly are boring & bland to me. I am pickly abt the quality of the audio book if the novels are not interesting enough to hold my interest. If the story is good, I’ll listen to anything as I’ve no choice.
You don’t know how much I agree with you about the polls.
I think it has 九州 because it takes place in all 9 states? I think people just don’t add it because the characters were very easy to pass on the cover of the book.
It’s from the same place Hamster got the poll with the 3L3W10PB result from.
I do want to read that book atsu-chan recommended. Both of them. The other modern novel she recommended, 《何以笙箫默》was #1 on the poll Hamster posted. I’m so caught between reading this one or reading 《岁月是朵两生花》. The last modern novel i read was 请你听我碎碎念, and after that I couldn’t find another one that was as interesting and dramatic in an acceptable way. I think I’m too sucked into the historical setting and modern setting doesn’t allow much dramaticness to happen.
Aiya, just close your eyes & pick either one. Anyway you’ll read both, just in what order only. Normally I’ll listen to the 1st chapter & which one is more interesting, I’ll start with that. I think for me modern novel is too close to home so I am not as keen as historical one where I can fantasise & dream away, LOL.
I’ll cast a vote for 何以笙箫默 too. The story is cute, and I’m a huge fan of the author b/c of 何以笙箫默 and 杉杉来吃.
Oh, she is next on our modern books list. Actually I think Chancy started on 何以笙箫默 but when I posted 岁月是朵两生花, she switched book, haha…If you got time, you can post Gu Man’s books up to induce the scholars, haha..
100% agree. modern & ancient setting both have different things to offer. Just get to indulge more in the ancient setting since am living in the modern setting after all lol! 何以笙箫默 is not bad.
answering the 九州 question:
(from baidu baike) 九州 是中国的别称之一。古代中国人将全国划分为九个区域，即所谓的“九州”。
It’s just substitute name for ‘ancient china’ =]
SPOILER from Chancy::
When Ah Fu was revived by the Pearl, she promised to help Jun Wei’s father a favor and that was to trap/kill the Chen State’s king in a dream. It happened Mu Yan is the famous Su Yu, the son of the Chen king. The king left Su Yu’s mother (the king and Jun Wei’s father’s sifu) for a princess that could secure his way to the throne. Jun Wei’s father was jealous that his sifu (who he also loved) died saving the Chen king even though he left her for another woman when she was pregnant (but the king hadn’t known at that time). So, he wants to put the Chen king through that day when he left their sifu again to see if he would repeat that same choice. If he leaves her again in that dream, he would kill him when he wakes up from the dream. If he stays with her in the dream, then he will stay in the dream and die in it. Death either way. The Chen king decided to stay in the dream and died in his sleep.
When Ah Fu and Jun Wei’s father left the king’s quarters, she was still wearing a mask (with the face of Su Yu’s mother). Knowing they were the ones that killed his father, he stabs Ah Fu. He found out that it was Ah Fu, but she has already fell off the cliff. Ah Fu also finds out that Su Yu is Mo Yin.
When she fell down the mountain, she was heavily injured and her pearl was fractured. Since she relies on the pearl to live, her life has been cut down to 3 months. She goes into hiding inside the cave that she first met Mo Yin back in her childhood.
Mo Yin’s sister finds out that Ah Fu is still alive and comes to take her back to her brother. Instead, Ah Fu wants to help him forget about her since she only has 3 months left. The Pearl also has a special effect of helping someone forget things. By making reality a dream. For once, someone was able to break out of one of those pearl spinned dreams and that is Mo Yin. He knows what Ah Fu is trying to do to him, to make him forget her.
Mo Yin tries many different methods to try to extend her life. Finally he finds a way to do so, by giving some of his lifetime to her. He wanted to give her half, but they said only half of his half, which is 15 years. That last part was sooooooo sad, but it was already best could be. They earned 15 years to be together.
I’ve read comments from readers who say that it’s not how long you live your life, but how you lived it. I agree with this point. Even though the second pearl couldn’t be found, the main couple was still able to be together for a number of years so it’s a happy ending for me.
I think everyone has different criteria for happy ending. I think this is acceptable. They were already at the end, but suddenly had several years more.
Yah, at least better than not getting to spend anytime together. Just that the epilogue mentioned abt the deaths of both of them, one after the other, make it all the more sad for me. If the epilogue has ended with them spending the limited time together happily, it’ll be easier on my heart & tear duct:(
Just found something interesting:
Hua Xu Yin is actually the name of an actual melody of the Qin Dynasty (the oldest recorded melody) and it’s really alluding to dreams and illusions.
http://www.silkqin.com/02qnpu/07sqmp/sq03hxy.htm
A rather good MV of 13Yue’s story, sob sob….If the tv drama directors in mainland are as good as the fan made MVs, I don’t need to resort to audio books:(
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/zc8PbFoDql4
To HXY fans, (I am looking at you Chancy:P). The casting for the drama is sort of confirmed. Your BBJX, 8th prince KC will be Mu Yan. I wanna cry so you should know I am not KC’s fan. Although he is good looking, I just do not like his acting. I don’t say this based on BBJX alone bcos being a TVB fan, I’ve watched nearly all his dramas & I’ve yet to be impressed by him:( He is not the Mu Yan I’ve in mind but since he is chosen I can’t do anything:( Anyway there are some ppl in baidu who think KC is too old to be MY. The good news is Yuan Hong will also be in it so at least I can ship him instead, lol. THe leading lady is Jiang Xin. I don’t know what drama she has acted in but I google & saw some of her pics. She looks ok enough to be Ah Fu.
Btw if you don’t know, this drama version is quite diff fr the book as I think they gonna focus on the palace struggle for power which is so old & tired, not mentioned in the book:( Also, I think Ah Fu gonna meet Mu Yan after she died but not b4. Anyway I’ve no high hope that the quality of the drama will turn out to be BBJX so I’ll only watch it if I read positive feedbacks on it.
That was my evil twin (your triplet) posting. I always lock her in the basement, but she escapes every now and then. I’ve just locked her back in the basement again^^
Start of the new year and bad news already in C-dramaland. I can accept KC as the lead in one of the individual stories, but I cry at the thought of him as MY/SY. This is against the odds, but I ‘m holding out hope for someone else until the drama actually starts shooting. Personally, I would thrilled if Yuan Hong could be the lead because he’s how I picture MY/SY.
Yuan Hong, pls pls pls for the love of fangirls everywhere, you need some new management who can get you better gigs because you’re perfect for a lot of lead roles where you end up playing second, third, or even fourth fiddle.
I’m getting over a bad cold so haven’t had the strength to read anything. Just discovered that In Love With Power has been dubbed in Viet (which is way quick b/c the drama just aired in China) so this is my new marathon goal.
Lidge dear, stop deluding yourself or else u’ve to be locked up, lol. It is confirmed KC is MY unless he has an accident:P Even if he is injured they’ll probably cast a replacement. How I wish the leads are Hu Ge & YH. Anyway the production is not really HXY bcos they changed the essence of the story. It sounds more like a fight for the throne story. Wait till u watch it then u’ll know. To make yourself feel better, treat it as a diff story since they don’t even dare to call the drama HXY.
I just don’t understand what is the point of buying the right for the novel when you gonna tamper it beyond recognition? It is so hard to adapt a novel to drama? If the drama writer can write a good story then dun buy the book’s right. What made BBJX such a success is that it followed the novel closely except the ending. I wish someone can tell me why most drama adaptions don’t follow the book closely.
Did you read my posts in koala’s playground? Even Mrs Koala also doesn’t think KC is suitable to be MY but the drama MY is diff fr the book & she wanna give KC the benefit of doubt. Many HXY book fans think the drama is filmed for aunties to watch, lol. YH isn’t really the MY I’ve in mind but I prefer him over KC. If at KC’s age he can be MY, should have offered it to Wallace instead of him in that dreadful DGSD:(
Oh, you poor girl felt sick after knowing KC is the MY, lol. Why you hate KC so much? Come on he is a handsome man, haha….As you know I m a TVB addict so I am qualified to say I don’t think KC can act. I’ve never been interested in his dramas bcos of his boring acting eventhough I like handsome guy, lol. In Love With Power is a big disappointment. Watch for yourself.
good HXY MV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIyW5_7NBJ8
I completely agree!!!! Drama writers need to write your own dramas and not ruin popular novels. Why try to adapt something, change everything except the title, and make fans mad? Of course, the most famous examples of this unfortunate situation are Jin Yong novels, sigh.
Who did you have in mind for MY? I like Wallace, but no to him as Qiao Feng or MY, pls. I prefer Wallace in calm, authoritative roles like Kangxi in Royal Tramp or Murong Feng in Too Late To Say I Love You. I think he’ll do well in the new Tong Hua adaptation too.
I don’t dislike KC, just his acting. I grew up on TVB, and I’ve really, really tried to like KC for years that I’ve given up by now. The Seventh Day, Last One Standing, BBJX, the Ghetto Justice series are his notable works, but I’m sorry, he puts me to sleep. I know Kevin has gained a lot of fans after BBJX, and I’m sorry if my opinion offends his fans reading this but I just can’t connect with his acting.
Seems like ILWP is getting bad reviews, but I’ve seen 5 eps and it’s not as bad as I thought. Probably because I had low expectations after reading everyone else’s opinions so it’s not as bad as I expected. Also, this is my first exposure to the complicated relationship of Day’uer, Hong Taiji, Prince Gordon, and Hailanzhu so the plot is fresh to me. I know this subject has been done several times in past dramas, but I’ve never seen them. Or is the drama good in the beginning but slowly goes downhill? lol
Did you checked out Wait 4 Me to Grow Up?
Taking away the whole part about Ah Fu meeting Mu Yan before she died would really mess up some of the later parts. Like the time when after Mu Yan thought he had killed Ah Fu he went to the cave where they first met. That was such a touching scene. >< What will they make out of that scene? Mu Yan is suppose to be handsome, but Ah Fu didn't fall in love with Mu Yan's good looks. She fell inlove with that guy who took care of her when she was injured. I wanna bang my head on something. Kill me, but I think Kevin I suppose looks good for the part. But yah....he's too old. How old is Mu Yan? I'm totally happy about the actress playing Ah Fu though. If it is the girl from DGSD2003. I can see Yuan Hong as the general in the first story and the 13Yue's master. Those fan MVs make me really wanna see Yuan Hong as the general. hehe
In the Viet forum I check for book recs, everyone there has just gotten news about the HXY adaptation and KC as MY. There’s also a huge outcry because of his age.
From what I remember, MY should be young 20-ish something. Too lazy to go back to check, but a reader said MY is 25 yrs old. I’m OK if Kevin leads one of the individual stories. I just don’t think he’s charismatic enough for the role of MY. I think YH or Hu Ge would be good in any of the lead males roles in the individual stories – the general in the first story, the king or the master in the second story, the twin brother in the third story or MY’s father in the fourth story.
*sigh* tangqi is populer youth lit. this book calls for a idol cast. ya…..hu ge as general is good too. him as the king or mu yan’s dad is good too. i honestly dont have a mu yan in mind but he doesnt look like kevin. why dont these drama producer see things our way? i wonder if they even read the novel or just aiming at the popularity of tang qi. what sane person would cast a 40some in a 25 year old role. popular doesnt make u suitable canadate for a role if u dont look or feel the part.
The girl who will play Ah Fu is also older than 17 yo so KC’s age shouldn’t be a problem if he has great chemistry with her like most of the casts in BBJX are older than the novel’s age. Yet, I can’t find anyone who has much chemistry with him except Nikki Chow. I can’t understand why some ppl can ship him with LSS in BBJX bcos I cringe while watching their scenes together, lol. Although Nicky cried too much & a lot older than LSS, I can feel their chemistry.
No, no, don’t want HG as anyone except MY or JW. He is 30 yo but should have no problem being 25 yo. I don’t like that general bcos he is stupid & stubborn. He indirectly killed his wife & live in regret. Grrrrr, how can he not known who saved him? The guys in the 2nd story are equally bad, sacrificing your love one for ambition & being too noble. None of the guys in the sub stories are to my liking. KC should have any of those roles:P
News on HXY filming –
http://www.jaynestars.com/tv-dramas/kevin-cheng-and-yuan-hong-star-in-adaptation-of-hua-xu-yin/
http://www.jaynestars.com/tv-dramas/kevin-cheng-and-hua-xu-yin-cast-meet-with-fans/
Excuse me while I run into a corner and weep…. KC as Mu Yan?! No WAY! That’s just plain weird. But then again, I think I like the original text too much to appreciate any adaptation of it fully. A’Fu used to be my favorite heroine until Bai Feng Xi came along and completely won my heart…..
Sorry I’ve been so MIA…school’s started up again and you girls know how much of a beast that is…..
Really – it won’t be the first time. Didn’t KC act as a 25-26 year old character recently in Shadows in the Palace? Personally, I think he’s starting to look a little wrinkly in HD and he definitely doesn’t have that “youthful” feel.
A lil two cents from me on my ideal drama casting (so far) based on the characters in the book and not the weird SARFT summary.
A’Fu, Mo yen and Jun Wei
For me, ideally, the main cast of A’Fu, Mo Yen and Jun Wei should be a little younger, so I agree it calls for an idol cast! Haha. I think Zhang Han would make a decent Mo Yen (and I think he has enough experience to carry it off). He definitely looks good enough.
For A’Fu – definitely needs a younger actress who can carry off the depth of A’Fu’s quirky character – to me, Jiang Xin just has a “too experienced” tragic feel to her (I could be biased after watching her in all her glory as Hua Fei in Hou Gong). I think Zhou Li Ying (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Zhao_Li_Ying) can do it and she definitely has leading lady creds to her name.
I’m sorry, but if the cast Liu Yi Fei as A’Fu, I might have to kill myself. A’Fu is SUCH an animated character – equal parts funny, pragmatic and tragic. She is both loud and quiet. A lot of times, it is her pragmatism that brings the funny and the tragic – she speaks of herself as a dead person so matter of factly that it’s both funny and heartrending at the same time. Liu Yi Fei does not have the range from what I see.
For Jun Wei, I prefer 14-ge, Lin Geng Xin. Jun Wei’s the lovable sidekick. A bit typecasting I know, but he does the yearning unrequited love second lead so well (see BBJX and Drama Go Go Go).
Song Ning’s Story
Otherwise, I would think LGX would do well as the honourable General Shen in Song Ning’s story… but he’s just too much of a man-boy right now to make me feel like he’s a scary scary general. Ultimately, I think I have to say at least, physically, Qi Ji (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Qi_Ji) seems to fit the bill. The guy’s huge (185 cm tall) and if you watched Cuo Dian Yin Yang, you know he can have a face that’s carved of stone. Otherwise, Han Dong should be ok too (he’s on a popularity rise recently) and he can bring intensity. But General Shen is quite hard to cast because he’s not exactly a fleshed out character. The story was all about Song Ning, and he was just more of a subject which the story revolves around – a bit reactionary.
For Song Ning, my first choice is Jiang Xin… Because she just does strong and heartbreaking together so well and we all know this after watching her in Hou Gong Zhen Huan Zhuan.
Shi San Yue
ZOMG – for me, the trio for this story MUST be the former Tangren Three Treasures (the cheesy alliteration kills, but oh well). Yuan Hong as the ruthless Master, Liu Shi Shi as Ying-ger and her sister and Hu Ge as the King. Or if anyone is up for a bit of shake it up, Yuan Hong as the King and Hu Ge as the ruthless Master. We know that no matter what’s the combination between this three, our screen will pretty much burst into flames of tragedy which we will empty our tear ducts to put out.
Jiu Jiu’s story
I think KC will make at least a decent Gong Yi Fei (whom I gather is a few years older than Mo Yen as he calls MY “little cousin brother”). He has enough charisma and actually, don’t you think Gong Yi Fei’s character is pretty similar to BBJX’s 8? But if we can ignore his involvement in HXY, he isn’t in the running either – I would prefer Raymond Lam.
Honestly, Jiu Jiu is a difficult character to play. I love Jiang Xin so much after her turn as Hua Fei, I would love to have her become Jiu Jiu too. If I have my way, Jiang Xin can be both Song Ning and Jiu Jiu. If I can’t, I think I’ll vote for Sun Li as Jiu Jiu.
So, a summary recap of my two cents:
A’Fu – Zhao Li Ying
Mo Yen – Zhang Han
Jun Wei – Lin Geng Xin
Song Ning – Jiang Xin
General Shen – Qi Ji/Han Dong
Ying-ger – Liu Shi Shi
King – Hu Ge/Yuan Hong
Master – Yuan Hong/Hu Ge
Gong Yi Fei – Kevin Cheng (if we must) / Raymond Lam
Jiu Jiu – Jiang Xin/Sun Li
omg.i totally agree with your casting. that would be my dream cast too! yes jiang xin is defintely too sad toned. i can actually see her as shi san yue also. lol zhang han totally fits mu yan. especially the way he looked in feng qiu huang. i see him as the playboy guy that ah fu met but did not know that he was her masked savior.
Thank you, thank you. 😀 Tbh, Jiang Xin can play all three tragic female characters in all three stories and I would still be a happy bunny. But just not A’Fu. But we’ll never know – she might surprise us. And a good stylist could help to give her a more youthful feel.
Actually, another candidate for Gong Yi Fei is Nicky Wu (he actually still looks quite young – lucky him). But what really made me nominate him is that he can definitely do that “silent crying” with or without tears (haha – doesn’t he sound like a Starbucks drink now, with or without whip cream?). And one has to say – the scene where Gong Yi Fei recites the dialogue of his first meeting with Jiu Jiu to the wooden carving was just so horribly sad and is the representative scene for the character I think.
Zhang Han – I saw a bit of Meteor Garden & SOP but I’ve never seen him in ancient costume. Anyway he does look good enough to be Mo Yin.
Zhou Li Ying – Saw her in Cuo Dian Yuan Yang & like her. Looking fwd to see her in Female Prime Minister. Find her very matchy with Chen Xiao so I don’t mind him being Mo Yin:)
Lin Geng Xin – I like him also but he kind of look older than his age probably bcos of his height. I prefer my Jun Wei smaller, playful & silly:P Are Mo Yin & Jun Wei same age?
Qi Ji – He is ideal as General Shen, that stupid & stubborn man:(
Jiang Xin – Yup, she is perfect to potray the 3 tragic ladies:(
Hu Ge – Him being ruthless? Nay, I still think of him as Kwok Jing so he fits being the King more.
Yuan Hong – Just like Yang Kang, he shall excel being the ruthless master
LSS – How can she not be Ying-ger when we’ve HG & YH in the cast:P?
Nicky Wu – His sad & watery eyes plus his crying skill will flood our screen as Gong Yi Fei.
That is my dream cast but sadly it shall remain a dream:( Never mind, I can feast my eyes with fan-made MVs. I won’t consider KC’s HXY as HXY bcos the story has been changed substantially. Hopefully, someone will do the right thing & remake it later with the right story & cast:)
Alas – we won’t see a remake of HXY for a while because surely there’s an exclusivity window, within which TQGZ cannot sell the rights to another production company. It’ll probably also take a while for SARFT to liberalize.
I think Jun Wei is a year older than A’Fu? If i’m not wrong. So Mo Yen will be at least 5 years older than JW?
Actually, the most recent drama in which I have seen Zhang Han is Secret History of Princess Tai Ping. In which he has a really minor role – so I’m not sure of his acting chops. All I can think at that time was “who’s that hottie”, and I’m looking forward to watching his parts in Sui Tang Yan Yi. But he’s been given a lot of meaty roles… so I guess his acting chops have gotten better?
The saddest thing is that we’ve never got a Canon OT3 with YH, HG and LSS while they were all under TangRen. I’m currently reading Feng Nong’s Lonesome Fragrance, and I keep imagining Ping Ting, Chu Bei Jie and He Xia as LSS, YH and HG respectively. But that’s another dream cast for another day.
I’m thinking of translating the last chapter/epilogue from the HXY audiobook – is anyone interested in helping edit? I’m not by any means a native speaker, so will need some help with the more flowery descriptions. 🙂
Yah, I know it’ll be a long long time b4 there’ll be a remake as TQGZ is no Jin Yong:( I just feel so annoyed why any of them bother to buy book rights when the end products are so off:( Yah, probably the SARFT is the culprit but I didn’t find anything that is prohibited in the book eg no time-travelling, no historical figures or events etc. It is just a fantasy story.
KC’s acting chop is nothing to shout abt. As long as the actor looks the part & his acting skill is tolerable, I am all for it. I don’t need him to act like an award winning actor, haha…
Since YH has left the nest, the chance of 3 of them collaborating is pretty slim. Moreover being the OTP is even slimer. Eventhough HG & LSS are in the same coy but they have never been the OTP:( The only thing Tangren has ever done right is filming BBJX.
Are u listening to the audiobook for Lonesome Frangrance? Can you read Chinese? Are u a fan of ancient novels? I’ll love to help u but unfortunately my Chinese language skill is very poor:( I cannot read or write Chinese & can barely understand Mandarin. I rely heavily on google translate. Btw, if you like wuxia book, you must listen to Who Gets the World? Yes, I am a super fan of that audiobook, lol. It’ll be great if that novel is made into a drama which closely follows the novel:)
I’m listening to the audiobook for Lonesome Fragrance. I’m chinese characters illiterate. But audiobooks still can handle in Mandarin. Haha… I can’t speak Mandarin (although for this discussion, that is a moot point) – my friends laugh at my weird accent when I try. My pronunciation is atrocious and it definitely doesn’t help since mandarin has so many “tones” to a character, each having multiple meanings.
We’ll see how it goes. I just realised that epilogue is really long lol. Maybe I’ll just mark it as a “summary” and translate the important parts in full.
Going to check out Who gets the World. Who’s the reader for the audiobook?
Haha, I also can’t speak Mandarin well. I learned my Mandarin thru watching drama:)
The lead reader for Who Gets the World is Mian Mian who is new but Abu & SLMY are also reading. There are 4 voices so a lot more interesting plus cameo fr most of the readers in cxt8. Although Mian Mian is new, she is really dedicated & good. The sound effects & music deserve an A+. Btw, you’ll get confused & might not be able to get into the book at the beginning but hang in there bcos once u reach a certain pt, u r on the road of no rtn like me, haha….Pls check out the summary done by Chancy on Who Gets the World to get an overview of the 6 countries. This book is something like Jing Yong’s novel mixing politics & wuxia but fr a female perspective. The female lead who is called Bai Feng Xi (White phoenix) is very likeable whereas the male lead who is called Hei Feng Xi (Black wolf) is not really a good guy but I like him, lol. Btw, check out the fan-made MVs in youtube which are all very good but some are with spoilers.
I’m finally finishing Lonesome Fragrance. Chapter 130+.
Speaking of HXY – I tried telling my friends about it… and nobody gets it. So either I’m weird or I’m hanging out with weird people. i start out with the premise that YZ throws herself off the city wall because she feels and that that is a her duty as a royal princess of a fallen state. And my friends are aghast and in their opinion, an act that is so stupid. I tried to reason with them that her father, the king had made a decision and to go against it is against is akin to treason. and they all shout: “Let it be treason then”. I then pointed out that they’re judging using their 21st century mindset – and it’s really not that unreasonable from the perspective of the mores of ancient chinese civilization. I mean – it’s a culture where have been brought up to women think that death is preferable to being violated of their chastity.
The only one who KIND of gets it just laughs and comments that “its very chinese/tvb drama-ish.”
I’m half exasperated and also amused by how “western” my friends are. All of them have at least one parent who is chinese and living in Malaysia, we are reasonably exposed to chinese history and culture. But the sad thing is that most of us really don’t appreciate chinese literature and its historical backdrop anymore. I don’t mean HXY specifically (because however enjoyable, can hardly qualify as a classic at this point of time). But I told them that the premise of HXY isn’t really that “odd” in the sense that the theme of death and resurrection is not uncommon in chinese classic literature (see: Liao Zhai, Feng Shen Bang ie the Creation of the Gods, The Peony Pavillion, etc).
In the end, HXY is known as Princess Zombie and the Inception Pearl among us. So a very book club question I would like to throw out to all those who have read or are reading HXY: is it necessary to actually have an appreciation for chinese history and literature to be able to enjoy HXY because without that, the actions of the characters in HXY become a bit non-sensical?
Although HXY is an ancient novel, its language is rather modern compared to BBJX. In fact a blogger complains that she is disappointed with the lack of poetic & flowery language in HXY. I don’t mind since it makes it easier for me to understand the novel.
I don’t think it is necessary to appreciate chinese history & literature to enjoy HXY but it does help if you like them. I am interested in chinese history so I like HXY, haha..More importantly, you need to like chinese novels. It’ll probably help if HXY is made into a drama as not many non-Chinese educated ppl has the patient to read or listen to audiobooks. Everyone has different interest so don’t feel bad or weird if your friends don’t share the same interest. You can always find like-minded ppl in this book bar:)
I cried when YZ committed sucide, so sad:(
Haha… I know. HXY was actually quite easy to understand.
Upon reflection – I do think the construct of chinese/oriental literature and western literature is quite different. Haha…. for one, kamikaze and harakiri plotlines are not so popular in european fiction?
This is such a great site. Thanks to HuiEr for introducing me to it
I’m planning to translate this book so people can see how awesome it is since the drama is basically changing the entire plot. I’m surprised to see how much of my ideal casts coincides with those on here. I guess great minds do think alike 🙂
I don’t really mind the lack of flowery language in HXY as it makes it easier to translate, but I can see why some would complain. I think it has to do with the tone. It would be like watching an ancient series undubbed, with the actors speaking with their modern accents. It kinds harder to immerse yourself in the ancient setting that way
Welcome to SSB ! HurEr told me abt your blog as well as your HXY English translation. You’ve a very nice blog which I can see you are a fan of BBJX:) Anyway I think all of us who like C-novels are BBJX fans, including me. I also read your HXY translation. It is very good & retained the flavour of the book. Sorry, I was too lazy to leave you a note but I’ll do so with your next chapter:) I am glad you are doing the translation to let the drama fans know the real story:P
FYI, HurEr & I can’t read Chinese yet we’ve caught the translation bugs, lol. I am trying to translate Who Gets the World bcos I fell in love with the audiobook. So much flowery language in there, they are killing me, haha… Translation is time consuming & difficult but we do it out of love:) Thus, I am very appreciative of your effort & dedication.
Hello and welcome! sorry for the late reply – I’ve been really caught up at work. Peanuts will tell you even my audiobook listening has slowed down considerably.
Re dreamcasts: I KNOW! Haha, when I saw your dreamcast – i was like. Yay! Very similar to mine! hahaha… I can agree with all of your choices. 😛 Peanuts and I just had a chat – apparently Zhang Han looks too awful for her, Roy wins to vote. Lol.
I’m continuing to translate their first meeting but the fight scenes has gotten me @____@. If you are a verbatim translator and you’re using mine as drafts, I’m just warning you that I’ve had to cut some bits out. 😛
I think HXY is still ok in tone, neither too modern nor too poetically ancient that we’re like @____@ what are they saying?
HXY’s theme song penned by Tang Qi.
Theme song sounds nice. Wish I can understand.
But then I think of Kevin as MY and I cry tears of sadness.
Don’t worry Lidge – I’m working on the translation now.
http://hui3r.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/hxy-original-theme/
It’s so good… Although i can’t figure out if its “Official” or not.
Hihi….can I find out which part of the book feels about mu yan giving ah fu 15 years of his life? Why cannot give all half of it?
Thanks thanks
Chancy’s interpretation of the ending which is not in SSB I think: It’s a bittersweet ending, it could have been worst as in Su Yu needed to leave longer without Ah Fu. By giving her some of his lifetime he’s able to die earlier and be able to have her stay with him a little longer. Another way it’s a good ending is that they will be able to find each other again after Su Yu dies because Ah Fu said she would be waiting for him to come find her. Also what was said in the novel was that if Su Yu commits suicide than he would not be able to find her after death, that is also why he endures the loneliness of not having Ah Fu by his side.
For further discussion, read the comments here
http://hui3r.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/hxy-the-philosopy-of-a-princess/
Epilogue link:
http://www.19lou.com/forum-26-thread-40673274-1-1.html
Thanks so much peanuts…… I’m so new to this think I’m going to irritate everyone asking questions…..pls pardon me first k……. But thanks for explaining…..wow…..I get more to try and “read” thru…haha…..
It’s such a happy find…..was getting quite bored and depressed with my boring days…now I got interesting reads……
Just a few thoughts. In Malaysia the Chinese are able to speak several dialects but many know just a smattering of each and I’m one of them. I think it’s easier to learn how to speak Mandarin than Cantonese because Mandarin has only 4 tones whereas Cantonese has 6 or even more.
I find Hua Xu Yin a very lovely story because I just love that kind of romantic thing and the ending seems so poignantly sad though not really tragic because, just imagine, they had 15 more years together. It’s real and sacrificing love and isn’t that so sweet?
My last thought, Kevin Cheng. Most of you, in fact, all without exception have adverse thoughts of him and his acting. That’s all right but I do hope you will just give him a chance to show what he can do.
Thank you Polly for dropping by & leaving a comment:) We do like HXY very much especially Hui3r. Frankly speaking, if you’ve read the novel, KC is not the MY in the book. However as you are aware, the drama is loosely based on the novel so we’ll try to see & accept KC as the MY of the drama. As a KC fan, you’ll feel we’ve bashed him a tad too much:) Although I’ve never been passionate abt KC’s acting, I do think he is a handsome man:) Hey, I am watching Ip Man now so I don’t anti-KC:P I find that his acting in China drama better than HK drama or maybe it is the scripting or character problems. I’ll definitely give him a chance to wow me with his acting in HXY:)
Just dropping by to say hi! And to tell Chancy and Peanuts that I’m giving Hua Xu Yin another go. I’m enjoying it a lot more the second time around. Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to marathon this book after I read Heavy Sweetness, Ash-like Frost, because I was definitely more in the mood for something funny and sweet rather than something epic and heartrending.
Sorry to say this to those who are kevin cheng’s fans. sorry to upset you guys but i personally think that kevin cheng can’t act well the role as the male leading character (Muyan/ Suyu). in the first place his personal traits doesn’t even fit the role. i will give another example will be bu bu jing xin by tong hua one of the books that i read. i find the book is well written but then the characters are just a little unsuitable. just like kevin cheng doesn’t not suit the role as the eight prince. I am not talking bad about him as this is just my own point of perspective and i seriously think that kevin cheng cannot act well in ancient drama before it just doesn’t suit him. (No offences). Although, i am not sure how well will this new actress will be as a female leading but i do hope that things will be better. i was hoping that Hu Ge as the male leading and yuan hong as the second male leading and also shi shi as they are very good friends and i am sure that communications will be easier if the three of them pair up together. 🙂
Trailer 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq8IKbfgoUk
Trailer 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWEH_PlzPEk
Trailer 3
Ugh Song Ning and Shen An’s love story in the trailer wrenches my gut! Ugh!
i wanna read Shen An and Song Ning’s story. please tell me which chapter it starts from? regrettably no time to read the whole book
Start from here: http://book.kanunu.org/files/yqxs/201103/1863/43619.html
My gosh, so quick. You are lifesaver. thank you 🙂
Hii! I’m just wondering if the ending will be a sad one before I start reading 😛
Well, that is a hard question to answer as it is based on how you see it. Some interpret it as a happy ending whereas some don’t think so. This is not a spoiler but a reminder that at the beginning of the story the female lead is already dead so she is some sort of a zombie:) I don’t want to write too much on it but we can discuss abt it when you’ve finished the book on how the ending can be happy and sad to different people. It is not a matter of shipping the wrong guy bcos the lead is very obvious.
I personally feel the main OTP story is the least sad one. Whereas all the sub-stories will have you bawling so do get ready some tissues. But don’t let this deter you from reading the book bcos this is one of Tang 7’s best book and she won some pretigious literary award for it. The plot is special and poignant. Tang 7 wrote it with humour and angst all in one. She can make you cry & laugh within 1 sentence or paragraph. Most importantly, it is not draggy. I strongly recomend you to read this bcos I can assure you the drama will not do the book justice.
Is there any summary about sub stories 3 and 4?
Impatient again miss redhazel lol? You can use your favourite google to read or wait for hui3r’s translation to give you the full picture later. I am not allowed to post the summary lol. Sub story 3 will not be in the drama so you only get it in the book.
Don’t focus on the sub-stories. The main story b/w Ah Fu & Mu Yan is my fav, so sweet & cute:)
LOL you know me so well peanuts 😀
Don’t worry, I will support and wait for hui3r translation to make all the things clear! 🙂
I love jun wei and xiao huang. They’re cute!
Has there been any news on when the drama will air this year? It is going to be this year, right?
I find it so ironic that one substory I’m least interested in seeing dramatized in live action is pretty much the only story I’m looking forward to watching because of lover boy Yuan Hong and the beautiful Jiang Xin. Darn it, it’s like all of Yuan Hong’s works are all in post-production right now. Bummed about that and even more bummed because my hopes of HongShi have been dashed for months now. That means I can no longer fangirl and speculate whenever they hold hands. 🙁
/end of rant – lol, sorry ladies!
p.s. does anyone know the name of the song that appears at the end of Shen An & Song Ning’s radiodrama third and final part? It comes on right before Jun Fu and Mu Yan’s conversation ends. Who sings it? It sounds so familiar but I can’t place where I’ve heard it from before.
I think you need to read my blog more often:P It’ll be released in Aug 2014 so prepare your tissue.
As for the song, I am not sure since I specialise in books but not songs lol. Check if this is the right one.
OMG! Thanks Peanuts! That’s the song~ 😀 I never heard of 武艺 before =X
and great news on HXY’s August 2014 air date. is it also confirmed that DMY will air on May 20th or is the date still a speculation?
It’s taking me forever to get through this novel, partially due to exams but. It kills me, I start bawling after every sub story. I just finished Qing Jiu Jiu’s story last night cus I couldn’t put it down. I was like NOOO IS THS INCEST?! But I found out it was misunderstandings again… quite similar to the Shen An-Song Ning story… I must say all three were well written and I love all of them, but more so Shi San Yue’s!
But then it was 5 in the morning and I thought… Uncle Kevin is going to play Mu Yan?! And so the nightmares started 🙁 He could’ve maybe played Shen An … but to be Mu Yan?! Mu Yan is supposed to be a young smart handsome fellow… but KEVIN?! So I was outraged… Plus I was on peanut’s blog and saw some of the book illustrations. I think Shen An depiction matches Kevin’s hair to be in the drama adaptation, so he should’ve played Shen An (if there was no other choice to ban him from the drama), and Yuan Hong as Mu Yan. But really, what is with the ugly costumes for the upcoming drama? The visual book’s costumes are really pretty, they should’ve just used those instead of ‘using their imagination’ -.-
Actually, I feel Jiu Jiu’s story is the saddest bcos one has to live in memory:( I also like 13 Yue story the best bcos very swoon worthy lol.
The drama is the reason why I asked you to read the novel bcos you’ll cry even harder when you watch the drama & see how they butcher the story:( I still have plenty of book illustrations but I am not allowed to post them until hui3r translates those parts so come back for more later, lol. I also feel the illustrations have great costumes, more normal & better than the drama.
So I finally finished reading the book. It was really good, except I felt MuRongAn’s story wasn’t extraordinarily written like the previous ones, it was just the knot tying story. I guess despite sad endings for all of the substories, it was more bittersweet. First time read was sad, second time was sweet, I liked it 🙂 Also, the ending was nice for both SuYu and YeJen! Definitely a nice read, not looking forward to the book being butchered by the drama though :/ If only it was a better cast and kept closer to the storyline. Does anyone know how ShenAn/SongNing’s story will tie in with YeJen/SuYu story? I hate how they changed the colour of her dress to red for the drama (part where she jumps off the walls). With that said, I need a new book recommendation, anyone? Peanuts? 😀
Alas, you finished lol. Btw I can’t remember if you read the Chinese or Viet version. This is bcos I think many of the Viet translations for the ancient novels are incomplete. You prefer ancient novels, right?
1) My bias choice is Who Gets the World but it may be too dry for you since I listened to the best audio book which sound like a drama without the picture only. Also, the Chinese is a bit hard to understand & at times can be pretty serious abt war & politic. At the same time, it is also funny, touching, heroic & epic. Check out my review b4 you read it.
2) If you are a Wallace Huo’s fan, quickly run to read Hua Qian Gu lol. This is because it’ll be adapted into a drama & filming will start soon with WH & Zhao Li Ying as leads. But the setting will be changed from xianxia to wuxia so I guess the story will also be changed. I also wrote a review on it but it is also bias bcos I dislike teacher student r/s books, lol.
3) Lastly, you may wanna give Fei Wo Si Cun’s Eastern Palace a try since it is a favourite with many. But I better warn you the ending will make you cry buckets & the male lead will make you feel like strangling him, lol.
It took me awhile cus exams.. then I was bouncing back and forth with audiobooks/dramas for 3L3W10MPB and PB which were freaking amazing as bedtime stories. I read the chinese version on kanunu.org. I’ll actually hop onto eastern palace first, I remember seeing some MV made for it floating around on youtube. I’ve recently started to become quite the wallace fan lately from watching Perfect Couple. He would’ve made a fine RongXun!
Ever since I started with Tong Hua’s Lost You Forever, it’s been an eye opener for romance & xianxia novels. They should honestly make more xianxia dramas! I miss the old chinese paladin series, it was my kind of thing with eye candy, Hu Ge and all 😉
Aiya, it is not easy nowadays bcos Chinese govt is banning virtually everything:( After banning time-travelling, now I think fantasy is at its sword edge. I think you need to secure at least 5 broadcasting stations b4 you can screen fantasy drama so HXY may be at risk of never seeing the light. Also, there is a limit to the amount of ancient drama you can broadcast on tv. Even the internet cannot escape the censor’s ironhand:( Sohu, tencent, youku, tudou etc cannot broadcast the uncensored version of any drama that have been censored for tv & some American programs.
Novels also come under scrutiny with many site closed and censored. Boy love novels are forbidden & I read some fans who wrote them even got arrested. I am not sure abt what I was told that the Pillow Book is banned. Novels with incest, political sensitive, porno or immoral will be censored or banned. Yes, life will be so boring in China lol.
Hi, does anyone have any problems accessing the audiobook? I have been trying to load the page for audiobook since yesterday.
You are talking abt the cxt8 website right? I’ve no problem acessing it as it is my 2nd home online lol. It may be your ISP connection problem or you may have accessed it while they are doing maintenance. Anyway, I’ll give you an alternative http://www.ximalaya.com/1023016/album/231666.
After nearly two years of trying to finish this book, I finally got all the way through. I think what made it hard for me to finish is that the romance is really slow to develop and the multiple characters/storylines make it confusing at times if you aren’t paying 100% attention. I did enjoy it, though the side stories resonated with me much more than the main couple. I really like Jun Fu, but I never really understood why or how Mu Yan fell in love with her. She seemed to amuse him with her cuteness and innocence, and I understand that he feels protective of her, but does protectiveness really equal love?
My favorite story is Song Ning’s, with Qing Jiu Jiu’s a close second. This book is definitely one you need to savor, rather than rush through. I will reread in a few months because I still feel like I missed some details, but as of now, my rating is 8/7, the first number is how much I enjoyed the book, while the second number is how qualitatively good I think the book is.
Peanuts, any updates on the drama release date? 🙁 So frustrating…and City of Desperate Love, really? *sigh* SARFT is my enemy!
Need my Yuan Hong fix now and watching the teasers and trailers can’t help but have me thinking again just how gorgeous Jiang Xin is. Also, what a lovely OST. <3
Bao Jian Feng killed any expectations of my Rong Yuan *cries* The beautiful, perfect and thoughtful Rong Yuan in my mind has been ruined; spoiled by the perfection that is Wallace Huo in the fanmade MVs, lol. I was really looking forward to Shi San Yue's story because even after all this time, it's still my favorite of the bunch.
Should I stay hopeful that Hua Xu Yin will air this year because I pretty much given up all hopes of Yun Zhong Ge ever airing.
I'll have to go listen to Shi San Yue/Rong Yuan's radiodrama arc for the umpteen time. Again. =X
Where have u been? It’ll air on 10 July but seeing is believing, so don’t bank on it as it always get rescheduled. Anyway the drama is so diff fr the book so I am not keen. Ya, I’ve not watched it yet but I saw the trailer which I felt destroyed the novel 🙁
Btw, why don’t you help hui3r to continue with the novel translation since u love the book so much :)?
Every time I checked, the date kept being postponed. Last I read, it was supposed to air beginning of 2015 and it didn’t happen. 🙁
I’m mostly interested in Shen An and Song Ning’s story. Feel like the drama will stay true to their story? *knock on wood* What disappointed me more than the changes in the storyline was the casting. Pretty much all the male characters have been terribly miscast, with the exception of Yuan Hong (I’m not just saying that because of my bias).
Hui3r has done such an incredible job with her translations, I wouldn’t even know how to help her or where to start. Haha. I’m only ever translated for drama fansubs years ago (pre-Viki & Dramafever); so other than conversational dialogue, I’m not sure I’ll do a decent job with the narrative translations. It’ll be a great feat if I can accomplish even one fully translated chapter; that’s why I have tons of respect to all you translators out there!
http://v.qq.com/page/d/7/8/d01565dr378.html?__t=1&ptag=1.sina&_out=1
Hey Joanna, new trailer for u & confirmed broadcast in July. OMG, why they changed the plot to be so melo & dog blood that they knew each other earlier & he invaded her country on their wedding day? I like the book meeting much better, so near yet so far, so poignant. Also, in the book Ah Fu never blamed Mu Yan for the invasion bcos her dad is a lousy ruler. I prefer a forgiving Ah Fu.
Anyone knows the ending songs in the audiobooks?