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MDZS Vol 3 Annotations, part 1

Here is Part 1 of my annotations of MDZS Volume 3, pages 1-90. I hope it helps improve your reading experience!

(It's mostly cultural annotations and reminders of appropriately-untranslated words, with a few re-translations of really thorny sentences that I admit have no good translation.) (And a few places I re-translated to take out the fanciness. WWX, especially, usually speaks in a very simple, colloquial manner.)

Stars of Chaos 杀破狼 Vol 1, Notes 2

Pages 86 - 146

More translation and cultural notes:

It’s obvious in Chinese that Priest just means “his eyes were red with hatred,” but really eloquently.

More under the cut.

Yup. Priest fit in a pun/joke related to male-exclusive anatomy, and it’s just really cute.

It’s a cute turn of phrase where Shen Yi is being appropriately humble as a servant of a prince, and Chang Geng is using the exact same phrasing but saying “I’m not a prince.” And it’s all very concise.

There’s this thing called 歇后语 which Pleco translates as “two-part allegorical saying” and is really just yet another type of cultural inside joke. They’re so fun.

This one is 老寿星上吊 — 活得不耐烦了, for those who can read Chinese. (The translation is pretty spot-on, too).

Yet another nice way to talk about death and the dead.

Yah. I had to look that up.

Stars of Chaos - All The Notes List

All The Seven Seas Books Masterlist

Stars of Chaos 杀破狼

Volume 3, Notes 2/5, Pages 97 - 151

This was actually a really easy read, maybe because it's been almost a year since I last read this in Chinese and so I am not remembering awesome idioms every page; but, anyway! Here we continue <3

In case you don't already know， a huli jing 狐狸精 is a fox spirit. Famous for being super sexy.

In the online Chinese version I read, there was no actual mention of Gu Yun's movements, but more his mindset: 失魂落魄地走了 = "walked off in a daze". Because of the steel plates and all his injuries, I guess it was not a smooth "walking off" so much as a forlorn stumbling, but I don't like the word "hobbled" used on Gu Yun.

Chinese: "整日里便是在我耳边嘀咕." The meaning is the same as "yakking my year off," but it sounds much more elegant in Chinese, of course: "All day, is at the side of my ear, muttering / whispering / chatting quietly...”

Top: again, it just sounds better in Chinese. English is "like a house on fire," Chinese is "投缘" = "kindred spirits" or, broken apart, "thrown, fate."

Bottom: many official ceremonies are carried out with official, kneeling, head-to-floor bows. In this case, it will be an official ceremony to celebrate Ge Chen becoming Zhang Fenghan's adopted son.

(I love how Chang Geng never actually says "So! Ge Chen wants you to adopt him," but instead says a bunch of nice things to Master Fenghan, and Master Fenghan says some nice things back, and then Chang Geng concludes with "We'll call you with the date of the Adoption Ceremony. Bye!")

I love names in Chinese!

So, Du Wanquan is 杜万全， where

Wan 万 = 10,000 ("a very large number") and

Quan 全 = "complete, all", and

the two words together 万全 = absolutely safe / surefire / thorough （mdbg.net).

Good name for the God of Wealth, yah?

In case you don't remember, Zhong-lao is Old Master Zhong / General Zhong, who came out of retirement to help lead the forces in the South. He trained up both Gu Yun and, much later, Chang Geng.

"Speak of the Devil" in Chinese is "说曹操曹操就到."

曹操 Cao Cao was the king of Wei during the 3 Kingdoms Period (the very very beginnings of the 3 Kingdoms period).

Though I think in the actual story, Cao Cao actually saved a fellow ruler who had been thinking of asking him for help against an attack; but before the fellow could send out his messenger with the request, Cao Cao and his army suddenly appeared and crushed the attackers.

The translation is fine. I just feel like in the phrase 朝廷挤出点口粮实在不容易, using "must have" for the English just feels better.

"When a person hid their wounds WITH THEIR TWO HANDS so that none could see, no one had the right to pry AWAY their hands."

It all makes sense once you realize that the verb used here is 捂 wǔ = "to enclose / to cover with the hand (mdbg.net)."

脏癖 dirty habits/inclinations (because Liao Ran didn't like bathing）

My DanMei Literary Adventure Masterpost

Stars of Chaos - All Notes Links

The Seven Seas MDZS translation is based off the uncensored Taiwanese novel version, which is great (uncensored), BUT there are just a few extra lines that MXTX put in later in the censored online version, after cutting out the smut, that are Really Really Good. Pure sugar.

(The ♥️Audio Drama♥️ is based off the newer online version, so if you’ve listened to the AD enough to have it vaguely memorized, these lines are Really Important to you.)

I’ll see if I can fit extra lines in the margins of my Vol 4, or if I need to just type it out and make big asterisks in the printed novel. They really are really really good additions. Some of my favorite lines in the entire book.

My Highly Responsible Teenage Daughter keeps reminding me to Clean Up My Phone (delete images and video), so I can’t really justify keeping albums and albums of Zhou Shen pictures on my phone, but I really really want access to Lots of Zhou Shen photos without having to scroll through tumblr for (how long has it been? That’s not sunlight coming through the window, is it?) -

BaikeBaidu to the rescue:

https://baike.baidu.com/pic/%E5%91%A8%E6%B7%B1/15089196?albumId=3139037095&bk_fr=view_album&hit_contrast=1

Still one of my favorite instrumental songs.

Our Shining Days - Review

This review is for the movie from 2017, not the TV series from 2019. I really enjoyed this. It’s silly (very silly), but it’s fun. If you’re a trained musician maybe close your eyes during those parts but I assume you do that anyway (other than for the guzheng player anyway, since the word is she can actually play). Pros:

Funny! It was properly funny for me

Largely focused on the musical angst rather than romantic angst

GREAT music

Generally enjoyable leads

Cons:

I mean, it is silly, so if you don’t like silly then that’s a con for you

Bad miming of the western classical music esp, if that bothers you (I tend to space out and just listen)

Female lead’s hair slightly bothered me most of the movie (but they didn’t give her a makeover, which I appreciate)

A little over the top in the school western vs Chinese instrument hierarchy, but that IS the point of the movie (the folk music department is literally behind a gate, which I found hilarious).

This was mainly on my watch list, because I figured the music would be good (I love a traditional instrument), and it turned out to be really enjoyable over all. Just a quick, fun watch. Most of the cons aren’t things that bothered me much, but I try to think about what might bother other people.

I just noticed there’s a flute/recorder part in that video and none of them play that… Luckily that stuff doesn’t really bother me if I’m enjoying the media.

There was a young man from Peru

Whose limericks stopped at line two

Stars of Chaos 杀破狼

Volume 3, Notes 3/5, Pages 152 - 265

Cute trivia: in the online novel, this entire paragraph is One Sentence. 9 commas. No semi-colons.

This is (part of the reason) why it takes me 3-12 months to read a single Priest novel.

In case you don't already know, there is a lovely story about an emperor who had a male lover who fell asleep on the long, voluminous sleeve of his robe; and rather than wake the lover, the emperor just cut off his sleeve so that he could go work without bothering his sweetie. And now 断袖 "cut sleeve" is another word for "homosexual man."

I love the idiom for this situation: 投鼠忌器 "throw" "mouse" "afraid" "devices," or "afraid to throw anything at the mouse for fear of breaking the vases."

So, 蹂躏 does translate as "violated," but it also translates as "savaged" or "trampled," both of which I think fit here better.

Here, 完蛋 a little more vulgar than I like to think of it. I'm pretty sure this is a phrase you can use around elementary school kids. It means "to be done for," like "Uh oh. We've been caught."

Top: "Bat out of hell" in Chinese is 赶投胎似的 = like he's rushing to be reincarnated. (I find Western theology- based idioms disconcerting in Daoist/Buddhist- based novels. I understand that they convey the meaning most accurately, but it still weirds me out.)

Bottom: So cute! They are using food-based euphemisms. The Chinese for "eat his fill" is 吃了顿荤的 = "eat a meal with meat" ¬‿¬. And then they break the metaphor with "ended up in the wrong position" (on bottom instead of on top). And then return to the food euphemism with "nearly choked to death." Cute, yah?

xiansheng 先生 = "Teacher", in this context.

I added a （1) and a (2) because I started getting confused.

I also added unnecessary Chinese on "If you're so smart", that it started out (in the online version, anyway), as "你有注意" "If you have ideas,..."

OMG. If you go to a robust Chinese dictionary and search for the Chinese translation for "me," you will get SO MANY WORDS back.

One of those many words is 孤, which was used by feudal princes for a time? And 孤 usually means "lonely" or "solitary."

He climbed on Gu Yun's shoulder. 肩膀。

Either way, he's being carried around by Gu Yun and leaving drool marks on Gu Yun's shoulder <3

My DanMei Literary Adventure Masterpost

Stars of Chaos - All Notes Links

Cosplay, to the 110 😶

I normally don't repost stuff but OMFG

if anyone finds the op on douyin I'm grateful 🙏