So I realized I made a big derp for the previous arc and was translating Yun Shang’s name wrong. It should actually be Yun Chang. The Chinese character (裳) has two pronunciations and I went with the latter, but I’m more certain now that…
In novels about palace life, half the battle is figuring out how to deal with the help. Win them over, and life is good. Otherwise…good luck sis. In this chapter, we take a step back from Murong Qian’s thoughts and examine what’s in store…
In the opening line of this and a few subsequent chapters, Feng Ning Xue Wu will mention several times, Raiment of Rainbows and Feathers (霓裳羽衣舞歌 // ní chang yǔ yī wǔ gē). This is the commonly used version of the song title, but a…
The Chinese term people use when they want to pay respects or prostrate towards someone in order to form a master-disciple relationship is “拜師” (bài shī), which is a respectful term that literally means bow to the master. I wasn’t sure of the best…
In this section, we find out some more of the little snake demon and the dragon deity’s backstory. Shao Zi reacts hilariously at first, but goes into panic mode upon hearing the rest of the story. The scholar…reveals a rare flash of sensibility.
This chapter delves a little deeper into Murong Qing’s relationship with one of my favorite characters in Memories, her younger brother, Murong Lian. When times are tough, our boy will always have his sister’s back.
As we know by now, Yi Mei Tong Qian loves being cheeky with her writing. Here’s another bit of information about peonies that’s relevant in this chapter: The 藥 (yào) in 芍藥 (sháo yào), the Chinese word for peony, also means “medicine.” Eastern medicine…
The last two sections were a bit of an interlude, but now we finally begin getting into the meat of this arc. Some information relevant to this section: Shao Zi has been referring to the “expert” as 高人 (gao ren), which refers to a…
Yesterday was the Lantern Festival, did anyone get a chance to eat some yuan xiao (aka tang yuan or glutinous rice balls)? I had some peanut filled ones with my family but I’m going to make some of the little ones tonight, too. The…
It was mentioned in a past footnote, but here’s some information that becomes relevant again this chapter: Peony in Chinese is 芍藥 (sháo yào) while Shao Zi’s name, which means spoon, is spelled 勺子 (sháo zi). The two “shao” are different characters but share…
You cannot copy content of this page