Killer and Healer Was Inspired by "Picking Mulberries" by Lou Benzhong

I posted below my interpretation of Lu Benzhong's "Picking Mulberries".  It appears that this is the poem that inspired the drama, Killer and Healer.  I discuss the contrasting metaphors in the poem, and, the author's peculiar decision to reverse "Lou Yue" and "Yue Lou" when naming the bipolar protagonist, Jiang Yue Lou, in Killer and Healer..  I am still sorting references and will add them when I am finished..

Jina 7 days ago

Thank you so so much for this thorough explanation!! I agree completely when you say that this storyline is well conceived and could've attracted more viewers in its original version. It's too bad that it got cut so much (even if they uploaded the deleted scenes later, it's not quite the same.)
Thank you again! Also, if it helps a little bit, this fanmade video (by a Weibo user and reposted on YouTube) translated the poem similarly to what you mentioned as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1nKVc51mtQ

4sakeofart 7 days ago

Thanks for the link. It was informative. It provides a clear picture of the dual moon metaphor of loving (full moon) and losing (new moon). It shows the fate of every relationship, spanning romantic, filial, and platonic love. Each of them loved. Each of them lost. I would not be surprised to see the original BL version of this drama on a different platform someday; a platform beyond the reach of Chinese censors. Despite the excessive violence, it is a good drama. I am not surprised, however, that Word of Honor attracted more viewers than Killer and Healer. Whatever your artistic preference, it is only natural that a viewer would prefer a drama that warms the heart rather than one that breaks it.

CqlisMdzs 6 days ago

Thank you for this amazing post! I'll look up "Picking Mulberries" :)
Do you know if there's any significance behind JYL's name switching the positions of "Yue" and "Lou" from Hen Jun Bu Si Jiang Lou Yue around? Why wasn't he named Jiang Lou Yue instead?

 4sakeofart 5 days ago 

In episode 25, Commissioner Bai encounters the kidnapped and bullied An'er on the street, buys him from his captor, and sets about changing his name. An'er chose "Jiang" because that was his mother's surname but Commissioner Bai interprets "Jiang" to mean " a river of fresh water flowing eastward". Commissioner Bai then remembers a line from a poem that was apparently important to him, which we know as "Picking Mulberries" by Lu Benzhong: "I hate that I am not like the moon high up the pavilion on the river". In this case, I interpret this to mean that Commissioner Bai wonders if he did the right thing in adopting An'er; e.g., whether he can be a loving father to a troubled youth that clearly needs that from him. "Yue" means moon and the last word, "Lou" means "affection or love" and the result of this naming exercise is "Jiang Yue Lou".

I do not know why the metaphorical phrase "Jiang Lou Yue" in the poem is changed to "Jiang Yue Lou" in the drama. So unless the two phrases have the same meaning I doubt this author, who clearly pays attention to detail, would randomly reverse Lou Yue and Yue Lou. Here's my best guess. The name reversal is consistent with the theme of opposites; e.g., dark vs light, loving vs losing, and heartfelt vs heartache that characterizes every relationship in this drama. Even the title, Killer and Healer, is an opposite. So many uniquely different individuals choosing to love despite insurmountable obstacles. So a "first to last", "left to right" name reversal would be consistent with this theme of opposites; especially apt when applied to a bipolar police detective with a split personality.

By the way, the English translation of the Chinese title "Hen Jun Bu Si Jiang Lou Yue" appears to mean "Hate that your King is not the moon over the river pavilion". For example, "Hen" means "hate/regret". Jun means "King/ruler" (the author substitutes "I" for "King"). "Bu Si" means "is not". And "Jiang Yuelou" means "Moon over the river pavilion", all of which gets reduced to Killer and Healer. In my opinion, Killer and Healer is not just a gut-wrenching love story. Ii is likely meant to be an homage to Lu Benzhong because almost the entirety of "Picking Mulberries" is quoted in this drama.

  CqlisMdzs 4 days ago

 @4sakeofart Thank you lots for the wonderful explanation, I love how you've interpreted this. Like you say, there's no way the scriptwriter made the choice randomly. There is a reason behind it and your analysis of it is so well thought out.

In the King/ruler translation, who is supposed to be the King and how is it related to the English title "Killer and Healer"? Is it related to the scene in ep 33? Sorry I'm asking too many questions ;_;

Btw, can you please make a Discussion Thread for "Killer and Healer interpretations" and post these two comments of yours there? I don't want them to disappear in the sea of comments. I'll also share some links/thoughts there :) I don't mind creating the thread but your post about the translation of "Picking Mulberries" is the best first post ^^

CqlisMdzs, below is my answer to the question you asked earlier, and I quote from your post above:  " In the King/ruler translation, who is supposed to be the King and how is it related to the English title "Killer and Healer"? Is it related to the scene in ep 33? Sorry I'm asking too many questions."  My answer will only make sense if we deconstruct the Chinese to English translation of the poem, "Picking Mulberries". So I will try to do that below.  The translation by the Ancient Chinese Poetry Scholars appears first (lines 17-24), followed by the Google translation in lines 25-32).

Picking Mulberries as Translated by Robert Kotewall and Norman L. Smith (poetry scholars)

I grieve that my love is not like the moon over the riverside tower 17**
South, north, east, or west 18
South, north, east, or west 19
Only constant companionship and no separation 20 

I grieve that my love is all too like not like the moon over the riverside tower 21**
A brief waxing and then a waning  22
A brief waxing and then a waning  23
I wait for the full circle of reunion but how short lived! 24

** the first stanza references a full moon; the second stanza references a dark/new moon.

Picking Mulberries as Translated by Google Translate (and Baidu, Youdau and QQ)

I hate your Lord is not like Jiang Louyue 25**
North-south east-west 26
North-south east-west 27
Only stay with you.  28

I hate the king like Jiang Louyue  29**
Temporarily full and still losing money
Temporarily full and still losing money
When will you be reunited?  32

**The first stanza references a full moon; the second stanza references a dark/new moon.  The odd phrasing ,  "temporarily full" and "losing money" in lines 30-31, reference the waxing and waning crescents of  a dark (new) moon.  "losing money", is likely a translation error, but is also a logical metaphor for a moon losing visibility. 

How Does "King" relate to Killer and Healer?   "I hate that I am not like the moon over the riverside tower (pavilion)"; e.g., Chen Yu Zhi addressing Jiang Yue Lou in episode 33 of the drama is a paraphrase of line 17 in the poem; e.g., "I grieve that my love is not like the moon over the riverside tower" whereby  "my love" in line 17 of the poem is replaced with "I" in episodes 25 and 33.   The Chinese title of the drama is "Hen Jun Bu Si Jiang Lou Yue ".  A Google translation of this Chinese title appears in line 25 above; e.g., "Hate Your Lord is not like Jiang Louyue".  Neither "Hen Jun Bu Si Jiang Lou Yue " nor "Hate Your Lord Like Jiang Louyue" takes into account the figurative language of poetry; e.g., similes, metaphors, symbols, imagery, and historical perspectives.  Only a metaphorical interpretation of "Picking Mulberries" yields the easily understood English phrasing shown in lines 17-24 above.    

The MTL translation of line 25; e.g., "Hate that your lord is not like Jiang Louyue" becomes the easily understood "I am grieved that my love is not like the moon over the riverside pavilion" in line 17 after a scholarly interpretation of metaphors is performed.  The word "moon" in line 25 refers to a bright full moon, a metaphor for a forever love.  I know this because only a full moon is omnipresent in all directions (see lines 18-19 and lines 26-27). The word "lord" in line 25 is a metaphor for "my love". I know this because that's how the poetry scholars translated it in line 17.  Likewise, a metaphorical interpretation of line 29 of the MTL translation; e.g., "Hate your king like Jiang Louyue" yields the easily understood line 21 in the scholarly translation; e.g., "I am grieved that my love is like the moon over the riverside tower".  Here, the word "moon" refers to a dark moon; a metaphor for a false or fading love. I know this because only a dark moon has waxing and waning crescents (see lines 22-23 and lines 30-31).  The word "king" in line 29 is a synonym for "lord" in line 25; e.g., a metaphor for "my love". I know this because the Chinese word "Jun" in "Hen Jun Bu Si Jiang Lou Yue " is translated as "king" or "lord".  Once the metaphors in the original Chinese and MTL Google translations are understood, the full meaning of the poem, "Picking Mulberries", is revealed in lines 17-24 and personified in the drama, Killer and Healer. 

Why is it called Killer and Healer?  The original Chinese title, "Hen Jun Bu Si Jiang Lou Yue " translates as "Hate your lord like Jiang Lou Yue" in English.  It was inspired by the poem, "Picking Mulberries", which at its core is a contrasting metaphor of opposites; e.g. forever love vs false love, loneliness, despair and heartache vs filial, platonic, and romantic love.   Killer and Healer is a  live action contrasting metaphor of opposites, but with a twist,  It includes the ultimate opposites, Life and Death.  So I think the drama is aptly named. 

I am not suggesting that the scholarly translation above is uniquely correct.  Although disputed, I believe Archibald MacLeish: "A poem should not mean.  But be" (see reference 4 below).  Personal preference is a reflection of our own unique moral values, so a television drama, a poem, or a painting will mean different things to different people.  That is the beauty of art.  If it touches your soul, it has served its purpose. My artistic temperament tells me that the interpretation of "Picking Mulberries" as written by the Ancient Chinese Poetry scholars is a perfect description of the drama, "Killer and Healer". 

References

1.) Hans Frankel, The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady, Interpretations of Chinese Poetry, Yale University Press, 1976, p 37.                                                                                                                                                                                                 2) Xu Yuanchong, Classical Chinese Poetry and Prose, 300 Song Lyrics, (Chinese-English), China International Press, Zhonghua Book Company, p 143.                                                                                                               3) Robert Kotewall and Noman Smith, The Peguin Book of Chinese Verse as translated by Robert Kotewall and Norman Smith, Edited by A.R. Davis,  Penguin Press, 1971, p 47.                                   4) Archibald McLeish, Ars Poetica, Collected Poems 1917-1982, Houghton Mifflin Company.

I just wish they make a movie of the happy ending