That's not how TJC acts a role and I don't think that's how he would ever act a role because that's not his approach as an actor -- he always does a lot of research and preparation for a role, forms his own beliefs and understanding of that character, and acts out his own interpretation not the interpretation the audience may want to see. He was getting feedback from the dailies to act colder, more aloof, and he had many discussions with production that he didn't want to play an ice cube and say his lines with a cold face and if that's what they wanted he felt there was no need for him to play the role.atmospheres:
I love this! Thank you for all your insights about TJC and LYF in general. To me, actors should be part of the creative team in bringing a character to life.
You seem to know a lot of inner workings of Cdramas. Do you know what happened with A Lifetime Love (drama version of Tong Hua's Once Promised)? Or, could you speculate if you're comfortable speculating?
I particularly like the not making promises that he can't keep. Words are cheap, it's the action that shows you the true measures of the person.HeadInTheClouds:
Other things that I like about him is that despite the cruelty that he'd experience, he hadn't turn cruel and the prejudice and discrimination he faced hasn't turned him bitter. There is something rather Zen about his approach to life. Instead of feeling self-pity and hopeless when things doesn't go his way, he takes action as necessary and accept things when needed . There's a line that he said to XY about how she cares too much about gains and losses. This line is a good insight into his character/outlook and probably one of the biggest differences between him and XY.
Exactly. I dislike those who make sweeping empty promises, and Xiang Liu shone for me exactly because his word is his bond. Great insight too about his approach to life notwithstanding what it threw at him - his reminder for Xiao Yao to cherish life, so beautifully described here:
Amid the sound of the waves, Xiang Liu's voice could be heard, "As long as such sights exist in the world, life is precious."
Xiao Yao murmured, "The rarest of sceneries will become stale after seeing it too much. It is only meaningful if someone views it with me. Sceneries are dead, only people can give meaning to it." -- Vol 1 Ch4
and here, in response to what she said, he gave meaning to all she experienced and saw because of his presence:
They cared for nothing, were willing to try anything, interested in all things, and everything could make them smile. They appreciated all that was beautiful but wanted to own none of it. -- Vol 1 Ch16
Not forgetting him forcing her to continue on living, even when she gave up on life after thinking Jing had died.
Xiao Yao stood on the sea as well, looked straight at Xiang Liu and said, "As long as it has nothing to do with Cang Xuan, I will agree to any condition!" For Miao Pu's sake, she would have really made a deal with the devil. Besides, what else did she have to lose now?
Xiang Liu said, "Live! Even if Tushan Jing were dead, you must still live on!"
Xiao Yao stared blankly at Xiang Liu for a moment, looking past him towards the night at the horizon of the ocean. A long life, with endless longing... what was it like to live without giving up? Probably like a dark night where the sun never rose. Xiao Yao could not understand why Xiang Liu cared so much whether she lived or died.
-- Vol 3 Ch10 (Chapter 43)
nathsketch,
Okay, I don’t want to derail this thread too much. So, I’ll just say a few things. First, you make a great case for your point of view, and I’m not going to try to change it, especially because I love your enthusiasm! Second, I love the book and how spectacularly the drama brought it to life. I’ve liked all four of the main characters from the beginning to the end. (I did waver a bit on CX, because of something he did toward the end of the book, which may not be in the drama.)
The book slowly reveals more and more about TSJ. He is an extremely capable, well-rounded person. He was a great protector overall. But, he had no idea that his brother hated him and hated him with a passion. After he found out, he was able to completely protect himself from his brother. Towards the end of the book, he had no idea that CX was so jealous that he wanted him dead. If it weren’t for CX, TSJ’s brother couldn’t possibly have been able to hurt TSJ gravely.
To me, this is what happens with good people. They tend to think the best of people and can be vulnerable to getting blind-sided by people they don’t expect. Good people have a harder time being cynical about people close to them. In modern times in the U. S., most people who are murdered are murdered by their “loved” ones, e.g., crimes of passion. This isn’t a great example, but I think you get what I mean.
Regarding TSJ’s grandmother, being filial (perhaps to a fault) is a big thing in LYF and its prequel. In the prequel, it’s why the two leads had a tragic ending, even though the FL was allowed to live freely in her younger days. In LYF, XL had a tragic ending for the same reason. There are a lot of parallels between XL and the ML in the prequel. In LYF, if Tong Hua’s other characters hadn’t written themselves, it sounds like XL would have been the ML, and he and XY were headed towards a similar tragic ending as XY’s parents in the prequel. (CX probably could have lived a free-ish life too. But, he was his grandfather’s grandson and completed his grandfather’s legacy.)
In terms of TSJ, he thought he could get himself out of his family. But, once again, he was blind-sided by a loved one. He didn’t expect his grandmother to trick him. By the time he calmed down enough to figure it out, he had already been railroaded into a worse situation by his grandmother. Now, being filial to other clan elders had to be considered too. It took XY to help him solve this problem.
Eventually, he was able to stay away from his family. It seems like he was still young enough to live a full life with XY, including starting a family. By the time he was finally able to get together with XY, the problems of his youth were behind him.
An example of a sweet and good guy through and through but a badass when it matters is General Xiao Qi in the Rebel Princess. That's an indisputable Good Guy™. He protects, he attacks, and he's a green flag greener than all the Shire. No time for moping around and crying like a baby. He gets the job done and is the ideal family man.nathsketch:
Look at him. He's like a Chinese Aragorn.
He looks more like Aragorn than Viggo Mortensen! In fact, he looks more like Stuart Townsend, who was originally cast as Aragorn.
I remember Tong Hua once saying that she tried to make Xiang Liu the endgame, but in the end, the characters wrote themselves as she got to know them more, and the story turned out the way it did.liddi:
Tong Hua tried to make Xiang Liu the endgame man? I'm going to cry. What could've been. We could've had it :'(
Elise:Jing for me is the one aspect that ruins it all. I wouldn’t want him dead or anything, I just wish there was another end for him, or another girl, I don’t know. Just be gone!
I wish he stayed gone for good after he got injured by his brother and was in a coma! When he returned after 7 years and stopped Xiao Yao from becoming the queen mother of Jade Mountain I rolled my eyes and sighed so hard. Dude was gone for like 7 chapters. Just stay gone!!!
Lol, poor dude, I know I’m too cruel to him all the time, but I just can’t accept his presence in this story. His arc is too underdeveloped compared to Cang Xuan and Xiang Liu’s journey.
In the novel, he looked more like a supporting character to me rather than the second male lead. I thought reading the novel would make him more likable to me but I can't stand him at all. I thought I could like him but I can't.
Jing in the drama, on the other hand - annoys the crap out of me. The visual of constant puppy-dog eyes, sadness and being on the brink of tears give is this air of matyrdom, woe-is-me to him. It's really off-putting to me. Every time he's on screen, the phrase that pops into my head is "get off the cross, someone else needs the wood".
I swear, every time Xiao Yao and Fang Feng Bei were on their dates, I couldn't fully enjoy it because there was this gnawing feeling on the back of my mind that Jing was stalking them. Him looking sad, crying, and moping all the time irritated me after a while. I'm not watching his scenes in season 2. I'm petty and skipping all of it idc idc. I already read the novel, no need to see his scenes.
If the leak second season is true, they are making changes to the character so he isn't just XY's "boyfriend", but I don't think that will change how I sees him. It's too ingrained now (the DW's fans are going to kill me now. Lol. I really knows how to make friends around here).
I'm sad us YaoLiu got chapter 43 removed. Understandable due to censorship but I wish the writers would give us one last sweet scene to appease the YaoLiu fans. For example, in season 1, the writers added a new scene that wasn't in the novel which was female Xiang Liu who flirted with Xiao Yao when she was in her male form. From reading the leaked script, it seems to me like the writers are adding more YaoJing scenes to make the viewers accept that he's the endgame such as
1. XY having her hair turn white due to finding out Jing is dead
2. Giving YaoJing another passionate kiss scene
3. Xiao Yao is not drunk after their wedding and they do have a wedding night smh smh
4. Xiao Yao finding out about XL's death before her wedding........ So she finds out he's dead, cries, and then goes on to have her happy wedding day with Jing just like that?
5. Xiao Yao and Jing going to Qingshui Town instead of exploring the ocean and islands....
6. It's Jing that comforts her about her biological father, not Xiang Liu >.> And we got that snowflake kissing Xiao Yao's forehead, not Xiang Liu himself.
The Jingers are going to kill me too ahahaha but idc anymore. This is our thread and we're talking about a fictional person. We can say whatever we want on here <3
What happened if Jing got sick of the role that he's expected to play? What happened if Jing dies? Because XY never actually learn to come to terms with her fears and learn more healthy ways of being, she's going to spiral. This is not to say that XY can't be with Jing and have this sort of character development. It's just that, the end of the novel as is, XY as a character haven't really address this core issue. So I don't really sees it as a HE for XY.
I remember XY admitted to her grandfather, the Yellow Emperor, that she surrounds herself with people weaker than her so that they'd need her and never abandon her.
Chapter 16:
"I’m scared because think about it, my own grandfather, mom, dad, they all abandoned me before. How can I trust someone won’t abandon me. I took in lonely elders and orphans because I know they need me so they won’t abandon me.”
Xiao Yao chuckled “People think I am kind but really I’m just weak. When I’m with those who are weaker than me, I feel like I am in control and am needed so I won’t be abandoned. That is when I feel safe.”
This applies to Jing as well. I see him as a weak person (sorry, not sorry). The Jingers are going to be mad at me for sure XD. I honestly don't think Xiao Yao will last long especially if Left Ear is out of the picture (if that leaked script is true). I think Xiao Yao will be the one protecting Jing and not the other way around especially with his tail loss. I don't see it as a HE either.
MTH123:
To everyone who is against TSJ as a love rival, what do you think about CX as a love rival?
Cang Xuan is my second option (even poor Fenglong is my third). CX has a super interesting character arc and I've started to appreciate him more and more. I love me some complicated guy.
...
I'm really ashamed to say this...
But as for Jing...
Could he please, pretty pretty please just...
What my baby Benedict said.
Exactly. I dislike those who make sweeping empty promises, and Xiang Liu shone for me exactly because his word is his bond. Great insight too about his approach to life notwithstanding what it threw at him - his reminder for Xiao Yao to cherish life, so beautifully described here:
Thank you for the translations liddi!
I have two questions for you, if you don't mind?
First, is the "Bei" character in Fang Feng Bei 北 (Běi / North)?
And second, are the characters for "Hu Lu" lake (the lake where XY and XL had their swimming race, where they floated together, and where XL pushed XY to cut ties with him) 葫芦 (Húlu / Gourd)?
The name of the lake is mentioned in chapter 51:
The last time they saw each other, because of Feng Long’s death, on the very Hu Lu Lake where they once played together she now wanted to kill him and he used Jing’s death to rile her up to get revenge for Jing. That night he nearly took all of her blood just to make a pill for healing. She hated him for being so cold-blooded and vowed never to see him again!
First, is the "Bei" character in Fang Feng Bei 北 (Běi / North)?AH :
No. The word is 邶, which is the name of a feudal state in ancient China.
And second, are the characters for "Hu Lu" lake (the lake where XY and XL had their swimming race, where they floated together, and where XL pushed XY to cut ties with him) 葫芦 (Húlu / Gourd)?
Yes. Actually, in earlier texts, it was described as a lake shaped as a gourd:
The great white condor flew over a gourd-shaped lake. The bright moon hung in the sky while the dark blue waters of the lake sparkled with silver, silence all around, so quiet as if time had froze. -- Vol 1 Ch3
The great white condor flew to the gourd-shaped lake that they had visited once before. Before the condor could descend, Xiang Liu grabbed Xiao Liu and vaulted off while it was still in the sky.
Horrified, Xiao Liu grabbed on to Xiang Liu in a tentacled-like grasp. -- Vol 1 Ch7
Left Ear already had his own mount. Under Xiao Yao's guidance, they flew past many mountains and landed on the banks of a gourd-shaped lake.
Urging the bug inside her, Xiao Yao called out in her heart, "Xiang Liu, I want to see you!" -- Vol 3 Ch10 (Chapter 46)
but in the chapter you mentioned, it was simply referred to as gourd lake:
The last time they saw each other was because of Feng Long's death. On the same gourd lake where they once played together, she wanted to kill him, and he used Jing's death to incite her to avenge Jing. That night, he almost drained all her blood just to stock up on healing pills. She hated his callousness and cruelty, and vowed never to see him again! -- Vol 3 Ch18 (Chapter 51)
The book slowly reveals more and more about TSJ. He is an extremely capable, well-rounded person. He was a great protector overall. But, he had no idea that his brother hated him and hated him with a passion. After he found out, he was able to completely protect himself from his brother. Towards the end of the book, he had no idea that CX was so jealous that he wanted him dead. If it weren’t for CX, TSJ’s brother couldn’t possibly have been able to hurt TSJ gravely.
Didn't Jing's brother personally physically torture him for years and then throw him out on the street and convince him everyone loved his title, not him, and he was dirt that everyone avoided?
I mean, how could Jing NOT be aware that Hou hated him with a passion?
Okay, Jing is blinder than XY if he didn't realize CX was jealous as heck.
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