Fan Fiction Thread for Lost You Forever

 Kokuto:

Wait.  Maybe I'm confused.  Was this phrase from the fan fiction or was it the definition of quaint, liddi?

朴素而有古代的风格

This is the actual definition of the words "古朴" from the Chinese dictionary.

 AH :

To make the word work a bit better in context, it might help to say that these three words "felt" like the two adjectives that are used (e.g., ancient and mysterious), rather than to say that they "were" these adjectives. If the words "长相思" inherently were ancient and mysterious, the author wouldn't have any need or reason to tell the reader that that those words had those characteristics (especially in the original fic where everything would all be in one language). But if the person observing those words in the story felt that those words had certain characteristics when observing them, then it would make sense for the author to convey that information to the reader.

 Kokuto:

That's a good point.  Perhaps the ancient calligraphy gave it a mysterious air.  There's definitely something about those 3 words that caught the protagonist's attention.

@ZYHLJ

The text and literal translation says this:

那书放在最高层，橙黄暖灯打在书封上，“长相思”三字尤为神秘古朴。
The books were placed on the topmost level [of the shelf]. A warm orange light shone on the cover, the three words "长相思" were especially mysterious and [古朴].

Re-reading the original text in its entirety, my impression is that the way the orange light shone on the cover (and by extension highlighted the title of the books) imbued the words with a particularly mysterious yet old-worldly simplicity/ancient air.  

Does that impression make sense? I can't imagine the words in itself or even the font / the way it is written,  giving such an impression, unless Nian Liu is from so far in the future that a 2013 book is considered to be antiquated. Certainly the title covers of all the published editions of the novel (2013, 2019, 2023) are not that antiquated in appearance.

Anyway, just my opinion. Ultimately you are the translator so you decide what makes the most sense to you.

 AH :

As a side note, I don't know if there is an actual grammar rule that can explain this, but as a native English speaker I would put "mysterious" as the second word (i.e., after "ancient"). It feels slightly off the other way around.

Yes! There is a rule for this. In terms of the correct order of adjectives in English, an opinion or subjective perception comes before size, age, shape, color, and other descriptive adjectives. So it's okay to put "mysterious" first. It's an opinion so it should come before "ancient". Maybe it feels a bit off because it doesn't sound too harmonious.

 liddi:

This is the actual definition of the words "古朴" from the Chinese dictionary.

Ah, well, that makes my suggestions moot.  lol

 liddi:

Re-reading the original text in its entirety, my impression is that the way the orange light shone on the cover (and by extension highlighted the title of the books) imbued the words with a particularly mysterious yet old-worldly simplicity/ancient air.

Yes, that's the impression I got also.  Like the light highlighted or made the book and the words stand out and attract her attention, and perhaps made her feel the words were mysterious and ancient.

 liddi:

Does that impression make sense? I can't imagine the words in itself or even the font / the way it is written, giving such an impression, unless Nian Liu is from so far in the future that a 2013 book is considered to be antiquated. Certainly the title covers of all the published editions of the novel (2013, 2019, 2023) are not that antiquated in appearance.

I don't know.  When I'm scanning book spines, if I see an old script being used, it tells me the book might be historical or fantasy, i.e. something that catches my interest.

 HeadInTheClouds:

To be fair to Jing and Ah Nian, XY is plenty self-absorbed and selfish as well. She also needs to gain some self-esteem and learn to deal with her issues instead of playing ostrich.

I agree, but not quite in the same way.  Jing and A Nian were raised spoiled and seemed to think they were better than others.

 HeadInTheClouds:

Darn, Kokuto! I think plor, nathsketch's and I have to resign our president, treasury and secretary titles in the Jing's Club, cause you have all bases covered. LOL. I just want Jing to achieve character development, you want to feed him to the sharks...just replaced Carol with Kokuto ;-)

LOL!  I'm not sure I'd go that far.... maybe just less patient. 

Carol is cool... but not Karen. ;p

@HeadInTheClouds

I also attribute this to Xiang Liu! >_<

Yes, please~ If you like to eat, come to Wuhan or Guangzhou. There are many people who also like Sichuan food, but it's a bit too salty for my taste. Interestingly, Sichuan food outside of Sichuan is not salty, so I like it. If you want to see beautiful scenery, you must go to Hangzhou, Guilin and Xinjiang. If you want to see history, you must go to Xi'an, and I also highly recommend Dunhuang, Sanxingdui, and Mount Wutai!

I sincerely hope that one day actors can stop caring so much about the Ranking. Deng Wei is very smart in this regard. Before Love of the Divine Tree, although he was already capable of playing the first male lead in many dramas, he always chose to play the second or third male lead in dramas with more potential, which accumulated a large number of fans for him. In contrast, there are many other actors who accept mediocre dramas just to be able to play the first male or female lead. Then no one watches the drama, their own abilities are questioned, and then they receive fewer and fewer roles...At this point, I hope more actors can learn from Deng Wei, so that maybe we can watch less time-wasting dramas. Of course, for this hope to come true, it is not enough for the actors themselves to change their concepts. The fandom and the entire film and television industry must change their concepts as well and no longer judge the actor's ability and status based on the Ranking.

Haha, I also noticed that Zhang Wanyi doesn’t like Jing. He has a serious sense of humor in interviews :-). He has a drama to be aired that I'm optimistic about, The Rise of Ning, which has already been completed. I will watch it when the drama airs because of him. Although after watching the clip, I feel that the most popular role in this drama may still be the second male lead...囧

@nathsketch

Thank you for showing this table, it is very helpful!

 ZYHLJ:

@nathsketch

Thank you for showing this table, it is very helpful!

You're welcome <3

 nathsketch:

Yes! There is a rule for this. In terms of the correct order of adjectives in English, an opinion or subjective perception comes before size, age, shape, color, and other descriptive adjectives. So it's okay to put "mysterious" first. It's an opinion so it should come before "ancient". Maybe it feels a bit off because it doesn't sound too harmonious.



12345678
General opinionSpecific opinionSizeShapeAgeColorNationalityMaterial

Though "ancient" could also be an opinion. And now I'm confused heheh

Trying this with a couple examples (e.g., "the old, brown dog" or "the large, Italian leather sofa") it does seem to work. ^^

But for "ancient" and "mysterious" I think it comes down to more like... mysterious is a bit more of a mouthful? So it feels more natural to say the shorter, simpler word first and then to end with the longer word.  I don't know if flipping it would actually mean breaking a grammar rule and it wouldn't sound "wrong" (whereas "leather, Italian, large sofa" sounds totally off). It just sounds slightly less natural. 

 liddi:

@ZYHLJ

The text and literal translation says this:

那书放在最高层，橙黄暖灯打在书封上，“长相思”三字尤为神秘古朴。
The books were placed on the topmost level [of the shelf]. A warm orange light shone on the cover, the three words "长相思" were especially mysterious and [古朴].

Re-reading the original text in its entirety, my impression is that the way the orange light shone on the cover (and by extension highlighted the title of the books) imbued the words with a particularly mysterious yet old-worldly simplicity/ancient air.  

Does that impression make sense? I can't imagine the words in itself or even the font / the way it is written,  giving such an impression, unless Nian Liu is from so far in the future that a 2013 book is considered to be antiquated. Certainly the title covers of all the published editions of the novel (2013, 2019, 2023) are not that antiquated in appearance.

Anyway, just my opinion. Ultimately you are the translator so you decide what makes the most sense to you.

 ZYHLJ:

@AH  @Kokuto  @nathsketch

I read the original text again and searched for the covers of different versions of LYF. Now I think that the author's meaning should be that the phrase 长相思 itself has an ancient and simple charm. Because "长相思" itself is a famous "Cipai Name(词牌名)" in ancient China (I didn't think about this before!?), there are many excellent Ci's name start with it.

The following is the Baidu definition of Cipai Name simplified by me:

Cipai Name is the name of the tune of Ci (a literary genre similar to lyrics), which is the original name of the music often used to fill lyrics in the Tang and Song Dynasties. There are altogether more than 870 of them. They have a fixed rhythm, which determines the format of the words.

Of course, it may also be because the calligraphy of these three characters is ancient calligraphy. I searched for pictures, and there are two versions of LYF books with titles in running script行书, and official script隶书 (maybe superb editions), but the author also said that the cover of the book looks like an envelope, so it can only be the one from 2013. Although the title of this edition is also in the style of writing brush, it does not look very ancient. So I think the author’s intention is that the Cipai Name itself has a simple and ancient charm :-)

 ZYHLJ:

Also, based on what I explained in my post to liddi above, do you think I should use "were", or "felt"?

I think you first have to decide if your goal is to have a very literal translation that is as close as possible, word for word, to the original text. Or if you are open to making minor adjustments, based on your understanding of the text, to make the translation make more sense to the reader. Which carries the risk of potentially adding things that the original author didn't intend. If you're going for the first option, definitely don't use "felt". 

If you're open to the second option, then you have to base any adjustments on your understanding of what the text is meant to convey.

To reflect liddi's interpretation, the text could be adjusted to say:

The books were placed on the topmost level of the shelf. Bathed in a warm, orange light, the three words "长相思" illuminated on the cover had an ancient and mysterious air.

With that adjustment, there is a clearer link between the warm, orange light and the characteristics of the words on the cover. So the reader can more easily understand that the light is playing a role in making the words seem mysterious and ancient. 

To reflect your interpretation that the characterstics relate more directly to the phrase and not so much to the light, the text could be adjusted to say:

The books were placed on the topmost level of the shelf. A warm orange light shone on the cover and the three words "长相思" seemed to have a simple, ancient and mysterious charm.  

OR

The books were placed on the topmost level of the shelf. A warm orange light shone on the cover and the three words "长相思" had a simple, ancient and mysterious charm.

OR

The books were placed on the topmost level of the shelf. A warm orange light shone on the cover and the three words "长相思" had a simple, ancient and mysterious aura.  

OR

The books were placed on the topmost level of the shelf. A warm orange light shone on the cover and the three words "长相思" felt simple, ancient and mysterious.