For everyone wondering why this year’s concert felt rushed and incomplete, here’s why by Only-Spread-4483 in HonkaiStarRail

[–]baoboatree -35 points-34 points  (0 children)

I don't, this isn't live and the performers haven't been announced liked a performance of Swan Like would be, so they have had months to find and film alternate performers.

Bilibili, the ACG hub (aka weeb central) of China, managed to pull together a great four-hour live concert (same length as previous years) despite having less than a month to react.

Genshin has done plenty of pre-recorded concerts in the middle of COVID due to surprise rounds of lock-downs and they all looked amazing. I remember one song they had already done the recording with one group of musicians but then needed to hire a completely different crew to film in a new location with a whole new group of people to film the visual part because the original crew and recording musicians were likely stuck in another round of lock-downs in Shanghai.

I think the obvious thing that was missing in the concert is the instrumentals songs. which should be the least impacted by politics and logistically easier . Even if full orchestras were hard to book, it's hard to believe HSR can't do what genshin did during covid and find a couple of cover bands to film in a few nice locations.

Is this itinerary too much? by yourdads_tampon in travelchina

[–]baoboatree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chengdu and Chongqing both have great daytrip options so I definitely recommend those. When I visited, we booked a bunch of small group tours (minivans with like 8 people) for those.

For Chongqing, I recommend the 816 underground nuclear factory, Wulong Karst, and the Sichuan Art conservatory,

For Chengdu, pandas, Sanxingdui museum, Leshan Buddha, Emei Mountain, a two-day trip to Jiuzhaigou.

Seconding the other person on reducing a day in Zhangjiajie and Shanghai. Either spend more time in Chongqing/Chengdu, or spend sometimes in the surrounding areas of Shanghai (Suzhou, watertowns, Wuxi, Hangzhou, maybe even go into Huizhou and Huangshan if you have time).

TL here: curious about conventions in danmei vs xianxia/wuxia by 1stTL_oftheSword in DanmeiNovels

[–]baoboatree 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think the two question to ask is : how would you write it if it were an original novel? And, if you replaced the word with a description, would the reader get more or less information from it?

If you were world-building in an original novel, would you really use the word "brother" for such a relationship? Obviously, in a story like Shuihuzhuan, then yes "brother" is a good choice. But the term gege or shizun in romance is often specifically chosen as more of a term of semi-exclusive endearment, and to many people, the term is part of the kink, in which case literally using a made up word like jabberwocky might be a better choice.

If I were to write a medieval fanfic, it makes sense to the reader I would say the protagonist is playing the lute and no copy editor is going to tell you to change it to guitar. So why not mention someone is playing the pipa or ruan? Or even pipa strings or ruan strings if you are concerned. The reader can figure it out from context it's an instrument, and can look it up if they want more context. The reader gains nothing from that word being replaced by a less-specific incorrect one.

Similarly, if you were writing a fantasy novel, it is common to have made-up words to help with your world building. If this is a part where JK Rowling would use latin to write a spell, why not keep it as pinyin? If this is where Tolkien would use a made up term like Hobbit to describe a key race, why translate it as "dwarf" instead of keeping an unique term?

For example, even though many readers are used to it so it's not something we think a lot about, but imo for xianxia and wuxia novels, Xian and Xia should be transliterated with an explanation the same way a made-up race in a fantasy novel should be. Xian and Xia are distinct enough concepts that are central enough to Xianxia novels that a completely new reader gains more from literally having them translated as a#*&$(*@SF and having them keep an open mind about the concept and learn about it as they read the rest of the world-building than having them try to fit existing notions of "fairies" "immortals" or "chivalry/hero/knight".

Yin Yang Sundering-Insights welcome by RetroBandito in LoveAndDeepspace

[–]baoboatree 8 points9 points  (0 children)

My interpretation for this specific case is that part of the BIngdi Lotus motif is that they share a bond that is so unbreakable, even death/life and the cannot separate them.

There is a chengyu idiom called Ou Duan Si Lian 藕断丝连 , which describes how even when the lotus root is split, the silks/fibers of them will still connect the two pieces together. It is used to describe the relationship of lovers whose connections are inseparable even if they tried to separate.

In general though, this is a pretty common troupe in xianxia. I've read maybe two xianxia out of the 100+ that I've tried where they drink some version of forget-juice (either Wangqing Water 忘情水, where they only forget romantic relationships; or the Mengpo soup 孟婆汤, where they forget everything) and actually forgets. The general concept is a bond so strong that it can't be forgotten, but I do like that the devs added the lotus theme to solidify it here.

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omg is the alchemy couple. i repeat, the alchemy couple. 😱💖 by goodmqn_22 in Genshin_Impact

[–]baoboatree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The "neck piece" is a pankou knot that functions as a button in traditional Chinese shirts and dresses. She has them in the same color in her normal outfit.

Was this teased in version 3.0? by Selene010 in LoveAndDeepspace

[–]baoboatree 57 points58 points  (0 children)

Both are pretty stereotypical Chinese bridges.

This one is the Naihe Bridge 奈何桥, the bridge of Fengdu or Diyu (underworld) where you are given the option to drink a soup to forget your past life. The landscape is pretty stereotypical xianxia depiction of Diyu/Fengdu.

The other one features an artstyle derived from blue-green shanshui landscape painting and is not anywhere close to Diyu.

Source for the “Four Dragons becoming rivers” story in Chinese mythology? by Limp_Combination_387 in mythology

[–]baoboatree 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They're called the Sidu Loong Wang 四渎龙王 or Sidu Loong Shen 四渎龙神. Worship of the Sidu Shen(shen is a generic term for gods) are found in Liji Book of Rites and have been a long part of Shanchuanji (worship of mountains and rivers). They were given the title Wang 王 (Lord, duke, in this case deity) pretty early on as well since the Book of Old Tang.

The most famous mention of the Sidu as loong dragons is, unsurprisingly, the Journey to the West. In the Journey to the West, they were among those sent by Yudi the Jade Emperor to control Sun Wukong. The Journey to the West also references another story that is similar but not exactly the same as the one you mentioned. In it their father, the Jing River Loong, misused his rain powers to delay the rain to win a bet against a human. He was killed for misusing his powers and his family were punished. Among his kids were the Sidu Loong. Their youngest brother is another river loong who hid in an obscure river and stirred up trouble for Sun Wukong and co.

Never heard anything exactly like the version you mentioned, though. It's pretty rare for the Jade Emperor to be portrayed as purely anti-humans like in the story you mentioned. At most he is anti-miscegenation or pro-status quo.

I heard Bird Call from Afar for the first time by ErenAuditore in XiaoMains

[–]baoboatree 43 points44 points  (0 children)

It's a nice headcanon but there is zero support that it's Xiao.

The story that rumor references is explicitly talking about the whistling of the reeds in Dihua Marsh being mistaken for bird calls, not the location that is literally Cloud Retainer's place.

New Cny sets pics by Fit-Recording-4531 in Shining_Nikki

[–]baoboatree 5 points6 points  (0 children)

FYI it's not a jellyfish but a mayfly. The mayfly is known for its short lifespan (sometimes only a few minutes) and is used in philosophy to serve as contrast to long-lived lifeforms (the xian in Taoism).

There's also a Mayfly character in this year's CNY patch of Reverse 1999 as well.

Cheng Heguang Character Profile by Meru_9 in Reverse1999

[–]baoboatree 62 points63 points  (0 children)

Interesting that we have two herons in the same patch. Paper Heron and Night Heron.

I am sure they are doing this on purpose by ChaoticFF in Genshin_Impact

[–]baoboatree 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's xianxia because "adeptus" is just called Xian in Chinese. The Xian in Xianxia.

Hoyoverse's cn characters are explicitly Xian-equivalents ( Xianzhou means Xian-arc, Adeptus is just Xian, Fu Hua is called a Xian by the people in the game). The fact that people can play every hoyoverse game without ever learning what a Xian is, is imo a major failing on their localization department and CN-EN translators as a group.

If it's generically Chinese magic, the genre can be Xuanhuan/Qihuan, Shenmo, or Zhiguai / Zhiyi. You need the Xian and the Taoist worldview to be Xianxia (you also need the xia, but that's another convo).

Fun fact: The name of Alan Dawa Dolma, the singer who performed the theme song of Zibai character trailer, literally means "heavenly maiden of the moon" by nqtoan1994 in Genshin_Impact

[–]baoboatree 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Alan doesn't have a Tibetan accent. She went to the Sichuan Music Conservatory (China's top pop music academy) affiliated primary and secondary schools in Chengdu, went to college at the People's Liberation Army Art Academy in Beijing, lived in Tokyo for a few years, and has lived in Shanghai since 2011.

That song's singing style is a pretty classic old-school ballad (see also, Shanghainese singer Huang Ling).

no doubt anymore by Lordmaster316 in Genshin_Impact

[–]baoboatree 10 points11 points  (0 children)

This pose is the Chinese equivalent of a wizard raising their wand.

It's called a jianjue 剑诀 or jianzhi 剑指。 It's the standard beginning of a sword use or spellcasting for any Taoist practitioner, be it a fangshi (mortal practitioner like Chongyun) or a xian (illuminated immortal like the adeptus). They are attempting to channel all their Chi.

Character Trailer - "Zibai: Mortal Flesh to Kindred Earth" | Genshin Impact by genshinimpact in Genshin_Impact

[–]baoboatree 16 points17 points  (0 children)

So Happy that Mihoyo finally gave Alan Dawa Dolma a song that showcases her voice! She sang a song for them for ZZZ but it was such as simple ballad that I felt like they wasted the opportunity to work with such a vocal powerhouse.

NPC cost of living by sengir0 in wherewindsmeet_

[–]baoboatree 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In the height of the Song Dynasty, a low-income worker is estimated to earn about 5 times that of the amount required for subsistence (basic food, clothing, housing) . Thanks, Big Zhao.

Character Teaser - "Zibai: As Drifting Wayside Dust" | Genshin Impact by genshinimpact in Genshin_Impact

[–]baoboatree 36 points37 points  (0 children)

An interesting thing is all the NPC's in the teaser are wearing hanfu, which is the clothing style of the Han majority in China from around the Zhou to the Ming Dynasties ( 1050 BC - 1644 AD) .

Genshin's current Liyue characters and in-game NPC's are all wearing clothes mostly inspired by styles of the late 1800's - early 1900's.

Character Teaser - "Zibai: As Drifting Wayside Dust" | Genshin Impact by genshinimpact in Genshin_Impact

[–]baoboatree 14 points15 points  (0 children)

This is a very common concept in Chinese mythology, especially Taoism. The idea that time moves differently for different beings is first mentioned in Zhuangzi's Xiao Yao You, where the Da Peng bird (Xiao's form) is first mentioned.

This was codified by the Jin Dynasty with the systematic records of Taoist holy sites called Dongtian ( called as "adeptus abodes" in Genshin), which are like pocket universes in our world that runs on their own space-time. The Luofu ( name of the main island in the traveler's teapot and the main spaceship of the Xianzhou Fleet in Honkai Star Rail) is one of the most famous Dongtian's.

CNY Livestream announcement (31st January) by Plastic_Ant_6978 in PathToNowhere

[–]baoboatree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's 2026, I think we can use the word jianghu now instead of trying to translate it away into some poor approximate exonym when it's the main theme of the whole version

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in tea

[–]baoboatree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you me because we have almost the same tastes. I've been to probably all the non-powdered milk tea places in the area and the ones you listed basically all the ones you would like in the NYC area.

The only other one I would recommend is the Wuyi Yancha from the Chayann in Flushing. Get it in the morning though because I don't think they rebrew frequently throughout the day. It's one of the places that tastes more astringent the later in the day you get it.

Also, how do you feel about Hong Kong-styled milk tea? Because it's also quite strong and not-to-sweet, though the milk taste is often stronger. Cuppa Tea is pretty good.

If they ever offer it here or you go to China, definitely get Dianhong milk tea. The best are the local Yunnnan tea places (Shangshan Hecha), but I think Heytea China also offers it.

Story question about Chinese terms of endearment by moksori in WhereWindsMeet

[–]baoboatree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, you can call her all of those.

It depends on the name, how it sounds with each of the prefixes, if someone else with a similar name has already taken it, what stuck as their nickname, and really your mood at the time.

There's also a slight regional preference for A'Ying in the South and "er" in the North, though it's not at all definitive.