xah
Posts : 944 Join date : 2012-08-28 Location : Down South
| Subject: OFFICIAL COMMENT THREAD Sun Mar 20, 2016 11:01 pm | |
| Although you're allowed to post/reply to each chapter's forum thread (like other novels), this thread is the official comment thread. It will be used mainly for reviews and/or questions and other discussions. You must log in to post (register first). If your comments reveal far too many spoilers, you can enclose them in "hide" or "spoiler" tags. - Code:
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[spoiler]anyone can see the text as long as they click on it...[/spoiler] I can't be bothered hiding my review, so I'll just let you read it. - Spoiler:
Frankly, I don't even have much to say about this series. I've just about explained everything in the last volume. And, I'm just entirely sick of translating. I think I won't do any for a while. About this novel, I felt the following: Rage. Rage. Rage. Rage. Sadness. Oh. Although this story is brilliant in plot, I thought it was executed rather poorly. Pingting was smart, but she was only smart to a certain extent. Her tactics were a bit repetitive (water related, fictional poison related) and not the real nitty gritty battle of wits I like. There's not enough double guessing, triple guessing, that kind of thing. That made everyone else seem stupid and her seem averagely smart. Come on, you're a general, how could you not guess that far ahead?? But oh well, I got used to it. He Xia's death really struck me. I felt the same as I did when I first read it. You kinda feel really bad for him that he realised his happiness in his final moments. Yaotian and his love was indeed very different - Yaotian was too much of a pushover, while He Xia really was to cruel. And indeed, Pingting and Chu Beijie could have ended up with the same fate as him. I really did like He Xia though. He was one of those trapped in the past kind of people. Yaotian tried to (and failed) liberate him during her lifetime, but he was at least liberated in his final moments. Then you feel a bit happier for him. Ah well, it was a good ride. Thank you everyone for reading my translations!
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xah
Posts : 944 Join date : 2012-08-28 Location : Down South
| Subject: Did He Xia actually love Bai Pingting? Sat Mar 26, 2016 10:07 am | |
| Since there's a bit of discussion on He Xia in the chatbox, I'll post a summary of this one thread on tieba, which is in turn, a tidy up of the original thread (but I can't see it >_<). There are several phrases I thought were really well worded. Title: Did He Xia actually love Bai Pingting? Source: http://tieba.baidu.com/p/133663005 Original Source: http://bbs.4yt.net/dispbbs.asp?boardID=27&ID=119957&page=25 Original Post: - Spoiler:
杨梦云: I liked Chu Beijie at the start, but as story progressed, He Xia began to attract me more. Seeing how they were childhood friends, did so much together etc. When hearing of Pingting's death, he danced for her - is that only sibling love? I feel a bit dumbfounded, why aren't those two deeply in love and Pingting would choose Chu Beijie in the end?
(Can't find the below quotes, but basically, they're quotes about He Xia trying/hoping to find Pingting.
Replies: This is a bit confusing, some of them are the same person replying. - Spoiler:
#1: I disagree with you, from He Xia's actions, he only felt dissatisfied.
#2: I agree with you. He loved Pingting, but not the way Chu Beijie gave up everything for his love for Pingting, no matter what. Why else would you think he felt a loneliness when he conquered the four countries and was sitting alone, not actually happy, in the Jing-An Ducal Residence? I wonder if he felt regret at that moment and if he wondered what he had lost. Maybe he would've thought of his childhood playmate of 15 years ago? (I dunno who this person was agreeing with, but okay)
#3: If there were someone like that and was my childhood friend, I would love him to death. Maybe because I don't, I really appreciate the feelings between Pingting and He Xia. I suspect the author didn't intend to make it this way: He Xia's eyes were glazed, wasn't quite sane, and was too hard to read.
#4: Why would you think that? Perhaps it's because the sibling feeling was too strong, it swallowed the feelings of love, so neither of them realised it. Only when He Xia lost Pingting, he realised it and tried to get her back no matter what.
#5: We won't know whether He Xia felt regret or not. No matter what the world under the skies turns out to be like, he has already lost everything!
#6: Did He Xia have a choice? He is a hot-blooded man, an acclaimed general and had his family ruined by his country. Even if he did manage to set free his hatred, the other three countries, He Su and Chu Beijie especially, wouldn't've let him off. He could only do so much to save himself, and when he saw Yaotian, his feeling for his wife was different. I reckon he must've felt really bad right, having to do everything to pamper his wife, despite his former rank, fame etc. Why was he doing it? He had to prove himself, get military power, avenge. His path was really set in stone for him - even though every step wasn't done with a person forcing him - he didn't actually have any choice. He wasn't a woman like Pingting, could hide in her lover's embrace or not care about much even if the world collapsed.
By the 7th vol, he managed to conquer the world, but he felt not a single ounce of happiness. He didn't know who to tell, who to share the news with and in the end, he could only drink with He Su, his enemy. I really pity him, he was more or less Pingting's soulmate!
#8: I reckon perhaps He Xia loved Pingting at first, but loved Yaotian in the end, but in reality, he loved himself the most throughout the story. Maybe it was because he'd suffered to much and lacked stability, as well as had to suffer under Yaotian's more superior authority, their love was doomed to be a tragedy from the start.
#9: (A dialogue summarised) I think it was a complicated feeling. The like of a dearest friend, the love of a sister. He didn't feel love for Pingting, because after the death of his parents, he lacked family. Although he was the one who let Pingting free, he felt like his only family betrayed him. If he really did love Pingting, he would've respected her opinion to the very end and wouldn't've tried stealing her back at all costs. [What about Yaotian? That's why I said He Xia is really selfish, did everything for himself.] When people are focused on something they tend to forget other things. That's why he only realised that he lost the most important thing when he lost it!
#10: I though Pingting was in love with He Xia, that's why I felt baffled by his love for Yaotian in the end.
#11: He didn't love Pingting, Pingting was only an icon of his familial love in his memories. But to Yaotian, his love was from a man's heart, from faint to strong. When Yaotian died, his love was in its strongest moments. He realised it too late, so he had to chase his memories, chase them until his tragedy.
(I can't be bothered with the rest)
I didn't answer the question did I? - Spoiler:
I feel like He Xia was better off loving Yaotian because I think family love > sexual love (I know, it sounds stupid). Pingting was the only representative of his former life, and so when she "betrayed" him, he felt like even what he had tried to get back (his former life) for so long was against him.
He only truly realised that he loved Yaotian when she died and did he not suffer of loneliness terribly for a long time, even till his death?
If he had actually loved Pingting, I felt like he wouldn't've felt the same loneliness - it'd simply be the same as before. He'd try to blindly get back Pingting, hurting the people around him again, repeating the cycle. But if you're doing something, you don't tend to feel as lonely and therefore are less likely to suffer.
And finally, the no. 1 reason why I did actually like this novel is because of it's strong emphasis on monogamy, vanilla, strong couple relationships. I wouldn't've translated it if there was a love triangle. =_="
Side Comment: Chu Beijie was really undeveloped in this volume. In fact, I felt like there was a lot left to be desired.
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