Stuff I forgot to say ...
To Dugu Xiongdi ... thanks for posting my translation :) I ran out of time and had to fly out of the house before I had a chance to post it here ... and by the time I did find some time, you've already posted it for me! :D :bow:
Since I was rushing w/ the rant, there are of course many things I forgot to say :bang:
Just connecting w/ the rant of this chapter, I was going to ask all the guys (and gals if they have any inputs in regards to this matter) if they have any thoughts on the feelings of "revulsion" and attraction that Zhuo has towards YLC?
Why is her radiance a source of "revulsion" for him? Is it b/c of the age old conception that men don't like their women to be more powerful than they are? I remember once asking my guy friend what he thinks is a guy's worst fear. He answered me something like powerful women, or rather women who are more powerful than him. He said it was intimidating ....
Maybe I'm a little optimistic (or naive), but I've always felt that w/ the progression of society, more guys are becoming "okay" w/ the idea of their woman being more "successful" than they are. Of course, it doesn't apply to all guys and maybe deep down, there is still that residual fear or antagonism towards this trend? Makes me think of the new up-coming remake of THE STEPFORD WIVES
Just wondering whether anybody has anything to say ...
Okay, moving on, I just wanted to add that quite a while ago, I was re-editing my past chapters and fixing up my footnotes. I did some research on the term "Luo Cha" (as in Yu Luo Cha) again, and this time found more information (I think I typed in the wrong chinese characters last time), but anyways, ignore what I said in the previous footnote about this term, the following should be more accurate:
"Yu Luo Cha": The nickname of Lian Ni Chang. Á_„x ("Luo Cha") is a certain class of supernatural beings (along with the Yecha/Yasha and Ashura) that functions as demonic servants of the underworld lords.
According to mythology, the "LuoCha ghost" is commonly understood as being these supernatural beings that literally eats people. They are conceived as possessing supernatural speed regardless of whether they are in the air or on ground. The term Luo Cha in original Sanskrit is "Rasetsu," and the "female LuoCha" (LuoCha Nu) is known in Sanskrit as "Rasetsunyo." LuoCha are typically known as being hideous and horrific in appearance, they are very dark in skin colour, with green eyes and red hair. While, the female LuoCha are known to be extremely beautiful and captivating, they can be very deadly for the men who fall under their spells.
The transformation of this figure in Buddhism is similarly complex. They were originally conceived as soldiers of the Underworld, then they gradually became to be known as "Niu Tuo, Ma Mian" (Ox head, horse face), who were messengers that came up to the living world to bring the dead souls into the Afterworld. In Liang YuSheng's other work, "Bing Pu Han Guan Jian," a character living in Nepal (hence, influences of Hinduism) mentioned to another character that the "LuoCha ghost" will come and "hook" a person's soul away, and drag it to the Underworld. Though presently, the common interpretation of Luo Cha are like Yecha, that they were beings who perform guardian roles for the Lord of the Underworld, while also acting as their punisher/enforcer.
Further information about the Luo Cha beings can be found at the following Chinese site where the majority of the above information was procured from: http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/harbo...book010721.htm
The term "Yu" in Yu Luo Cha means "Jade" which is a reference to a woman¡¯s jade-like beauty.
Thus Yu Luo Cha is a name that refers to someone who is as vicious and demonic as the Luosa demons, but who is also as beautiful as a piece of jade. Overall, the term Yu Luo Cha can be translated to Jade Rasetsu.
Argh! More stuff I forgot to say!
I keep on forgetting stuff! :irked: ... getting old lah! :hairraise:
Cheng peipei (of "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" & "Come Drink w/ me" fame) actually made a movie called The Jade Raksha (which though I haven't seen, yet I believe is probably a WHD adaptation). So I'm not even too sure whether Luo Cha should be translated as "Rasetsu" or "Raksha."
If anybody does happen to come across more information, please let me know! :D
What I had forgot to mention in my last post about the Luo Cha footnote is that LuoChas were supposed to possess supernatural speed, and similarly, the speed of Lian NiChang is also emphasized throughout the novel. The novel said that it was because Lian NiChang was raised by wolves and thus ran wild in the mountainous terrain ever since she was an infant, that it gave her such an advantage in terms of speed. I do believe that YLC is the fastest character in the novel (she will be competiting w/ someone much later on in the novel, you can make your own conclusions then), and should be amongst the fastest in the LYS cannon. What she has is not just speed and agility, but she also seemed to be able to travel long distances at such a high speed, whereas, female characters in other LYS novels who were also known for their speed relied on horses after a while since they could not travel for very long times at such high velocities.
Re: Argh! More stuff I forgot to say!
Quote:
Originally posted by Faerie Queene
So I'm not even too sure whether Luo Cha should be translated as "Rasetsu" or "Raksha."
If anybody does happen to come across more information, please let me know! :D
It's actually rakshasa. Rasetsu is Japanese. Yecha is something different in Hinduism/Buddhism, being more of trickster spirits. Rakshasas are demons, anti-gods of sort.
response to queenie's comments
Hi Queenie,
The "White Haired Devil Lady" movie that I saw was not from rarekungfumovies.com, it was the Hong Kong version which was available for a little while on VCD. The quality of this VCD version is slick and clean. So the movie looked much better and YES the scenery and cinematography was lush and gorgeous to look at. The acting was competent especially from the female lead actor. I didn't like the male lead's performance. One drawback to this VCD version is that there is no English subtitles. Happy huntings,
J;)
Response to Jotaro & Dugu Xiong's comments!
Quote:
Originally posted by jotaro
Hi Queenie,
The "White Haired Devil Lady" movie that I saw was not from rarekungfumovies.com, it was the Hong Kong version which was available for a little while on VCD. The quality of this VCD version is slick and clean.
Hey-ya! :wave:
Oh ... lucky you. Some guy posted on the internet a site where we could buy this version, but of course it was all gone by the time I discovered the post :( Biiittttteeerrrr...... :rolleyes:
Quote:
Originally posted by jotaro
So the movie looked much better and YES the scenery and cinematography was lush and gorgeous to look at. [/i]
Yeah, but I don't like it when the Mainland films showcase their landmarks so overtly that it resembles a travel documentary -- in the WHD movie, they broke the rhythm of the movie by distracting the viewers with a series of shots on this & that rock or so & so peak ... they even slapped on the names of those landmarks on the screen. Hello! We're watching a movie here!
Quote:
Originally posted by jotaro
The acting was competent especially from the female lead actor. I didn't like the male lead's performance. One drawback to this VCD version is that there is no English subtitles. Happy huntings,
J
Yeah, Bao Hay Jing had a perky sweetness to her which I thought was a well captured trait of YLC. She also had a very lovely smile that made her looked quite nice when her face was partially covered by the organza shield -- and I've always felt that YLC's smile & laugh was one of the definining traits of her beauty. Overall, I would say that she wasn't too bad, but still didn't define for me the "ultimate" portrayal.
I didn't like the performances from the actors who portrayed Zhuo Yi Hang, Yue Ming Ke or Tie Fei Long either.
In my version, I don't think there were any titles period :mad:
Quote:
Originally posted by Du Gu seeking a win
Which peak (Tai Shi or Shao Shi) at Song Shan has the ShaoLin temple?
Ai-yah! :yikes: :tearlaugh: :shifty:
hehe ... it is the SHAOshi Mountain. Totally my bad :blush:
Wow Dugu Xiong! You're the human error-detecting matchine eh? :thumbsup:
I can only say one thing: :bow:
WHD - Chapter 9 (part deux)
Let us now turn our attention back to Yue Ming Ke who was extremely elated after receiving the hint from the Dhyana Master Jing Ming. That night, having changed into a dark coloured night traveler’s outfit, Yue Ming Ke arrived at the Shaolin temple’s front doors and bowed respectfully three times before he dashed inwards. But it was also at this time that he happened to catch the whiff of a light draft that suddenly glided past him. He was then able to vaguely discern what appeared to be a black shadow that hurtled towards the Northeast corner with the speed of a shooting comet. The levitation skill of this person was already an indication of first-rate abilities! The average fighter would have never been able to detect the presence of such a person. Startled, Yue Ming Ke was worried that the Reverend Jing Ming might have changed his mind and sent over first-rate fighters to secretly watch over him.
But just as he was in the midst of contemplating, a little novice monk immediately leaped out from the LoHan Hall. Though the little monk appeared to be only about fifteen or sixteen years of age, yet his movements were actually extremely agile and athletic. The very moment he appeared, he executed the “Yin Yang Clashing Palms” to strike towards Yue’s face while stating loudly, “Dirty Scoundrel! How dare you break into our temple?”
Having been instructed by Jing Ming beforehand, Yue Ming Ke knew that the little novice monk was just putting on an act. But now watching him getting into the “role” with such genuine passion, Yue couldn’t help but be secretly amused. After evading a few stances, Yue already began to contemplate on how he could pass this station in a way that would allow the little novice monk to save some face. But it seems that the little novice monk was actually quite competitive for he has suddenly initiated the Shaolin “Soft Palms” attack. Alternating between palm and finger attacks, the little monk was stabbing one moment and then piercing at another.
Accompanied by a revered monk of the DaMo Sanctuary, Zhuo Yi Hang and his uncle were observing the fight from the heights of the stone pagodas. On observing the little novice monk, they discovered that he just happened to be the little monk who had jumped out to challenge Hu Mai during the daytime. Zhuo couldn’t help but find this funny as he remarked, “The movements of this little Dhyana Master are extremely lithe! I’m afraid that had he struck out during the daytime, that old lowlife bum would have been injured even more severely!”
Having humoured the little novice monk by accompanying him for a few twists and turns, Yue Ming Ke suddenly revealed a weak spot to him. Unable to retract his attack in time, the palm of the little novice monk landed right on the Qi Men Acupoint located under the left side of Yue’s chest. Yue’s body immediately flitted upwards as he flew over the outer walls and said, “Young master’s palm force really is powerful! I bow down to you!”
The little novice monk was frozen on the spot with astonishment for he had felt the muscle on Yue’s body sink inwards the very moment he made contact with his clothing. He wasn’t even able to concretely impact Yue’s body yet and already Yue was “impacted” so hard that his whole body was shocked into the air!
Seeing how his opponent was unable to maintain his balance despite the fact that his palm hasn’t even concretely impacted upon his opponent’s body yet, the little novice monk was led to believe that all of this was really due to his skilful mastery of the soft palms. Watching his opponent flit away to dodge his attack, he was just about to call after him, “Since you are willing to admit to defeat, then why are you still charging towards the inner stations? Come back for a few more rounds!” But just when he was about to utter these words, a voice was suddenly heard to drift towards him through mid air. It turned out to be none other than the Dhyana Master Zun Xing who was currently stationed at the Ancestral Founder Temple. Zun Xing reprimanded in a severe tone, “Foolish child! You have just been granted a win and yet you don’t even know enough to express your gratitude? The mastery of your soft palms is far from being a worthy match!”
The face of the little novice monk blushed the shade of a fiery scarlet that spread all the way to the tips of his crimson ears. He hurriedly folded his palms together and said, “Thank you honoured guest for showing mercy.” But Yue Ming Ke was similarly surprised at how the Dhyana Master Zun Xing was able to observe everything so clearly despite being physically stationed at such a far distance! This really goes to show that the fame of the Shaolin temple was certainly well deserved.
After Yue Ming Ke whisked past the LoHan Hall, he entered into the Awareness Edification Chapel, the very same place that the Reverend Jing Ming had used to receive Taoist Priest White Stone just a while ago. The very moment that Yue Ming Ke arrived there, he immediately heard a series of whooshing sounds that cut through the air and hurtled straight towards his face. Executing his supreme levitation skills, Yue Ming Ke rocketed to the top of the large roof beam with just one flit of his body. What he immediately heard was a monk say with a laugh, “No need to be alarmed my guest, please come down for a competition of projectiles.” When Yue Ming Ke observed the rectangular shaped object arrive back into the hands of the monk, he became quite perplexed.
This monk was named Xuan Tong and was the disciple of the Monastery Inspector Zun Xing. He was only intending to give his visitor a little scare when he unleashed his specialty projectile just a moment ago. But what he didn’t expect was how incredibly superb Yue Ming Ke’s levitations skills would turn out to be, far exceeding his original expectations. Initially, he was just planning to hurl the “Yuan Yang Pillow(1)” past his opponent’s ears, but as soon as the projectile arrived near Yue Ming Ke’s body, Yue Ming Ke suddenly disappeared from sight completely. It was only after Xuan Tong had retracted his projectile did he discover that Yue had already arrived on the top of the roof beam. Such a feat actually ended up igniting the competitive side in Xuan Tong, compelling him to really have the desire to contest with Yue Ming Ke!
With a smile, Yue Ming Ke descended upon the floor and with a wrap of his fists he said, “Then please go easy on me Reverend.” Xuan Tong replied, “Your words are much too humble. What projectile will you be using?” Since Yue Ming Ke never uses any projectiles, he had to think over this question for a little while. When he happened to lift his head to glance outside, he discovered that planted right in front of the chapel was a Dragon’s Eye Tree (2) densely populated with bunches of ripe fruit. Thus with a smile he said, “I happen to be a little thirsty, may I go pick a few Dragon’s Eyes in order to quench my thirst?” Slightly staggered, Xuan Tong replied, “Please do.”
In just a breath, Yue Ming Ke has already consumed twenty or thirty dragon’s eyes and by collecting together all their seeds in the palm of his hand, he smiled and said, “Alright. I have my projectiles. Reverend, please proceed to enlighten your disciple.”
When Xuan Tong saw Yue Ming Ke use the Dragon’s Eye seeds as his projectiles, he involuntarily began to simper with anger. Therefore with just a flip of his wrist, he first tossed out five Bronzed Bodhi Beads(3). What immediately followed was a series of tinkling sounds that chimed out continually under the sequential flicks of Yue Ming Ke’s fingers. All of Xuan Tong’s Bronzed Bodhi Beads have been shot down by the Dragon’s Eye Seeds that were catapulted out of Yue Ming Ke’s palm!
Xuan Tong was absolutely astounded, but with a sweep of his two hands, two of his specialty projectiles the “Yuan Yang Pillow” immediately hurtled out in two paths. This projectile was quite a powerful weapon for even though it was shaped like a pillow, yet concealed within its center were numerous sharp blades that had the ability to retract and extend out of the pillow. Yue Ming Ke’s two fingers continued to flick out in a sequential fashion as four Dragon’s Eye Seeds blasted out. Once the tiny Dragon’s Eye seeds impacted upon the Yuan Yang Pillow, the pillow flipped flopped in mid air and completely lost its direction.
With a wave of his hands, Xuan Tong retracted his weapon and since his eyes were sharp, Yue Ming Ke was able to discern that tied to the “Yuan Yang Pillow” was an extremely thin piece of metal twine that was connected to Xuan Tong’s finger. Therefore he waited until Xuan Tong tossed out his weapon again before he suddenly bounded up and snipped towards the metal twine with his two bare fingers, cutting it cleanly in two halves. As a result, the Yuan Yang Pillow suddenly flew off to one side and hurtled right out of the Awareness Edification Chapel while the blades concealed within the pillow all shot out and nailed right into the Dragon’s Eye Tree. Having past the second stage, Yue Ming Ke immediately dashed towards the Sutras Treasury Chamber after leaving behind a final “Thank you for your mercy!”
Before he has taken more than a few steps, another monk was seen to jump out from the DaMo Sanctuary. In his hand was a Monks Spade (4) that glinted menacingly in the light as he blocked Yue’s path and said, “Please stay behind sir.”
**************************
(1)“Yuan Yang Pillow”: Remember, Yuan-Yang translates as “Mandarin Duck” while also keep in mind that pillows in ancient times are often hard and rectangular box-shaped objects made from pottery or porcelain (such as the example in the following picture: http://www.buygobi.com/potteryporcelain11018.html)
(2)“Dragon Eye Tree”: What is here translated as “Dragon’s Eye” is the fruit known in Chinese as “Long (Dragon) Yan (Eye).”
(3)“Bronzed Bodhi Beads”: The term used in the novel was “Tie (Bronze) Pu-Ti (Bodhi).” The translator interprets this as a reference to the Bodhi beads in the Buddhist Mala (or beaded rosary), which were made from the Bodhi tree seeds.
(4) “Monks Spade”: http://www.gungfu.com/pics_info_page...onks_spade.jpg The actual term used in the novel was “Fan Bian (convenience?) Chan (spade/shovel),” but Monks spade was used in this case as it seems the most suitable and fitting.
It's not over till the Faerie Lady rants!
I have to say I’m pretty glad to finish this chapter – all those fights kill me with the lengthy and detailed metaphorical descriptions of their moves :P (wipes sweat)
One thing to take notice of is the “You Long” (what I translated as “Gliding Dragon”) sword. Super-famous in the Tian Shan series. Chances are if you read another LYS book belonging to the TianShan series, you’ll encounter it. In Tsui Harks’ new movies and t.v series of the “7 Jian Xia Tian Shan,” you should be hearing about it. Btw., what do you guys think about my translation of the name? Should I try to be more faithful to the original and translate it as “Swimming Dragon” or cheat a little and call it “Wandering Dragon”? Any comments on this?
Seriously, I have to say that Zhuo Yi Hang chasing after Yue Ming Ke & Jin Qian Yan with the earnest intentions of retrieving YLC’s sword manual, despite the fact that he’s really not qualified to be of much help is really a very sweet and cute gesture in his own bumbling and naïve way.
Also, I’m sure LYS messed up on the hours of this chapter, did any of you catch it? (*ahem!* DuGu Xiong? :D ;) ) when Yue Ming Ke exited out of the ancestral founder temple, it was the 3rd hour – then four hours later, when he heard the flute melody in the forest, it was the 4th hour? Unless I interpreted the Chinese wrong and hence resulted in faulty translation – is “Jian” equal to one hour? (“Jian” – you hear it all the times in t.v serials – “2 Jian,” “3 Jian” – you know, when those people who patrol the streets knock on their gongs to indicate the hour?)
Can anybody guess who the flute-playing youngster is? This is a character who has already appeared, but no, it is not Wang Zhao Xi. :D
To C’sah: don’t know when you’ll be reading this – but I haven’t been able to translate the part I promised you b/c I’m having computer problems during these last few days again. I’ll make sure to include it w/ my chapter 10!
Okay, please make sure to post any comments and questions. But I will be out of town again for about a week. I will be bringing my laptop so I can work on the translation, but don’t think I’ll have access to much internet. So I can only answer all questions when I return.
Hopefully I can finish chapter 10 soon … it should take less time.
Hope everyone is doing well …
:D