Thanks, fox! I hear you and appreciate your explanation. I came up with the title "Mocking at the World" because I was looking for a literal translation of XAJH that would start non-Chinese-reading people on the road to understanding the true meaning of the idiom (as stated in the link you provided). Sometimes, people want a phrase that they can "port" directly from one language into another, and "Mocking at the World" could perhaps be considered as an option.Originally Posted by flyingfox2002
I agree with you: Liu Zhenfeng and Qu Yang do want to be left alone to make their music. They do not want to piss on/off the world, but their opinions on the ridiculousness of the "orthodoxy vs unorthodoxy" divide that prevented them from being open about their friendship could, would and did affect the song they wrote and its title in one way or another. To them, the literal meaning of XAJH (if it could be translated as "Mocking at the World") can perhaps represent the irony of their situation, while the true/idiomatic meaning represents the state of existence that they hope to achieve. So, in that sense, I do not feel that "Mocking at the World" is not entirely offensive. Besides, few people in the novel knew or cared about the music and/or its score.
HYS