大唐双龙传 [Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan] by Huang Yi

[徐中銳]

Stay tune for the big fight tomorrow. Bonus post in observance of Fourth of July ...

Many thanks for your last 3 translations in consecutive days

There's much I'd like to say about the story's unfolding events and emotions ! But let's divert first to how I've recently re-watch Wong Kar Wai's (actual film not just the trailer of) :


Simply, without debating accuracies, I like the costumes/art-direction in 東邪西毒 (note how that's the Chinese title) and would gladly imagine 大唐雙龍傳 having a similar look

Take good care of yourself, relaxing back to your old pace of every 2-3 days is fine...

[HPC7595]

Thanks foxs

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for another update foxs! You work so hard to bring us this great story! Bravo!!

KZ only met the Li girl once and they barely had any private interactions. How deep can his love be for her? I don't buy it.

KZ wants to dominate the world by any means necessary. XZL only wants to live like a hermit. They can't be any more different from each other but they still love and support each other. Great brothers indeed!!

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[akolaw]

Kou's pride is in the way too.

Notice how Li Simen treat the two boys like brothers, he is a charismatic ambitious boy aiming big, his reaction does not represent his group. But how Li's fellow esp Chai treat the two boys, he look down on the two like they are nothing. Chai's attitude is the norm, they belong to the noble class, and the two boys are no body, see how the book describe Mon Fat (famous Clan), here Yang, Dugu, Yuman, Li and Song, all are famous Clan.

Li Simen is son of Duke Li, Tang Kwok Kung. and is cousin of the emperor.

[akolaw]

Also about Susu.

The two boys are orphans, they don't have a family, and adopt each other as brothers. They seek love, and value whoever treat them well true hearty. Fu treat them good, and adopt them as children, and they decided to kill Yumen to revenge, Yumen is one of the best martial artist, and high rank general. How long have the 2 boys know Fu. 2 days.

Susu see them as brothers and they see Susu as sister, they is it. and they even argue should they stand on the side of Susu or Li Digu, and decide to stand by Susu, since they know Susu first, they never think of who is more useful to them.

[akolaw]

Love for Li, this is book 6 and only 10 percent of the story, why should Kou know what is love here now, this is his first love, and it hurts, and it is finished in one day.

Do we understand love when we first adore a fair lady, but that would be a lasting memory.

[akolaw]

Chinese want to be mandarin/Government officer, this is a 3 thousand years tradition, and is still true today.

How to be an officer, well, you have to pass the govt. exam first, this system first test by Sui and established by Tang, and of course later UK. but in the time of the book Sui, the most common way is by Shun Kui, the locals vote you and then the emperor appoint you. Who would the locals vote, the famous family, they become a kind of noble class status, it does not matter which family is the emperor, they control the local vote and become the local governor.

See anything similar in the coming Clinton vs Bush dynasty.

[akolaw]

Historically, Li Sieman (This is not from this book) formally establish the Exam to Officer System and he Said; From now on, all hero under the Chinese orbit fall under my plot.

[Laoren]

Thanks foxs. The boys are truely Yin and Yan, opposite characters.

[Komeng]

Thanks foxs

[chualot]

thanks for the updates foxs.

[徐中銳]

Because of different interests and focus in developing their lightness skill, their qinggong style was also vastly different from each other. When they started training the ‘Bird Crossing Technique’, Kou Zhong loved to observe the marine ecosystem of swimming and cruising fish; therefore, automatically he developed movements mimicking the best of variety fish motion, full of vivacious postures. Still as a maiden, moving like a fugitive.

Xu Ziling, on the other hand, loved to observe the trajectory of all kinds of bird flying in the air; therefore, naturally the postures he adopted were full of soaring-bird and diving-falcon style. Like a heavenly steed soaring across the sky, difficult to trace its track.

Supporting them to attain their ideal body movement [shenfa, see above] was the true qi coming from diligent practice of the ‘Secret to Long Life’, which grew and multiplied without an end within their bodies.

Their pursuit of lightness skill style was actually matching their inner true qi. According to the five-element principle: fish is water and bird is fire. The true qi within Kou Zhong’s body was cold; while Xu Ziling’s was hot. Hence Kou Zhong imitating fish and Xu Ziling copying birds was a good fit like seamless heavenly clothes.

When they were injured by Zhai Rang, the two boys applied their inner power to heal each other, accidentally generating heat in the midst of cold, and cold in the midst of heat. Under the blending of Yin and Yang, it was no longer like before, where a lone Yang could not last and exhaustion was an endless recurring condition.

The most noticeable change was in the current utilization of the qinggong...

Thinking upon differences, the above...

[akolaw]

Huang Yi 's subtle balance, Kou only have feeling on Yin/water fish page and he himself is the aggressive always moving Yang, while Xu only have feeling on Yang/fire bird page and he himself is the retreat, hermit Yin.

[徐中銳]

Yuwen Wudi was groaning inwardly, because he had secretly suffered a loss.

What happened was that he had used the wrong energy. When receiving Kou Zhong’s first saber attack, he thought Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling trained using the same method, thereupon he decided to meet the attack head-on by sending out a hundred percent Yang energy, to deal with what he thought was a burning hot Yang energy.

Who would have thought that as the saber and lance collided, a stream of incomparably strange and cold Yin energy surged into his body via Kou Zhong’s blade?

By nature, Yin and Yang energy overcome each other. Caught off guard, Yuwen Wudi did not have enough time to protect himself, and thus several meridians in his body were injured...

Pardon akolaw, as the quote above illustrates, Yin—陰 (or simplified, 阴) correlates to Cold, whereas Yang—陽 (or 阳) to Hot...

[foxs]

Bocah, that was the reason I said earlier that Kou Zhong will get Li Xiuning, Xu Ziling will get Princess. But it was just a wild guess. George, I did not see the same thing you did, I think Yun Yuzhen did not do anything bad this time. Ysabel, HPC, Jaya, Komeng, Chua, you are welcome. Xu Xiong, Sky, I did not realize I made you guys worry about me, sorry ... Akolaw, nice analysis. Laoren, true. Xu Xiong, I think Akolaw was saying that KZ's nature was Yang, but he chose to train Yin, while XZL was the other way around. But IMHO, someone's innate character is a stronger influence to their personality than what they are training. Hence, in KZ's case, his 'yang' character will always dominate, and vice versa.

---

Book 6 Chapter 3 – Sui Emperor Yang Guang

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling climbed onto the carriage; accompanied by Big Sister Xiao and Xiang Yushan, they entered the city. Susu, accompanied by Yun Yuzhen, was riding on another carriage; they had different arrangement.

Afraid that the Yuwen Clan might obtain information and thus prevent the two boys from entering the Palace, Dugu Sheng personally came out to meet them.

Surprisingly, this Dugu Clan martial art master – who ranked second only to Dugu Feng – had a rather unremarkable appearance. He was about fifty, short and wiry, and looked a bit like an old monkey. But his eyes, which looked half open and half close, were deep and bright; the taiyang acupoints on his temples were protruding high, so that people immediately knew that he was not someone to be trifled with.

Toward Kou and Xu, two boys, he was polite, but kept his distance; however, he was quite amiable toward Xiao Huan and Xiang Yushan, evidently he did not have too high of a regard toward Kou and Xu.

Under the escort of Dugu Sheng and about a hundred imperial bodyguards, the party entered the city of Yangzhou.

Returning to their hometown, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were immediately overwhelmed with unbearable itch; they really wished to slip outside right away to look for their old friends and foes and say hello, also perhaps to see if Yan Laoda [see Book 1 Chapter 1] was still alive and well.

Xiang Yushan whispered in the two boys’ ears, “We are really lucky, today Yang Guang happens to be in the Palace. You don’t know it, but since becoming the Emperor, he never stopped, always going on a tour or a military expedition, infuriating the heavens exasperating the people, angering the gods and distressing the ghosts; otherwise, the people would not have rebelled.”

Big Sister Xiao sighed and said, “Now he is giving the western capital Chang’an to his grandson, Dai Wang [wang – king/prince] Yang You, and the eastern capital Luoyang to another grandson, Yue Wang Yang Dong, while he himself is hiding in here, so scared that he even abandoned the Luoyang’s sixteen-courtyard madams. To his surprise, however, Du Fuwei attacked Liyang, Li Zitong is also moving to Jiangdu. Basically there is no happy place for him on the earth.”

Irritated, Xiang Yushan said, “Dai Wang Yue Wang, one is twelve, the other eleven, unexpectedly they are in charge of western and eastern capitals; won’t the true power fall into the hands of high-ranking ministers such as Yang Shichong and the others? If any mishaps happen to Yang Guang, the world will be ten times more chaotic than right now.”

Listening to this, Kou Zhong’s eyes lit up, and Xu Ziling could see it clearly.

The carriage suddenly stopped.

Dugu Sheng spoke from outside the window, “His Holiness has just gone to Lin Jiang Palace, we must change our itinerary.”

After ascending the throne, Yang Guang issued a decree to build the city of Yangzhou, which formerly was under his stewardship as the Zongguan, and changed its official title to Jiangdu. Not only the city was expanded, numerous palaces arose, parks and garden embellished it, north of the city, where there were mountain on one side and water on the other, he also established Gui Yan, Hui Liu, Song Lin, and the others, the so-called ‘Shu Gang Ten Palaces’.

But perhaps the most magnificent was the Lin Jiang Palace, which was built by the shore of Yangtze River. Whenever Yang Guang was prompted by a sudden impulse, whether it was morning or evening, he would go there to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Yangtze River.

When Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had an audience with this muddleheaded ruler of the historically shortest, and the fastest to disappear, dynasty, he was having a drinking party on a palace balcony overlooking the Yangtze River, accompanied by his favorite concubines Xiao Yu and Zhu Gui’er [gui means imperial concubine, so I don’t think it was her actual name], completely oblivious of the ups and downs of the chaos of war outside.

Kou Zhong and the others alighted from their carriage at the square in front of the Palace, which was tightly guarded by the Imperial Guards. After a thorough body search, which was personally conducted by Dugu Sheng, to make sure that they did not bring any weapons, he led them into the Palace. However, Xiang Yushan and Big Sister Xiao had to remain at the gate.

As Dugu Sheng was leading them through the corridors and pathways, they could hear the surging water of Yangtze River, mingled with faint melodious music from the continuously stretching palaces ahead.

This was the first time that the two boys entered such a richly ornamented, brightly decorated, splendorous and majestic building. Momentarily their eyes were unable to take it all, and they were quite at a loss.

Kou Zhong whispered, “Now this is what I call glory, splendor, wealth and rank.”

“Don’t talk!” from the front, Dugu Sheng coldly shouted.

Kou Zhong jumped in fright and immediately shut his mouth.

Xu Ziling mused in his heart, ‘Only ghosts are willing to live in such noisy, raucous, tacky, and irritating place like this. For me, it would be enough if I can live deep in the mountains, in a thatched hut in a secluded valley, with beautiful scenery and birds and beasts as my company.’

There were Imperial Guards everywhere, with checkpoints at every entryway; without Dugu Sheng leading the way, it would be impossible for them to move a single step.

When the Wangjiang Tai [Riverview Balcony; ‘wang jiang’ means ‘looking at the river’] was in sight, an official appeared ahead and stopped them.

The man looked gentle and handsome, about thirty-five, thirty-six years old. Upon introduction by Dugu Sheng, they found out that he was the interior minister Yu Shiji, one of Yang Guang’s most trusted courtiers.

Noticing his unstable, floating footsteps, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that not only this person did not know martial art, his body was scooped empty by wine and women, so that his appearance looked like he was too weak to stand up to the wind.

Normally, an interior minister ought to be a high-ranking eunuch, but this person’s appearance did not have a real eunuch flavor, making it difficult for them to make correct assessment.

After sizing up the two boys, Yu Shiji said to Dugu Sheng, “It’s really them.”

Dugu Sheng nodded in affirmative.

It was only then did Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling find out that Yu Shiji was involved in this matter. If that was the case, then Yang Guang’s other favored minister, the Imperial Censor Fei Yun, ought to be key personnel in this operation, which was directed toward the Yuwen Clan, as well.

After carefully examining the two boys again, Yu Shiji said, “Give the account book to me first, the two of you may wait in the side chamber. When the opportune time comes, this official may take you to appear before His Highness.”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged glances; they were unwilling, but finally had to hand the account book over to Yu Shiji.

Yu Shiji immediately flipped the pages. When he reached certain page, he suddenly laughed aloud and said, “General Sheng, this time we really obtain a treasure. I want to see how much longer Yuwen Clan will be able to shine.”

Hearing that, Dugu Sheng smiled while twisting the tip of his moustache.

The two boys waited in a room by Wangjiang Tai for nearly two sichen [4 hours]. They waited until the sun was about to set, still no Yu Shiji or Dugu Sheng to take them to see Yang Guang.

The palaces, as well as the courtyards, were tightly guarded by Imperial Guards, making them feel like prisoner in the palace hall.

Xu Ziling sat quietly in a corner. Looking at Kou Zhong, who was pacing back and forth restlessly, he frowned and said, “Could you be a bit more patient?”

Kou Zhong halted in front of him; he sighed and said, “Maybe we were wrong; now even the account book has been taken away, and I still don’t know how we are going to leave this place.”

“Don’t worry!” Xu Ziling said, “As long as we are still useful, they will rely on us. These people put the cart before the horse, they don’t care that outside the chaos is turning the sky and the earth upside down, they are thinking of fighting with other people around instead. No wonder the rebels’ momentum is growing day by day.”

After a short pause, he went on, “What worries me most is Su Jie; after meeting that muddleheaded ruler, we must find a way to leave this place and rendezvous with Su Jie, and immediately go as far away as possible. Whether Yuwen Clan is toppled or not, we must not tarry in this place too long.”

Kou Zhong sat down by his side; he said, “You are right. If Yang Guang issues in imperial decree to search and confiscate the Yuwen Clan’s possession and have their entire family exterminated, it will incite a tempest; Yuwen Huaji and the others will definitely fight will all their strength. If that happen, it would be strange indeed if Jiangdu does not turn into a mess.”

Xu Ziling added, “Don’t forget that Ol’ Die and that Li Budong are glaring at Jiangdu like a tiger watching its prey. As soon as they know that Jiangdu in chaos, they will immediately deploy their troops to attack. Ay, this thought is really frightening!”

Kou Zhong did not know what to think.

While they were busy with their own thoughts, Yu Shiji came in. With him was a big, fat official, whose face was wide, his eyes thin, his nose long like a wine gourd; in short, a crafty villain look.

Yu Shiji excitedly said, “Two Xiongdi, come meet Imperial Censor Daren.”

Hearing him addressing them as ‘brothers’, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were rather flattered. Thinking that this must be Yu Shiji’s partner Fei Yun, they hastily paid their respect according to the way Big Sister Xiao taught them.

Fei Yun assumed an amiable appearance; he said with a chuckle, “Two Xiao Xiongdi have rendered great merit, these days this official will present a memorial to His Highness, he will reward you heavily.”

“Let’s strike while the iron is hot,” Yu Shiji continued, “High Highness ought to see the account book. Right now we are going to take two Xiao Xiongdi to have an audience with His Highness, but you must not mention anything about the account book. Even if His Highness ask, you must pretend not to know there is such thing.”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay; they understood that the great merit of obtaining the account book would be falsely claimed by these two crafty and fawning despicable men.

Fei Yun laughed and said, “Two Xiao Xiongdi must be men who understand reason. Just serve us well, and I guarantee you will enjoy endless glory, splendor, wealth and rank. We are here!”

The two boys looked at each other with bitter smile; they could only follow behind the two men helplessly.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks foxs!

Oh the boys just got swindled! These officials are truly corrupted! I'm so excited for the next part!

[徐中銳]

Xu Xiong, I think Akolaw was saying that KZ's nature was Yang, but he chose to train Yin, while XZL was the other way around. But IMHO, someone's innate character is a stronger influence to their personality than what they are training. Hence, in KZ's case, his 'yang' character will always dominate, and vice versa.

Pardon, I must admit to being distracted and not giving enough time to process and answer...

Perhaps you, or anyone, can reference me other writings about Yang & Yin nature/personality/dynamics ? I thought Yin & Yang to be constantly in flux and re-balance rather than Yang as being on the move and Yin, stationary.

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And would it be best to say that Kou & Xu chose their training (diagrams) but lucked into their Yin & Yang (qi), respectively ?

[akolaw]

Hi, Xu

Regarding Yin, Yang, In your above diagram of tai Chi, the white half is yang and the black half is yin the two mingle together as male and female complement together, but if you look at the Black Yin there is a white dot call True Yang, and it balance it self so is the White Yang have a True Yin inside.

In another word, Yin or Yang consist essence of the other pole at it own core.

[akolaw]

In Kou and Xu's case, Kou is Yang and his core essence is True Yin, that is why he is attract by the Yin picture and practice Yin true qi, and Xu is Yin , and therefore practice Yang true qi.

And of course Kou and Xu complement each other as Yin and Yang.