dragongirlG translations

Companion tumblr for dragongirlG's translation website dragongirlgtl.com Header image: 588ku (pngtree.com). Fandom main: @dragongirlg-fics

[dragongirlgtl]

Thank you, and farewell

There's no easy way to say this, but I will be taking down the translation site as of March 30, 2024.

What does this mean?

I'll be making the site private, which means I'll still retain ownership of the domain name, but it will not be available for viewing.

Why?

There are a few reasons.

AI Automattic (Wordpress' and tumblr's parent company) is in the process of making a deal to sell user data to OpenAI and Midjourney. If you're on tumblr regularly, you've probably heard about this already. It's applying to WordPress too. I'm aware that any content I've already posted publicly, including translation challenges and the formerly public (now password-protected) MDZS chapters, have likely already been scraped. I'm not sure whether my drafts got hit as well. Regardless, with the increasing use of AI in both fandom and non-fandom spaces, I no longer feel comfortable posting any publicly accessible translations, even with a password.

Technical problems Today I logged into Wordpress and found that I can't access any of my posts from the back end, including the published posts and the drafts of my future translations. I do have a backup of all my posts as a giant, compiled text file in Notepad, and I also have some old backups in prettier format. However, I'm unable to access or edit any drafts, and I am only able to edit published and password-protected posts by going through the public pathways of the site. As you can imagine, this is extremely inconvenient and stressful, and not at all conducive to a smooth workflow. None of my troubleshooting has helped fix the problem.

Fandom, permission, entitlement Some recent personal interactions in fandom have made it clear that no matter how many reminders of my Share Policy I put up, requesting that people ask for permission before reposting or distributing my work in some form (screenshots/audio/otherwise), someone will always ignore it. I'm lucky that no one has tried to take my translation or fanfic and tried to profit from it, which could land me in hot water legally, but I'm making the translation site private as a preventative measure. My fanfic is still up on AO3, though all of it is now archive-locked with comment moderation. I was receiving an increasing number of microaggressive, or just plain aggressive, comments, especially on MDZS fics, which is the reason I haven't been writing anything and have been slow to respond to the lovely, positive comments that I have received.

Will you still be translating?

I will continue to translate MDZS and other Chinese works for my own personal enjoyment and education.

My shoot-for-the-moon dream is to start a small press where I can buy licenses for danmei novels and publish both my translations as well as those of my trusted friends'. Unfortunately, that is not feasible right now for a number of reasons. Maybe one day. <3

Final words

This is a really bittersweet goodbye. As you can tell from previous posts, I was very excited to set up my translation website and share my work with the world. I've put a lot of time, energy, and enthusiasm into setting up the site and completing translations, and I've learned a great deal in doing so. It has been a joy sharing the site, the translations, and progress updates with the fan community, and I wish you all well.

This blog will remain up, but previous posts will be deleted once the site is taken down.

Thank you all for your support and understanding.

-G

[chirabella]

Jingyan is such a bitch 🥰🥰🥰

[dragongirlgtl]

Thank you, and farewell

There's no easy way to say this, but I will be taking down the translation site as of March 30, 2024.

What does this mean?

I'll be making the site private, which means I'll still retain ownership of the domain name, but it will not be available for viewing.

Why?

There are a few reasons.

AI Automattic (Wordpress' and tumblr's parent company) is in the process of making a deal to sell user data to OpenAI and Midjourney. If you're on tumblr regularly, you've probably heard about this already. It's applying to WordPress too. I'm aware that any content I've already posted publicly, including translation challenges and the formerly public (now password-protected) MDZS chapters, have likely already been scraped. I'm not sure whether my drafts got hit as well. Regardless, with the increasing use of AI in both fandom and non-fandom spaces, I no longer feel comfortable posting any publicly accessible translations, even with a password.

Technical problems Today I logged into Wordpress and found that I can't access any of my posts from the back end, including the published posts and the drafts of my future translations. I do have a backup of all my posts as a giant, compiled text file in Notepad, and I also have some old backups in prettier format. However, I'm unable to access or edit any drafts, and I am only able to edit published and password-protected posts by going through the public pathways of the site. As you can imagine, this is extremely inconvenient and stressful, and not at all conducive to a smooth workflow. None of my troubleshooting has helped fix the problem.

Fandom, permission, entitlement Some recent personal interactions in fandom have made it clear that no matter how many reminders of my Share Policy I put up, requesting that people ask for permission before reposting or distributing my work in some form (screenshots/audio/otherwise), someone will always ignore it. I'm lucky that no one has tried to take my translation or fanfic and tried to profit from it, which could land me in hot water legally, but I'm making the translation site private as a preventative measure. My fanfic is still up on AO3, though all of it is now archive-locked with comment moderation. I was receiving an increasing number of microaggressive, or just plain aggressive, comments, especially on MDZS fics, which is the reason I haven't been writing anything and have been slow to respond to the lovely, positive comments that I have received.

Will you still be translating?

I will continue to translate MDZS and other Chinese works for my own personal enjoyment and education.

My shoot-for-the-moon dream is to start a small press where I can buy licenses for danmei novels and publish both my translations as well as those of my trusted friends'. Unfortunately, that is not feasible right now for a number of reasons. Maybe one day. <3

Final words

This is a really bittersweet goodbye. As you can tell from previous posts, I was very excited to set up my translation website and share my work with the world. I've put a lot of time, energy, and enthusiasm into setting up the site and completing translations, and I've learned a great deal in doing so. It has been a joy sharing the site, the translations, and progress updates with the fan community, and I wish you all well.

This blog will remain up, but previous posts will be deleted once the site is taken down.

Thank you all for your support and understanding.

-G

[dragongirlgtl]

Thanks for the good run, everyone. The translation site is no longer available. ❤️

If I get the opportunity to share my translations in the future, I'll be sure to let you know.

[dragongirlgtl]

PSA: access changes

All MDZS sample chapters are now password-protected.

These include:

Chapter 01 ("Wei Wuxian is dead!")

Chapter 100 (wangxian's confession in Guanyin Temple)

incense burner 01

Incense burner 02 (second half)

Taiwan printed extra

You can find password instructions on the MDZS chapter index page of the translation site.

As a reminder, the Google doc versions of these chapters are no longer available. Please head to the translation site and fill in the password to see these chapters.

Any chapters posted in the future will also be password-protected. Meta analyses and translation challenge posts will remain publicly available.

Thank you for your understanding.

[dragongirlgtl]

checking in

Hey folks, sorry I haven't been around for a bit. I've been dealing with some family stuff (death in the family, another relative with a terminal illness), so it's been very difficult to focus on any fandom projects.

I do have rough drafts of ch 1 (revamped) to ch 20 thus far, along with a handful of random later chapters. I'm tentatively planning to post this in arcs, following the same structure as the Taiwan printed novel. However, I'll need to do a lot of editing first!

Thank you all for your patience and support - I'm excited to share when it's ready.

[dragongirlgtl]

Hello, and thank you for these nuanced translations and the footnotes. They add so much information and tone to the text.

On your website I've been trying to access the password-protected translations, but I don't see a password field or any place to paste the password. Can you point me to it, or have you removed it? I only see the open-access samples.

Thank you again--

Hello, @malsperanza!

Thanks for your ask! Right now no translations are password-protected - the only things I've posted are the MDZS sample chapters and translation challenge excerpts, which are available to view for free! Once I get farther into translating the novel, I'll start password-protecting the chapters. In the meantime, please enjoy what's available on the website.

[dragongirlgtl]

Originally posted on 13 Aug 2022 as a downloadable google doc, pdf, and epub Title note:  朝暮(cháo mù): a reference to 朝朝暮暮(cháo cháo mù mù),

Hi everyone! This is the only sample chapter I haven't linked yet on this blog, and it's the one of which I'm proudest! The Taiwan printed extra from MDZS, 朝暮, or "Day After Day." Some of you may know this as "From Dawn Till Dusk" - see my title note for why I chose "Day After Day" instead!

Featuring: wangxian's post-canon domesticity and CNC kink

Happy reading!

[dragongirlgtl]

Originally posted on 13 Feb 2022 as a downloadable google doc, pdf, and epub Camouflaged by a special dye, the qin string was so thin that i

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I wanted to signal boost my translation of wangxian's confession in Guanyin Temple, which I posted a year ago. This is a publicly available sample chapter, so feel free to read it in full!

A little teaser:

Wei Wuxian added, “You’re wonderful. I love you.”

At Lan Wangji’s silence, he continued, “Let me be clear. I adore you, cherish you, want you, cannot be without you; whatever you want to call it, that’s what I feel for you.”

Silence.

Wei Wuxian went on, “I want to night-hunt with you for my entire life.”

Still, he received nothing but silence.

Wei Wuxian held up three fingers: one to indicate the earth, one to indicate the heavens, and one to indicate his own heart. “Here’s another thing. I want to sleep with you every day. I promise that I’m not just teasing you like I did in the past, and I’m definitely not doing this out of gratitude. In short, there’s no other bullshit reason I’m saying all this. "The truth is, I’ve fallen so deeply in love with you that now I want to sleep with you. I want nobody other than you. If it’s not you, it won’t do. You can do whatever you want to me, in whatever way you desire; as long as you’re willing to do it with me, I’ll like it…”

Reblogs welcome!

[dragongirlgtl]

Comments

Thanks to @niobefurens for letting me know that comments weren't working on the site!

Comments are available on posts which contain translations. All comments are moderated, so your comment won't show up right away. However, I do get notified about comments in the approval queue, so I'll try to approve them in a reasonable amount of time.

You should be able to leave a comment now by providing your name and email address (fandom aliases and email addresses are fine). You can also log into your Wordpress, Twitter, or Facebook account instead.

Additionally, when you leave a comment, you can subscribe to the site by email. This means you'll get an email notification every time a new post is added to the site!

[dragongirlgtl]

Footnotes

Hi, I think I found this blog through Tumblr and I'm very excited about your MDZS translation project! I wanted to let you know that the footnote numbers on ch. 1 aren't actually linked to the footnote text at the bottom of the page, which means that if you have Javascript disabled, you can't click the number and get to the content. I wasn't sure if that was the intended behavior, given that the footnote text _is_ at the bottom and not just in the hovertext, so I wanted to mention it. Of course, if this is the intended effect, please ignore me, and of course do whatever is the easiest way for your to approach this passion project! I discovered it when I was trying to make an epub for my individual personal use (thank you) and realized the footnotes didn't work, but again, I do not in the _least_ expect you to change your preferred formatting just because it would make my life easier!

First off, thank you to the reader who sent me this ask through the site! I am always happy to hear that people are excited about the MDZS translation and it's good for me to be aware of formatting issues too.

To read a footnote, you click on the number in blue: The footnote appears either as a box with the note in it, which you can exit by clicking back into the main text.

Example from my translation of the MDZS Taiwan print extra:

Originally posted on 13 Aug 2022 as a downloadable google doc, pdf, and epub Title note:  朝暮(cháo mù): a reference to 朝朝暮暮(cháo cháo mù mù),

If your screen width is smaller, you don't get the box. Instead, you get the note in smaller font which you can exit by clicking the "X."

Example:

Footnotes are also listed at the bottom of the post.

However, as this reader noted, when you click on the footnote, it does not automatically go to the list at the bottom of the post. There's also no shortcut to go back up to the top.

At this time, I won't be changing the format of the footnotes, as they're available in two different ways on the post. I apologize in advance for the difficulty for those creating personal epubs! My goal is to eventually have a downloadable version of the translation that generates automatically with each post and/or a downloadable version once the whole novel is complete.

[dragongirlgtl]

New Year's Day of the 46th Year - Lu You (Southern Song) - dragongirlG

Happy Lunar New Year, everyone! Have a new year's poem to start off with!

Translation below! I've also provided a recording, which you can find at the link below. Reblogs welcome!

己酉元旦, recorded by dragongirlG : dragongirlG : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

A recording of 《己酉元旦》by 陸游 (Lu You), provided by dragongirlG. Chinese...

《己酉元旦》／南宋・陸游（繁）

New Year’s Day of the 46th Year Southern Song, Lu You, traditional characters

夜雨解殘雪，朝陽開積陰，

The night rain washes away the lingering snow; the rising sun chases away the blanketing fog.

桃符呵筆寫，椒酒過花斟。

Spring couplets appear in the soft sigh of a brush; pepper-infused wine pours freely into a cup.

巷柳搖風早，街泥濺馬深。

In the lane, willows sway in the morning breeze; in the street, mud splashes as horses tread the earth deep.

行宮放朝賀，共識慕堯心。

Inside the palace the emperor receives bows of congratulations; unanimous admiration effuses for the wise sovereign’s aspirations.

Translation notes under the cut!

Title: 《己酉元旦》

己酉 is the 46th year of a cycle in the traditional Chinese calendar. [Ref]

Some sources replace the last character of the title, 旦 (dawn), with the word 日 (sun). 元旦 translates to New Year’s Day; meanwhile, 元日 translates to “the first day.” They are similar in meaning, but I chose to use 元旦 as it is a specific reference to the New Year, and it seems to be the most commonly posted form. Without looking at the original calligraphy, it is not possible to determine the exact accuracy.

1st line: 夜雨解殘雪，朝陽開積陰，

The night rain washes away the lingering snow; the rising sun chases away the blanketing fog.

This was pretty straightforward in terms of translation. I’m pleased that I managed a parallel structure for the English just like in the Chinese.

2nd line: 桃符呵筆寫，椒酒過花斟。

Spring couplets appear in the soft sigh of a brush; pepper-infused wine pours freely into a cup.

桃符 refers to the Chinese new year’s tradition of posting couplets at the door to bring in good luck and repel evil. It originated from the ancient tradition of carving or writing the names of two gods, 神荼鬱壘 , onto planks of peach wood or paper. The paper or planks would then be pasted or hung at the door. 神荼 (Shēnshū) is a god who can overpower evil, and 鬱壘 (Yùlǜ) is a mythological door god. [Ref]

The subject is removed or implied in this line, as in much of Chinese poetry, and so I chose to convey the imagery of the words appearing on paper, and the wine flowing into the cup, without explicitly inserting a human element into it.

3rd line: 巷柳搖風早，街泥濺馬深。

In the lane, willows sway in the morning breeze; in the street, mud splashes as horses tread the earth deep.

This line takes us out of the room with the brush and wine and back out to the wider world with vivid sensory impressions. I’m very pleased I could convey the sensory imagery as well as the parallel structure of the original line here: location -> activity -> descriptor.

4th line: 行宮放朝賀，共識慕堯心。

Inside the palace the emperor receives bows of congratulations; unanimous admiration effuses for the wise sovereign's aspirations.

行宮 = Temporary residence for the emperor when the emperor is away from the capital

朝賀= This refers to the ritual of bowing in obeisance to the emperor while offering greetings and congratulations.

慕 = admire. I chose “effuse” as a verb here to emphasize the widespread feeling of admiration in the room, as conveyed by 共識 (consensus).

堯心 = Referring to a wise ruler’s ambitions, desires, goals, plans or aspirations. This has a positive connotation.

I worked very hard to get the rhythm paralleled in both halves of this line (“aspirations, congratulations”) and I am proud of how it turned out.

This post has been cross-posted to my translation website. Reblogs are welcome. Please ask for permission before you repost, screenshot, or quote this post.

《己酉元旦》／南宋・陸游（繁） 夜雨解殘雪，朝陽開積陰， 桃符呵筆寫，椒酒過花斟。 巷柳搖風早，街泥濺馬深。 行宮放朝賀，共識慕堯心。 My reading My translation New Year’s Day of the 46th Year The night rain

[dragongirlg-fics]

Things I did not expect at the beginning of an elementary level graded reader: a depressing, philosophical query about hope

(translated by me)

Mi Lai said to Xiao Wu, "My child doesn't have much time left; here there's no hope. My friend, do you know where hope is? Do you know where my child will be allowed happiness? I wish for my child to go there.

Where was there? Xiao Wu did not know.

From Du Chinese's graded reader The Peach Colony, a modern adaptation of Tao Yuanming's The Peach Blossom Spring.

Feel free to reblog 😊

Simplified version below the cut.

[dragongirlgtl]

MDZS Incense Burner chapters

In light of maotuanxjj's newly released manhua panels, I wanted to remind everyone that I've translated most of the incense burner chapters in MDZS. They're publicly available on my translation website linked below!

I'll be updating the translations as I translate the novel from scratch, but for now, enjoy the current versions!

Originally posted on 19 Dec 2021 as a downloadable google doc, pdf, and epub In the Ancient Chamber of the Cloud Recesses Treasure Pavilion,

Second half of MDZS extra, Incense Burner 2 Originally posted 2021 Aug 03 as a downloadable google doc, epub, and pdf The Lan Wangji in toni

Reblogs are welcome, as are comments in the tags or comments on the site itself!

[dragongirlgtl]

Site tweaks

Hello all,

Thank you so much for the wonderful response to the site! I'm excited to redo my MDZS translations and share them with the world, along with some poetry and lyrics!

Many thanks to my translation & diaspora friends for testing out the site last night. Here are some tweaks I've made:

Consolidated the MDZS pages

The MDZS Chapter Index will be the main active spot, containing the latest post, full chapter list, a linked list of sample chapters, and instructions for access. It also has links to the glossary and the post that compiled links to Chinese MXTX print books from Taiwan.

The parent MDZS page contains a list of links the chapter index, meta analyses, and translation challenges to match the top menu.

Added clarifying instructions for MDZS chapter access

I simplified the instructions for accessing restricted MDZS chapter posts. Please note, every post is currently open. Access-restricted chapters will be posted starting with Chapter 2. My first goal is to put up the novel intro and revise Chapter 1. Chapter 1 will remain public as a sample chapter.

Created an archive

I created an archive that you can navigate by date, and which also shows a feed of all posts that going from newest -> oldest posts.

Cleaned up the front page

I cleaned up the front page (the welcome page) so that it's not so wordy and highlights my main projects

In the works

Email subscription: Per friends' suggestions, I'm researching how to set up an email subscription so that people can receive updates that aren't tied to social media.

Automatic creation of e-files: I would love to provide epubs and other downloadable e-files that automatically generate when I post a chapter, so that people can save the chapters for their individual reading (not for distribution!) Unfortunately the tool I found doesn't display Chinese characters, so I'm still looking into alternatives.

As always, let me know if something isn't working correctly on the site! You can send an ask here or use the Report Site Issue form on the website.

[dragongirlgtl]

dragongirlG's translation site is live!

Hello everyone! My translation site is now live at dragongirlgtl.com:

Hello, and welcome to my translation site! I’m dragongirlG, a North American millennial with Chinese/Taiwanese heritage. My pronouns are she

I have also created this handy side blog, @dragongirlgtl, so you can follow translation-specific updates. I will be using the tag #dragongirlgtl for updates.

First up:

A revision of MDZS chapter 01, followed by a translation of MDZS from scratch!

You can read my old version of Chapter 01 here:

Originally posted on 02 Jan 2022 as a downloadable google doc, epub, and pdf “Wei Wuxian is dead. What a great relief for us all!” The siege

All previously shared files are now unavailable.