Blue River’s love for Glory and Changing Spring’s name
Edit: Thx Jou for pointing out I used 官 instead of the correct 宫 by accident WHOOPS and giving me a another possible definition. And yeah, smoke and flowers and trees also tie into the lasting vs non lasting imagery uwu
Okay, okay, okay, because I am a total POETRY SIMP I have have HAVE to scream about THIS ONE SCENE in the Season Two animation. (Sorry for all the caps I just CANNOT get over this aaaahhh)
This is the part where Blue River is talking to Changing Spring about their plans to take over the world destroy Happy.
Now this scene is INCREDIBLY IRONIC, but for you to have context, I have to explain context.
I’m sure everyone who has read the novel or any form of TKA media that has Blue River and Changing Spring and their dynamic has some form (no matter how slight) of the roles they play as characters, but if you don’t or can’t really figure out how to voice it, NO WORRIES, I will explain.
In a word, foils. Blue River and Changing Spring play off of each other. Changing Spring is someone who loves Glory, yes, but his passion for Glory is different from how he started, and a LOT of characters exhibit this kind of role. From Tao Xuan, to Liu Hao, to the guild leaders in game. And Ye Xiu is very much on the other extreme. His love for Glory is completely unmarred by anything, which is why the conflict between him and EE begins in the first place.
It’s not necessarily good or bad, but it’s pure and true, and it’s through Ye Xiu that Blue River rediscovers that purity of joy and passion he and the other guild leaders had lost. This is clearly shown in the way he reacts to everything that goes on with surprise and, you can tell, sorrow. He decides to stay with Ye Xiu because he can feel that purity in passion Ye Xiu has, the same kind Blue River, and probably all the other guild leaders and pro players, once had. In a time where the game, was just that, a game. Not political, not filled with deceit and with everyone fighting for their own interests, just joy, just passion. No matter if its the way Blue River reacts to Changing Spring’s plans or the way he tries and talks with Thousand Creations, or how he stays to be Happy’s babysitter.
And thus, it makes the above scene SO IRONIC.
First of all, I have to mention the origins of Changing Spring's name.
Changing Spring, 春易老 Chūn yì lǎo (lit. Spring grows old very easily) comes from a version of the 词牌 Cipai 青玉案 Qīngyù àn (lit. Case of the Green Jade, and by case I mean like a... a criminal case, not a briefcase) called 同前 (Tóng qián Same as What Once Was) by 晁补之 (Cháo bǔ zhī ). I don’t know if any of you remember this but in my analysis of Lord Grim’s name, one of the possible origins was also a Cipai. In case you don’t remember what a Cipai is, its basically a tune with a set structure for lyrics wherein the lyrics get filled in. There’s often many, many versions of one Cipai, filled in by different (or the same) people over maybe a short period where it was popular or maybe over the course of several dynasties.
青玉案·同前
（宋） 晁补之
十年不向都门道。
信匹马，羞重道。
玉府骖鸾犹年少。
宫花头上，御炉烟底，常日朝回早。
霞觞翻手群仙笑。
恨尘土人间易春老。
白发愁占彤庭杳。
红墙天阻，碧濠烟锁，细雨迷芳草。
(okay so I spent a lot of time trying to find an analysis or translation, but couldn’t find one so you’re gonna have to bare with my shitty analysis. If you want a TL;DR, just read the first two paragraphs, because this part isn’t actually important to the scene in TKA itself, it’s just because I’m a fucking poetry simp)
The title of the poem is 同前, meaning “things now are the same as they were before”. Yes, two characters, nine words in English. Chinese is hella dense lol. Chao Buzhi was a Song Dynasty poet, thus the (宋) before his name.
The primary image used here is a contrast of “mortal” and “immortal” or rather, things that last vs things that don’t. Time has passed, things may or may not have changed.
十年不向都门道。 In the first line, 十年 ten years 不向 most likely, haven’t walked/been down (if we consider the other characters) 都 the capital’s 门道 roads. Pretty straight forward, it indicates a passing of time, it’s been ten years since he guy’s walked the roads of the capital.
信匹马，羞重道。 Second line. 信 trust, honesty, reliable 匹马 horse, most likely, the author’s 羞 I'm not sure about this actually, because the meaning of this word that fits most here is “recommend” and “use”, however, that’s not often used? It’s more commonly “fear” or “embarrass”, which doesn’t make as much sense 重道 overlapping/reusing/the same roads. I think, but I’m really not sure, that this means that his trustworthy/reliable horse takes him down these familiar roads.
玉府骖鸾犹年少。Third line. 王府 Aristocracy, basically. Specifically, “princes” as in brothers of the emperor. I believe it uses 府 (residence/mansion) to refer to the people of the aristocracy/the scenes involving the aristocrats. 骖鸾 here we have our first “immortal” imagery. This phrase means an immortal cruising leisurely on a divine mount. Yes. It’s that specific LOL. 犹 like 年少 when young. When who was young? Not sure. Could be saying like how it was when the author was young, could be saying it’s a youthful thing to do. I lean towards “like when the author was young”. So, in summary, just like in the author’s youth, the aristocracy play and walk about leisurely (like immortals).
宫花头上，御炉烟底，常日朝回早。 Fourth Line. 宫花 if I’m not mistaken, 宫花 should be a kind of flower hair/head accessory worn by examinees when the emperor administers a banquet in honour, can also be the imperial gardens. 头上 can be understood as “above” or “on the head”. 御炉 incense burner used by the emperor 烟底 “below the smoke” possibly 常日 daily 朝 court, probably 回 return 早 early/morning. I believe this line is talking about the daily life of the court/in the palace. So above the imperial gardens, below the imperial smoke, people return early from the court (not sure about this part).
霞觞翻手群仙笑。 Fifth line. 霞觞 a cup full of delicious alcohol mmmhmmm yum 翻手 literally, flip hand. I’m guessing this means, motioning with hands/gestures. 群仙笑 the crowd of immortals laugh/smile. More immortal imagery!!! Basically describing some sort of banquet/party/social gathering with wine, chatting laughing.
恨尘土人间易春老。 Sixth line. 恨 hate 尘土 literally, this means dust and earth, however, it also means mortal-ness, anything to do with the mortality, so like the mortal realm, mortal attachments, or, rather, ordinary, insignificant people. So like, peasants 人间 the human realm, or like... human society. The world of normality and normal people 易 easily 春 spring 老 old/ages (it’s Changing Spring’s name!). Hating how things age and change (how “spring” grows old with such ease) in the mortal realm.
白发愁占彤庭杳。 Seventh line. 白发 white hair 愁 worry, want anxiously 占 check, divine, report, observe, estimate 彤庭 the palace 杳 silent, without a trace, unable to find. I’m actually not sure what this means, but again, there’s “mortal” imagery in this line with the “white hair”, commonly used to refer to the elderly/aging.
红墙天阻，碧濠烟锁，细雨迷芳草。Final line. 红墙 red walls, palace walls are red btw 天 sky/heaven 阻 hinders, blocks 碧濠 while the first character does mean green, it’s actually a colour used to describe clear water, cause it often reflects the greenery around it and beneath its depths. The second character means a body of water, most commonly a moat. 烟 smoke 锁 locks 细雨 drizzle/light rain 迷 obsessed with/adores/confuse 芳草 fresh, aromatic grass. Again, this is a sequence of images, rather than a full on sentence. The red walls block the sky, the green moat locks in the smoke, rain confuses (?) adores (?) the fresh grass.
Back on track to the scene in the animation. You can see that beside Changing Spring’s name, there’s a sentence (the one circled in green), and it says:
Now, this actually also comes from the same poem. It uses phrases from the poem to create a new meaning. Ignore the preliminary translation, you can consider it to be able to mean:
Even after ten years have passed, the rain adores the grass just like in their youth.
The rain adoring the grass? One’s love and passion for Glory. Even after ten years, our passion and love for Glory has not changed from what it was like in our youth.
This completely and accurately describes the difference between Blue River and Changing Spring. It’s on Changing Spring’s profile, but this is EXACTLY what Changing Spring has LOST. Changing Spring, his spring has grown old, things are no longer the same, but Blue River, who is the one talking to him about Lord Grim in this scene, rediscovers the “rain’s adoration for fresh grass” through Ye Xiu!!!
It’s such such SUCH a good fit too, because TEN YEARS. Ye Xiu’s ten years of Glory, Happy taking the championships in Season Ten (whoops, spoiler) with memories of his youth (Su Muqiu, eternally 18, eternally young). And I’m just
ahsgdjfhjfgjhfgjdsfd YES YES
ANYWAYS hope you all enjoyed that... wow text wall of analysis. I just really, really appreciated this tbh. Like damn, that was GOOD. I love it and hope y’all love it as much as I do, wew.
