Close combat does me no favors. I’ll need to pull some distance.
news
— New translated chapter posted.
— Thanks again to Reacien for helping with the raws and cleaning.
— Next update target: November 1, 2022
notes
— Pinned:
From 欠行 (qiàn xíng).
欠行 refers to a xiangqi checkmate maneuver. The literal meaning is something like lacking movement, referring to how it prevents the general from being able to make any moves. A 闷宫将 (if you recall the Chapter 25 notes) is a specific type of 欠行.
What one might think of as stalemates and checkmates in international chess both appear to fall under 欠行. (Note: unlike international chess, xiangqi can be won via stalemate.) The reason why I did not use stalemate or checkmate or something similar for the title:
1. “Stalemate” and “checkmate” both imply the end of a game. Yet the match goes on. There are still quite a few xiangqi-themed chapters ahead of us, people.
2. I really like how “pinned” emphasizes the inability to move. I also think it is a good stylistic fit, considering the fighting style of Ji Shiye (who features a lot in this chapter).
“Pinning” is a real chess strategy that focuses on limiting the movement of your opponent’s pieces. The major difference is that the king cannot be pinned; whereas 欠行 seems to exclusively apply to the king-equivalent (the general) in xiangqi. So they are kind of opposites in terms of technical meaning. And I chose to use it as a translation anyway. Language sure is weird!
“I will have to give you something to look at, little hare!”
news
— New translated chapter posted.
— Next update target: October 11, 2022
notes
— Three-step tiger:
From 三步虎 (sān bù hǔ).
Another xiangqi-themed title for this non-player to struggle over!
I, um. I think. That 三步虎 is referring to a methodology wherein a person plays their chariot(s) (車、俥) within the first three moves (三步).
The chariot is apparently one of the strongest pieces in xiangqi, so this would be considered an aggressive way to start the game. The “tiger” (虎) thus refers to the ferocity of the strategy.
— Damn hare:
From 兔崽子 (tù zǎi zi).
Literally, the term refers to young rabbits or hares. Functionally, the term is an insult that often has little to do with actual rabbits. Think of how jackass is used to describe obnoxious and/or awful people, while literally meaning male donkey in English. It’s kind of like that!
— Can’t tell black from white:
Somewhat abbreviated in Wu Bodu’s thought bubble. The original idiom:
bù fēn qīng hóng zào bái
不分青红皂白
Unable to distinguish green from red or black from white
— Dragon:
A slight nuance that gets lost in translation: the word for “dragon” that Ji Shiye recalls is specifically the traditional character for dragon (龍) rather than the simplified form (龙). The word remains in traditional form even within Shiye’s thought bubble (“Dragon”… to what does it refer?).
This is highly unusual. Exposition and dialogue (for both speech and thought) is written in Simplified Chinese in this manhua, even in reference to text written in Traditional Chinese. One related example is in Year of the Dog, when Quan Diyan quotes Shiye’s intercepted message. The image of the fragmented message shows traditional characters in seal script, but Diyan’s mental commentary renders the message in simplified characters.
Another example: names of places. Wanchu City, Qigong Cuisine and Wujian Ridge are all written with traditional characters on official signage, logos, etc. But past the fourth wall, in character dialogue bubbles and location descriptor boxes, these location names are all described in simplified characters.
So why does Shiye’s “dragon” break this rule?
Well, I’m not sure. It might not mean anything. I guess I just think it’s interesting!
Yes, I turned the title into a Sherlock Holmes reference in a moment of weakness. No, no such reference was intended in the original title (情报“五”). A more faithful translation might be something like, Intel on “Five”. As for why I am referencing Sherlock Holmes, that should become clear in the next chapter.
— Pear Blossom Featherstorm:
May be a reference to The Legend of Chu Liuxiang (楚留香传奇 / chǔ liú xiāng chuán qí), a series of wuxia novels written by Gu Long. There is a weapon in the story called the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles (暴雨梨花针 / bào yǔ lí huā zhēn), a motif that fits well with Shiye’s projectile feathers. These needles are not an uncommon trope in wuxia media, though, so The Legend of Chu Liuxiang may not have been the direct inspiration for naming Shiye’s technique.
