#tma 105

[kat-and-their-cats]

Favourite TMA Episode 101-110

MAG 101: Another Twist

MAG 102: Nesting Instinct

MAG 103: Cruelty Free

MAG 104: Sneak Preview

MAG 105: Total War

MAG 106: A Matter Of Perspective

MAG 107: Third Degree

MAG 108: Monologue

MAG 109: Nightfall

MAG 110: Creature Feature

Results

Voting ended onApr 19, 2024

Favourite Episode Masterlist

[burninginthegymplplinko]

MAG 105 - Total War

doodle 105/200; days left 2/110 20/128

wwhgggbbbhhh? ¯\(･_･ ;)/¯ idk i don't like war statements that much tbh

[mythic-mischief]

[tentativelyteal]

So, any of us remember in MAG105 Total War, the librarian at the Pu Songling Research Centre in Beijing, Zhang Xiaoling, called Jon '建築師'*?

*(or, '建筑师' in Simplified Chinese characters as given in the unofficial transcript)

So, erm, it's been lowkey bugging me ever since I listened to it, because I speak Cantonese and (Traditional) Chinese is my first language, and '建築師' DOES NOT mean 'Archivist', like, at all. It translates as 'Architect' actually. (I meannnn, it could maybe half-convey the meaning if you squint at it in The Distortion's hallways? Coz an archivist organises documents like how an architect organises space....? maybe? loosely and metaphorically speaking? But, ehhhh, nope.)

And it's been months, but it hit me today '尚書' would have been a surprisingly fitting translation.

(long-winded explanations under the cut! This is a rather petty post about like one teensy detail in one episode lol)

So I looked up the term '尚書', and this is what showed up in the dictionary:

This is a rather niche term so sorry guys, there isn't a neat page in English with the same information (I linked the dictionary above though, so if you want you can check it out and Google-translate the page even though Google Translate of Chinese is horrendous lol), but basically there are two definitions of '尚書':

a collection of historical documents known as the Book of Documents, believed to have first been compiled by Confucius (551-479 BCE). The content is mostly records of speeches by ancient kings and other important figures from the early years of the Zhou dynasty (c. 11th century BCE). This definition has a Wikipedia page, you can look it up if you're interested!

An office title. The office held varying degree of power and had different responsibilities in different dynasties, but basically the official would be in charge of keeping records, documents, and memorials for the Emperor. The post was created in the Warring States period (476-221 BCE), originally occupying quite a minor position, but gradually gained status from Han dynasty (202 BC-220 CE) onwards, and was still in use in the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). (This definition does not have a Wikipedia page in English, sorry!)

I, erm, just think it's neat that '尚書' is BOTH a collection of historical documents AND an office title responsible for keeping records ::::)

...Especially since Jon is apparently both The Archivist and The Archive

(Thanks for coming to my TED talk nerdy ramblings)

(Did I write this instead of doing research for my dissertation? Maybe, maybe...)

[red-archivist]

The centre is something of a sister organisation to the Institute, and while that means I have some… reservations about their motives, it does mean gaining access to their collection is relatively simple.

“this place is definitely as evil as the institute but they let me into their library so it’s fine”

[red-archivist]

Maybe this is pointless. I should head home, help the others in their research. If I knew Mandarin or Cantonese, maybe I could look here for more answers

“but no, my brain only understands those when its convenient for the evil eyeball!”

[ml-nolan]

Just re-listened to ep 105 of TMA and I wonder what poor guy the Pu Songling Research Center was about to sacrifice to Elias and whether the Web marked him too.

[red-archivist]

Gerard Keay, after he faked his death? 

yes but also no

Some long confession he left tucked away in a library somewhere, telling me the ancient chant I need to stop the Unknowing from coming to pass?

the solution isn’t that elegant