And it is just. So funny in the context of Diyan going all Inspector Javert on Tiantong.
The logic here is that catching rats is a cat’s job, so a dog going around doing the same is just sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong. A common extension of the idiom is
gǒu ná hào zi duō guǎn xián shì
狗拿耗子多管闲事
dog catches rat, so meddlesome
Or:
dogs who catch rats have way too much free time
Anyway I know it doesn’t quite match what’s actually going on in the story. But I think it’s fun to imagine this vision of Diyan, a weird annoying busybody who has absolutely nothing better to do, 吃饱了没事干
— The burn-out is real, ahaha. Time for a break. I will probably continue to blog/reblog things in the meantime, but the main project for Z12 translation will be on pause through December. Hoping to resume weekly updates afterwards. Take care of yourselves, everyone. See you all in the new year!
— Next update target: January 3, 2023
notes
— Who Bodu:
Hehe. Couldn’t help myself.
As an extra layer of bilingual humor, “who” sounds quite like 虎 (hǔ - tiger).
(And nah, there wasn’t originally a joke here. But so many jokes get lost in translation! I have to seize every chance to even the score!)
— Makes no sense:
Qitian’s original comment is shown below.
真是莫名其妙……
This really makes no sense…!
Tu Fei uses the same phrase when he learns Baxia’s name/nickname way back in Chapter 3:
真是个莫名其妙的名字
What an indescribable name.
As you can likely guess, this idiom is used to describe something baffling or inexplicable. A more literal interpretation might be something like:
mò míng qí miào
莫名其妙
unable to express its profound mystery
— People below / those below:
A pretty literal translation of 底下(的)人.
Lichong likely uses this phrase to refer to subordinates/underlings; i.e., those below [on the hierarchy].
— Thinking of taking a break after next week’s chapter. I will write a note if I do.
— Next update target: November 29, 2022
notes
— Draw:
From 和局 (hé jú). Draw as in “tie”: The game ended in a draw.
— Lead, clue, etc.:
Quan Diyan often uses 线索 (xiàn suǒ) to refer to things. Among these include the green scale he took from Wuchang, the message that Shiye intercepted in Year of the Hen, and Wuchang herself.
线 + 索 — Literally, thread/string/wire/line + cable/cord/rope/chain. The term evokes a sense of following a thread to see where it leads. I alternately translate this as clue or lead or thread, depending on how natural it feels in English. For example, a person typically isn’t referred to as a clue, but may be considered a lead.
— All hail:
From 参见 (cān jiàn). An expression used when paying one’s respects. I’ve also translated this term as salutations in the past. See:
Chapter 0.12 (Year of the Pig):
猴兵：参见山君……
Monkey soldiers: All hail the Mountain Lord…
Chapter 18 (Depart):
马不凡：参见牛族长
Ma Bufan: Salutations to the leader of the Ox Clan.
Chapter 31 (Draw):
参见畜王！
All hail the King of Chu!
Definition-wise, “all hail” is pretty appropriate since it is meant to be a general respectful greeting.
Context-wise, the way I tend to see “all hail” used in contemporary media is towards sovereign authority figures, especially when the all-hailer is a subject of that figure. So it feels weird to me, on an instinctive level, to have Ma Bufan say, “All hail the leader of the Ox Clan” — even though it is quite appropriate!
— Thanks again to Reacien for helping with the raws and cleaning.
— Next update target: November 22, 2022
notes
— Counterplay:
From 解杀还杀 (jiě shā huán shā).
Another xiangqi-specific term! This is referring to a “turn the tables” sort of maneuver. A xiangqi player who resolves a threat (解杀) while simultaneously issuing a threat of their own (还杀) would be engaging in 解杀还杀.
— Come quietly:
From 束手就擒 (shù shǒu jiù qín). A more literal interpretation might be something like: hands tied, be captured. Quan Diyan is telling Tiantong to stop resisting and let himself be arrested.
— Xun above, gen below:
Prior to this chapter, Tiantong has invoked the Eight Pure Hexagrams in many of his techniques. This chapter marks the first appearance of a “non-pure” hexagram — that is, a hexagram comprised of two different trigrams, rather than two identical trigrams.
The exact hexagram in question is 漸 (jiàn). It is comprised of a wind trigram (xun above) on top of a mountain trigram (gen below).
☴ (巽 - xùn)
☶ (艮 - gèn)
䷴ (漸 - jiàn)
The name of this hexagram means gradual, in the sense of gradual progress. Perseverance and steady development. A slow-growing tree upon a mountain. It is actually quite a gentle hexagram, which strikes a hilarious contrast against Tiantong’s dramatic display this chapter.
reports of their update frequency have been greatly exaggerated
Or: one of my funniest mistranslations yet. (Rest assured that this does not impact the story in any way.)
In the post-chapter extras of Year of the Pig, the creators discuss their planned update schedule. Early readers may recall that I translated this as “three chapters a week”, which is... ludicrously often, and makes zero sense given the timestamps in the official chapter archives. Like, what kind of broken space-time nonsense is this?
Here is the exact phrase in question.
每周三更新
Where I went wrong is that I read this as
每周，三更新
every week, three updates
instead of
每周三，更新
every Wednesday, update
The truth revealed! The creators were actually targeting weekly updates on Wednesdays (the third day of the week), not three updates per week.
Anyway, this is now corrected. And archived lovingly as a reminder not to blindly trust translations — and especially not mine!
— Thanks again to Reacien for helping with the raws and cleaning.
— Next update target: N/A
notes
— Yemozi
From 夜磨子 (yè mó zi). Another name for a rat.
夜 (yè): Night, evening.
磨 (mó): Mill, millstone. To grind, to polish.
子 (zi / zǐ): First of the Twelve Earthly Branches, associated with the Rat of the Chinese zodiac. This character is also commonly used as a suffix for nouns. (i.e., 磨子 = mill, millstone)
