"Nirvana in Fire"/"Lang Ya Bang" Group Read: Discussion Post for Chapters 74 - 77

[x_los]

Week 19 of the "Lang Ya Bang" book club, chapters 74 - 77. This discussion will draw to a close, and the next session will open, on September 12th.

I'll be doing a weekly post with thoughts on this community. Feel free to join in/discuss. If you'd like to join the Discord, contact superborb for an invite.

Chinese text: https://sj.uukanshu.com/book.aspx?id=17338
English translation: https://merelhyn.tumblr.com/post/641747965727358976/the-langya-list-epubpdf

SPOILER POLICY: I personally don't give a fuck or even like to give unearned credence to the concept, so since I'm writing the post, anything's fair game.

(If anyone is interested in dankodes running further poetry content during or after NiF, please let me know what you'd be keen to discuss. I'm happy to work with you on that. I'll probably ask this again once NiF draws to a close.)

Comments

Chapter 74

[x_los]

The narration mentions that there’s no curfew on the night of the lantern festival. Is there normally a curfew? How does that work?

I'd forgotten how much of a local celebrity Gong Yu is at this point in the narrative.

Re: Chapter 74

[superborb]

Ancient China had curfews in cities: https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3080071/think-lockdown-bad-imperial-china-curfews-were

Re: Chapter 74

[x_los]

I wonder why this was such a social problem they felt the need to do all this? Especially as a great many trades do part of their work in the evenings. It makes a bit more sense of Lan’s strictness about their gate, and makes the physical and temporal restrictions Princes et al live under seem part of a greater continuity of accepted social restriction. (But so MUCH—and like, for what, to prevent some muggings??)

Chapter 75

[x_los]

This contest is fun, and Changsu’s plan is very organically executed.

I don’t remember this lead-up to Gong Yu's presence at the party happening in the show? I assume this section was cut.

Re: Chapter 75

[dragonyphoenix]

It happens differently in the show.

Re: Chapter 75

[superborb]

I like that it's somewhat ambiguous if MCS has prior knowledge of the instruments.

Chapter 76

[x_los]

Nihuang is absent in this version of events! I feel like the show pulls more from the second half of the novel than the first. We’re almost half way through the book, but in show time, I don’t think this explosion plot line came in at anything like the halfway mark.

I do enjoy Prince Jing jumping to a logical but incorrect conclusion and Mei Changsu’s simmering anger about it, even though this *is* the ‘cold bastard’ facade he’s crafting for himself.

Re: Chapter 76

[halfcactus]

Yeah, the book is… slow. I definitely prefer the drama’s storytelling so far, but mostly because it knew what to do with the source material.

I was also waiting for Nihuang to show up haha, but I enjoyed seeing the tension between MCS & JY play out, and Shen Zui as an outsider’s PoV to their relationship.

Chapter 77

[x_los]

Mei Changsu and Prince Jing wrap up their weird couple fight.

Oh, so Jingrui’s brother was one of the assailants who Changsu’s people incapacitated?

Re: Chapter 77

[superborb]

It seems more subtle in the book than in the show, but maybe that's because you don't need as much time to remember all the characters from appearance.