"Nirvana in Fire"/"Lang Ya Bang" Group Read: Discussion Post for Chapters 130 - 145

[x_los]

Weeks 32, 33, 34 and 35 of the "Lang Ya Bang" book club, chapters 130 - 145 (inclusive). This discussion will draw to a close, and the next session will open, on January 2nd.

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 130

[x_los]

"Xia Jiang had just entered a state (of being)[4],"

This is a rather odd translation choice.

Re: Chapter 130

[superborb]

halfcactus and I discussed in the discord, and concluded the intended meaning is XJ was getting in the zone.

Chapter 131

[x_los]

Some meh, "Death Note" style 'I know that you know' wrangling in this chapter.

Chapter 132

[x_los]

It's slightly hard, here and in later chapters, to work out Xia Dong's precise role in the conspiracy. Changsu arranged for Prince Ji to hang out with Gong what's her face the musician at a specific time when he could look out of the window and see Xia Dong smuggling the prisoner out. This makes it look like Xia Jiang arranged the prisoner's removal, because everyone knows Xia Dong is his loyal underling of long standing. But what is Xia Dong supposed to have believed herself to be doing, and why? Defying the Emperor, implicating a prince and lying to the emperor about your movements under orders is still--committing three major crimes. How is she supposed to escape a quite severe punishment? I know she's General Nie's widow, but still.

Re: Chapter 132

[superborb]

She heard Xie Yu's confession, so she knows that the Chiyan army was framed by Xia Jiang. And therefore, she wants to rescue Wei Zheng because he was a brother-in-arms to her husband.

She's ready to take on a severe punishment (I think at some point she says she can take anything, even exile?), but the plan is strategic pleading on Consort Jing and Prince Jing's sides will save her.

Re: Chapter 132

[x_los]

When I said what’s she supposed to have believed she was doing, I meant like, what is the emperor supposed to believe about her train of thought, because it’s a little lame to say ‘just following orders’; she has to have believed something about what was going on, and the through line of that is a bit murky.

Re: Chapter 132

[superborb]

Ohhhhh I see. I think it is just that she's supposed to be loyal to Xia Jiang above everything, perhaps with the additional ill-feeling between her and Prince Jing (because he insists that the Chiyan army is innocent, while before the reveal, she firmly believed that the Chiyan army was guilty and caused her husband to die) -- though the latter might not be enough to boldly frame a prince.

Chapter 133

[x_los]

This is not the context in which I'm accustomed to hearing a saying about 'clouds and rain'.

Chapter 134

[x_los]

How did Changsu time this Cai Quan element so well? Prince Jing knows the man's general movements, but not this precisely.

Chapter 135

[x_los]

It's always nice to spend time with these two ministers, the only sane dudes in Chang'An.

Chapter 136

[x_los]

God, what would have happened if Changsu hadn't come along for the Spring Hunt? He'd have been pretty vulnerable in the capital. Prince Jing and Meng Zhi would have had no warning of the attack and no help in planning a response.

Re: Chapter 136

[superborb]

I suppose he'd have some of his jianghu people there, and they could have still gotten the word out the same way they'll do here... but without his help planning the response, eesh.

Chapter 137

[x_los]

Mu Qing continues to be value for money.

Chapter 138

[x_los]

It's an easy laugh, but I do enjoy all this mucking about where outsiders try to suggest that Prince Jing start doing things he's already been doing for a year.

Chapter 139

[x_los]

So Xia Jiang believes that his two male disciples have died in the course of the investigation (because Meng Zhi led him to believe this), right? And then Meng Zhi goes to Xia Dong and tells her (truthfully) that in fact very little is going to happen to her blood brother and her martial brother. The translation made that slightly unclear.

Re: Chapter 139

[superborb]

I think that's right. I did find it funny that the book can't let the question of if the disciples died hang around too long (or if it wasn't immediately corrected people might be more confused?)

Chapter 140

[x_los]

‘no disadvantages for not passing the examinations’

This is a bit awkwardly worded and confusing. I believe it means that, as we've been discussing, in the last years people with good connections didn't necessarily need to pass the exams fairly in order to enter the civil service.

Chapter 141

[x_los]

This explains a lot of complex plot elements more clearly than previous chapters, and is also emotionally successful. Given the information we had before this, I didn't quite understand the flow of events.

This telling is rather minimising the power exerted by Banruo's master over both Xia Jiang and the Lin family's downfall.

Re: Chapter 141

[superborb]

I suppose Wei Zheng doesn't know about that.

Re: Chapter 141

[x_los]

Nah by telling here I mean novel as opposed to show

Chapter 142

[x_los]

'National mourning' is a strange translation, here. 'Mourning' in what sense?

lol, nice save re: Foya.

This army is marching 500 miles in 2 days?? Either I've misread or something has gone wrong, there.

Re: Chapter 142

[superborb]

They're still mourning the dowager empress.

It's 500 li, which is now 500 m but historically varied.

Re: Chapter 142

[x_los]

What’s weird is the whole first sentence in the English Version which implies the Spring hunt itself is a National, annual act of mourning.

Chapter 143

[x_los]

Poor consort Jing has such a shit life. If she actually wanted to, she can’t so much as go see the stupid waterfall.

Chapter 144

[x_los]

The Tong Lu subplot needs more room to breathe. The book version is somewhat hard to follow.

Chapter 145

[x_los]

I guess a xingtai army is a standing army with discretionary powers.

Isn’t Prince Yu supposed to be confined in his house? Why is he busting out to visit the prison all the time?

Reinforcing the narrative of Banruo's fallen kingdom in the drama not only enriches Prince Yu, it also makes those loose threads feel more meaningfully integrated with the whole story and better-illustrates the thematic parallels between her mission and Changsu's.

Re: Chapter 145

[superborb]

Maybe it's been long enough? (Or the Empress lifted the punishment, which seems somewhat of an overstep normally.)

I have heard a lot of negative opinions about tying Prince Yu's narrative to the Hua, but I think it ends up as a more compelling narrative overall.

Re: Chapter 145

[x_los]

Yeah I could see finding it politically unsavoury but in terms of the balance of the novel and character, I do think it works out better.