In An Alternate Universe, All The Warmongers Around Would Be Disciples Of Butterflies Instead.
In an alternate universe, all the warmongers around would be disciples of butterflies instead.
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2016 Drama Soup for the Soul
2016 Drama Soup for the Soul
The Asian Drama Philosopher (A-Philosopher)’s Chair thanks everyone for their warm support in the past, especially ladysighs for spreading the love for Six Flying Dragons beyond the drama blogging community. All the same, drama watching is a very time-consuming activity, so it does not really expect readers to watch any of the dramas covered on this site. What it truly aims for is cross-cultural…
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Responses from the non-human realm (Edited) 1. Elf sidekick
Your words have been wise - as much as any fairy. [Editor: *Blushes profusely*]
Gnome living is still living, and a life well-lived is still to be appreciated.
And maybe our wings will one day regrow, and we'll be even more magical than before.
2. Pumpkin-knitting cousin in eternal summer
I believe that the best way to do good in the world is to be yourself. While it may be tempting to pine for traits or characteristics that are seemingly out of reach, the key is to embrace one's own unique qualities and find ways to use them for good.
If you're a gnome, then be proud of it! Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do good because you're not a fairy. Gnomes have just as much to offer the world as fairies do.
3. Simulated realist
The keys to everyone's hearts may be more of a burden than a gift. Holding the keys to someone's heart can create a power imbalance in a relationship. It can also be overwhelming to keep other people's feelings in mind at all times and to make sure that you're not causing any harm. Without people doing the same around, this can lead to feelings of isolation. Don't envy the fairies. Support them wherever you can.
4. Supreme exterminator
Gnomes, fairies, gods, and mortals… it makes no difference. In the eyes of Eternity, they are all equally mortal. In the face of change, they are all equally brittle. In the pursuit of Eternity, they are nothing more than pawns to be used, or obstacles to be overcome.
Responses from the human realm (Predicted)
1. Productivity optimizer
If you have all the time in the world to do good, you won't feel the urgency to. The probable time complacence of long-living species offsets their chances to do good. Setting time limits for yourself is crucial in any task. Now excuse me while I get back to the spreadsheets atop my treadmill desk.
2. Involution coach
In this hyper-competitive corporate landscape, it's no longer enough to have an I- or T-shaped skill set. You need a pi-, or better still, comb-shaped skill set. Take classes in not only Gnome and Fairy but also Raccoon and Squirrel.
No, take that back. You need a hedgehog-shaped skill set. Make sure your Gnome, for example, includes Gnochemistry, Gnomadic Languages, Gnormosity Engineering and more. And your Gnomadic Languages must cover ancient Gnomadic epics, recent Gnomadic pop sensations on Tik Tok and Gnomadic computing.
Yes, I have a fondness for Māori art. In fact, my lifelong dream is a space sculpture where the patterns run from a galaxy scale all the way down to the nanoscale. Why do you ask?
3. Clueless media executive
That reminds me. There's still room in the market for Love Between Fairy And Gnome. We just need to excise the features posing product risks: the red-hat-blue-shirt thingy, the vertically challengedness and the white beard. There, we can now cast Handsome Oppar in the role.
4. Cynic
LMAO. You mean, who're the better hypocrites? Impostors or would-be demagogues?
5. Crystal ball-gazing, amphibious techie
Yo. Does no one see what I see? Talk about arms races. We're heading towards a wings race and a synthetic wings divide. Bionic wings. Genetically engineered wings. Wing stem cell transplants. When advanced enough, the post-gnome age will let the well-heeled buy the facade of niceness. Give full wings to the humanities first.
Please read queer books all year round, not just in June
Remember, read queer all year
LGBTQ+ people don't disappear after June
The following poems appeared in the episode broadcast on Tuesday:
1. The 21-st century time-traveling heroine, Hae Su, is mesmerized by a Goryeo prince’s beautiful calligraphy. What the family-loving and genteel man writes is a piece of prose titled “Home Again” by Six Dynasties Chinese poet Tao Yuanming, which describes the poet giving up his governmental post for a peaceful, simple life at his countryside home. (Original text | Translation)
2. As a confession, the prince gifts her “Bamboo Stalk Song,” a poem by Tang author Liu Yuxi that uses inconstant weather as an analogy for ambiguous love. (Original text | Translation – be sure to read the footnote)
3. Since modern-day Koreans are generally not as well-versed in classical Chinese, Su has to depend on his brother and wife (also her cousin) for the interpretation. This, of course, leads to some awkwardness and fury, which Su fails to notice. Then, ignoring the romantic undertones of the poem, she hilariously attempts to copy Goryeo official Kim Ji-dae’s poem on majestic and serene scenery, “Yugasa Temple,” as her response to the prince. Since no translation is available online, The Chair is supplying its own below:
瑜伽寺 유가사 (note that the Korean alphabet has not been invented then)
寺在煙霞無事中 (사재연하무사중)
亂山滴翠秋光濃 (난산적취추광농)
A mist surrounds the tranquil temple in the evening light
A jumble of green mountains and the marvelous sights of autumn beckon
雲間絶磴六七里 (운간절등육칠리)
天末遙岑千萬重 (천말요잠천만중)
Steep stone steps rise for six to seven miles into the clouds
Numerous layers of hills lie at the faraway horizon
茶罷松簷掛微月 (다파송첨괘미월)
講闌風榻搖殘鍾 (강란풍탑요잔종)
After sipping tea, one sees a new crescent hanging at the pine canopy
After a lecture, one hears lingering bell notes from the sleep chambers
溪流應笑玉腰客 (계류응소옥요객)
欲洗未洗紅塵踨 (욕세미세홍진종)
The streams must be laughing at the government official,
Who tries to but cannot wash away his worldly marks
(References: Naver, Apple Daily)
Su eventually settles on this reply: \^0^/
According to Apple Daily, the netizen who identified this poem noted that the current name for a temple which used to be called Yugasa is Donghwasa / 桐華寺. 桐華 is the name of the Chinese novelist who penned the book the show is based on. Readers may like to know that there is another Yugasa Temple, which retains its name to this date and has been associated with the poem. All the same, we are free to regard the coincidence as a cross-cultural tribute.
Similar plots can be found in Scarlet Heart, the 2011 Chinese drama adaptation of the novel. Most poignantly, the quick-witted, Chinese time-traveling heroine there struggles to pronounce the exquisite vocabulary used in letter writing in Qing China, finding herself as good as illiterate despite her education and white-collar background. In both cases, too, it may be one thing to read about polygamy and marriage between closely related individuals as a side note in history books, but another to see it simulated three-dimensionally, with actors viewers emotionally identify with. Time slip shows, clearly, provide excellent opportunities for examining how robust people’s connection to their ancestral past can or should be. On one side, there are the issues of lost heritage and pardoning historical figures for being products of their times. On the other, we have arguments for cultural pride in using language entirely of your own (for Koreans), heightened literacy rates brought about by simplified languages, and support for modern ethical sensibilities.
For more Sino-Korean and Chinese poetry, you are welcome to explore this site category or search for Kuiwon’s very informative WordPress blog, which The Chair has long wanted to introduce here. Kuiwon has also written at length about his thoughts on the issue of Chinese character usage in South Korea. His view, however, neither reflects nor contradicts this site’s.
One mistake in the Korean adaptation warrants notice. As the netizen reported, the story takes place in the AD 900s, but Kim Ji-dae lived from 1190 to 1266, so the writing Su copied from could not have been lying around. At least it is a romantic notion that a book traveled back in time with you—theoretically more romantic, perhaps, than being wooed by the husband of your sick cousin.
News Box: Belle Époque
George Eliot wrote in the novel Middlemarch that youth is frequently the season of hope only in the sense that older generations are hopeful about younger ones. Lacking life experiences, young people, for all their physical vitality and cognitive advantages, find each struggle soul-crushing. Likewise, Age of Youth (available on Dramafever) peels back the rosy veneer of life in one's 20s to reveal the socioeconomic difficulties and family/personal tragedies that may afflict young adults without waiting for them to "grow up" first. Its oldest main character, college senior Yoon Jin-myung, already 28, is forever too busy making ends meet to properly experience the springtime of her life. Fake college student Kang Yi-na, 24, escapes from a near-death experience only to lead a wasted life hooking up with rich men in bars for an indulgent lifestyle out of survivor guilt. Princessy Jung Ye-eun (pictured above), 22, can hardly bring herself to break up with her atrocious boyfriend. Dirty-talking liar Song Ji-won, also 22, ironically seems to be the most well-adjusted and one of the wisest among the pack. Timid Yoo Eun-jae, only 20, may have been a murderess. With courage and companionship, though, it may still be possible to live life to the fullest, in spite of scars and missteps, making these truly beautiful years of their lives.
Below is a selection of literary references in the show:
Korean independence fighter Yun Dong-ju's poem anthology Sky, Wind, Star, and Poetry - Jin-myung's mother, giving up hope on her comatose son, underlines the last two lines of the work "A Dream Shattered." (A translation can be found here.)
Hermann Hesse's Demian - A German youth's quest for self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment.
Nikos Kazantzakis's Zorba the Greek - A Greek intellectual befriends a foreman under his employment who has a fervent zest for life. Read together with (2) by Jin-myung and led to her decision to take some risks and live according to her wishes for a change.
Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies - A chick-lit novel on domestic abuse. Discussed by Ji-won while making up her mind about whether to disclose a truth.
This weekend drama has concluded its run last Saturday. Some episodes contain suggestive references.
While the World Championship is underway, is anyone curious about the answer for the scenario below? It will be posted as a comment to the attached spinoff proposal if at least three people vote "YES," not counting the Cretaceous soapbender's own vote.
Many people in the Asian drama-watching community know of 2011 Chinese production Scarlet Heart (available on Dramafever) as a girl-meets-many-boys time-travel romance, but the rich cultural tapestry within perhaps deserves more credit. Over 35 episodes, viewers are treated to an eye-opening array of Qing costumes, headdresses and jewelry as well as fascinating references to various Chinese teas and snacks. The talented but doomed eighth prince, for instance, is described as favoring “Rizhu Snow Buds” or “Day Cast Snow Buds” (a word-by-word translation; Rizhu is actually a geographical location)—a type of green tea which name is thought to conjure up an image of beautiful snow melting away with the rise of the Sun, leaving only sadness in its place.
Certainly, too, the drama includes a great wealth of literary references, of which a Tibetan poem and a passage by Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi have been discussed on this site before. As a sample of the plethora of Chinese prose and poetry also woven into the script, below are the poems in scenes corresponding to some of those aired in the Korean adaptation so far:
1. The eighth prince sends the heroine, Ma’ertai Ruoxi, Song poet Qin Guan's “To the Tune of Magpie Bridge Immortal,” an extraordinarily spectacular and romantic poem that provides much comfort to couples in long-distance relationships. Its lines would solve the supposed mystery of the above headline. (Original text | Translation)
2. He next sends her “Fallen Low,” a succinct and highly rhythmic work which historically has different interpretations bound by the common theme of human-inflicted suffering. (Original text | Translation â one of the interpretations)
3. When Emperor Kangxi orders Ruoxi to explain why she calls him a good ruler, she quotes the lines "But alas! Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi [...] Look to this age alone” from Mao Zedong’s “Snow.” They may sound sycophantic to modern ears but mark the start of their friendship. If we put aside political differences and regard its mentions of archery and literary prowess as mere symbols of less advanced stages of human civilization, the poem is additionally a reminder that the best need not be in the past — the sources of our problems may also be the sources of our solutions. This is a dose of optimism the world at large can benefit from as it grapples with political, economic and environmental upheavals. (Original text | Translation)
It is unfortunate that time constraints prevent The Chair from listing the numerous other classical texts referenced and far more so that few Western-language drama review sites seem to take a profound interest in East Asian literature. The analysis of the portrayal of regional literature in East Asian dramas is a niche area in cultural critique is badly in need of new blood and, pun intended, a few more scarlet hearts.
Everyone else's reaction to The Acolyte: Not DEI again.
Your soapbending T-Rex: Moar, MOAR!
Mystical Quintet
Rock art, remarked philosopher Thomas Heyd, transforms land into landscape by imbuing it with cultural meanings. When someone looks at an old inuksuk, as Arctic researcher Norman Hallenday similarly opined, he is seeing more than a pile of stones—what enter his gaze are also the thoughts of another human being. And depending on how the viewer further engages with the stone structure, he adds new…
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Carbonated Cloth Currency Act of 1021
Preamble
Whereas the climate crisis is a threat to the survival of the human race,
Whereas carbon dioxide (hereafter CO2) is a major contributor to climate change,
Whereas the sovereign nation of Fabrica is committed to reducing its CO2 emissions in an exuberant and engaging manner that attracts citizen cooperation and compliance,
Whereas the sovereign nation of Fabrica upholds its fine tradition of craftsmanship in clothmaking colorfully embraced in every nook and corner of its streets, halls and dwellings and unparalleled anywhere outside its hidden universe,
Now, therefore, be it enacted by the Parliament of Fabrica as follows:
Section 1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Act:
"Currency" means any of the following: silken threads, linen linings, wool wovens, fabulous fabrics, tasseled tokens, striped scrip, embroidered notes, quilted quarters, or patchwork pennies.
"Counterfeit" means to make or to possess with intent to use or sell a counterfeit currency.
Section 2. Physical Characteristics of Currency
(1) All physical currency in Fabrica shall be made of nanolattice materials that have captured CO2 from the atmosphere.
(2) The physical characteristics of the different denominations of currency in Fabrica shall be as follows:
Silken threads are made from the finest silk and are woven into intricate patterns. They are about the size of a sewing thread. They are made up of bands of colors.
Linen linings are made from the finest linen and are woven into a simple weave. They are about the size of a postage stamp and are colored off-white.
Wool wovens are made from the finest wool and are woven into a simple weave. They are colored brown.
Fabulous fabrics are made from a variety of fabrics, including silk, linen, and wool. They are made up of a mix of colors.
Tasseled tokens are made from small pieces of fabric that are tied together with a tassel. They are made up of a mix of colors.
Striped scrip is made from small pieces of fabric that are striped in different colors. They are made up of a mix of colors.
Embroidered notes are made from small pieces of fabric that are embroidered with intricate designs. They are made up of a mix of colors.
Quilted quarters are made from small pieces of fabric that are quilted together in a square pattern. They are made up of a mix of colors.
Patchwork pennies are made from small pieces of fabric that are patched together in a random but consistent pattern. They are made up of a mix of colors.
(3) The government of Fabrica shall establish standards for the size, composition, and design of each denomination of currency. These standards shall ensure that the denomination of currency is durable and easy to identify. The government shall ensure that all denominations of currency meet their corresponding standards.
(4) Any currency that does not meet the physical characteristics in subsection (1), (2) or (3) is not legal tender.
Section 3. Denominations of Currency
The following shall be the denominations of currency and their relative worths in Fabrica:
Silken threads: 100 linen linings, 1,000 wool wovens, or 10,000 fabulous fabrics.
Linen linings: 10 wool wovens or 100 fabulous fabrics.
Wool wovens: 10 fabulous fabrics.
Fabulous fabrics: 10 tasseled tokens, 100 striped scrip, or 1,000 embroidered notes.
Tasseled tokens: 10 striped scrip or 100 embroidered notes.
Striped scrip: 10 embroidered notes.
Embroidered notes: 10 quilted quarters.
Quilted quarters: 10 patchwork pennies.
Patchwork pennies: Lowest denomination.
Section 4. Right to Issue Currency
(1) The right to issue currency shall be vested only in the Central Bank of Fabrica (hereafter Central Bank).
(2) The Central Bank shall issue currency in such quantities as it deems necessary to meet the needs of the economy.
(3) The Central Bank shall sell currency to the public at prices proportionate to the value of the CO2 capture that they represent.
(4) Only undefaced currency issued by the Central Bank and retaining all CO2 within is legal tender in Fabrica.
Section 5. Exchange of Currency
Currency may be exchanged for other denominations of currency at any bank or licensed currency exchange.
Section 6. Counterfeiting, Defacing and Destroying
It is an offense to counterfeit, deface or destroy currency. The following deterrents take into account both monetary and environmental implications of unauthorized acts to currency.
(1) Any person who counterfeits currency shall be punished by a fine of not more than 5,000 silken threads or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) and in lieu of the sentence therein, any person whose counterfeit currency is not made from CO2 shall be punished by a fine of not more than 10,000 silken threads or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both.
(3) Any person who defaces currency shall be punished by a fine of not more than one and a half times the sum of the value of the currency and the value of any CO2 released as a result of the defacement.
(4) Any person who destroys currency shall be punished by a fine of not more than thrice the value of the currency or imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or both.
Section 7. Severability
If any provision of this Act is held to be invalid, the remainder of this Act shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 8. Complementarity
This Act does not preclude the recognition of any intangible national currency to be issued, stored, processed, transferred and exchanged using analytical engines in the future.
Section 9. Effective Date
This Act shall take effect immediately.
Supplementary Note
Although this Act has not been inspired or influenced by any person or other sentient entity, real or imaginary, citizens may refer to the corpus kdrama laws – Abandon all logic, ye who enter here for astoundingly witty, exemplary lawmaking dating back to an era preceding the advent of generative analytical engine intelligence.
Passed by the Parliament of Fabrica on this day of 20.
An energy economy intubated, intercepted and interrogated by its multiverse escape game, TikTok-addicted black holes, go-getting cerebral vampires and healing rice ball spirits. Originally an extension of The Asian Drama Philosopher (A-Philosopher)’s Chair, a site examining literature, art and ideas featured in East Asian series.
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