[Tian Ya Ke (Re-)Readalong] Chapter 1 - Tian Chuang

[rekishi]

Hello and welcome to our Tian Ya Ke reread!

Until the end of August we will be rereading the first volume and we'll see how this goes. For all your translation needs please see here. Also huldraism has kindly provided me with the link for a different translation by xuxunette (up to chapter 30). I have no clue what it's like and I got the link like 20 minutes ago. I'll try to check it out but for now (and next week at least) I'll be using the sparklingwater translation version! (Since I pre-wrote the post for next week in case the second vaccine shot wipes me out.)

I plan to include a quick summary of the chapter(s) we're reading, a few key quotes, and some thoughts. I don't want to do an ultra-close reading to leave enough room for y'all to add your thoughts as well. Feel free to pick other quotes from the chapters as well and discuss them in your comments! You're also more than welcome to add any insights you might have from the Chinese version of the text (my Chinese is very rudimentary and while I may add a note or two, I very much operate on "this sounds strange, let's look what this is in the original" and then try to beat my dictionary into submission). You are also more than welcome to step on my toes when I blunder my way through Chinese culture in a too bulldozer-like manner; while I make efforts to research things, in the end this is not a language I speak fluently nor my native culture so there will be such moments. Point them out and I will gladly correct my stance and hopefully learn from my mistakes.

These posts will inevitably have spoilers for both the novel and the drama (and probably Qi Ye). The pace is slow enough that you should be able to read ahead with no problem as well!

Farewell to the Imperial Court - Chapter 1 - Tian Chuang

We open at Emperor Helian Yi's Imperial Court, where we witness the torture and mutilation of a man. Zhou Zishu, the head of the Emperor's intelligence and assassination service Tian Chuang, exits the chamber and dismisses the guards. We get a brief introduction to the "Nails of Seven Apertures for Three Autumns" only to learn that Zhou Zishu has inserted six nails into his own body already. He asks Emperor Helian Yi to release him from his service.

[Quick note: In the translation, we get presented with the name "He Lianyi" for the Emperor. His name is actually Helian Yi, though (as Dora nicely explained to me here).]

• A short time passed by until a middle-aged man was dragged out by two people, looking half dead. His arms were bare, head lolled to one side, hair sweat-soaked, lips bitten raw, blood foaming at the corner of his mouth, no visible injuries save for the seven major acupuncture points on his stomach and chest, which were stabbed into by deep crimson nails. It looked like a horrifying map.


• The man in robes seemed to be in his late twenties, carrying himself with a scholarly grace, but there were traces of sickness on his complexion. His face was sharp, eyes bright, thick eyelashes seemingly hiding half of his face when he looked down, which was a common habit. The rare times the man looked up, a chilling cold in his eyes could be seen. The addition of an elegance slope of nose and a contemptuous curl of lips was a treacherous touch to his handsome look.
  
  The man looked at the younger after noticing the honorifics, smiling gently, “You must be new?”
  
  The young man nodded. “Yes, my lord [zhuangzhu, 庄主].”
  
  He was then patted twice on the shoulder, “Then you must remember never to call me that from now on, the title is no longer mine. Simply call me Sir Zhou [daren, 大人] next time.”


• “There’re still a lot you don’t understand. If you enter ‘Tian Chuang’ there’s no way out, escape will only result in either death or being completely disabled.”
  
  By Year 4 under the Rong Jia reign of Da Qing, just by hearing the name ‘Tian Chuang’ could make the whole court quiver in fear.


• The “Nails of Seven Apertures for Three Autumns” punishment meant that the person would be stabbed by poisonous nails into the seven most important acupuncture points on their upper body by internal force, blocking their Eight Meridians, crippling their martial art skills and their ability to speak or move; after three years, the poison would fully spread into their viscera and they would kick the bucket.


• He looked relatively well-built, but once the robes were removed, a shriveled body came into view, like something had drained life completely out of it. On his haggard frame were six Nails already being put in for apparently a long time ago, having almost become one with the flesh.


• Head Butler Duan Pengju was promoted by Zhou Zishu himself after the latter took over Tian Chuang and operated under his orders only; he was both capable and unabashedly ambitious.
  
  Sometimes, Zhou Zishu saw the younger version of himself in this man.


• Zhou Zishu opened his slender palm, on which a single nail rested. “Your Majesty, I have put in six of them myself. The seventh one will render me unable to take care of royal matters; I hereby come to say farewell, and only ask that Your Majesty lets Pengju carry out my request.”
  
  He Lianyi was dumbfounded, words unable to come out. After a long while, he sat back dejectedly, craning up to stare at the beams on the study’s ceiling, muttering, “Yun Xing was faraway at the northwest, Beiyuan… Beiyuan is here no more, now even you are leaving me?”


• Duan Pengju hesitated for a while, then bit his lips, raising the vaguely crimson object and nailing it into his lord’s body. After years of witnessing, he knew this process would bring great pain, to the point that even the strongest man would cower and scream; but Zhou Zishu only trembled a little, his body still stiff straight. There was no screaming, only occasional inaudible groans.

A few linguistics things first:

(Please note that I write the pinyin without tones for now (maybe I'll change that in the future), but if you need some resources, the best mobile app dictionary for Chinese is imo Pleco (even the free version is amazing), and two online resources I found very useful in the past are Yabla and Yello Bridge. A very good text translator is DeepL.

We get the nice zhuangzhu vs daren here that is also included in the drama. The essence here is that ZZS is the former Lord of Siji Manor and very much sees himself as such. He doesn't insist like this later on when he is wandering jianghu, but he is doing very much so now.

We see several translations by several translators for "Nails of Seven Apertures for Three Autumns", the string in Chinese is 七窍三秋钉, whereas qiqiao (七窍) is a standing expression that indeed does mean 'seven apertures [of the human head]' meaning 2 ears, 2 eyes, 2 nostrils, 1 mouth. So I will stick with that translation. It makes sense because the Nails are associated with loss of the senses if inserted all at once.

Fun fact: 'Tiang Chuang' is an acupuncture point on the human neck associated with the small intestine in TCM. One wonders whether there is a relation to this torture method.

Less linguistic, more martial arts:
Eight Extraordinary Meridians:

The eight extraordinary meridians are of pivotal importance in the study of Qigong, Taijiquan and Chinese alchemy. These eight extra meridians differ from the standard twelve organ meridians in that they are considered to be storage vessels or reservoirs of energy and are not associated directly with the Zang Fu, i.e. internal organs. These channels were studied in the"Spiritual Axis"chapters 17, 21 and 62, the"Classic of Difficulties"chapters 27, 28 and 29 and the"Study of the 8 Extraordinary vessels"(Qi Jing Ba Mai Kao), written in 1578. The eight extraordinary vessels are (奇經八脈; qí jīng bā mài):

Conception Vessel (Ren Mai) – 任脈; rèn mài
Governing Vessel (Du Mai) – 督脈; dū mài
Penetrating Vessel (Chong Mai) – 衝脈; chōng mài
Girdle Vessel (Dai Mai) – 帶脈; dài mài
Yin linking vessel (Yin Wei Mai) – 陰維脈; yīn wéi mài
Yang linking vessel (Yang Wei Mai) – 陽維脈; yáng wéi mài
Yin Heel Vessel (Yin Qiao Mai) – 陰蹻脈; yīn qiāo mài
Yang Heel Vessel (Yang Qiao Mai) – 陽蹻脈; yáng qiāo mài

This is actually the only time we meet Helian Yi or anyone else from Tian Chuang or the current Imperial Court. Considering how integral all of this was in the prequel (Qi Ye), this is a different pace. This Helian Yi is very different from the man we see in the drama who has this role, and I actually like this man. Despite his many faults he has integrity and seems to actually have an interest in his people. Yun Xing had a pretty integral role in the prequel and we'll actually meat Beiyuan later on (Helian Yi is using 没啦 here, which has the same function as 没了and means both "not here" as well as "dead", so pick your connotation wisely).

[For me it raises the question: What will Helian Yi do if he ever learns of both of them still being around but I think that's a discussion for after the novel.]

Hence, ZZS is actually working for a relatively decent ruler, but clearly has reasons to subject himself to the Nails in order to seek a way out, even if it is only for three years. We don't get a discussion with Lao Bi here and no motivation for him to ask for the Nails, only the hint that this was voluntary rather than punishment.

ZZS is clearly not interested in/doesn't see himself as deserving of being the Lord of Siji Manor anymore and admonishes the guard accordingly. In that context though I also find his assessment of Duan Pengju relevant, he was both capable and unabashedly ambitious. Sometimes, Zhou Zishu saw the younger version of himself in this man., because it indicates how much must have happened in the past few years. There's a weariness in these very simple words, and a ruefulness that he is not that man anymore. I thought for a while of describing it as weltschmerz, but that doesn't seem all that fitting, since ZZS has (valid?) reason to think like this.

We don't actually get an answer for i) why ZZS came up with the Nails as the only way to exit Tiang Chuang at all (rather than killing them outright) and ii) why he chose the same option for himself/chose to exit Tian Chuang at all. The former may be a weird sort of...mercy? compassion? for anyone who wants to leave? For the option to be there?

For the latter, knowing the backstory, I do believe Helian Yi would have let ZZS go even without the Nails (though of course they are a very convincing argument), but I talked before on my own DW about atonement and penance and even after reading Qi Ye, I'm still not entirely clear on whether there might have been a trigger (Liang Jiuxiao's death? the fact that Siji Manor disciples were dwindling? the same reason why Lao Bi was obviously not the first one to ask for the Nails?) or a slow erosion of his soul considering all the things he did for Helian Yi. Or both.

Mostly this chapter serves as an info dump to get us introduced to 1) Tian Chuang, 2) how much time has passed since the prequel (4 years), and 3) the Nails. My Chinese is unfortunately not good enough to determine whether the paragraph about the Nails is translated correctly, so please anyone who feels up to this chime in!

Future posts will might be shorter per chapter, promise, I just wanted to throw some things out there and see what sticks with y'all!

Next week, we'll meet more characters that will stay with us a bit longer than Helian Yi and Duan Pengju. Our next post is on June 29 with chapters 2+3.