Finally, we time traveled! Okay fine, Huang Yuxuang time traveled. We are now officially in 1998. But hold on! A twist is coming to episode 3.
Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
Someday or One Day 想見你 Part 1
Someday or One Day (想見你) is time travel doppelganger romantic murder mystery. Even though the 1st episode is slow and the 2nd episode is confusing, they are vital to establish the characters and their starting point. Because you can’t appreciate what they have and what they lost if you don’t know who they are. To know who is who, as one youtuber said, you need to know who loves who. I’m invested in this drama more and more with each episode. I know what is coming. I know who may have done it. But I don’t know why. And I need to know. I don’t trust the trailer. I don’t believe the preview. I need the next episode to prove me wrong.
Up to ep8, the drama can be broken down to 3 parts:
1998 ~ 1999: Mo Junjie and Chen Yunru
2010 ~ 2017: Wang Quansheng and Huang Yuxuan
2019 ~ present: Huang Yuxuan and Li Ziwei
Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
Chinese Lesson 3: Family
It’s that time of the year when we celebrate the holidays with our close and distant relatives around the dinner table. Yay! (Or, nay?) You look well, Uncle Tom. Hello there, Aunt Mary. What’s happening, Cousin Adam? I miss you, Grandma Jane. But how exactly are they related to us? The way we address them in Chinese will tell you exactly how.
Let’s start with something simple.
媽媽/妈妈 (māma) = Mom
爸爸 (bàba) = Dad
哥哥 (gēge) = Elder brother
嫂嫂 (sǎosao) = Sister-in-law, wife of elder brother
弟弟 (dìdi) = Younger brother
弟妹 (dìmèi) = Sister-in-law, wife of younger brother
姊姊/姐姐 (jiějie)= Elder sister
姊夫/姐夫 (jiěfū) = Brother-in-law, husband of elder sister
妹妹 (mèimei) = Younger sister
妹夫 (mèifū) = Brother-in-law, husband of younger sister
Now we move on to the extended family. These may differ depending on the part of the country the speaker is from and the dialect used. This article is based on Taiwan area, Mandarin dialect.
On your father’s side:
爺爺/爷爷 (yéye) = Paternal grandpa
奶奶 (nǎinai) = Paternal grandma
伯伯 (bóbo) = Uncle, father’s elder brother
伯母（bómǔ）= Aunt, wife of elder uncle
叔叔 (shúshu) = Uncle, father’s younger brother
嬸嬸/婶婶 (shěnshen) = Aunt, wife of younger uncle
姑媽/姑妈 (gūmā) = Aunt, father’s elder sister
姑姑 (gūgu) = Aunt, father’s younger sister
姑丈 (gūzhàng) = Uncle, husband of paternal aunt
On your mother’s side:
外公 (wàigōng) = Maternal grandpa
外婆 (wàipó) = Maternal grandma
舅舅 (jiùjiu) = Uncle, mother’s elder or younger brother
舅媽/舅妈 (jiùmā) = Aunt, wife of maternal uncle
姨媽/姨妈 (yímā) = Aunt, mother’s elder sister
阿姨 (āyí) = Aunt, mother’s younger sister
姨丈 (yízhàng) = Uncle, husband of maternal aunt
That pretty much covers most of the family elders. Next, we move on to the first cousins.
堂哥 (tánggē) = Cousin, son of your paternal uncle, older than you
堂嫂 (tángsǎo) = Wife of your older cousin
堂弟 (tángdì) = Cousin, son of your paternal uncle, younger than you
堂姊 (tángjiě) = Cousin, daughter of your paternal uncle, older than you
堂妹 (tángmèi) = Cousin, daughter of your paternal uncle, younger than you
* The spouses of your cousins, born of your paternal uncle, are addressed the same way as spouses of your siblings, with prefix “táng”.
表哥 (biǎogē) = Cousin, son of your paternal aunt and maternal aunt/uncle, older than you
表嫂 (biǎosǎo) = Wife of your older cousin
表弟 (biǎodì) = Male cousin, younger than you
表姊 (biǎojiě) = Female cousin, older than you
表妹 (biǎomèi) = Female cousin, younger than you
* The spouses of your cousins, born of your paternal aunt and maternal aunt/uncle, are addressed the same way as spouses of your siblings, with prefix “biǎo”.
And then we have the kids. 
兒子/儿子 (érzi) = Son
媳婦/媳妇 (xífù) = Daughter-in-law
女兒/女儿 (nǚ’ér) = Daughter
女婿 (nǚxù) = Son-in-law
姪子/侄子 (zhízi) = Nephew, brother’s son
姪女/侄女 (zhínǚ) = Niece, brother’s daughter
外甥 (wàishēng) = Nephew, sister’s son
外甥女 (wàishēngnǚ) = Niece, sister’s daughter
So the next time you watch a Chinese drama and someone says, “zhixifu, can you pass me the soy sauce?” you know exactly how they are related to each other. (Answer: Wife of my brother’s son, can you pass me the soy sauce?)
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Quiz 1: How is 堂弟妹 (tángdìmèi) related to you?
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If you wish to know what Taiwanese propose to use for same-sex in-laws, check out the spreadsheet below. Continue reading
Make Our Days Count 那一天 Part 2
I’m not a big fan of BL dramas with clinging girlfriend, homophobic parents, and fan service sex scenes. Congratulations! Make Our Days Count had all three.
Fortunately, I like how they handled the breakup between Xiang Haoting and Li Siyu. It’s positive and soul cleansing. If you want to break up with someone, have the decency of saying it in person. Be clear and concise that it’s over between you two. Don’t ever do the fading out act. After Li Siyu shed the “clinging girlfriend” tag, she was a much better person. I nodded in approval when she declared to her friends in her messy crying state that she will get a boyfriend better than Haoting before she graduates. Thank you, girl, for not being the vindictive ex who can’t let go.
I don’t think Haoting’s mom has homophobia. She just needs more time to adjust to a new reality. I trust she will come around for the love of her son and will do anything to keep her son in the family. But dad may need more convincing. Hopefully, mom’s female persuasion will make dad more pliable to accepting their son’s intelligent, driven, self-reliant boyfriend.
I feel sorry for Lu Zhigang that he didn’t have a strong mom to back him up and got kicked out by his family for loving who he loved. If he can’t face his own family, I don’t think he can help Sun Boxiang come out to his family and that will not bode well for their future. But if Boxiang’s cousin is any indication of Sun family attitude, there is hope for them yet. And maybe, just maybe, Boxiang & family can help Zhigang reconcile with his.
As for the full on action scenes that served absolute no purpose except fan service, I have nothing to say. (Call me an equal opportunity prude because I don’t like it in BL, GL, or BG dramas. Though I do enjoy a good tumble when it pushes the story forward. Hats off to you, TharnType The Series.)
Make Our Days Count 那一天 Part 1
I almost skipped watching HIStory3’s Make Our Days Count (那一天) because of how the main leads looked. Xiang Haoting’s haircut is ugly as hell. He would’ve looked 100% better with no hair. His counterpart Yu Shigu is even worse. He looks so anorexic and sallow he should be in the hospital and not the school. (I know. I’m being hypercritical.) Fortunately, I got over my bias and am beginning to see their charms.
Besides, I have Lu Zhigang and Sun Boxiang to lean on for my cute boy fancy.
But primarily, I can always rely on HIStory’s awesome friendships. Haoting and Boxiang crack me up to no end with their worrisome logic, at the same time, make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that they understand and accept their friends the way they are. Even when their friends are one screw too loose in the head.
I am almost half way through the drama and I can say with positiveness that Haoting is my favorite character. He is an inconsiderate, self-centered, cocky horndog. He is also a nonjudgmental, supportive, generous free spirit. He may not have the mental capacity to foresee how his action will impact others, but he does have a healthy dose of conscience to recognize that he has caused harm and to try to atone for the wrongs he did.
Chinese Lesson 2: Name
名字 (míng zì) when translated into English means name, as in a person’s name. What I didn’t know for the longest time is that ming and zi represented two distinct concepts in the ancient time. And 号 (hào) didn’t just mean “also known as.” As a Chinese period drama viewer, I took it for granted that the main characters had a million different names. It’s only after I read the commentaries for The Untamed that I finally understood the unstated significance of the names the characters used for each other (ie. Lan Wangji used “Wei Ying” while everybody else used “Wei Wuxian.” It’s his subtle way of suggesting he wanted to be more than WWX’s friend. *wink *wink)
(名 ming) – Birth name. The name your parents gave you when you turned 3 months old. As your elder family member, I would be calling you by this name because that’s how we roll.
(字 zi) – Courtesy name. The name you were given when you reached adulthood. Not everyone had zi. To have one meant either you went to school or you were from a well to-do family. As your cousin/ friend/ colleague/ subordinate, I would be addressing you by this name to show my respect.
(号/號 hao) – Pseudonym or title. The name you were given when you turned famous. As your junior or a person of a younger generation, I would be referring to you by this name to reflect my admiration of your great accomplishments.
| Drama: The Untamed (陈情令) | |
| Birth name (名): Wei Ying (魏婴) |
| Courtesy name (字): Wuxian (无羡) | |
| Title (号): Yiling Laozu (夷陵老祖) lit. Yiling Patriarch |
|
| Also known as: Ah Xian (阿羡), Xianxian (羡羡), Ah Ying (阿婴) | |
| Drama: The Untamed (陈情令) | |
| Birth name (名): Lan Zhan (蓝湛) |
| Courtesy name (字): Wangji (忘机) | |
| Title (号): Hanguang-Jun (含光君) lit. Light-bearing Lord |
|
| Also known as: Second Master Lan (蓝二公子) | |
| Drama: The Untamed (陈情令) | |
| Birth name (名): Jiang Cheng (江澄) |
| Courtesy name (字): Wanyin (晚吟) | |
| Title (号): Sandu Shengshou (三毒圣手) lit. Three Poisons |
|
| Also known as: Ah Cheng (阿澄), Clan leader Jiang (江宗主) | |
| Drama: The Longest Day in Chang’an (长安十二时辰) | |
| Birth name (名): Li Bi (李必) |
| Courtesy name (字): Changyuan (长源) | |
| Title (号): None | |
| Also known as: Xiao Li Bi (小李必) | |
Side topic: I don’t have a nickname or an abbreviation of my formal name, but I do have a baby name that only my family use. Kinda similar to Ah Ying or Xiao Li Bi. I get super weirded out if my friends try to use it and I will immediately shut them down for calling me that. But that’s beside the point. What I want to talk about is how “Ah”, “Xiao”, “Lao” make a quick and easy nickname to help promote immediate familiarity between two semi-strangers.
Say, you are Zhao Yunlan (赵云澜) from Guardian. There are at least 27 ways I can call you. But as your colleague, I would likely call you Lao Zhao (老赵) if I think you are older than me but not too old to be my drinking buddy. Conversely, I would call you Xiao Zhao (小赵) if you are my junior. I could also call you Ah Yun (阿云) or Ah Lan (阿澜) to denote more familiarity or closer friendship. I would avoid using repeated sounds, such as Yunyun (云云) or Lanlan (澜澜), or even worse, Xiao Yunyun (小云云) or Xiao Lanlan (小澜澜), unless you are a child under age 10 or we plan to hook up tonight. But if I have to choose, I would call you Lan’er (澜儿) because I want to baby you.
The Untamed 陈情令
The Untamed (陈情令) is a live action adaptation of supernatural novel Mo Dao Zu Shi (魔道祖师), which is also available as manga and anime. The drama is about the death and resurrection of abominable Yiling Patriarch and how he cleared his infamous name with the help from an unlikely ally. The drama flashed back to decades earlier and recounted how a series of tragedies turned Wei Wuxian from a cheery young lad to a widely feared grandmaster of demonic cultivation. Then the drama flashed forward to the present day and followed him as he uncovered the conspiracy that had led to his death 16 years ago. All the while, he never gave up his unorthodox practice of channeling demonic energy to counter malevolent supernatural forces – fight evil with evil.
I can’t say I love all the main characters in this drama. But Jiang Yanli and her lovely dimples will always have a place in my heart. She is the best thing that ever happened to Wei Wuxian. She is the only person in the entire drama who never doubted WWX, who never said a single harsh word to him, who defended him even though it went against her nature to be antagonistic, who loved him unconditionally. A bowl of her lotus root soup with pork ribs can soothe any hurt he felt inside. To WWX, home is where ever she is.
I can watch the nose touching on loop. Only Shijie (senior sister) can make WWX grin like a happy 3 year-old.
Source: Weibo
And only she can make him feel accepted without having to prove his worth.
Although her brother Jiang Cheng cares as much for Wei Wuxian as her, his fierce temper and sharp tongue can slice a tender heart raw. And no one can wound WWX as deeply as he can. But Shijie has an amazing way of neutralizing her brother’s venomous words and bringing him and WWX back together without the boys ever having to say “sorry” or “thank you.”
