Faraway Wanderers - Chapter 56

Wherein things are picking up, aren't they? A lovely chapter ^_^

Thank you Emma P for proofreading!

Plus, I made a post on Tumblr on an issue, and since some of the vitriol I've seen written on the matter outright annoyed me, I going to post it here too. Please feel free to ignore and jump to the chapter by clicking here.

Although a long time slash fan, I don't watch a lot of tv/series and got sucked into Word of Honour probably only because the country I live in was still in quarantine at the time of its diffusion. Then, I began reading Tian Ya Ke and fell in love with priest's writing: a unique blend of fast-paced, off-the-cuff humour and high brow literary references that subverts expectations from the traditional wuxia genre at every turn of phrase, not only in subject matter but also in style.

I decided to translate it because it was just too brilliant not to share, and also as a personal challenge.

The above is to say that I'm not really invested in "fandom" and rarely ever browse corresponding media, which explain why I learned about what happened to Zhou Zishu's actor, Zhang Zhehan, only a few days ago (check controversy section on his Wikipedia page).

My view on the matter is that his being black-listed by the Chinese government is to be directly tied to the September 2nd communiqué from the Chinese media censorship bureau that tightens state control on the showbusiness industry and the content it produces.

The 9/2 communiqué condemns, amongst other things, representations of "effeminate men" and promise strict crackdowns on "immoral" public figures (stars who don't have appropriate political opinions, "vulgar" internet celebrities, immoral personal conducts, etc.).

With the content of that communiqué in mind, it is then easy to recognise the Chinese government modus operandi: they made an example out of Zhang Zhehan before making the policy official to strike fear first.

Indeed, Zhang Zhehan fits the bill perfectly: vaguely sulfurous personal life with allegedly many girlfriends, has exposed his relatively luxurious lifestyle on social media, is apparently friend with controversial Japanese people, AND has starred in a show where the sexual orientation of the character he plays is questionable, while simultaneously being famous enough to send a strong signal that nobody is untouchable.

To convince you of this, consider that the photos used to indict his "un-patriotism" were from 2018.

Besides a renewed sense of horror at what a government can do to an individual who clearly didn't see it coming and couldn't have seen it coming since the rules didn't exist (and even though I don't even consider myself a "fan" of Zhan Zhehan), the ramifications of that communiqué are many.

I'll speak on one of the issues close to my heart and which is relevant to this translation.

The use of the term "effeminate men" — 娘炮, lit. "girl(y) gun" — in the official communiqué as a derogative term to categorize certain people the government deem improper is deeply offensive to me. Not only because it is insulting to LGBT or non-LGBT people who choose to look a certain way, but because it implies that there is something fundamentally wrong with feminity, with womanhood.

The censorship bureau went ahead with that communiqué while the Chinese Women's Journal has denounced the use of the term as derogative to women back in 2017.

To me, this exemplifies the current outright macho atmosphere of Chinese governance, and how it is wholly contemptuous of the female voice.

It nauseates me, and I'm further convinced that the crackdown on danmei material that has already taken place/will continue as a consequence of the 9/2 communiqué is fundamentally an issue of sexism.

Indeed, as with so-called "effeminate" idols, the BL/danmei's explosion with its alternative representation of masculinity is entirely generated by a female fanbase and the male stars it has propelled to stardom unabashedly surf on female purchasing power: Zhan Zhehan endorsed make-up sold out in hours. (Tangentially, Zhang Zhehan's manager, Zhao Wei, is also a successful woman who has likewise been deleted from the public eyes. Yet another criterion that must have pissed off the Chinese government: a man working for a woman!)

At the root, BL/danmei as a genre is made by women for women. It features characters that speak to the female sensibilities, intellectual inclinations, romantic and sexual imagination.

It is a genre that produces brilliance and outright crap alike, with content that sometimes shocks even me. But it is a genre that represents women's desires in a world dominated by representations of male wants.

Although I'd be the first one to point out the cynic realities of fan culture in China, stifling women's right to buy views of pretty men in make-up when you are basically contractually obligated to wear make-up if you were born with a vagina on this earth, whether in China or in the West — how droll is that?

Stifling women's right to produce and buy content with two dudes getting it on, when you can't escape cleavage/legs shots in ads that are aimed to produce erections every two minutes of content viewed on the net/tv, even when you live in China — how droll is that?

In short, although I do not currently live in China, my ovaries of which I am not ashamed are offended by the language and the new direction taken by the Chinese government.

And I'm glad I've picked up this translation, to share a little gem that is part of the female imagination.

End digression.

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Notes

1. The chapter is titled 黑鸦 or "black ravens/crows". Shortened for redundancy.

2. The two descriptions are written in 对联 or "opposing verses" format which consists in 2 phrases of 4 or plus characters that rhyme/produce a harmonious effect.

3. She asks for 素面 which is a kind of wheat based noodle. It's a not particularly refined but nourishing dish.

4. 东风压倒西风 lit. "the east wind crushing down the west wind", meaning a situation of intense battle. Used humouristically.

5. From anonymous song《西洲曲》(Music of Xizhou). What I have translated as West-Land is Xizhou which is a mystical land situation west of China. An alternative translation would be "the plum blossoms reminds me of our dreamland date".

6. From 《卜算子·我住长江头》(I Live at the River Upper End) by 李之仪. Though from different poems, Wen Kexing picks up on the theme of lovers by riverside from the song he hears.

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