sid_guardian | Focus on: Dong Nan

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type: character discussion

Focus on: Dong Nan

Dong Nan is a Crow Tribe Yashou who can't keep up with the flock and thus spends most of her time at the graveyard, where she meets Guo Changcheng. She dies young, before Ya Qing can arrive at her side.

1. Why do you think Dong Nan chose to spend her short life watching humans, instead of e.g. observing the Crow or other Yashou Tribes' mourning and funeral practices? What made her not want to even attempt to associate with her own people?

2. What was the weakness that made her unable to keep up with the flock and cut her life short? Something genetic? An illness? Would it have been treatable had she had access to proper healthcare? (Is this part of why Ya Qing is pushing for the revitalization of the Yashou?)

3. Can all Crow Tribe members/the leader sense when another one is dying, or was Ya Qing particularly close to Dong Nan and thus invested?

Fanworks
I have found a grand total of one thing on AO3 tagged with Dong Nan – and I wrote it. If you have any to share, please do!
Can One Switch the Dawn and Dusk? Dong Nan/Li Qian where Dong Nan meets Li Qian at the graveyard.

So - come and talk about Dong Nan! Share links to meta, picspams, and related fanworks, new or old! Self-recs whole-heartedly encouraged. Basically, this is the place for anything you want to say or link to about Dong Nan.

Important: If you're commenting with meta/discussion/thoughts, please say whether you're coming from a novel perspective, a drama perspective, or a blend of the two, so we don't end up talking past each other. Thanks!

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That shot from high above is really cool!

Why do you think Dong Nan chose to spend her short life watching humans

I have no idea, but I find it really interesting that a) a Crow Tribe child apparently has enough autonomy to be allowed to choose where to stay on her own, and b) her tribe is apparently fine with her interest in humans.

What was the weakness that made her unable to keep up with the flock and cut her life short? Something genetic? An illness?

She looks really ill, so I definitely assumed an illness. And I think it had to be something incurable. If modern health care could have actually helped, I think Ya Qing would have made sure she got it. (And Ya Qing seems pretty familiar with the modern human world.) Perhaps it's a Crow-specific illness, but the Crow Tribe doesn't have the resources for research into a cure?

Can all Crow Tribe members/the leader sense when another one is dying, or was Ya Qing particularly close to Dong Nan and thus invested?

I thought she was just close by. She gave the impression of being pretty invested in Dong Nan, so keeping an eye on her and then happening to be around at that moment makes sense to me.

(I haven't found any fanworks either, but I did find this Chinese article about Dong Nan's actress, Wu Yujue, which has a pic of her with Bai Yu.)

a) a Crow Tribe child apparently has enough autonomy to be allowed to choose where to stay on her own, and b) her tribe is apparently fine with her interest in humans.

Oh, I sort of assumed that it was more like they didn't care anymore. She was too weak to hang with the tribe (for whatever reason), so you know, maybe it doesn't matter what she does. Clearly Ya Qing cared, but maybe not the tribe as a whole?

Clearly Ya Qing cared, but maybe not the tribe as a whole?
Ya Qing is the head of the tribe, so her opinion weighs heavily, but ... yeah, maybe.

In an effort to learn whether crows cared for their ill, I took to google. It took me a few tries to convince the algorithm that I did want to learn about sick corvids with the r, and I didn't find what I wanted, but crows live with the family for a few years before setting off. Also, a crow FAQ and some crow diseases. The FAQ states that crows, like most birds, will try to kill injured compatriots, so maybe it's just safer for Dong Nan to live away from the flock?

This is fascinating!

Ya Qing is the tribe's leader, and every time we see the Crows they all seem very dedicated to following her, so I think if it was a matter of caring, they'd follow her lead on that too ...

I have no idea, but I find it really interesting that a) a Crow Tribe child apparently has enough autonomy to be allowed to choose where to stay on her own, and b) her tribe is apparently fine with her interest in humans.
I guess that if she can/could fly, she could've flapped off and not returned? Birds don't seem to be very interested in keeping prisoners, AFAIK.

She looks really ill, so I definitely assumed an illness. And I think it had to be something incurable. If modern health care could have actually helped, I think Ya Qing would have made sure she got it. (And Ya Qing seems pretty familiar with the modern human world.) Perhaps it's a Crow-specific illness, but the Crow Tribe doesn't have the resources for research into a cure?
Nodnod. I wonder whether it'd be something specific to Crow Yashou, or a bird disease? If the latter, it might explain why Dong Nan spends most of her time in human form. And yeah, the Crow Tribe doesn't have the resources for research.

(I haven't found any fanworks either, but I did find this Chinese article about Dong Nan's actress, Wu Yujue, which has a pic of her with Bai Yu.)
Oo, ty! I guess they were shooting all/most of the graveyard scenes at the same time, then? I don't think they shared a scene.

I guess that if she can/could fly, she could've flapped off and not returned?

Yeah, she probably did, but Ya Qing doesn't sound judgmental about Dong Nan's choices. She calls her eccentric for being more interested in humans, but it feels pretty mild - Zhu Hong's uncle is more forceful about criticising Zhu Hong's choices.

A bird disease would make a lot of sense!

I guess they were shooting all/most of the graveyard scenes at the same time, then? I don't think they shared a scene.

Yeah, they must have - you're right, they never shared a scene.

Ya Qing doesn't sound judgmental about Dong Nan's choices. She calls her eccentric for being more interested in humans, but it feels pretty mild - Zhu Hong's uncle is more forceful about criticising Zhu Hong's choices.
I mean, if we consider the differences in Fourth Uncle and Ya Qing's political positions, it isn't terribly surprising – Ya Qing wants a revitalization of the Yashou and I think for the Yashou to be acknowledged by human society/get closer ties with the human society? So a little crow going to look at humans is less scandalous to her than a snake going to participate in human society would be for Fourth Uncle. Plus I think that since Dong Nan was dying, she'd have been given more leeway.

I wasn't trying to say it's surprising - I think it fits very well. But we don't get much by way of explicit statements about the differences between the Yashou tribes, so I like to collect this kind of evidence.

I'm not sure if Ya Qing wants closer ties with humans, but she definitely wants Yashou to be acknowledged/respected, yeah.

1. Why do you think Dong Nan chose to spend her short life watching humans

Maybe she liked stealing food from the graves? She was eating Li Qian's grandmother's yoghurt, wasn't she? And that kind of acquisitive behaviour seems pretty crow-like. :-)

But also, given what she says to Guo Changcheng,[1] it seems like she was aware she was dying, and wistfully wishing for someone who would remember her once she's gone and bring food to her grave. I feel like the implication is that she doesn't have close relatives or friends among the Crows (maybe because she can't keep up with the other Crows, so she hasn't been able to form attachments?), or the Crow tribe doesn't remember their dead in the same way and she wants that. That's why she talks to Guo Changcheng -- because he brings gifts to all kinds of people, not just friends and relatives.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Crow tribe have a kind of "survival of the fittest/no time for weakness" mentality, but that Ya Qing as tribe leader feels responsible for every one of them and, knowing Dong Nan was nearing death, kept a close eye on her. She thanks Guo Changcheng for making Dong Nan smile and being with her in her last moments, but I imagine Ya Qing would have preferred to be there herself, even though Dong Nan wouldn't have smiled like that with her. Idk.

[1] "Say, after I die, would you bring me nice food every month? I want Grandma Li's yogurt, Lai Su's cup noodles, Zu Ma's chocolate."

and

"I've seen past life and death already, between parents and children, between lovers, between friends. I just haven't seen people like you. You and those who have passed, what relationship do you have with them? You don't mind your own business." (Some foreshadowing of GCC's eventual power there, too.)

Oooh, that's a great point about why she starts talking to Xiao-Guo in the first place, and her wanting to be remembered.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Crow tribe have a kind of "survival of the fittest/no time for weakness" mentality

Yeah, I don't think it's necessarily a deliberate/conscious philosophy - Ya Qing's behaviour doesn't really fit that, IMO - but just in a "people falling through the cracks if they can't keep up" sort of way? That would make a lot of sense to me.

but just in a "people falling through the cracks if they can't keep up" sort of way? That would make a lot of sense to me.

Yes! I wonder if they even have a village, or if they just roost together in trees at night and raise their young in nests. Perhaps Dong Nan had trouble shifting, and that's why she couldn't keep up?

I don't know, but I do wonder what their relationship with humans is. Ya Qing must have learned how to use a computer somewhere ...

(I do like the idea of a crow settlement, but I could see them not actually living there permanently, just coming back semi-regularly.)

Oh, I'd forgotten about the computer. Maybe she went to university?

(I'm really looking forward to your post on her!)

Maybe she liked stealing food from the graves? She was eating Li Qian's grandmother's yoghurt, wasn't she? And that kind of acquisitive behaviour seems pretty crow-like. :-)
Did she eat Li Qian's grandmother's yoghurt? I can't recall. But yes, giving zero fucks is a very crowlike behavior. You've probably seen videos of them riding on flying eagles and pulling larger birds' tail feathers to get a chance at stealing a morsel.

Ep 24, 5:30, the first time Guo Changcheng sees her, she's sitting by Li Yufen's grave slurping something. Maybe it's a drink she brought with her, but I assumed it was food left at the grave.

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