Guardian read-along: prologue, chapters 1 & 2

[china_shop]

Hello, and welcome to our weekly read-along of Guardian by priest. We're so happy to have you here!

We're starting off with the prologue and chapters 1 & 2:

• Prologue: Guo Changcheng's first day night at the SID. He briefly meets Zhao Yunlan.
• Chapter 1: Li Qian vs a ghost. Zhao Yunlan is called to a murder scene and meets up with Da Qing.
• Chapter 2: While examining the crime scene at the university, Zhao Yunlan & Da Qing meet Shen Wei, a professor, who seems evasive and suspicious.

Excerpts

1) Our first glimpse of Zhao Yunlan. 2) Zhao Yunlan's apartment. 3) Da Qing appears! 4) Meeting Shen Wei.

1) Our first glimpse of Zhao Yunlan
A young man walked out of 4 Bright Avenue’s little garden with long strides. There was a cigarette in his mouth, and his hands were shoved in his pants pockets. He was tall, with upright shoulders, thick brows, deep-set eyes, and a defined nose. He was very handsome, even if his expression was a little dark.

The man’s brows were furrowed, and he walked so fast that wind seemed to rise in his footsteps. The message on his face was clear: “Don’t block the way, don’t bug me, and fuck off.”

In a stroke of misfortune, Guo Changcheng happened to meet his gaze and was immediately terrified by those black eyes, beautiful yet cold. His instinct told him that this hot guy had a bad temper.

But when the hot-tempered hottie realized who Guo Changcheng was, he suddenly braked. In the next moment, his expression transformed, fluid as that of a master actor. That thunderous look was abruptly one of sunshine and open skies, with a kind smile that spread naturally across his face faster than one could turn a page. Along with that smile, two shallow dimples appeared on his cheeks. The cigarette still in his mouth made the corners of his lips seem a bit crooked. With his eyes crinkled a little, he seemed as if he might be up to no good—but just the right amount of no good, which lent him an approachable air.


2) Zhao Yunlan's apartment
To say Zhao Yunlan’s apartment was as messy as a doghouse would be a grave insult to dogs everywhere. Clothes were strewn all over the bed and floor; it was impossible to tell whether he planned to wash or wear them. All manner of junk was piled on the queen-sized bed, some of it almost beyond human imagination. The lone sock draped over the corner of a laptop was one thing, and the presence of sunglasses and an umbrella wasn’t wholly bizarre, but it would be a stretch to explain the tall hat folded from white paper or the huge jug of cinnabar powder.

All of this clutter had been pushed into a heap, leaving only a nest big enough for one person to lie in—and he’d probably dug out that space just before lying down.


3. Da Qing appears!
As Zhao Yunlan passed through the intersection and decelerated, a black shadow descended from the sky. Like a grenade, a round animal slammed into the hood of his car, nearly denting it. The metal clanged with the impact.

Zhao Yunlan immediately stomped on the brakes, sucking a sharp breath through his teeth. He stuck his head out the window. “This is a motor vehicle, sir, not your litter box! Could you please take it easy?”

Perched on the hood was an utterly black cat. Atop the mere suggestion of a neck was a face like a persimmon; his body was a perfect sphere. With great effort, he sucked in his belly while folding his hind legs beneath him. Only after overcoming those challenges could he extend his front legs—short compared to his round belly—and assume a dignified sitting pose.

This big kitty with his persimmon face took a quick look all around. Seeing no one nearby, his whiskers quivered as he slowly opened his mouth. A rather deep male voice emerged. “Cut the bullshit and get out here. Can’t you smell it?”


4) Meeting Shen Wei
Their gazes met, and they both froze.

Out of nowhere, Is he an instructor or the school hottie? flashed across Zhao Yunlan’s mind.

Something flickered over the hot…instructor’s…face. He seemed to instinctively avoid Zhao Yunlan’s hand but quickly recovered. Clearing his throat, he touched his hand to Zhao Yunlan’s for the merest fleeting instant before letting go. “The honor is all mine. The name is Shen—Shen Wei. I teach here. I’m sorry, I mistook that officer for a student staying behind for the summer.”

Shen Wei’s hand had the chill of a corpse fresh from cold storage. Zhao Yunlan couldn’t help giving him another glance, but Shen Wei refused any eye contact, using the excuse of picking up his scattered lesson plans to avoid his gaze. Zhao Yunlan began to help, and the two of them reached for the same piece of paper at the same time.

Under the circumstances—one of them reaching for his own paper, the other simply trying to help—Zhao Yunlan should have been the one to withdraw. Instead, it was Shen Wei who hastily pulled back, as if burned. His lips were pale, but a trace of crimson tinted his cheekbones.

His entire reaction was peculiar for a first meeting. It was as if he feared Zhao Yunlan, but it was more than that. If a criminal with a guilty conscience came face-to-face with a police officer, in addition to being nervous, they would try to sneak peeks at the officer’s reaction rather than fully avoiding their eyes.

It was all rather baffling. Zhao Yunlan started to observe Shen Wei carefully.

Questions
What impressions did you get from the prologue and first two chapters? What did you enjoy the most? Were you hooked from the beginning? What world-building details caught your eye? Favourite character interaction so far? How does it compare with the drama? What other excerpts did you particularly notice or like? If you're reading in Chinese or a different edition, how do the excerpts above compare? If you're reading the official version, do the illustrations match your idea of the characters? Any other thoughts? (Note: these are just conversation starters. Feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like!)

If you like, as well as discussing the chapters, feel free to introduce yourself. For example, how long you've been in Guardian fandom, whether you've read the novel before, and whether you've seen the drama. Which edition are you reading and in which language? Have you read other Chinese novels or are you new to the genre? If you're not usually on Dreamwidth, feel free to say where people can find you, eg, your tumblr, AO3, etc, handle.


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Comments

[china_shop]

Hi, I'm china_shop, AKA china. I've been in fandom since 2004, and the Guardian drama has been my primary fandom for the last six years. I'd previously watched a ton of Kdramas, but this is my first and only Chinese fandom (I've watched one other Cdrama). Last month I read the novel for the first time, in the official English translation, and was fascinated by the similarities with and differences from the TV adaptation. I still prefer the drama and mostly relate to the novel as an ur-text. :-)

Some point-by-point reactions to the prologue and first two chapters:

• Interesting that it jumps straight in with GCC's first appearance at the SID, vs the drama's prologue and introduction of Professor Shen.
• I do enjoy the level of scene-setting we get for the SID, with its gatehouse and pagoda tree-filled courtyard, and the atmospheric description -- those really work to establish genre, I think.
• Another contrast with the drama: how explicitly the novel is set in China, vs Haixing. I'd love to hear informed thoughts about that and the effect it has on the narrative.
• For a secretive department, it makes sense for the SID to be hidden in a courtyard -- this is the first time I've questioned the drama!SID being right on the street with a plaque declaring its presence. *g*
• Oh, no! Zhao Yunlan being all fuck-off impatient, and then 100% two-faced. But the descriptions are so great ("he walked so fast that wind seemed to rise in his footsteps" and "With his eyes crinkled a little, he seemed as if he might be up to no good—but just the right amount of no good, which lent him an approachable air." for example), and I find fictional smoking hot. *ahem*
• Lao-Wu and Wang Zheng can only work at night. I'm glad they changed that for Wang Zheng in the drama.
• Poor Li Qian! :-(((
• LOL, I adore everything about Zhao Yunlan's flat. (Though, I'm glad this was a later reveal in the drama, once we'd come to know him a bit, and that we got to see it through Shen Wei's eyes; that really worked for me.)
• I love the ghost world-building, eg, Wang Zheng saying, "I told you ages ago to have a professional funeral store make lao-Wu a proper body." I don't know anything about Chinese ghost traditions; is this novel worldbuilding, a genre convention, or more general lore?
• Adore Da Qing's sudden, barely explained appearance and the mix of sarcastic politeness and insult in the way he and Zhao Yunlan talk to each other (that "sir"!!). :D :D :D And awww, Da Qing riding on Zhao Yunlan's shoulder. <3 They are my favourite aspect so far, so solidly family and taking-each-other-for-granted-in-a-good-way.
• Really like the explanation of the SID being inside the Public Security System. "The only problem was that by the time any given case was closed, the culprits were all dead." = genius. And I love Lao-Yang starting to think there's "bullshit afoot." Hee! Little does he know!

• Director Zhao looked to be about thirty years old, which was a little young for the job. He was tall, lean, and very good looking. But his shirt was wrinkled, its top two buttons undone and only half of the hem tucked into his pants. Between that and the veritable bird’s nest on his head, he was rather unkempt.

  LOL, they changed that vibe a bit in the drama: ripped denim instead of "unable to dress himself." I'm not sure which I prefer, actually...

• As he pushed the window open, his gaze inadvertently fell on Guo Changcheng, who was so pale that he seemed like he might drift away. It was clear that his entire view of the world had been toppled and his nerves were tying themselves in a bow. Zhao Yunlan couldn’t help wanting to mess with him. “Okay, kid, get up there and see what’s outside the window.”

  Ohh, that's why he's hanging out the window? In the drama, I was never sure if there was a legit reason or it was just hazing. *g*
• I find the bit with GCC seeing a skeleton outside the window confusing. I can't remember if this is the ghost chasing the Dial or if something else is going on, especially since later it says "the black-cloaked figure in its eyes" and that makes me think of a certain someone. *waits to see*
• So interesting that novel!Shen Wei avoids touch and eye contact, while drama!Shen Wei stares and forgets to let go. But both versions are clearly suspicious and piquing Zhao Yunlan's interest even beyond "he's so pretty!" ♥
• And then, omg, Da Qing's reaction to Shen Wei is The Absolute Best! LOL and *hearts forever*

[mothereader]

I find the bit with GCC seeing a skeleton outside the window confusing. I can't remember if this is the ghost chasing the Dial or if something else is going on, especially since later it says "the black-cloaked figure in its eyes" and that makes me think of a certain someone. *waits to see*

I've read ahead and this bit gets explained in some detail at the beginning of Arc 3.

[trobadora]

the Guardian drama has been my primary fandom for the last six years

*high fives*

Another contrast with the drama: how explicitly the novel is set in China, vs Haixing. I'd love to hear informed thoughts about that and the effect it has on the narrative.

Yeah, same here!

For a secretive department, it makes sense for the SID to be hidden in a courtyard -- this is the first time I've questioned the drama!SID being right on the street with a plaque declaring its presence. *g*

I mean, the novel department has a plaque too, even if a less visible one: Below the building number, a tiny row of words carved into the rock said: Special Investigations Department. Under that was a Public Security logo. *g*

But that's an excellent point about the visibility of the drama's SID - I wonder what people think this department is/does!

Oh, no! Zhao Yunlan being all fuck-off impatient, and then 100% two-faced. But the descriptions are so great ("he walked so fast that wind seemed to rise in his footsteps" and "With his eyes crinkled a little, he seemed as if he might be up to no good—but just the right amount of no good, which lent him an approachable air." for example), and I find fictional smoking hot. *ahem*

I'm indifferent to the smoking, but other than that 100% agreed! ZYL is such a glib smooth-talker when he wants to be, in every incarnation, and the descriptions really are fantastic.

LOL, I adore everything about Zhao Yunlan's flat. (Though, I'm glad this was a later reveal in the drama, once we'd come to know him a bit, and that we got to see it through Shen Wei's eyes; that really worked for me.)

I think the description is fantastic here, but in a visual medium, without that narrative voice, seeing it through Shen Wei's eyes has 100% more impact than any other intro could have. Great adaptational choice!

They are my favourite aspect so far, so solidly family and taking-each-other-for-granted-in-a-good-way.

Daqing is a delight in every incarnation! And I love the two of them ribbing each other.

LOL, they changed that vibe a bit in the drama: ripped denim instead of "unable to dress himself." I'm not sure which I prefer, actually...

I'm having a hard time getting the drama visuals out of my head for the characters, tbh! We'll see if that gets easier. And I like drama!ZYL's deliberately-disreputable looks, but I can't tell yet (and don't remember) what novel!ZYL is dressed like like when he hasn't just jumped out of bed after sleeping in his clothes. *g*

I find the bit with GCC seeing a skeleton outside the window confusing.

I don't remember a lot from my last time trying to read the novel, but I do remember this coming up again.

So interesting that novel!Shen Wei avoids touch and eye contact, while drama!Shen Wei stares and forgets to let go.

Yeah, a very marked contrast here!

And then, omg, Da Qing's reaction to Shen Wei is The Absolute Best! LOL and *hearts forever*

YES!!!!! I really loved that. (Drama!SW would have loved it, too!)

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, it feels more relatable that it's set in China instead of Haixing. Longcheng is still fictional, though.

I also love that so much of the story has been told from more than a ZYL-internal point of view. Guo Changcheng’s POV, lao-Yang’s POV — even the phone call between ZYL and Wang Zheng was really illustrative. The external POVs also adds humor to the narrative voice.

The choice to translate 您老 as “sir” is interesting to me! It’s my first time encountering this form of address, and “sir” is much more polite than my first guess at the connotations. Today I learned.

- circumference

[jayfire]

I don't know how far you've gotten into your read so far so I won't say anything except: there is a reason for Shen Wei's aversion to touch 👀 it's even a pretty good reason too

[autodach]

I absolutely loved the detail of Guo Changcheng coming to the SID at night despite suspecting it’s the wrong time, because he’s too anxious to make a phone call. Immediately establishes his character.
Zhen Hun was my first Priest novel, and this is when I knew she understands humans deeply.

[trobadora]

100% agreed, and I'm really enjoying Xiao-Guo's POV!

[china_shop]

Aww! *pets him* I wonder if that was subtext in the drama, too -- though the reasoning for the late start is much thinner/not really explained. (I just rewatched. It's such a Halloween-y vibe when he first shows up!)

[ride_4ever]

I will be reading the assigned portions this weekend, but not until hours later.

My primary and forever fandoms are due South and Canadian Six Degrees, but the Guardian pimpage of amedia, glymr, and china_shop has been drawing me closer and closer to Guardian fandom for several years...and now here I am. Have seen random episodes of the show and have seen vids, but only now when I'm about to embark on reading the novels via this read-along will I be getting the whole story arc in chronological order.

[trobadora]

Just a word of warning - the novel's story arc and the drama's story arc are ultimately pretty different, so don't get confused if things you've seen or heard about don't fit in!

[china_shop]

*cheers you on* :D

And yeah, what trobadora said. They're definitely cousins rather than siblings. (I hope the discussion here won't be too spoilery for you!)

[amedia]

Eeee, ride_4ever, so glad to see you here!!!

[trobadora]

Hi, I'm Dora, I discovered Guardian back in October 2018, binge-watched the drama, and never stopped being obsessed. *g* I tried the novel at some point, but bounced off some upcoming stuff and then only skimmed the rest. I'd always meant to come back and read it properly - and now I'm actually going to. *g* So far I'm enjoying this a lot!

(I've been in offline fandom since the 90s, on LJ and then DW since 2004, and DW is my home base. I'm multifannish, but the last six years, Guardian has been my main fandom.)

Great choice of quotes! Some random thoughts from me:

• Unable to find a job after graduation, he had stayed at home doing nothing for the larger part of a year. Some time later, his second uncle, who’d begun to rise through the ranks in the Ministry of Public Security, had forged the necessary connections to find a useless job for his useless nephew, to at least give him something to do.
  
  1) Relatable, Xiao-Guo!
  
  2) Interesting – so in the novel is it actually GCC's uncle who gets him into the SID! Or else the narrative voice is outright lying. (It might be! I don't remember! Is it?)


• As soon as he even thought about having to call someone, he felt so stressed that he couldn’t sleep for nights on end.
  He procrastinated in this way until midnight on the day of August 31, and he still hadn’t made the call.
  
  I have never felt such kinship with GCC before. *g*


• And what a perfect solution for this dilemma, turning up at 2.30 am and planning to come back 12 hours later if it turned out to be the error he thought it must be. I have to say, novel!GCC is making a much better (not-quite-)first impression on me than drama!GCC did, presumably due to getting a look into his head at this point.


• Meet the boss? You might as well ask him to go meet a ghost!
  
  LOLOLOL!


• Idk why the translation is going with “Director Zhao”. Director sounds a bit grander to me than 处长?


• What was this stuff about “the seventh lunar month is so busy” supposed to mean? Did criminals have mid-year summary meetings and experience exchange conferences too? Following the lunar calendar?
  
  LOL! I love GCC's eminently reasonable (if genre-unaware) thought processes.


• “I told you ages ago to have a professional funeral store make lao-Wu a proper body. Zhu Hong’s hands are clumsier than her feet. Even the beanbags she sews leak everywhere. No papier-mâché person she makes will ever pass for human.”
  
  Aw, poor Lao-Wu! And also poor Zhu Hong, LOL.


• After hanging up, he yelled in frustration, swore, then took three minutes to wash up before speeding toward University Street.
  
  I love that the yelling in frustration made it into the drama later! Great attention to character detail!


• The massive black cat ignored him and jumped down, hitting the ground with the force of a thunderbolt. Wiggling his butt directly at Zhao Yunlan, he prowled on ahead, radiating majesty and confidence.
  
  Daqing is a delight!


• The organization was very secretive, with no transparency as to what they did or why. Without special permission, the media couldn’t even catch a glimpse of the SID, never mind get close enough to interview them. No one knew what their criminal procedures were or how they built their indictments. The only thing that was clear was that once a case was handed to them, it vanished into a black box. (...) The only problem was that by the time any given case was closed, the culprits were all dead.
  
  Extremely ominous description! *g*


• And ZYL telling the police officer to call him Xiao-Zhao is straight from the novel, excellent!


• But his shirt was wrinkled, its top two buttons undone and only half of the hem tucked into his pants. Between that and the veritable bird’s nest on his head, he was rather unkempt.
  
  LOL! He jumped out of bed and straight into his car, didn't he? Oh, ZYL.


• Mustering up the courage to study Zhao Yunlan more closely, he concluded that, although the overnight shift had done a number on Zhao Yunlan’s appearance, he might be genuinely human.
  
  Seriously, GCC's POV is delightful.


• In a stroke of misfortune, there was a bit of slippery moss on the windowsill; he lost his footing and fell victim to gravity.
  
  Okay, that makes more sense than the drama version, where GCC for some reason is literally dangling outside by a rope! I wonder why they changed that.


• Department of translation choices: "tongxue" is a weird thing to have in pinyin, imo. I can't see the point.


• Guo Changcheng replied, “N-no need, I’m n-n-not…”
  
  Novel!GCC deals better with falling from a window than drama!GCC! But then, the drama skips some of the other things that establish GCC's fearfulness, so I guess they moved some of that here.


• Under the circumstances—one of them reaching for his own paper, the other simply trying to help—Zhao Yunlan should have been the one to withdraw. Instead, it was Shen Wei who hastily pulled back, as if burned. His lips were pale, but a trace of crimson tinted his cheekbones.
  
  Fascinating, and completely different from the drama!


• But what’s not different is that ZYL is instantly interested, and instantly suspicious.


• That was the nature of Shen Wei’s appearance. The longer you looked, the more his beauty was revealed.
  
  It’s fascinating how spot on that is for my reaction to drama!Shen Wei. IIRC I even said so when I first watched – at first glance Zhao Yunlan is more my type, but Shen Wei has the kind of face that just grows more and more gorgeous the longer you look at it.


• This lordly cat, normally gluttonous and lazy, noble and cold, had never carried out his obligations as a cat so earnestly before. Zhao Yunlan froze at the sight of him shamelessly nuzzling into Shen Wei’s pant leg. Daqing even looked up, as if kissing up to Shen Wei, and stretched his laughably short front legs toward Shen Wei’s knees, begging to be held.
  
  Awww DQ!!!! And another big difference to the drama! Whereas the ensuing dialogue is the same again.

Biggest difference apart from the genre trappings so far: SW actively avoiding ZYL.

[china_shop]

so in the novel is it actually GCC's uncle who gets him into the SID! Or else the narrative voice is outright lying.

The narrative is lying. :-)

I have never felt such kinship with GCC before. *g*

LOL! I'm the opposite. The novel just made me appreciate drama!Guo Changcheng even more. I wonder if that will change on the re-read, though.

I love GCC's eminently reasonable (if genre-unaware) thought processes.

Yes! I always love it when characters are genre/trope/narrative-unaware. It makes them so much realer.

I love that the yelling in frustration made it into the drama later!

Yes, I noticed that too. I love that I can "hear" the yell. :D

He jumped out of bed and straight into his car, didn't he? Oh, ZYL.

He took three whole minutes to wash up! *g*

Biggest difference apart from the genre trappings so far: SW actively avoiding ZYL.

Yes! And also, Da Qing being in cat form all the time...

[trepkos]

Poor Guo - Zhao Yunlan seems much more grumpy with him than in the TV show!

[china_shop]

Yeah, in the TV show, Zhao Yunlan left a lot of the hazing to the rest of the team (and is also just plain nicer, I think? for all his flaws). *pets Guo Changcheng*

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, I’m circumference, and I seem to have lost my Dreamwidth password :( I watched Guardian way back when it was airing in 2018, and this fucking show single-handedly dragged me 1) back into fandom after fifteen or so years, 2) into the world of Chinese dramas, and 3) kicked off a stint of Chinese learning which is still ongoing. I have a lot of love for the series, and now I’m taking a second crack at the novel!

I only read the prologue and chapter 1 this time because my chapter numbering is off and I thought I was reading 1 & 2, but I will catch up next week!

My notes from the reading:

I’m delighted by how much the notice to report letter sounds like ZYL, though I only know ZYL from the drama at this point. Makes me think that the drama must have adapted the character perfectly.

Like, the enthusiastic exhortations to follow the leader’s wishes and be on brotherly terms with his coworkers, as well as calling GCC a brother-in-arms and a comrade in his sign-off: IDK why, but this feels like exactly something drama Zhao Yunlan would say. Something about being familiar and assuming a high level of competence, maybe.

I also found the lines about phonecall-phobia very relatable, haha.

Lao-Wu was some rich family’s butler in the drama, right? Not a member of the SID?

I adored the description of ZYL’s bedroom as being so horrifically messy that the scene carves itself into your bones 😆

And of course, lao-Yang’s bewilderment and later discomfort about da-Qing and what the hell ZYL’s deal is was really funny.

-circumference

[china_shop]

Hi there, and welcome! (I've now turned off anon comment screening for this entry, jsyk. Sorry about that!)

I’m delighted by how much the notice to report letter sounds like ZYL, though I only know ZYL from the drama at this point.

Oh, that's a great point. (I'd really love to know how much all that "obey, love and stand in unity" language is used in China and how much it's fiction.)

Which version of the novel are you reading, btw?

Lao-Wu was some rich family’s butler in the drama, right? Not a member of the SID?

Ohhh, wow, I hadn't put him together with Wu Tian'en at all. *facepalm* I wonder if he's intended to be the same character, or if it's just a naming coincidence. IIRC, lao-Wu doesn't get a lot to do in the novel.

I adored the description of ZYL’s bedroom as being so horrifically messy that the scene carves itself into your bones 😆

ME TOO! :D :D :D :D :D

And yes, poor lao-Yang with his "what is all this? I smell bullshit!" perfectly accurate take. :D

[china_shop]

Oh, btw, I saw this in jayswing101's tags:

# also btw for anyone else who starts reading it
# in the simplified chinese version of the novel the date on the letter guo changcheng presents in the first chapter is august 1st 2012 :)
# idk why it's marked as x year，x month x day in the english bc the simplified has 2012年8月1日

[(Anonymous)]

It’s marked with Xs in my version:
“X年X月X日”

Possibly a later change?

[shadaras]

Yay, read-along! :D I have not actually done the reading (need to acquire a copy of the official translation), but I did read the fan translation a few years ago (before watching the drama), and I'm delighted this is starting! You can see my post-reading notes here (mostly non-spoilery in the post, more potential spoilers in the comments) from that initial read!

Something fascinating about the fan translation I read: it was in present tense and primarily used only the characters' surnames to refer to them. This was mostly not confusing but did have the side effect of making it harder to keep track of characters, especially minor/side characters. The tense thing I didn't have any feelings about, but the overall effect was very different from every other fan translation I've read!

I recall being surprised that we started in GCC's POV when I first read the novel! I'd heard so much about Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei, and so little about other characters, that I had no idea what to expect. I did very much enjoy the spooky vibes of the SID's introduction and how GCC was trying very hard to be polite and not freak out too visibly.

Daqing is always a delight. <3 He's so snarky and such a cat!

[trobadora]

The physical edition is really pretty, if you were wondering which to get. :)

Something fascinating about the fan translation I read: it was in present tense and primarily used only the characters' surnames to refer to them.

I tried the fan translation back then, but I didn't actually remember that! And the later edited version that's mentioned in the comments to your post fixed the names, I'm sure. (The surnames-only thing sounds so off to me now!)

And I wonder what goes into choosing a tense for translation! I'm generally good with either past or present, but prefer past tense a bit, and in this case I think it definitely works better. *g*

(Thanks for linking your notes! That was interesting to go back to.)

I recall being surprised that we started in GCC's POV when I first read the novel! I'd heard so much about Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei, and so little about other characters, that I had no idea what to expect.

Hee! The drama of course starts with a voiceover intro and then Shen Wei, but our introduction to the SID is still through Xiao-Guo. Which makes a lot of sense, of course! But I wasn't very fond of him at all at the beginning, though of course he grew on me soon; novel!GCC made a better first impression on me. The difference it makes seeing the inside of someone's head! *g*

Daqing is always a delight. <3 He's so snarky and such a cat!

SUCH a cat! :D

[cathyw]

Hi! I have two translations (the official translation and a fan translation by RainbowSe7en) and I'm kind of comparing them as I read - because I noticed the official translation was missing one of my favorite bits from the fan translation.

So far (end of the prologue, I'm behind, woe!) the official translation is
- nicer to Xiao-Guo than the fan translation (doesn't spend as much time harping on his uselessness, left out a sentence at the end of the prologue about how he fainted away)
- more Chinese - RainbowSe7en translated "lao-" and "xiao-", and toned down/translated some of the language about the bureaucracy (Xiao-Guo's notice was printed in "big red letters" vs the official translation's "very official Communist-red print".)

I'd really love to be able to read it in Chinese, but I don't think I'm actually up for that just yet.

[trobadora]

Ooh, that's fascinating, thank you for comparing! I wonder if they deliberately toned town Xiao-Guo's uselessness and left out that line, if they just accidentally skipped it, or if they were working with a slightly different edit of the original ...

I'm definitely in favour of "xiao" and "lao" over translating them!

I just went and looked at the fan translation and the Chinese. In the prologue, before the last sentence, the fan translation has:

Two seconds later, Guo Changcheng passed out without a sound.
His frozen body lay straight on the floor.

The Chinese (here on JJWXC) has an additional bit that's not in the fan translation either - hilarious if I'm parsing it right:

——对，由于不想显得太蠢，还省略了翻白眼的工序。

"- yes, because he didn't want to look too stupid, he even skipped the procedure of rolling his eyes." Hee!

I wish I could read the Chinese too, but that's way way beyond me.

[ride_4ever]

I've read the prologue and the first two chapters!

I'm not going to be much of an asset to this comm as I'm crap at literary critiques, but this comm is sure an asset to ME because it will keep me on track with reading Guardian, which is something I really want to do and I generally have problems with reading long works (whether profic or fanfic) because of my VAST.

The worldbuilding and the character descriptions are so well-done. They grabbed me right from the start and didn't let go!

Question to the comm re: novel versus televised drama: is the very negative portrayal of Guo Changcheng in the novel similar to in the drama, or is it toned down in the drama?

[trobadora]

Yay for reading, and great to hear it grabbed you right away! I'm 100% with you relying on the readalong to keep me on track. :)

At the start of the drama, Guo Changcheng is also portrayed pretty much as a joke - but that changes as the story develops and we see more of him, and he grows. I can't compare very well because I remember so little of the novel, but in the drama, he already has moments in the second episode where he started winning me over.

And no need to do any kind of literary critique, you can just talk about what you enjoyed (or didn't enjoy)!

[yaaurens]

I'm a dummy who thought we were starting reading this weekend, not starting discussing this weekend, so I will get caught up asap! But I'm enjoying reading everyone's thoughts so far!

[trobadora]

No worries, just join in whenever you get there! Glad you're enjoying the comments, so am I. :D

[jayfire]

This is my first time reading the official translation, but I've read two different fan translations, and there were a few differences I noticed. I'm not sure how much the differences might be down to using different references/versions of the Chinese, but there were a few differences for sure!

The first time I read the book, the way Guo Changcheng was described in the fan-translation was so mean and honestly made it hard to like him at first. But the official translation was fun to read, and while it did poke fun at him a bit, it was a lot nicer and more humorous.

Also xiao Guo going to his first day at 2:30am even though he thinks it's a typo, but he still shows up just in case, is *so* relatable!! I too would show up at a random time in the middle of the night instead of calling to see if it was a typo lol

Li Qian, the brief mention we have of her so far, is also described differently here. In the fan-translation I read, I remember her being quite bitter, and the bit where she's talking to the shadow, she sneers and mocks it. Even while being scared, the bitterness is more obvious than her fear. But in the official version, her fear is a lot more prominent. The only real sign we have that she's feeling something other than fear is the comment, Are you guilty? If not, why are you afraid of the shadow?

Da Qing’s entrance is so iconic, I love him so much. He really is the King of Cats

Love that in every version, Zhao Yunlan sees Shen Wei and is instantly like "pretty. Wow. Wait. Suspicious? Pretty. Pretty AND Suspicious. I should get to know him better."

I had forgotten how fun the novel is, and now I'm struggling to remember that it's not a good idea to keep reading when I have work in the morning and it's already almost 1am where I live.

[china_shop]

Hi and welcome (again)! Very much looking forward to your observations about differences between the versions, yay! :D

As someone quite fond of drama!Guo Changcheng, I'm really happy they softened up the descriptions of him. The kinder humour really works for me. (Sounds like it's a good thing I didn't read earlier versions! *g*)

That's really interesting about Li Qian, too. I like how they leave her feelings a little ambiguous -- I think this also helps: Her expression slowly contorted into something strange—a look of fear, or perhaps resentment. Which helps set up her storyline while still making her pitiable, I think? *pets her*

Haha, yes, novel!Da Qing is amaaazing!

Love that in every version, Zhao Yunlan sees Shen Wei and is instantly like "pretty. Wow. Wait. Suspicious? Pretty. Pretty AND Suspicious. I should get to know him better."

Yes, it's a fantastic progression. It's such catnip. *g*

I wasn't expecting the novel to be so much fun, either; it kept making me laugh out loud. I'm really looking forward to revisiting it. :D

(Sleeeep! <3)

Introduction!

[amedia]

So I actually skipped this whole part of the post above when I jumped in to speculate about peeing ...

If you like, as well as discussing the chapters, feel free to introduce yourself. For example, how long you've been in Guardian fandom, whether you've read the novel before, and whether you've seen the drama.

Hi, I'm Amedia! I've been active in fandom (mostly by writing fic and attending conventions) since the mid-70s, but until 2020 I was only watching British & American shows (Star Trek, Doctor Who, the usual). I got pulled into C-drama fandom by the Untamed songvids at Escapade in February 2020 and began watching The Untamed shortly after lockdown began. TODS (my spouse/live-in beta reader) and I enjoyed it a lot, and wanted to watch more C-drama, and people in fandom recommended Guardian. So we began watching that.

At the same time, I was reading Untamed fics and watching Untamed vids and enjoying them, but the part of my brain that leaps up and embraces a fandom and wants to dive headlong into it had not awakened.

Then came the Guardian episode where Guo Changcheng is unhappy about the conclusion of the Merit Brush arc - and Chu Shuzhi reaches over as if to Gibbs-slap him on the back of the head, but instead *pets his hair* and says, "What's wrong with you, dumbass?" At that precise moment, the crazyobsessedfangirl part of my brain whirred into life and focused its attention on Guardian - this would have been around the middle of 2020 and it hasn't let up since!!!

This is my first time reading the novel, and I'm reading the English translation published by Seven Seas. It's the first Chinese novel I've read and I'm thrilled with it so far!

Re: Introduction!

[circumference_pie]

Nice to meet you!

Introduction

[salamandras]

Hi! I'm Salamandras, and I've been some level of fannish since I was introduced to due South in about 2002, although I didn't have a fandom for a good decade or more. In spring of 2020 I needed something to distract me, and pretty pictures on my feed enticed me to give Guardian a try. Probably something china_shop posted, since I don't think anyone else I followed had watched it and posted about it, but I don't remember exactly. I fell hard and had the theme song playing on repeat in my head for months. :)

I read a fan translation a few years ago, and it didn't really resonate with me, but seeing quotes from the official translation are making me want to try it! I just haven't ordered it yet... I'm also likely to be snail slow at adding to the conversation, but I'll give it a good try.

I'm enjoying reading people's comments, and I'm especially interested in the differences in translations and with the original Chinese.

Re: Introduction

[amedia]

Glad to meet you!

There really seems to be a due South to Guardian fandom pipeline, doesn’t there? I have been gradually getting into due South over the past few years (thanks largely to the influence of ride_4ever) and I keep meeting people who are fans of both.

[konshokoentaiko]

Hello! I hadn’t heard of Guardian before but I saw this event in fandomcalendar and thought the story’s synopsis seemed interesting, so I decided to try and tag along for this read-along! I’m having fun with the story so far and looking forward to reading more.

First impressions:
- I kind of have a soft spot for Guo Changcheng, I can empathize with him hahaha. I hope he gets some character development later on. I also feel like you could read him as having a puppy crush on Zhao Yunlan which is fun for me.
- I don’t have many specific thoughts on the worldbuilding but I did think the prologue built up the atmosphere of the story really well.
- Da Qing the cat is super cute
- I loved Zhao Yunlan’s introduction of having a stormy expression which switches to friendliness like a “master actor.” Other than that, still reserving thoughts on him and Shen Wei for future chapters!

[china_shop]

Hello, and welcome!! So happy to have you here, and to hear you're having fun with the story so far. Yay! :D

I kind of have a soft spot for Guo Changcheng, I can empathize with him hahaha.

Hee! Going by the comments, you're far from the only one.

I also feel like you could read him as having a puppy crush on Zhao Yunlan which is fun for me.

I actually wondered about that in the drama. In the novel, yeah, Zhao Yunlan is so capable and and handsome and he acts so nice to Guo Changcheng, it would be amazing if Guo Changcheng's head wasn't turned at least a little: Zhao Yunlan is an oasis of kindness in this terrifying new world! *pets him*

I loved Zhao Yunlan’s introduction of having a stormy expression which switches to friendliness like a “master actor.”

Yesss! He's so two-faced! *g*

Looking forward to your thoughts on future developments, too!! :D