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Mo Dao Zu Shi rereading || Intro
🕑 Added 2023-12-03 12:17:47 +0000 UTCHi everyone!!
So just like I said, with the start of December I will pause my art making in order to "charge" myself by reading the novel again and consuming the adaptations ( I think I'll go with the donghua and the audio drama).
It's been 3 years since I read it so I start to forget things, and I want to read it again to regain those memories, love and emotion for the best story in the world, so that I could come back with new and better art for you!
And since you guys showed an interest to my commentary, here I am doing it. So glad you want to join me in my recharging process hahaha
I want to clarify that I'll be reading the Exiled Rebels Translations (the first and only translation I read 3 years ago and therefore I'm very sentimental about it). Luckily I saved the text on my PC and can read it again even though they deleted it 😭 I know this translation isn't perfect, but it was good enough for me, and I'd choose it anytime over the "ferocious in the sack" version of the official 7seas translation. (EVEN THOUGH I DID BUY THE BOOKS TO SUPPORT MXTX MY GODDESS).
Yes, here they are. I love their design and of course the AMAZING arts, both the covers, the illustrations and the guest artists works. But that's it. I won't actually read from them.
(as you can see I also have the 2 first volumes of 2ha, and I plan to read it next. 👀)
I won't be making commentary about every single paragraph in the story, even though I really think that every piece of it is genius. Please note that I will be following the ExR translation's chapter division, but have no worries, you will probably understand the context throughout the reading. I'll be making commentary about specific parts which caught my attention, that I noticed and loved both in my first reading, or that I noticed after reflecting, in my second reading.
The main reason I love Mo Dao Zu Shi so much (and there are many), is that I find the characters very relatable. When I read about each character, their traits, their thought process, their experience that lead them to be the way they are, I can think of similar people in my real life. I can draw parallels between a fantasy world set in historical ancient China, to my real life in the modern age. I especially love Wei Wuxian and his character, because the timing of me first reading the novel sat perfectly with the experience I myself went through.
You see, I was in my first year of my Master degree and that was already after 4 years of dedicating my time and money to the university. Since I was a little kid, I was taught to excel in my studies and in my grades. I was the best student in every class. I went to a private middle school and high school, with the focus on math and science because my family thought that this was the way I'd be "settled" in life. My entire life was about studying random subjects the society decided was important, even if I hated it, and getting high scores for it. And even when I finally finished school and decided that I've had enough of STEM and that I wanted to pursue liberal arts, that feeling never stopped. I excelled in my classes, read all the sources, passed the tests and the essays with very high scores. But then, after it was over, I asked myself - now what? Do I have to go to the real world and find a job? Who'd take me with what I studied? I was at a loss. So what did I do? The best thing I could do - go back to studies. So I signed up for another degree. More time and money lost.
But during my BA I met the man who'd be my husband. We were the same age but he wasn't in a university. In fact he was a very bad and lazy student in school. I urged him to enlist into a university (also because I thought that my family would never accept me dating someone with no higher education) but also because back then I myself thought that people are successful only if they follow the right path of studying what everybody studies in the academy, to get your diploma and go find a job. And even though he didn't want to, he did listen to me and eventually enlist, and he hated it. He hated to get up early in the morning, to ride the bus, to sit there in a closed space, to have his ideas silenced because they didn't fall right with the consensus in the academy, and because he realized that he spent money and time on something that's holding him back, when he could've been doing so much more instead. And so he dropped the subject that he never really wanted to study in the first place, dropped out of uni right in the middle of it, and returned to working on his own projects. He got up when he wanted to, ate when he wanted to, took breaks when he wanted to, but at the same time he studied by himself the things HE wanted to study, and created by himself his own projects, that today are actually making him money, and give him joy.
And through our time together, he was laughing at me now and then, for being so serious in my studies, even though they are not really important for the necessities of real life. He thought that university is useless, and that everyone can study many things by themselves, learn practical things in real life by themselves, and to create amazing things.
And the more time passed I started to feel the same. Covid hit and as we sat in our homes I realized that I do have a lot of knowledge in many fields. But I'm so stupid in matters of real life. I studied things that were very interesting! But how do those things help me in life? And here I am after a one and a half degree, stuck doing nothing, while my boyfriend studied things by himself, on his own terms, managed to create his own projects and to start working, and actually made an impact. So who was right? My family? The university staff? The society?
That's why when I read MDZS, the thing that I could relate the most to, was Wei Wuxian's character as opposed to Lan Wangji's character.
Lan Wangji was the student that excelled in everything. He followed all the rules. He made sure everyone followed the rules, and if anyone broke the rules, he didn't like it, because that's how he was brought up.
Wei Wuxian was the opposite. He hated studying in class, but that doesn't mean that he was stupid or wasn't curious about pursuing knowledge on his own terms, knowledge that HE wanted to study. He hated waking up early, because he didn't think it has anything to do with how smart, successful or good you are. He didn't sit properly, he argued with his teachers, he knew his material but he still dared to question and to come up with other stuff. He did not go by the book. The rules were ridiculous in his eyes. And yet he still came up with the greatest inventions for the cultivation world.
He often tells the juniors that the things they are taught in their sects are useless (like sect history and who married who etc), and that they ought to study the real practical things that have to do with their real world (types of monsters, how to deal with them, how to look for clues etc).
I also think that the more the story progresses, the more Lan Wangji starts to see things through Wei Wuxian's eyes. The more the time passes we see him detaching himself bit by bit from the strict world he grew up in, and maybe starting to see that following the rules doesn't always mean you're doing the right thing, or that acting according to your society's decorum and expectations doesn't make you a good or a better person.
Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were born into a world that urges one to act in a certain way, think in a certain way, and speak in a certain way. While Lan Wangji acted accordingly to all of that and was perceived as successful by his peers, Wei Wuxian's spirit couldn't do that. He wanted to do things his own way, to explore things that the society doesn't want you to know, and to dare do impossible things. I always like how he said that there was a time when people didn't think that flying on swords was possible, meaning that every unimaginable thing can be achieved if you just think outside of the box, and that it only takes to dare step out of the confines of the consensus to build a new reality. While Lan Wangji followed the rules in the box, Wei Wuxian was the creative guy who stepped out of it. And guess which one made the real impact on their world? And personally I think, that Lan Wangji saw and understood that too. I think this was part of the reason he was attracted to Wei Wuxian, and why he loved him so much. Because he was different than him, did everything Lan Wangji didn't dare to do, or didn't think to do, yet in the end, Wei Wuxian did turn to be the better person out of the other important personas of the cultivation world.
That's really just the tiny tip of it, and I could go on and on, and also please pardon me if the text wasn't clear enough, English is not my native language, so it's apparent that I can't put out my real thought process out there in words.
This here was only just one example of how I find this story relatable to my own life and my own development as a person with thoughts and beliefs. I will probably stress those points out throughout my commentary, so you will see more of it hahaha
Anyways, I'd love to know your own ideas about these and those parts I'll share and comment about.
So Let's start!
MDZS commentary chapters 1-10
Comments
I SAVED THE FOOTNOTES TOO!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHHA They were my first real glimpse to Chinese culture and history! I hold a special place in my heart for those footnotes! Wei Wuxian is the best character ever no kidding! Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for your input! I really enjoyed reading it, and I think I really agree! "I love the human mind and how people think. I love understanding people and their behaviours and choices and this book is full of VERY REAL people. They’ve been written by someone who understands people. What drives us and how we act - the good and the bad. The villains have their reasons and the heroes have their flaws. " THIS SO MUCH! This is the main thing I adore about the story. Really, I came here for gay and noticed that I actually loved the PLOT and the other characters too. I can't hate any character in this book, all of them are so cleverly built, each character's belief and way of thinking is like a representation not only to people's personalities but to schools of philosophy too, for example, different understandings of justice. The political world in it IS SO RELATABLE too, I read many books, but none managed to represent the real world in such simple sentences as Mo Dao Zu Shi. "I was supposed to be one of those kids that flourishes in academia and it didn't quite work out. I very much wanted to pursue a higher education but I literally cannot (it’s brain damage). I'm mostly self taught, in the end. " You're so awesome!!! TT^TT KUDOS TO YOU! I admire you! "ur higher education is somewhat confused. It favours those who conform over creative thinkers very strongly in part because those are the ones who are most likely to do well and go on to be teachers. It’s also used as a way of avoiding training by employers that doesn't always work out and by managers who assume it is things it isn't - some creative and tech degrees promise things they cannot deliver on but are made requirements anyway." THISSS Ahh thank you again for the comment <3
Sophia Diaz
I am so here for this ride! I love the ExR version too, that’s how I originally read it. Loved the footnotes the most there to be honest. I saved it too 🤣🤣🤣 I agree Wei Wuxian so much. He’s one of my favorite MC of all time. He’s such a complex and beautiful and true to himself character. The journey was one of my favorites. I’m so looking forward to your thought! And your English is great 😘
E S
Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with us, it's interesting how people's experiences shape them. I would say that lwj does also have a HUGE impact on the world, but his impact is more intimate - he helps people without political power. And he does it for about 10 years. He goes where the chaos is. Which is exactly what he’s not supposed to do with his perfect self - perfect education, perfect behaviour, perfect image (and imperfect breeding, because this novel likes mirrors). He learns that walking the well paved road doesn't get him anything he wants, and doesn't help the people who need it most the hardest of ways, and adapts accordingly. He’s not SUPPOSED to be the best of his generation and just help anyone. But he does, because it’s right and he’s learned that mindless obedience doesn't lead anywhere good. He also changes the way the next generation is treated and trained - wwx notices, and observes that someone had to have trained the kids to use his tools, and it wasn't lqr. That’s the thing i love about this book most. Everyone is imperfect, and nearly every character has good reasons for their choices - the good guys fuck up and the bad guys get there from entierly reasonable positions. Everyone could have made better choices but at the same time did what their natures dictated. I love the human mind and how people think. I love understanding people and their behaviours and choices and this book is full of VERY REAL people. They’ve been written by someone who understands people. What drives us and how we act - the good and the bad. The villains have their reasons and the heroes have their flaws. The only person to fix their shit before something terrible happened was jzx (hats off to you my man so sorry). Much of it goes unsaid which i also appreciate. Wwx doesn't spill his feelings on the page much. I was supposed to be one of those kids that flourishes in academia and it didn't quite work out. I very much wanted to pursue a higher education but I literally cannot (it’s brain damage). I'm mostly self taught, in the end. Losing faith in the well paved path is something that happens to many of us when we see the world. Our higher education is somewhat confused. It favours those who conform over creative thinkers very strongly in part because those are the ones who are most likely to do well and go on to be teachers. It’s also used as a way of avoiding training by employers that doesn't always work out and by managers who assume it is things it isn't - some creative and tech degrees promise things they cannot deliver on but are made requirements anyway. Anyway. I like that I can understand the actions of everyone in this book through a lense of someone who has been learning about people my whole life. They make sense to me. Some (lots) of it is trauma, some is social conditioning, some is personality - as it should be. I love that for all of us ;) it makes alternative scenarios interesting, too. Little tweaks here and there. Anyway (again), i look forward to your thoughts as you go through the novel and adaptations ♥️
