Thread by @haitangblossoms

[SPOILER ALERT] thread on wenzhou’s names and how they use poetry references of each other’s names to flirt and express their affection for each other (*coughs* flex their literary prowess) in shl:

#山河令 #shanheling #shl #WordofHonor #wenzhou #WenKexing #ZhouZishu

disclaimer: the name poetry references i’ll be explaining in this thread are not from the original tyk novel, but were added by xiaochu in the script for shl so it is NOT CANON!

most of the analysis that i’ll be doing in this thread are based off cnets’ posts and videos, so credit goes to them for the analysis! (link to an amazing series of videos made by someone on bilibili which inspired me to make this thread)

https://twitter.com/haitangblossoms/status/1378793304200908803

ZHOU ZISHU (ZHOU XU)
after leaving tianchuang, zzs goes by the fake name zhou xu (周絮).
surname: ZHOU 周 - lit. surrounding, entire, thoroughly (he keeps his surname zhou)
(fake) given name: XU 絮 - lit. floss/cotton-like object
he uses this name when introducing himself in ep2

wkx asks about the character for xu (given name), and zzs replies: “the one for willow catkins (lit. willow floss)”. in response, wkx praises his name and recites the lines 周而不比, 身如飞絮, expanding on the 2 characters in his name (official eng trans in the screenshot below)

the first half of this line 周而不比 is referenced from the analects of confucius《论语》, where it goes 君子周而不比，小人比而不周 (the superior man is catholic and not partisan, the mean man is partisan and not catholic).

here the quality of 周而不比 means all-embracing, equal and inclusive and not biased or leaning towards anyone, which is characteristic of a gentleman. here wkx is implying that zzs has that characteristic and is hence a true gentleman.

as for the second half, 身如飞絮 (your body/form is as light as willow catkins flying in the wind), this can be taken at face level as wkx praising zzs’ martial arts skills and superior qinggong.

BUT...if you look at the original poem it references (徐再思 (xu zaisi)’s《折桂令·春情》), this line is used to describe the demeanour of a lady pining after her beloved, where her body, heart and spirit seems to be floating away with the thoughts of her faraway lover.

so if you dig deeper into this, wkx is also implying that zzs is like a beautiful lady pining over someone...which...ahem, yeah 🤪

real given name: ZI 子 - lit. child;
SHU 舒 - lit. comfortable and easy

literally means ‘child of comfort and ease’, his parents probably wanted him to have a comfortable and easy life 🥺

in ep25 after they return to four seasons manor and are having a heart-to-heart over drinks, they start talking about their names, and wkx takes the chance to praise zzs’ name, expanding on the characters 子 (zi) and 舒 (shu) and reciting 执子之手，坐看云舒 (youku’s trans in ss)

the first line here references a line in the 诗经 (shijing, classic of poetry): 执子之手，与子偕老 (i will hold your hand, and grow old together with you) - wkx skips the second part about growing old together, and continues to another line:

坐看云舒 (sitting and looking at the clouds unfolding)

this references a couplet by 洪应明 (hong yingming): 宠辱不惊，看庭前花开花落；去留无意，望天空云卷云舒, which basically talks about how he doesn’t care about worldly things like getting fame and recognition, and is free to-

- go wherever he wants, carrying the mindset of being in peaceful observance of nature, watching the flowers bloom and wither, and the clouds in the sky gather and disperse, just like how life works.

this is very apt in describing post-tianchuang zzs, with him leaving his post in tianchuang to lead a free life away from worldly affairs. but this coupled with the first line “i will hold your hand” can also be taken to mean that wkx wishes to be zzs’ companion and retreat to -

- somewhere quiet and peaceful, far away from politics and rivalry, and lead a simple and happy life together.

WEN KEXING (ZHEN YAN):
birth name: YAN 衍 - lit. to overflow, multiply, develop
new name: KE 客 - lit. guest, traveller
XING 行 - lit. to go, to carry out

in ep20 when zzs realises wkx’s identity as zhen yan, his long lost shidi, he says "divide the character yan (衍), doesn’t it mean kexing (客行)?” OK so this is pretty confusing even for chinese speakers, i’ll try my best to explain this.

so the character for yan is 衍, which can be divided into two words, 行(xing as in wkx’s name) and 氵(the radical for ‘water’, or 水). if you take the words 行 + 水, you will be able to reference a line in a poem titled 次北固山下 by 王湾(wang wan) that goes:

行舟绿水前 (i sail my boat to the fresh waters before me). the line that precedes this in the poem goes 客路青山外 (i am a traveller roving by the green mountains).

so in the first two lines of this poem, “客路青山外, 行舟绿水前”, you’ll notice that the first character of each line put together becomes 客行 (kexing), forming wkx’s name. in addition, the green (青qing) mountains in the first line of the poem can be taken to mean mount qingya.

this poem is about a traveller who misses home, which is befitting of wkx’s backstory :( wkx’s new name he gave himself after going into the ghost valley literally means ‘wanderer/traveller on a journey’, which implies that he’s always wandering outside without a home.

in ep25 after they return to four seasons manor (same scene as zzs’ above), when zzs asks wkx about his name, wkx laments 我本天涯孤鸿，无根行客 (i am after all a lone migratory swan goose travelling to the far ends of the world, a traveller with no roots).

the second half of the line references the poem《忆少年·别历下》by 晁补之, which is a poem about the melancholy of being a traveller outside of home for many years, missing his bygone days spent together with his loved ones in a familiar place, but realising that all of that has

changed and will never go back to how it was, leaving him with no home to return to (isn’t this so wkx? 😭😭)

in response, zzs goes “but now...” and talks about how he’s going to rebuild his home at four seasons manor, and how he’s happy that they’re all back home now. they toast to each other’s names, and zzs tells wkx that he can come back to four seasons manor any time he wants to.

wkx freezes hearing this, and in response, zzs stands up and recites a line from the poem《明月何皎皎》that goes: 客行虽云乐，不如早旋归 (although wandering outside is carefree and exciting, but it cannot compare to the joy of returning home as soon as possible).

zzs doesn’t explicitly state that he wants wkx to stay at four seasons manor with him, but by reciting this poem you can easily guess his intention, which is to try and persuade wkx to stay.

an extra tidbit: there is a theory in the fandom about how wkx and gu xiang’s names are related - through this line in the poem《商山早行》by 温庭筠 (wen tingyun): 客行悲故乡 (the traveller (ke xing) wistfully yearns for his hometown (pronounced as gu xiang)).

this can be taken to mean wkx is missing gx (after she dies), and that gu xiang is also like a home to wkx who lost his home at a young age.

moral of the story: study hard so you can flirt like wenzhou by rattling off poems based off your crush’s name to impress them 🤧🤧🤧

so a day after i make this thread avenuex posts her video breaking down the poetry references for shl characters' names, and she goes into some details which i wasn't able to bc of the nature of twitter threads so if you wanna know more do watch this!