#saltyshrimp

Possible spoilers ahead (through drama ep. 18 + DMBJ & NBDA novels)!!!

💬: Uncle, do 🦐 and 🧂 go their separate ways in the end? ✍️: That's for the best, actually.

first, as many cnetz have pointed out, although Zhang Haixia introduces himself and Zhang Hailou as such:

张海虾看着孩子，叹了口气：“我叫张海侠，侠客的侠，他叫张海楼，楼宇的楼，小楼一夜听春雨，咸阳游侠多少年。” Zhang Haixia looked at the children and sighed. "I'm called Zhang Haixiá, xiá as in 'hero' (xiákè). He's called Zhang Hailóu, lóu as in 'tower' (lóuyǔ). I listen all night to the spring drizzle from my small tower; of the heroes of Xianyang [the capital Chang'an], most are young." “这他妈是一句诗么？”张海盐扶起张海虾，对他道，“你不是对礁石上的事情耿耿于怀么，往事你都如此，我再见到这些孩子，总不能不管。” "Is that fucking supposed to be a line of poetry?" Zhang Haiyan helped Zhang Haixia up and said to him, "Aren't you still dwelling over what happened on the reef? Since you're like this about the past, how could I not make it my business when I saw these children in the present?" (drama s1, ep. 3; novel ch. 10)

the two lines that ZHX references are actually from two completely separate poems. 楼 comes from 《临安春雨初霁》 The Spring Drizzle in Lin'an Begins to Clear (陆游 Lu You, Song Dynasty), whereas 侠 comes from 《少年行四首》 Four Poems About the Travels of Youth (王维 Wang Wei, Tang Dynasty).

in other words, from the very beginning, 🧂🦐 are a pair that was never supposed to be together—but rather made and forced together, willfully.

also worth noting: ZHL's poem is about growing weary of the world and its splendor, whereas ZHX's is about the vivacious passion of young people... 🥹

many people have also gone back-and-forth about how faithful the drama is to the novel. but 南派三叔 NPSS (both the author of the 盗墓笔记 series and the screenwriter for this drama!) has said that everything he writes can be considered canon. moreoever:

💬: a-Bin, the drama adaptation gave Zhang Haixia the setting of a "black-white" [evil-good] dual personality, but these contents are completely absent from the original work. If this setting is a drama-original creative decision, will it be incorporated into the original work as an Extra later on? ✍️: Wu Xie usually includes alternative (folk) tellings of a story in an appendix. It's difficult to discern which version is the true account, unless one encounters the people who were directly involved—but even then, if those who were directly involved do not wish to speak about it, then there still may well be hidden secrets. xiao-Zhang-ge [Little Brother Zhang] is a person who is especially obstinate in this regard.

and, we can also refer to this excerpt from the WeChat Extra 【霹雳州成员侧写】 Profiles of the Perak Members:

这个故事不知道是否有夸张的成分，后来处理的方式也不明朗，之后可以详细写就。整个南洋部分的故事，诡谲异常，非常具有可读性，张海峡在最后的记录里不知所终，问张海盐他神情茫然，只说事件久远，记不清了。 It's unclear to what extent this story was exaggerated, and how the incident was ultimately handled also remains obscure—though it would be worth recounting in full later on. The portion of stories that took place in Nanyang are all mysterious and bizarre, and exceptionally compelling. Zhang Haixia disappears without a trace at the end of the records, and when I asked Zhang Haiyan, he appeared entirely at a loss. All he said was that the events occurred so long ago that he could no longer recall the details. 这个人似乎是一个黑洞，唯一能让我了解他的，只有张海盐，不知道为什么，我觉得这个张海峡，和我有某些共通的地方，他最后怎么了？他的结局是否对于我的结局有参考之处，我非常的好奇。 It's as though this person were a blackhole—and the only person who can help me to understand him is Zhang Haiyan alone. I don't know why, but I feel as though this Zhang Haixia and I share some things in common. What happened to him in the end? I'm very curious to know whether his fate might offer some insight for my own. Note: WX mis-writes ZHX's name as 峡 rather than 侠, demonstrating just how limited his info on the man is...

i used to (semi-jokingly) interpret this section as WX reminiscing on his own relationship with Zhang Qiling and seeing the parallels between their bond and 🧂🦐's... which might still be the case. but with the direction the drama is going now, i think another way to understand all of the above evidence is that whatever truly happened to ZHX (i.e., however the drama ends) was worse than death. ZHL thought that telling WX that ZHX died early on—died on the Nan'an—was more acceptable that his true fate...

so, indeed, what happened to him?

at the time of writing this, there's still ~2 weeks before the drama ends, so i might end up eating my words very soon (lol).

but based on the kinship that WX feels with ZHX, as well as THIS...!:

💬: Uncle, after Zhang Haixia died in the original work, would Zhang Hailou still think of him? When will him remember him? ✍️: Guess what's in the Blind Tomb?

which, for anyone who doesn't know, the Blind Tomb is a huge plothole that NPSS never filled in the main series involving 黑瞎子 Hei Xiazi, the Iron Triangle, 黎簇 Li Cu, and—of course—our Little Brother Zhang... ಥ_ಥ

(already, my mind is flooded with the images of a mindless ZHX who has long-succumbed to the poison being locked away in a tomb...! alive... but at what cost... and he won't be able to recognize anybody through his bloodlust except ZHL... ahhh 不好说不好说)

but to return the point: what happens to ZHX? i think—if indeed his story parallels WX's—he becomes a "monster." or, rather, he discovers he has always been "monstrous" in nature... and he has to learn to deal with that.

just like how our "innocent and naive" WX ended up doing so many unspeakable things during 《沙海》 Sand Sea in ZQL's absence... and then had to cope with the fear of disappointing ZQL when he finally returned ten years later—that WX was no longer as "innocent" as ZQL remembered (and loved) and gave up his life for... ah...

here's another SaltyShrimp & PingXie parallel (NBDA s1, ep. 12 vs ZJBJ s1, ep. 19):

...bringing us back to the start of this rambling, that 🧂🦐 were fated by the heavens to walk two separate paths—but were brought together out of sheer human willfulness.

💬: Third Uncle, how long did it take for 🦐 to come to the decision to accompany 🧂 to Balongzhou? ✍️: He knew in that moment he was going to go, which is why he was extremely angry.

SaltyShrimp choose each other over and over again ಥ_ಥ even if that's in defiance of the will of the heavens... 🧂 whose true nature is a serpent that devours everything... and 🦐 who's represented by the Chinese huamei bird...

just like PingXie, an impossible love story between a "deity" and a mortal. from an interview with NPSS:

南宫苓 ：吴邪在整部书里会不会是最惨的那个人？他和瓶子最后是不是真的要死一个？ "Is Wu Xie the character who suffers the most in the entire book [series]? Does someone between him and Pingzi ['Men You Ping' aka Zhang Qiling] really have to die in the end?" 南派三叔 ：吴邪最惨一生都是一个注定的悲剧，但是老张也不容易。 NPSS: The suffering that Wu Xie goes through in his life is (indeed) a predestined tragedy, but lao-Zhang hasn't had it easy either. 南宫苓 ：然后？ "So then?" 南派三叔 ：延迟了整个悲剧的发生。 NPSS: He delayed the entire unfolding of that tragedy. 南宫苓 ：然后他们了一起杯具了？ "And then they'll meet a tragic fate together?" 南派三叔 ：用自己的一生，再换你十年的天真无邪。 NPSS: "I'll use my own life to trade for another ten years of your innocence."

tl;dr Zhang Haixia becomes (or always was) a monster. Zhang Hailou loves him anyway.

———

ok, two other semi-related things i want to share.

(1) the splendor of humanity

this scene with our main trio watching the fireworks together (s1, ep. 16). the lyrics lay it out pretty plainly: 世间烟火 / the "fireworks" of this world.

i've talked about this metaphor before for a different cdrama, so i won't belabor the point here. but "fireworks" (aka literally "smoke and fire") represent humanity. mortality. the fallibility and impermanence of humankind. the exact antithesis of the Zhang family's godlike existence.

a repeated theme across the DMBJ franchise, with super-human people like Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiaizi... long-lasting humans are not, but love is a luxury only they can afford.

(ugh DYX the actor that you are)

the lanterns in the background also make me think about my fave poem ever 《青玉案 · 元夕》 Qing Yu An: Lantern Festival at Dusk, which you can read a translation by my shimei here! the romance...

众里寻他千百度，蓦然回首，那人却在 灯火阑珊处。 My searching gaze is futile as I scan the thronging crowds; at last I turn, and you are there, in the quiet dark of evening wane.

the Orpheus-Eurydice of it all...

(2) the loneliness of immortality

and of course, among these near-immortals is none other than SaltyShrimp's shifu 张海琪 Zhang Haiqi—who is not only their mentor, but also their mother.

💬: Uncle, I want to know what Godmother's (ZHQ) feelings toward 🧂🦐 are, aaah... It feels as though her emotions run even deeper than 🦐's. ✍️: Zhang Haiqi has taken in and raised so many children—only for most to die violently or betray her. After such a slow and long life—after so many painful farewells—she can't be any more numb. She hopes for an exception, but feels there will never be an exception.

and, finally, a last novel excerpts in honor of this scene (s1, ep. 18):

张海琪擦着手上的颜料，来到了张海虾的面前，她摸着张海虾犹如沉睡的脸颊。蹲了下来。 Wiping off the paints from her hands, Zhang Haiqi came to stand before Zhang Haixia. She touched Zhang Haixia's still face, which appeared as if he were merely in a deep asleep, and then knelt down. 岁月啊，她不知道自己是第几次送走自己的孩子。 Oh, the passing years. She didn't know how many times she'd had to send her own child off. “回家了虾仔。”她轻声对张海虾说道。 "You're home, Xia-zai," she said softly to Zhang Haixia. 这个孩子，从小安静，听话，除了宠着张海盐，没有什么毛病，他总是看着张海琪的眼睛，在上课的时候，在睡觉的时候。他不会去抢夺自己的宠爱，只是在感知妈妈需要什么。 This child, quiet and obedient ever since he was young, didn't really have any other shortcomings, other than spoiling Zhang Haiyan too much. He would always watch Zhang Haiqi's eyes—in class, before sleep. He'd never fight to be doted on; he was only trying to understand what his mom needed. 床边的花从来没有枯萎过，她带的孩子们从来没有走失过，没有邻居告状，没有烧糊过饭。 The flowers by the bed never withered, the children she brought back never went missing; no neighbors ever complained, no meals were ever burnt. 张海侠在的时候，一切犹如精确的钟表一样运转。 When Zhang Haixia was around, everything functioned like a precise clock. 张海侠害怕失去那种平静和幸福，所以他牢牢的守着。 Zhang Haixia was afraid of losing that kind of peace and happiness, so he protected it steadfastly. 张海琪和张海侠额头对额头，孩子的额头冰凉，似北方的冬天，不似在厦门的夏天。 Zhang Haiqi rested her forehead against Zhang Haixia's. Her child's forehead was ice-cold, like the winters of the north, and not at all like the summers of Xiamen. 她抱起张海侠，往后院走去，将其藏在了墓园之中。墓园之中有很多很多的墓碑。每一次都是告别。她无数次的以为自己习惯了。 She picked up Zhang Haixia and walked into the backyard, hiding amongst the cemetery. There were so, many tombstones in the cemetery—every single one was a farewell. Countless times, she'd thought herself accustomed to this. 真的是无论活多久，都不喜欢这种时刻。 But the truth was that no matter how long she'd lived, she'd never enjoy moments like these. 张海琪在墓园外晚风中站立了很久。风中墓碑中吹过，呜咽环绕，呜咽环绕。 Zhang Haiqi stood for a very long time in the night breeze outside the cemetery. The wind blew through the tombstones, like an endless, echoing lament... Like an endless, mournful cry... (novel ch. 46)

Thank you Toby stream was so peak

Finally finished it guys