Chinese GL

I've finished translating the two extras for Purely by Accident (纯属意外, pinyin: chun shu yiwai). The first extra sees Zisong and Feichen in their new home, dealing with visitors welcome and unwelcome alike. The second is from an outsider perspective — a young hunter decides to join Zisong's outlaw band (or is it Feichen's outlaw band, or do they swap), and is completely mystified by the goings-on he sees around him. The translation can be read here. I still need to go through the whole of the text and revise it properly, but as of today there's no new translation text to be generated.

I thought I would write some brief reflections on the novel, why I chose it as a project, and the experience of translating long-form prose fiction for the first time.

( about the novel )

( my thoughts on the novel; some potentially spoilery details )

( why I chose this project )

( brief reflections on translation )

The next project is going to be a wuxia baihe short story, which I already have a first draft for, so hopefully it won't be too long before I can publish it.

Fully three years and 41 days after I posted the first chapter, my translation of Purely by Accident (纯属意外, pinyin: chun shu yiwai) by Leng Qian Shan (冷千山) is finally complete. The translation can be read here. And here's the summary (which I wrote, because it didn't have one originally):

Through an unlikely series of events, bandit chief Wei Zisong — who was raised as a boy for Reasons — finds herself engaged to Chu Feichen, the emperor’s eldest daughter. Through an even more unlikely series of events, they fall in love.

I'm going to write more about the novel itself and why I chose it as a starter project at some point, but for now, one thing I'd like to note is: this book is, intriguingly, almost perfectly legible as an Anglo-published historical romance novel, up to and including the traditional third-act break-up and reconciliation.

There are of course still a number of things I need to do before I officially wrap up the project. The novel has two post-ending extra chapters, which of course I'm going to translate. Then I'm going to edit the whole thing one more time, ready for x_los (whom I'm extremely lucky to have as my editor) to look at. Once all the revisions have been implemented, I'm going to create epub/pdf/whatever digital format people are into versions of the translation, and if possible, talk a friend who knows about bookbinding into helping me with some physical versions (trying not to look meaningfully at momijizukamori). Oh, and I need to finish subtitling the audio drama adaptation as well. One thing that would help me immensely is if anyone could (or suggest someone who could) help me with a cover image for the eventual digital version. It wouldn't need to be complicated, or involve character art (although I would be delighted if someone decided to produce character art!), just a nice typeface and suitable background images would do.

In addition to general reflections on the project, I'm also planning to write at least one more post (similar to this one) focusing on selected technical aspects of the translation process.

And then, on to the next translation project, which I'm fairly sure no one can guess, and then on to the next next translation project, which I'm sure people who have been following my constant ramblings will have a pretty good idea about already (if not the book, then at least the author).

After having been derailed for a few weeks by (1) house renovations and (2) tedious family financial and health issues that involved travelling to a different continent and back, I finally managed to get back on track with the translation of Purely by Accident, picking up where I left off with Chapter 34.

Anyway there's this bit where the princess comes to wake Zisong up so they can pay a call on her grandmother as a newly-married couple and Zisong does this:

Plaintively, I brought one of her hands to my mouth and gnawed gently on it.

Which just, for whatever reason, struck me as an Extremely Married thing to do.

Also I do not know why I'm translating a mere makeout scene (which to be fair, does include some tit/nipple action, which I can only assume is why the chapter is currently locked and inaccessible on JJWXC) the way Neil Gaiman wrote 'Tastings'. I am definitely getting soft in my old age.