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Sleuth Resources for Writers

Summary:

Collected links and resources for people (in particular, non-Chinese people) writing in the Sleuth fandom.

Current sections:
* Fandom Culture
* Sleuth Media & Production Resources
* Language inc. Terms of Address
* History inc. Western Depot, Imperial Guard, Eastern Depot, Shuntian Prefecture; Ming Dynasty; Oirats
* Timelines
* Culture inc. Clothing; Food, Cooking; Art & Literature
* Self-Education Resources

Updated relatively frequently.

Notes:

ETA Feb 2021: I reformatted this into a single chapter from multiple chapters and in the process apparently deleted all the previous comments. F#$%!!!! I'm so sorry to all the folks who left me suggestions and links and so forth! I hope I've successfully credited you in the text!!

 

Disclaimer: I am a white Australian. English is my first language. I have never even been to China and the only c-drama I have watched is The Untamed and Sleuth!

My goal with this is to share the useful resources & info I've found to other non-Chinese fans who want to write fic that is culturally sensitive. NB: Please note that in addition to doing your own research, it's highly recommended that you use a cultural beta / sensitivity reader to make sure everything is ok in your fic.

That said, I know I'm no expert--constant learning is a thing--but I'm keen to not fuck it up. Please comment with any corrections or suggestions, or if you're more comfortable with direct messaging - [email protected] / @suizhouorgohome (twitter).

THANK YOU to the generous folks on the Sleuth discord, in particular in the history and language channels, who are always up for helping to link/share resources and knowledge. Wawa and jacy have answered many a language question/translated subtitles, and Skuld has been incredibly generous with his knowledge and time.

Where info has come from an individual and they've agreed for me to share here, I've credited. When i've shared links to twitter threads, I've gone with the assumption that public accounts that encourage RTs are ok for links to be publicly shared. The rest I've absorbed through my own research (google, jstor, wikipedia) on non-fannish sites (most of which are linked too).

Apologies for deleting the original comments when I merged this into a single chapter - I think I've correctly credited commenters within the text where they've offered corrections and suggestions!

Note on bias: I am aware that English resources are mostly written and/or translated by western people, which means the information within likely comes with its own baggage. I try to be aware of this and educate myself as broadly as possible, please call me out if there is anything egregious or incorrect.

Work Text:

Table of Contents

Click to jump to a section:

 

Fandom Culture

If you are a non-Chinese fan writing in this fandom, please consider the cultural context of the show as well as the fandom space to make it a safe and respectful space for Chinese/Chinese diaspora fans.

Primarily, if you are a non-Chinese fan creating content in this fandom, it is your responsibility to educate yourself, do your own research—you don't need a PhD, but there is a lot of information out there via a quick Google search or even on Wikipedia that can stop you from putting your foot in it, and even more already written, collated and/or shared by other fans.

While you are researching, also keep in mind that unless you are reading in Chinese, it may be likely you are reading another non-Chinese person's take on Chinese culture, history and so forth. This is true for subtitles as well. So always grain of salt it and be aware that there may be implicit bias in what you're reading. (Ironically, this can apply to the representations & translations of culture you read in fic too!)

If you're really stuck, ask for help. There are a lot of Chinese diaspora fans in your fandom who are up for it, but be aware that there are a lot that are burnt out by the insensitivity too. Always make clear you've done your research before asking, and be polite. It's not always obvious to non-Chinese fans, but there are a lot of microaggressions around lack of knowledge of Chinese history and culture in c-drama fandoms.

(Thank you to Skuld for advising me on the above intro <3)

Here are some useful things worth reading:

 

Sleuth Media & Production Resources

 

Language

Terms of Address

Informal

these tend to indicate affection and/or closeness

NB. see chaoticjoy's primer about familial vs "sect" (in xianxia) or "martial" relationships: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20426162 (in summary: familial terms are used to refer to both relations and others close to you. Though different terms based on relationship. E.g. jiujiu = related uncle on your mother's side; shushu = unrelated uncle).

  • xiongdi - "brother" - Tang Fan fondly calls male friends this. e.g. when in Yunhe and he calls Sui Zhou "my good brother" he's saying "xiongdi".
  • -xiong - "bro" - it is specifically used for a man older than oneself, while "xiongdi" is neutral. Usually attached to a name, eg. I'm pretty sure Tang Fan calls Pei Huai either "Pei-xiong" or "Pei Huai-xiong" at some point early on. (thanks Skuld!)
  • -di/didi (not used in the show) - a term of address, for a man younger than oneself (thanks Skuld!)
  • lao - old - e.g. "Lao Pei" = "Old Pei" - a friendly term of address for an older male friend (thanks, Skuld!)
  • jie / jiejie - sister - what Tang Fan calls Tang Yu. Duo'erla also refers to Tang Yu as jiejie. Jie is specifically used for a woman (no blood relationship necessary, depending on the context) older than oneself. (thanks Skuld!)
  • -mei/meimei (not used in the show) - younger sister, or a woman younger than oneself (thanks Skuld!)
  • dage - older brother. This is what Sui Zhou's subordinates call him, as well as Dong'er calls him and Tang Fan (Sui-dage, Tang-dage)
  • shixiong - older brother - this is what Tan Fan refers to Official Pan as. This is because they both had the same teacher, ergo Official Pan is Tang Fan's older brother in that relationship. Note from Skuld: This is older brother, specifically when you are students of the same master or the same teacher. This term of address appears a lot in wuxia and xianxia as part of martial sects. The "shi" word means "teach/to teach/master" so can be combined with other familial terms to form shidi, shijie, shimei.
  • xiao - child - e.g. Xiao Cheng for Cheng'er. Also a term of endearment - Pei Huai calls Tang Yu "Xiao Yu" once.
  • 'er - a diminuitive marker for a child as a term of endearment, e.g. Dong'er, Cheng'er - Also used for as a term of endearment for adults, e.g. the Empress Dowager calls Sui Zhou "Zhou'er", and the Emperor calls Noble Consort Wan "Zhen'er"
  • jiujiu - your mother’s brother - this is what Cheng'er calls Tang Fan (thanks Skuld!)
  • shushu - what Cheng'er calls Pei Huai e.g. Pei-shushu, Your father's younger brother, or a respectful term for a man of a generation older than you. (thanks Skuld!)
  • bobo (not used in the show) - uncle for your father's older brother. A very respectful term for a man of a generation (or more) older than you. (thanks Skuld!)
  • gu - aunt - e.g. Tang Fan calls Dong of Dong's restaurant Dong-gu (though she asks them to call her Dong-jie)
  • ai fei - (roughly) beloved consort/concubine - the Emperor calls Noble Consort Wan this in the final fight scene (thanks, wawa!)

Formal

  • -daren - official - e.g. "Tang-daren", "Sui-daren" or just "daren" on its own.
  • zhifu - prefectural governor, used rarely in the show. E.g. only by Tang Fan in Yunhe when he's "abducted" by Ma Lin's men and is protesting that he's a prefectural governor, how dare they, etc etc.
  • dugong - Viki translates as "commander" but translations seem to suggest supervisor/overseer/foreman/etc. - This is what Wang Zhi is often called, i.e. Wang-dugong (thanks, wawa!)
  • zhi-hui - Wan Tong's term of address, i.e. Wan zhi-hui (thanks, wawa!)
  • gonzi - young master - polite/respectful way of addressing a young man, used for a number of non-main characters
  • guniang - young lady - polite/respectful way of addressing a young woman, used for a number of non-main characters. Tang Fan also sometimes addresses Qing Ge respectfully this way, "Qing Ge-guniang"
  • er-gonzi - second young master - i.e. the second son. e.g. Tang Fan says to Sui Zhu that he's the second young master, indicating he has an older brother.
  • ye - mister/respectful masculine form of address - what everyone refers to Jin San as - e.g. Jin San Ye, San Ye (thanks, wawa!)
  • aha - leader/chief/boss - this is what Wuyun and other Oirats in the Iron Market call Duo'erla
  • daifu - doctor - e.g. Pei Huai is often referred to as Pei-daifu
  • jiangjun - general - as in General Gao and General Chen.
  • shifu - master, i.e. martial master (don’t think is used in the show) - what Qing Ge calls Li Zilong - I was wrong! Correction below. Thanks Skuld.
  • yifu - adoptive father - what Qing Ge calls Li Zilong.
  • furen - madam/noblewoman - i.e. Gao-furen is General Gao's wife
  • mama - madam/woman who runs a brothel (literally: mother) - i.e. Cui Mama
  • laoban - owner/shopkeeper (viki) - used throughout for shopkeepers/owners, e.g. the pharmacy shopkeeper.
  • taishi - Grand Preceptor (Oirat) - e.g. Esen Taishi
  • guanjia - is how Ma Lin's butler is addressed, so it's likely this is how they address Sui Zhou when he's undercover with Tang Fan in Yunhe (thanks, Skuld!)

Further Reading/Resources

if you want things that aren't said in the show:

Other Language Resources

 

History

Western Depot, Imperial Guard (Embroidered Uniform Guard), Eastern Depot, Shuntian Prefecture

Ming Dynasty

Oirat History

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oirats
  • Four Oirat / Leaders of the Oirat alliance - so, an interesting note here. Esen was the leader who captured Gao Yi. When Gao Yi returns to the capital, he talks about Esen being dead and his son now taking over leadership (they refer to him as “Borona Halle” Viki translation). The younger son who comes to the capital to scheme with Li Zilong is referred to in Chinese as Ishtömör (Ush-Temür, Ish-Temür), but the Viki translators call him “Amasanj”.

 

Timelines

 

Culture

Clothing

Food, Cooking

Art & Literature

Bathing

Oirat culture

  • OIRAT TONES AND BREAK INDICES (O-ToBI) - INTONATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE OIRAT LANGUAGE - a linguistics PhD dissertation that comprehensively breaks down the Oirat language in a linguistics (and phonology focus) way. Chapter 3 gives an overview of contemporary Oirat life, the geographical/landscape part of which could be useful for non-AU writers. Chapter 4 is about the endangerment of the Oirat language (& social factors affecting that) - could be useful for modern AU writers. For podficcers: Page 17 has the vowel chart and some stuff on vowels, page 26 has the consonant chart. (Thanks Opalsong for sending this link & sharing much of the above summary!)

Modern Culture

 

Self-Education Resources

  • Some Coursera courses (free, online) on Chinese history, language and culture, collated by GenderGriffins
  • China History Podcast
  • Ming Qing Yanjiu, founded in 1992, is a peer reviewed journal dedicated primarily to advanced studies of pre-modern China. This journal provides a forum for scholars from a variety of fields related to late imperial and early republican period that aim to have a cross-disciplinary discourse. Contributions in sociology, literature, psychology, anthropology, history, geography, linguistics, semiotics, political science, and philosophy, as well as book reviews are welcome. (thanks kate/tux for linking this on discord!)