Yesterday I went to eat hot pot at Haidilao, and I saw the activities. The collaboration includes badges, nail stickers, pendants, sky lanterns, etc. If your city has Haidilao and you are also interested in collaborations, you could ask the staff whether they have these activities. If you eat hot pot at Haidilao, then you can get a free manicure or hand care while you're there.
If you like the《至冬Snezhnaya》, I recommend listening to the Symphony and the Piano Concerto written by Tchaikovsky.
If you like the 《冰湖的凯旋礼 Triumph on the Ice》, I recommend listening to the 《In the
Hall of the Mountain King》from 《Peer Gynt》written by Grieg.
Hi, everyone!
About 8 months ago, I made this post here. Sorry to reply so late. I concentrated on my studies and work, and life got really busy, so I wasn't able to reply until now. I'm really thankful for your honest and kind comments. Replies to the question and Novel Recommendations are following.
Replies
To begin with, one of the biggest challenges/inconveniences for non-Chinese speakers is the translation quality. Most of Reddit's friends prefer human translations, not AI-powered translation systems.
Meanwhile, the difference between ideograms (such as Chinese) and phonograms ( such as English ) could also cause readers to be puzzled. Although Chinese writing is not purely logographic, nor is English writing purely alphabetic. To some extent, it needs translators to understand the meaning of Chinese characters(Hanzi), not just translate their pronunciations. For example, a character from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation 《魔道祖师》called Lan Zhan (蓝湛）or Lan Wangji (蓝忘机). Lan (蓝） is his last name, Zhan（湛） is his first name, and Wangji （忘机）is his courtesy name. The character 蓝 (Lan) in Chinese has a basic meaning of blue. The character 湛 (Zhan) in Chinese has the original meaning of limpid or crystal clear. The word 忘机 ( Wangji) in Chinese has the original meaning of a Taoist term, which refers to eliminating the spirit of ingenuity and utilitarianism, and pursuing the spiritual realm of indifference and purity and an indisputable state with the world, stemming from <Zhuangzi> 《庄子》. If you understand the meaning of the characters' names, you might find it easier to distinguish them.
In recent years, the explicit smut part is usually omitted from the website. As far as I know, some authors choose to delete this part directly; some authors choose to post this part on some fanfiction websites. Some authors choose to use subtle or elegant descriptions to express this part. For example, I quote a smut part from the Priest's work: 【蝉鸣声忽地变了调，从地下返起的丰沛水汽垂直上升，远处”隆隆“地滚起闷雷，潮声似的连绵不绝，大雨倾盆落下，这个寡淡平静的夏夜被雨水砸成了万花筒，一千个镜面里凝着一千个花花世界，光影摇曳、万红散乱，让人头晕目眩。】I'm not sure if the original meaning of this part will still be conveyed after being translated into English. Some authors choose to adapt Classical Chinese or poetry to express this part. For example, one Song Ci in the Song Dynasty:【酒力渐浓春思荡，鸳鸯绣被翻红浪】, and one sentence from a novel in the Ming Dynasty: 【可怜数滴菩提水，倾入红莲两瓣中】, they both describe the smut part and until now authors still use these imagery to express. So, most danmei novels you read on official websites are full content, and very few novels are incomplete.
As one warm-hearted friend says, "some authors do know that their works are being unofficially translated by fans overseas." But most authors are unknow about the translations. And only few danmei works have been translated into other languages.
There is a post about the popular genre of danmei novels on Xiaohongshu ( Red Note) that has gotten 1.3w likes. So I guess this post might be able to answer the question " what genre are well loved?" The poster's name is 天屿晴, and her ID number is 183752987; if you have Xiaohongshu (Red Note), you could search for her directly. Besides, I will ask her if she could give me permission to translate and post her work on this platform.
By the way, my major is not language, literature, or philosophy, so there might be some errors.
Recommendations
I'm not sure about the title translation, so I will post their Chinese title, authors, and authors' translations. I will try my best to recommend books that fit your taste. If there is any misunderstanding, we could communicate in a friendly way.
Ps: Thanks everyone for your interest. Since there are quite a lot of books, I may not be able to describe each one in detail. Feel free to comment which book you're curious about, or DM me if you'd like more information.
1. Dark and Angst
I'm not sure whether " dark and angst" is the character, circumstance, or plot lines. So I will try to recommend 5 books which I think might match the topic.
1】《十大酷刑》by 小周123 Xiaozhou123
From my perspective, this book is really quite dark.
2】《父》by 颓 Tui
颓 is a very good writer, and she has a surpassingly beautiful style of writing. The deep hints in this book are quite dark.
One of her most well-known novels is <The Reader and Protagonist Definitely Have to Be in True Love> 《读者和主角绝逼是真爱 》. This book has a pleasant and readable style.
3】《提灯看刺刀》by 淮上 Huai Shang
This book's writing is sharp, and the characters are three-dimensional. Many psychological portrayals flow smoothly through the plot , with every detail tightly connected.
4】《苟苟》by 夏小正 Xia Xiao Zheng
This book's plot is extremely melodramatic, with details tinged with reality. And its writing style is pathologically dark.
5】《咎由自取》 by 困崽 Kun Zai
This book includes mind control and personality taming. 困崽 is good at creating a protagonist with a pathological psychology.
2. Enemies to Lovers
One of Reddit's friends asks for enemies who really hate each other.
1】《沉舟》 by 楚寒衣青 Chu Yi Han Qing
Political struggle. They keep the relationship of enemies in almost 3/4 of the plot.
2】《失忆后死对头成了我男朋友》 by 祝麟 Zhu Lin
Campus conflicts. They are the kind of relationship that " I'm so angry that my heart feels painful, but I thought it was a heartbeat."
3】《咎由自取》 by 困崽 Kun Zai
This book includes violence, bullying, mind control, and personality taming. In my opinion, because they hate each other so much, it looks like they love each other.
3. Fluffy or Lighthearted romcoms
1】《写实派玛丽苏》by 吕天逸 Lv Tian Yi
2】《我磕了对家X我的CP》by pepa
3】《幽灵酒店》 by 酥油饼 Su You Bing
4. Modern genre, with complex, toxic relationships, smut, and some plot, preferably with an older ML (gong)
1】《黄金笼》by 夜很贫瘠 Ye Hen Pin Ji
2】《拜拜》 by 西西特 Xi Xi Te
3】《你的距离》 by 公子优 Gong Zi You
5. Husband chasing
I'm not sure about Husband chasing. I guess it might mean "追夫火葬场“ （Chasing after husband to the crematorium)?
1】《一念之私》by 回南雀 Hui Nan Que
2】《陌生关系》by 未卜880 Wei Bu 880
3】《冒牌货》 by 入眠酒 Ru Mian Jiu
6. Five non-translated novels to reread
Actually, it's difficult for me to select the top five novels. So, I will recommend some novels to reread recently.
1】《哎，我刀呢？》 by 橙子雨 Cheng Zi Yu
2】《竹马难猜》by 冻感超人 Dong Gan Chao Ren
3】《一寸丹心》 by 眉如黛 Mei Ru Dai
4】《那个馋人的家伙》by 麦旋风不加冰 Mai Xuan Feng Bu Jia Bing
5】《影帝的公寓》by 天瓶座 Tian Ping Zuo
7. Old Classics with life-changing experiences
Well, I might not understand the old classics' meanings. If the old classics mean historical classics, I could recommend some stories of words and expressions to you. By the way, the original versions of these stories are written in Classical Chinese, and they might be difficult for non-Chinese speakers.
1】分桃 stems from 《韩非子·说难》 <Han Feizi>
2】断袖 stems from 《汉书·董贤传》<The Book of Han>
3】龙阳之好 stems from 《战国策·魏策》<Zhan Guo Ce>
**<Han Feizi>**is a collection of works by Han Fei, a thinker and Legalist of the Warring States period. The stories in <Zhan Guo Ce> were also on Warring States period.
8. Survival novels with smart MC (main characters are a bit crazy and morally gray )
1】《绝处逢生》by 焦糖冬瓜 Jiao Tang Dong Gua
2】《地球上线》by 莫晨欢 Mo Chen Huan
9. Ancient cultivation
1】《山间四食》 by 旺惹惹 Wang Re Re
2】《乖乖小夫郎》 by 茶查查 Cha Cha Cha
10. Yandere nonhuman characters
I might misunderstand the word Yandere"; does it mean possessive or "you only belong to me"?
1】《装乖可耻》by 红口白牙 Hong Kou Bai Ya
2】《德萨罗人鱼》 by 深海先生 Shen Hai Xian Sheng
11. Polyamory
Well, polyamory is a kind of broad selection. I'm not sure of the specific genre you really like.
1】《斩尾》by 今日复明日 Jin Ri Fu Ming Ri
2】《再世权臣》 by 天谢 Tian Xie
12. Confident gong hunts unsuspecting shou with some explicit scenes
Well, I'm confused about this sentence; I will try to recommend a few books.
1】《直男的自我攻略》by 落回 Luo Hui
2】《竹马难猜》 by 冻感超人 Dong Gan Chao Ren
13. The two priest works I wish to read most (Lord Seventh* and *Faraway Wanderers) have no official translations.
<Faraway Wanderers>, I guess it is English translation for 《天涯客》？ You could watch the series called 《山河令》first if you want; it is based on the novel.
14.Real/fake young master with face-slapping and regrets galore
1】《求生倒计时》 by 木兮娘 Mu Xi Niang
2】《入睡指南》 by 卡比丘 Ka Bi Qiu
15. Low-fantasy historical danmei that are not well-known in the West
I'm not sure about the low-fantasy meaning, including xianxia or wuxia?
1】《反派白化光环》by 好大一卷卫生纸 Hao Da Yi Juan Wei Sheng Zhi
2】《吴钩》 by 沈纯 Shen chun
16. A prince is married off outside to other ethnic groups
Although there is no price, the main characters are well-educated and living well.
1】《靡言》by 回南雀 Hui Nan Que
2】《情蛊》by 荷煜 He Yu
17. Like those stepbrothers plot or brothers plot or childhood friends to lovers plot where one longs for the other for a long time
1】《两小无嫌猜》by 北南 Bei Nan
2】《筵席之外》by 弱色棱镜 Ruo Se Leng Jing
18. Chinese fics on ao3 I won’t be able to read
I saw two posts on Xiaohongshu ( Red Note). One author said she translates her novel into an English version after being moved by readers' lengthy English comments. Another author was also moved by readers' encouragement and support, so she asked an English literature major friend to help translate the English version. Friendly interactions might bring unexpected surprises~
19. Modern, fluffy, funny, romance-focused titles
1】《迪奥先生》 by 绿野千鹤 Lv Ye Qian He
2】《兼职爱豆指北》by 方自在 Fang Zi Zai
20. Gong and shou roles are unexpected (like the way they look and act are at odds with what the majority of readers expect their sexual roles to be) and are filled with tons of filthy explicit sex
I'm not sure about what the majority of readers expect. But if you liked the novel filled with tons of filthy explicit sex, I might recommend these novels:
1】《秋日蝉》by 茂山 Mao Shan
2】《可怜的社畜》 by 东度日 Dong Du Ri
In the end, tell me what genres or tropes you like! Since I’ve read a lot, I’d be happy to give you some specific recommendations based on your taste. ❤️