[SHL] Zhou Zi Shu 周子舒 and Wen Ke Xing 温客行 name analysis
I know SHL is a small fandom but I feel like it deserves a names analysis post. I love how script writers have incorporated such beautiful, well researched lines of Chinese poetry from different time periods into the drama. The two main characters’ names are assigned couplets which we’ll explore below.
Zhou Zi Shu 周子舒
执子之手，坐看云舒（zhí zǐ zhī shǒu, zuò kàn yún shū）means “holding your hands, sitting and watching the clouds unfurl”.
It derives from two lines of poetry.
The first comes from the 《诗经》 Classic of Poetry, or Shih-ching, dating back to the Zhou 周 Dynasty (coincidence much?): 执子之手，与子偕老 means “holding your hand, growing old beside you”. It was a pledge said by a soldier to his wife whilst he was fighting a seemingly endless war. Nowadays, it is almost always used in a romantic or matrimonial context.
The second part comes from 《小窗幽记》 by Han Dynasty writer Chen Ji Ru 陈继儒: 去留无意，漫随天外云卷云舒 means “to be or not to be needs no hard decision, let nature take its course and the clouds gather and unfurl at will”.
Wen Ke Xing 温客行
天涯孤鸿，无根行客（tiān yá gū hóng, wú gēn xíng kè）means “a solitary swan at the ends of the earth, a drifting wanderer with no roots”.
It also derives from two lines of poetry.
孤鸿 originates from 《咏怀诗》, written in the Three Kingdoms 三国 period by the poet Ruan Ji 阮籍. It means a lone swan, referring to the wild swan geese that formal monogamous pair bonds for many years. A solitary swan is known for its sorrowful cry, and the phrase is often used in poetry to lament one’s loneliness.
The second part comes from 《忆少年·别历下》, written in the Northern Song 北宋 Dynasty by philosopher Chao Bu Zhi 晁补之: 无穷官柳，无情画舸，无根行客 means “endless rows of willow trees by the road side, boats sweeping by heartlessly carrying drifting wanderers with no roots”. It is part of a poem written to depict the poet’s sadness when leaving Li Xia town, lamenting how when he next returns, time would have flown by like a dream, leaving his loved one’s hair to turn white and no more vitality of youth.
Reflections
I can’t help but notice how strongly these two lines of poetry for each character match their personalities. ZZS has seen through the vanities of the world and has accepted whatever will be will be, eventually finding a soulmate he is willing to grow old with. On the other hand WKX hides his real name and motives, coping with loneliness and taking many trials and tribulations to fully trust even his soulmate. He masks his remorse and revenge behind a smiling and confident outer shell, until he slowly finds himself revealing his inner turmoil and vulnerability to ZZS.
