Rec: The Phenomenon Called “Qin Shen Shen”

Rec: The Phenomenon called “Qin Shen Shen”

What is “Qin Shen Shen”?

Qin Shen Shen is a singing duo formed in 2019, in the 1st season of a Chinese music competition show called “Wo Men De Ge” aka “Our Song”. It’s made of Zhou Shen and Li Keqin, two experienced solo singers who met for the 1st time on the show. “Qin Shen Shen” is their team name.

But who are they?

1) Zhou Shen:

A singer from mainland China, mostly known for singing OSTs of C-dramas and movies, including CQL (Xue Yang’s theme) and DMBJ ChongQi.

28 years old. (5 yrs old, when together with Li Keqin)

Famous for his naturally high-pitched voice, similar to a soprano or mezzo-soprano.

Wants to lower people’s expectations, but keeps blowing people’s minds, so he’s stuck in a vicious circle of growing expectations and one-upping his past self.

Most famous song is called “Big Fish”.

Self-professed insecure.

Talks a lot.

2) Li Keqin:

A veteran singer from Hong Kong, who debuted 30+ years ago.

53 years old but is secretly 8 (3 yrs old, when with Zhou Shen)

Is known for having such great vocal stability when singing live that he earned himself the nickname: “CD-Qin”.

Will make mistakes in Mandarin but look really cute doing it

Famous songs include “Half-Moon Serenade” and “Great Auditorium Concert Hall”.

Is a good sport. Is good at sports.

*is stressed* *pretends to stay calm* *slays* *rinse and repeat*

So why should I check them out?

“Match made in heaven” is the moniker given to them the 1st time they sang together. That stuck for a reason. Li Keqin and Zhou Shen are a “1+1= greater than 2″. In theory, they’re worlds apart, but combining them sets off sparks. Whether it’s their understanding of how a song should be sung, their skills, or their style in singing duets: all match. On top of that, their voices’ timbre are weirdly complementary. Li Keqin’s baritone fits under Zhou Shen’s floating pitch like an anchor grounding them. Zhou Shen’s sound brings both voices to greater heights. The exponential added value they bring each other as a duo is just a rare find in any circle. In short: You’re in for a musical FEAST.

Chemistry. Chemistry. Chemistry. Complementary in some ways, similar in others, how they magically fit like a glove right off the bat is itself a wonder. Zhou Shen’s “prepare-for-the-worst” attitude goes hand-in-hand with Li Keqin’s apparent optimism. When one throws, the other’s there to receive. Sometimes they complete each other’s sentences, other times they’re like night and day…In all cases, what a team.

Laughs!! So many laughs! When they’re not singing, Qin Shen Shen is a full-time comedy duo. Throwing each other under the bus is a skill they acquired in 0 time and make use of daily. And if they’re not the ones throwing the jokes, they sure are receiving well. Dorks.

Cuteness overload. Both are just incredibly likeable and cute individuals onscreen. (yes both) Unbelievable. You have to see it to believe it.

A heartwarming dynamic. At the end of the day, QSS is a duo formed for a competition on TV. But even with the most cynical eyes, what you see is a dynamic between 2 very different singers of different generations, who have to get to know each other enough to collaborate in a short time, within a dynamic that fits. And it works! Boy do they make it work!!

Where to check them out?

If you’re short on time, some of their songs to pick from: “Under Mount Fuji”, “All the Lovers in the World”, or “Wild Wolf Disco”.

If nothing else, give their audio clip a chance: Clean vers of “Under Mount Fuji” without audience reactions, and a compilation of clean audios to cherry-pick from.

If you decided you want to see more of them, they’re a regular on “Wo Men De Ge/Our Song” S1: Ep. 1 with Eng subs. (More info on the show here)

Give the “match made in heaven” duo a try!! They don’t disappoint!

Tags

zhou shen qin shen shen li keqin hacken lee wo men de ge best music ever

My Danmei 耽美 Literary Adventure

Seven Seas Chinese Danmei novels, Notes Masterlist

Some of my favorite books, especially, The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, The Husky and His White Cat Shizun, Stars of Chaos, and Guardian, are now officially in English! Thank you, Seven Seas.

These notes are here to help friends who may not speak Chinese or have enough Chinese cultural background to understand the nuances presented in these works, or are just getting confused with all the different terms of address.

Please forgive me if I have missed anything, and dm or comment if you have anything to add!

魔道祖师 Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

by MXTX

二哈和他的白猫师尊 The Husky and His White Cat ShiZun

by Meatbun 肉包不吃肉 (Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou)

Usage of the word "Master" vs "Teacher"

How to pronounce people's names (bc it does NOT follow the rules of English pronunciation)

Book Annotations

杀破狼 Stars of Chaos

by Priest

Vol 1-4 are here!

（Volume 5 notes will arrive next.)

镇魂 Guardian

by Priest

Coming eventually :)

Tags

mdzs mdzs novel grandmaster of demonic cultivation mxtx guardian zhen hun 2ha stars of chaos sha po lang the husky and his white cat shizun meatbun doesn't eat meat priest translations how to pronounce Shizun Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation novel MDZS novel translation MDZS novel annotations MXTX novel translations 2Ha pronunciation guide

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weishenmewwx

2 years ago

99K notes View Post

weishenmewwx

2 years ago

My new reading list! So far, I’ve got 杀破狼 done.

hunxi’s danmei awards 2.0! (aka 2022 edition)

Featuring the return of some categories such as:

Best Worldbuilding

Best Interrogation of Themes (aka the “Rent-Free Award”)

Best Moment That Wrecked Me (aka the Knifiest Award)

Best Beleaguered Side Character Award

Best Unreliable Narrator

As well as never-before-seen categories like:

Best Himbo

Most Brilliant Moment of Backstabbery

Most Ambitious Scope

Most Heartwrenching Line Delivery in an Audiodrama

…and more!

This year’s candidates in the running:

《小蘑菇》 Xiao Mo Gu by 一十四洲 Yi Shi Si Zhou

《不小心救了江湖公敌》 Bu Xiao Xin Jiule Jianghu Gong Di by 六木乔 Liu Muqiao (有声漫画 audiomanhua season 1)

《无双》 Wu Shuang by 梦溪石 Meng Xishi

《问鹿三千》 Wen Lu San Qian by 光合积木 Voicegem, 吼浪文化 Houlang Studio, and 斗木獬编剧工作室 Doumuxie Screenwriting Studio

《师弟还不杀我灭口》 Shidi Hai Bu Sha Wo Mie Kou by 子鹿 Zi Lu

《默读》 Mo Du by priest

《督主有病》 Du Zhu You Bing by 杨溯 Yang Su

《海中爵》 Hai Zhong Jue by 七药 Qi Yao

《哏儿》 Gen’er by 南北逐风 Nan Bei Zhu Feng

《杀破狼》 Sha Po Lang by priest

《金牌助理之弯弯没想到》 Jin Pai Zhu Li zhi Wan Wan Mei Xiang Dao by (nominally) 非天夜翔 Fei Tian Ye Xiang and (mostly) 传奇火箭队 The Legendary Rocket Team

(unmarked spoilers, including but not limited to these titles, under the cut. for introductions of these titles, click here. for last year’s danmei awards, click here)

Keep reading

Tags

reading list I read danmei list hunxi recommends

80 notes View Post

weishenmewwx

3 months ago

病案本。Case File Compendium. 😢😢😭😭😭😭😭

There are still 60-some chapters left. Meatbun can’t just do this to her characters and then just… just… lead the crying fest for 60+ chapters, right? It has to get better eventually, right?

Right?!?

😭

Tags

novel case file compendium bing an ben

0 notes View Post

weishenmewwx

2 years ago

Common Anime Words Glossary

Glossary of common anime words and their meanings in Japanese explained.

I want to read every entry on this site! I just found it today, and it explained the BETSUNI i’ve been hearing so much in video games and couldn’t figure out!!!

I expect a LOT of phrases this site goes through would help clarify confusion I’ve been having. It’s a nice site.

Tags

anime japanese glossary

24 notes View Post

weishenmewwx

4 years ago

MDZS Resources & References:

OR, a collection of meta fiction for MDZS writers and enthusiasts:

Grandmaster of Demonic Timeline by chrisemrys

The timeline of Wei Wuxian’s life with some bonus, worked for my own notes and shared for understanding of my MDZS fic(s)!

MDZS Timeline by thewickling (Diviana)

A guide to MDZS’s confusing chronology that I unwrangle in my spare time.

On Character’s Ages by thewickling (Diviana)

A collection of meta on the possible ages for different characters in MDZS and what ages they would be during key events in the timeline.

Mo Dao Zu Shi Writer Reference: Novel Chapter Summaries by threerings

A breakdown of all the chapters in the Mo Dao Zu Shi/ Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation novel, with what happens when. To help in referring back to specific scenes, because who can remember with every version happening in a different order.

Reference for Modao Zushi Writers: Chinese terms & Naming Conventions by chaoticjoy

This is to provide a reference for writers who are unfamiliar with Chinese literary conventions or terms used in canon. Hopefully someone will find this helpful.

Chinese naming basis for fanfiction writers by miqqumi

I notice a lot of people struggling with how to use Chinese names in fanfic, so I put together a guide. I hope it’s helpful to someone.

The Untamed / MDZS, resources link post, stuff I needed as a writer by AteanaLenn

Discovering and writing in a new fandom is difficult, but especially in one whose culture you know nothing about. I started writing a The Untamed fic the other day, and ended up spending hours looking up reference posts and blog posts, in order to try and avoid the most obvious mistakes at least.

Eventually, I ended with a lot of info, so here you go, useful stuff I found to understand this fandom.

MDZS Audio Drama Episode Guide by pumpkinpaix

An episode guide for all seasons of the MDZS Audio Drama, so if you’re searching for a specific scene/quote, it’s easier to find. A breakdown of novel chapters already exists, courtesy of the wonderful threerings, but the audio drama does slightly different things and has some really beautiful changes/scripting, so this is a supplemental guide for anyone who wants to reference the AD instead of the novel for any reason.

Obviously, spoilers for the entirety of the plot.

MDZS Meta Collection on AO3

3K notes View Post

weishenmewwx

2 years ago

MDZS Vol 3 Annotations, part 3

Here is Part 3 of my annotations of MDZS Volume 3, pages 219-312. I hope it helps improve your reading experience!

(It's mostly cultural annotations and reminders of appropriately-untranslated words, with a few "remember when..." notes and a few re-translations of really thorny sentences that I admit have no good translation.)

(I had a field day writing "Good boy" over Jin Zixuan and "lame cousin" over JinZixun, but I didn't include all those notes here. Just be sure to pay attention to if Zixuan/Zixun has an "a" in it or not in Ch 15.)