Talk:Lung Shen Li

Names

Despite the similarities in the names, it doesn't seem to me that Lung Shen Li is at all related to the Shen-Lung breed of dragon. I was confused at first, and then I noticed Temeraire calls her "Shen Li" so that appears to be her given name, and she is simply "Lung" (Dragon)? What does Shen Li mean in Chinese, does anyone smarter than me know? -- Strangerface 06:32, 20 August 2010 (PDT)

Shen Li? Oog. Considering the name of Lung Shen Gai (later seen near Sydney), I'm starting to think that the new breed actually is called "Shen", but that it's an audibly different word than the previously-known Shēn(神)-Lung and is being repeated to emphasize the different tone. However, I have no alternate leads so far. --Wombat1138 11:44, 20 August 2010 (PDT)

Update: Zhongwen lists shén as the primary pronunciation of 神, re-opening the shēn tone as a possibility-- maybe shēn 伸, "stretch"? --Wombat1138 17:02, 20 August 2010 (PDT)

I suppose you are right and it might be a different a different meaning of "shen"? I have just added the Lung Shen Gai page and it would be strange for them both to be named Lung Shen if it weren't the breed. -- Strangerface 13:14, 20 August 2010 (PDT)

How about we add a new section mentioning them on the Shen-Lung page? Almaron 04:07, 21 August 2010 (PDT)

Appearance

IMHO the "pink and palest orange cream" color description refers to the Uluru rock formation at dawn, rather than Shen Li herself, and the only specific detail about her in that passage is the huge shadow of her wings. It's possible that they only saw her by that shadow because her own colors blended in, but OTOH her colors would've been obscured by the lighting and the distance. --Wombat1138 23:16, 28 August 2010 (PDT)

I've updated her description-- the coloration is from the newly posted prologue to Crucible of Gold; the wingspan proportions are from her first sighting in Tongues of Serpents. --Wombat1138 19:05, 26 June 2011 (MDT)

"Trying Not To Think" - Proposed article edit

I'm looking through the article, and I question the end of this paragraph:

Temeraire felt there was something "peculiar" about her, as she would sit for hours and hours without saying a word, and when he would ask what she was thinking she would say she was trying not to think. This suggests, perhaps, that the Chinese encountered similar difficulties to the British when creating a breed, like the Greyling, suitable for long distance flights.

The paragraph suggests that both Greylings and the new Shen-Lung breed have mental difficulties. I would disagree with these assumptions for both breeds; Volatilus is the only Greyling we have seen to be slow, and he is not an indicator for the rest of the species. As for Lung Shen Li, I got the impression that by "trying not to think", she was attempting to meditate, and could be practising Buddhism. This is quite plausible, as we have seen Dragons practising a religon previously by worshipping in mosques in the third book. As such, I think we should change this page. Thoughts? Almaron 22:00, 23 October 2010 (PDT)