Difference between revisions of "Talk:Lung Tien Chuan"

Latest revision as of 20:28, 17 August 2013

I've taken out this paragraph as it seems redundent. The fondness and protectiveness of Dragons to their Captains or Companions is inherent in the relationship. While the example of the fight between Temeraire and Lien is interesting, I don't see how it adds anything here as a single sentence. The involvement of Chuan and Mianning in the fight is minimal.

"Fond og Mianning, and only wanting to protect him. He always tried to stay inbetween him and the fight, like in the dragon duel in China"

DoB[edit]

Is the Date of Birth, or hatching definitely the same? Just because the eggs were laid at the same time doesn't mean they have to hatch at the same time, does it? Indeed this could be part of the reason one egg was sent away. So that it wouldn't be clear which one was the "elder" twin. One would imagine that one egg was laid first, and one would hatch first possibly on the same day, possibly much later. (Biology isn't my strong point.) It might be an even bigger issue if the one laid first hatched second. Andrew 02:04, 7 January 2009 (PST)

I wouldn't swear to the exact day being the same, esp. as it seems that dragonets have some conscious choice as to when they decide to hatch. However, given that Temeraire's DOB is given only as month and year and given that the two eggs presumably have similar (if not identical) genesets and similar patterns of physiological development, I don't think Chuan's time of hatching could be much different?

In any case, Chuan's identification as the "elder" twin - presumably referring to laying order - does not seem to be in doubt even though the hatching order can not be known. Yong Xing refers to Temeraire's egg as "the second-born egg of Lung Tien Qian" (opening sequence of ToJ). When Laurence and Hammond first see Temeraire and Chuan together in Mianning's residence, Temeriare explains, "Chuan's egg was first, and then mine."

I'm thinking that the point in sending the second-laid egg away was not so much to protect the other egg's "elder" status as to protect the egg or the dragonet from "accidents" of the sort that Yong Xing was presumably planning for his brother in his plot to set Miankai on the throne. Rose 08:32, 7 January 2009 (PST)

death[edit]

Gong Su describes Chuan's death as "six months" ago in 1812. So I assumed it was 1811 that he died, but does anyone know what time of year it is at the beginning of Blood of Tyrants? Strangerface 00:09, 17 August 2013 (CDT)

The RL "Phaeton incident" happened in Oct 1808 and is referred to as "three years ago" by Matsudaira, but Kaneko says that he thinks it's 1812. This is theoretically reconcilable if the narrative "now" is very early 1812 before the lunar new year (which was on Feb 13 according to an online table), so the incident is still only 3 years ago in M's frame of reference... should we assume that Mianning sent the letter to Gong Su immediately after Chuan's death, or does that not fit the various travel times etc? Though iirc the letter came straight from Peking courtesy of dragon express delivery. -- wombat1138