Character & Relationship Analysis *SPOILERS included*

I've been posting some personal thoughts and musings about certain key characters and some of their compelling relationships within the drama in the 'Comments' section as I go along, and I was encouraged to create a discussion thread here so that those writings are replicated in an easily accessible place. 

So, for what it's worth, here they all are.

Note #1: Contents and posts can be quite long.

Note #2: They are on-going thoughts but I'll head each section with the Episode number for ease of reference.

Hope you'll enjoy the content!

Episode 27.

JIANG CHENG  VS  LAN WANJI:

Wow, this situation is just so ripe for character comparisons, I just really want to put this down somewhere. Both characters, Jiang Cheng and Lan Wanji, are facing the same situation and the same ‘problem’ but I just love how their reactions and responses are so diverse from each other. There are no rights and wrongs here, just really interesting character analysis fodder for me so here goes…

The situation both characters are facing are essentially similar: a dear and beloved friend whom they care deeply about appears to be uncontrollably going astray. How do they respond?

JIANG CHENG
He’s not necessarily a favourite (because I generally dislike short-tempered and abrasive people) but I do have some level of emotional investment in him by virtue of his relationship with Wei Wuxian. His situation is like this…

He basically grew up with Wei Wuxian. Since childhood, their relationship is a complex one where there is this strange mixture of attachment (Wei Wuxian is the companion and playmate the lonely Jiang Cheng had always wanted), envy (his father whose love and approval he’s always wanted seemed to favour and dote on Wei Wuxian more), inferiority (he always seemed to fall short in talent and achievements compared to Wei Wuxian), and frustration (he could never control or sometimes understand Wei Wuxian’s careless and carefree behaviour). He’s probably had to live with this strange morass of emotions for many years which probably accounts for his sometimes volatile reactions to anything Wei Wuxian does. Yet he still managed to keep things together, probably because his love and attachment, as well as his sister’s love and attachment for Wei Wuxian, outweighed the other factors. He probably also felt comforted over Wei Wuxian’s declaration that he would always have Jiang Cheng’s back and would be standing by Jiang Cheng’s side as his capable right-hand-man and help Jiang Cheng bring glory to the Yunmeng Jiang sect. And I’m sure Wei Wuxian fully and whole-heartedly planned on being just that - Jiang Cheng’s support and assistant - but that was before the Jiang clan massacre happened and before Wei Wuxian had to give up his golden core for Jiang Cheng.

And this is where the fault-lines start to crack. Wei Wuxian gave up his golden core for Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng, at this point in time, has absolutely zero inkling that this happened (can’t blame him, Wei Wuxian deceived him here). But Wei Wuxian was a changed man by then. Losing his core meant that Wei Wuxian could no longer practice the sword arts and the righteous path cultivation arts. He could no longer stably stand beside Jiang Cheng as his trusted assistant any longer. Worse, due to the extreme need to survive in the Yiling Burial Mound, Wei Wuxian was more or less forced to adopt unorthodox ways of harnessing power - both to defend himself and to execute revenge on certain Wen clan members for participating in the Jiang clan massacre. Being the extremely talented person that he was, Wei Wuxian succeeded in developing his own style of arts through experimenting on something he had always pondered about i.e. how to harness the resentful energy from the dead and put it to good use. While this was a risky and dangerous cultivation method, it also changed Wei Wuxian in subtle ways. There was definitely an air of arrogance about him over this, and because Wei Wuxian couldn’t tell anybody why he had to resort to this method of cultivation, he also became defensive and withdrawn.

Jiang Cheng could not understand any of this, which unfortunately aggravated the frustration he had always been feeling towards Wei Wuxian. It didn’t help either that Jiang Cheng had to pre-maturely assume the mantle of Sect Leader which came with a whole new set of issues and problems he had never been used to dealing with. Jiang Cheng hoped that, with Wei Wuxian’s help and support, a lot of the burdens of being Sect Leader and re-building the sect could be shared. It must have been terribly disappointing to find that Wei Wuxian, instead of rallying around to his side, went the other direction and became this strange mix of withdrawn, moody and uninterested. It didn’t help either that Wei Wuxian started to act independently and without regard for Jiang sect’s matters or reputation.

As someone who had always lived under Wei Wuxian’s shadow and also looked up to Wei Wuxian as a senior brother, Jiang Cheng was ill-equipped to rein in Wei Wuxian’s rogue acts or to reason with him as a respected equal. There is a sense of frustration but also helplessness coming from Jiang Cheng over the Wei Wuxian dilemma, and I can only see these fault-lines expanding and cracking even further under the strain.

Unfortunately, Jiang Cheng’s temperament being of the short-tempered and fiery sort coupled with the baggage of envy and inferiority doesn’t spell well for this friendship and brotherhood. It’s going to be hard to watch it spiral downhill in future episodes…


LAN WANJI
In the same way as Jiang Cheng, Lan Wanji had to work with limited knowledge of Wei Wuxian too at this stage. Like Jiang Cheng, he also had no idea why Wei Wuxian gave up the sword arts and chose to cultivate a strange unorthodox method involving the harnessing and manipulation of dark resentful energy as his weapon. But unlike Jiang Cheng, Lan Wanji didn’t have all that historical childhood emotional baggage to carry. Instead, Lan Wanji had a separate sort of baggage of his own.

For one, he was brought up under strict regulation and order within the Gusu Lan Sect. From childhood he was nurtured under the belief that having a firm set of rules and sticking to them brought order and peace. And to a great extent, that’s about right. Society does need a good set of rules and regulations for effective functioning - if everyone were to go about doing whatever they wanted without reference or consideration for anybody or anything else apart from themselves, there would indeed be chaos and disorder and violence. So, I found it understandable why Lan Wanji and the Gusu Lan Sect placed great importance on following rules - there is a definite and clear societal benefit to doing so.

Wei Wuxian’s rather regular flouting of these rules which Lan Wanji felt were critical, not only for propagating an effective society but also for personal benefit, was a great challenge to Lan Wanji’s personal values and foundation. I think it opened Lan Wanji’s eyes to the option that not ALL flouting of rules was going to create disorder and harm (though it does, most of the time!). I also think, being able to see Wei Wuxian’s firm underlying principles and motivation of defending the weak and opposing the strong who used power and strength to oppress, was not only a worthy calling but it probably also echoed Lan Wanji’s personal convictions of how a righteous man should be. After all, rules, where applied properly, gave strength to the weak and curbed the strong.

I think Lan Wanji was moved by Wei Wuxian’s strong personal convictions and his consistent behavioural acts affirming this belief. There are hypocrites which say one thing but do another but Wei Wuxian, for all his precocious, unrestrained and sometimes insolent attitude, surprisingly had a heart that was predisposed to defend and protect the weak and Wei Wuxian often carried this out in such unflinching manner, it probably earned Lan Wanji’s respect despite himself.

And I think this is where Lan Wanji’s conflict arises. From respect to friendship, Lan Wanji has learned to care for someone other than those in his Gusu Lan Sect. He is concerned over Wei Wuxian’s divergence from the known path into unknown territory that seems highly risky and dangerous. He doesn’t want to see someone he cares about going down a path that seems headed for destruction and he doesn’t understand why Wei Wuxian would have chosen it.

He’s tried to deal with it in different ways. For one, he’s tried to understand what happened and why Wei Wuxian had made such a decision. Although he knew it had something to do with Wei Wuxian’s 3-month-long absence, he was not able to obtain much information because Wei Wuxian was surprisingly tight-lipped and defensive over it.

So Lan Wanji tried reasoning with him to give up his unorthodox cultivation method and return to a tried-and-tested known path that didn’t hurt or harm its user (i.e. the ‘righteous’ path). Of course that failed because he had no idea that Wei Wuxian couldn’t return, even if he wanted to, because of the loss of his golden core. That broad, tried-and-tested path was closed to Wei Wuxian so Wei Wuxian had to carve a new one by himself. Lan Wanji didn’t know this hence he was probably surprised at Wei Wuxian’s seeming stubbornness over this issue.

So, when trying to convince Wei Wuxian to turn back didn’t work, Lan Wanji then decided to take defensive measures. He started to look into ways that would help Wei Wuxian preserve his heart and mind from the influences of the dark and resentful energy he was manipulating. In a ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ kind of way, he decided to assist Wei Wuxian in his chosen path by doing his best to limit the damage and keep Wei Wuxian on an even keel. This was the best supportive act he could think of to look after him.

Unfortunately, this had limited effect. Like Jiang Cheng, there was a sense of helplessness in Lan Wanji as he witnessed Wei Wuxian’s increasingly out-of-control actions and behaviours. It didn’t help either that Wei Wuxian’s unorthodox methods and his rather insolent attitude had rubbed the other sect leaders and members the wrong way. I think he could see both sides’ perspectives: the other sects’ concern over Wei Wuxian’s irregular and disrespectful behaviour coupled with the fact that he is in possession of a powerful item is indeed a source of concern if one thinks about it objectively. Yet at the same time, because he knows Wei Wuxian on a more personal level, he is less concerned about Wei Wuxian’s misuse and abuse of power, and more concerned over the effects of using such cultivation methods on Wei Wuxian’s person itself.

And it is this inner conflict which, I think, accounts for his hesitation and uncertainty over how to act at this point in time. That rain scene was really well done in showing a lot of these aspects on-screen.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Lan Wanji is going to do. There is a lot of inner conflict going on over Lan Wanji having serious concerns for Wei Wuxian on a personal level versus him respecting Wei Wuxian’s choice and letting him do what he believes is right (which, underneath Lan Wanji's reservations, I think he also inwardly thinks to be right too). How long will this wavering last?

(Lan Wanji has one major advantage to Jiang Cheng though... he's not a Sect Leader. That gives him a lot more freedom to act, if and when, he does arrive at a decision. Jiang Cheng's hands are rather more tightly constrained, poor boy.)

First half of Episode 30.

I wanted to take break here to have a moment to write some thoughts down before I continue because I suspect events are going to escalate further and things may change rather quickly. So here goes…

JIANG YANLI (aka ‘SHIJIE’)
It’s interesting how she was never on my radar the first few times she appeared on the show. I suppose my subconscious wuxia-bias immediately slotted her in as ‘one of those soft and timid wuxia maidens’ that often never seemed to play a big role except to provide a platform for the more active (and maybe manly) characters to show off their thing. But as episode after episode progressed and the show started to display more and more of her interactions and relationships with the people around her (especially with Wei Wuxian) I became a lot more emotionally invested in her.

I have to give serious credit to the show because characters like her rarely get this fleshed out or get this much importance in wuxia dramas but gosh, I just love it here. She gives a very different dimension and atmosphere to the show in ways no other character or story arc can do and I find it beautifully amazing.

Why? Often in wuxia shows, there’s a lot of action, plotting, intrigue and manly testosterone flying about - it’s part and parcel of what makes wuxia, well, ‘wuxia’. Soft, warm and emotionally moving moments where characters are more emotionally vulnerable are often glossed over. I’m so glad the show took the time and space to let Jiang Yanli’s scenes breathe because it really highlights her level of importance, not just within the show itself, but also how she can really impact our key characters in ways no other character can.

Her level of importance and impact really comes from her relationship with two of our key characters - Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng. To say that she is really the glue that keeps them together and the anchor that grounds them to each other is an understatement. Having not just grown up with them but being also the warm ‘mother figure’ in their lives, she is like that beacon of shining light that represents everything good, worthy and blessed for them. It is clear that both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng adore her to bits. She is their source of warmth, their place of emotional security and safety because they are absolutely assured of her unconditional love for them, and she is, in a cute and strange way, also their pride and joy. They are ridiculously proud of her, can’t see anybody else deserving her or living up to her standards, and they would rather die a thousand deaths before they would see her sad or in pain.

It is because of her that Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian have really kept their friendship and brotherhood intact til now. Although Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian do have a deep emotional love and attachment for each other as brothers, their noisy personalities and pride as boys are often stumbling blocks in maintaining the peace and harmony between themselves. Forgiving each other and overlooking each other’s offences don’t often occur immediately and can fester if Jiang Yanli were not around to intervene. And this is why she is their glue and anchor. With just a gentle and soft word from her, all grudges, offences and anger dissolve immediately and all is well in their world again. They love her too much to want to see her distressed over their fighting and bickering so for her sake they are quick to forgive and patch up, quick to assume happy relations with each other, so that she would not be upset for even one second longer than is necessary. She is probably the only person in their lives who could control them if she really wanted to - not that she would because it is precisely her compassionate, kind, caring and selfless nature that endears her to them.

It is unfortunate that Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, due to circumstantial necessity, are forced to formally cut ties with each other now. But I believe that the pain from doing so is seriously compounded by the fact that their separation hurts Jiang Yanli too. I really do believe that had Jiang Yanli not existed, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian could have gone their separate ways quite happily with just an occasional tinge of regret and bittersweetness in their hearts. This is not because they don’t care about each other, but more because of a mutual and unspoken understanding that they have different paths to take and different priorities to consider and they accept and respect that about each other. But Jiang Yanli’s pain is also their pain, so her emotional distress at their little family being forced to separate has probably added additional weight and wounds upon their hearts, and it is entirely because of her that these brothers have met again under friendly circumstances. I think that the one single point that Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian absolutely agree upon together is that they want to see Jiang Yanli happy. She is their common point of reference, their North Star and the reason why they can continue to love one another peacefully.

It is therefore no tall order to imagine that if Jiang Yanli were to disappear from their lives, both Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian would be horribly devastated in ways unimaginable, and that their relationship with each other would also start to falter. It’s terribly horrifying to imagine this so I’m just going to sit here for a while and enjoy their little family together while I still can…

(PS: I don’t know about others but for me, the most emotionally impactful scenes are the ones between Wei Wuxian and his interactions with his Senior Sister, Jiang Yanli. They are just brimming over with so much love, affection and heart-warming care that it breaks my heart to see poor Wei Wuxian, for the first time in his life, questioning his motivations and his actions because they are the cause of his separation away from her.)

First half of Episode 33.

Episodes 31 to the first half of 33 are big episodes in terms of plot, character/ crowd study and emotional impact and I’m sure these parts must have been discussed in great detail already so I’m honestly not sure whether I have anything of interest to add but any case, for what it’s worth and at the risk of possibly ‘beating a dead horse’, here are some of my thoughts on those episodes.

WEN QING (Episode 31)
Not really a favourite female character for me largely due to her relative coldness and business-like traits but it is also precisely those traits which are suitable for her character. Brought up in a medicinal clan, the best doctors are those who are able to be calm and coldly objective when faced with any situation, especially a crisis; and yet have a heart of mercy and compassion underneath that cold objectivity. To the show’s credit, they have been able to demonstrate all those sides of her - it was more difficult to see it from the novel because her presence was largely in flashbacks which were spaced out here and there, making it more difficult to get a true grip of her character. Here, her constantly standoffish attitude and business-like way of speaking is nicely offset by her warm interactions with her little brother Wen Ning. She’s one prickly hedgehog, but she’s a hedgehog with a heart.

I’m not sure if other people get the same impression but for me, she actually comes across as someone who is quite easily moved, either by acts of kindness towards herself or her own; or easily moved by the plight of another’s needy circumstance. I think she is really only prevented from actually acting on her desires most of the time by her in-built caution (from living under the fraught reign of Wen Ruohan and Wen Chao), from her own personal trauma of losing her loved ones through the cruelty of others at a very young age (making her wary of forming new attachments and trusting others easily), and out of a need to protect her vulnerable little brother. She has been forced to grow up at an early age and fend for herself, her brother and her clan so the weight of her responsibilities also sits heavily on her shoulders.

She’s one very pitiful person and it’s saddening to see how the only bright spot of sunshine in her life which was her little brother (brought back from the dead) and the little family she managed to preserve (thanks to Wei Wuxian) was lost to her because of the racism of others. And she herself ended up losing her life to that same racism too - all in a desperate (but ultimately futile) bid to protect the one person who was the only one willing to protect her and her people.


Which really leads me to an unpleasant but unfortunately real topic that seems to constantly plague humankind - racism. It’s an ugly topic and an ugly trait but this show thankfully does rather openly touch upon it and reveals its ugly nature to viewers, which I appreciate. The Wen clan members being hunted, persecuted and despised simply because they have an affiliation to certain persons or group of people, is simply disgusting and horrifying but sadly there’s a lot of it going on out there in the world even today. I just hope this show, by showing how wrong and despicable this is, would, in some small way, educate people just how easily it can be to be racist, and to hopefully be a bit more self-aware. Anyway, complicated topic and this probably isn’t the best place to bring it up but I’m still glad the drama showed this (alongside other controversial human behaviour traits… I like that this drama gives us REAL human behaviour to reflect on).


WEI WUXIAN (Episode 32 and first half of Episode 33)
I don’t know about others but for me, the standout scene in episode 32 was the Wei Wuxian vs The Crowd confrontation. I LOVED how it was a beautiful microcosm of human behaviour in its irrational, twisted and inglorious form. The Crowd, throwing all sorts of accusations at Wei Wuxian, which Wei Wuxian cleverly refuted, only to be met by irrational, emotional and blind responses are so typical of crowd psychology and the type of toxic behaviour we see nowadays on social media or in the news (the panic-buying is one great example). And, like Wei Wuxian, we see that the sad effect of one-against-the-crowd, is unfortunately an exercise in futility. The Court Of Public Opinion can be a cruel, heartless, prejudiced tyrant unlike any other and its effects are wide-spread, destructive and merciless.

Honestly, it is no surprise that Wei Wuxian gave up hope on humanity after this. I mean, Jiang Yanli’s death was one of the tipping points but I thought it was particularly telling how it was really The Crowd and their hurtful accusations, their collective hate, their selfishness, and their greedy ambition (look at the lot of them going after the fractured pieces of the Stygian Tiger Seal) which made him so disgusted with the world and with living in it that he just wanted out.

The power of the collective vs the individual is stark and powerful, and we would do well to remember that.

Finally finished this drama! I actually have a lot (A LOT) to say but to spare everyone the ridiculous verbal diarrhoea, here's a 'shortish' summary of my thoughts below.

I'll be honest, from a plot/ plot-device perspective, this show was a little patchy and inconsistent. For one, I've always felt that the novel itself already didn't have the strongest of plots and there were plenty of unanswered questions left unexplained. The drama made several changes from the novel - the overtly BL stuff was stripped out (not a significant loss, in my opinion), they introduced new story arcs (the whole Stygian Iron shard, for one), and modified certain key events - but it was still rough and patchy in quality. I don't want to go into details but suffice to say, while it wasn't the best of plots or the use of certain plot devices, they still provided an adequate platform to showcase other aspects of the show - some of which the show used to shine in quite spectacular manner, to its praise and credit.

The scenic shots, for one, were a huge highlight for me. There were so many breathtaking and artistic shots, I felt incredibly spoilt for choice and I've never quite spammed my personal feeds with so much of it for any other drama. Awful CGI aside, the cinematography was magnificent and the best shots were those featuring the wide and vast landscapes - it really gave the drama a sense of the magnificence and greatness of the world that the characters lived in.

Where the drama really stood out, for me, was in its characters, particularly its main character. The main character, Wei Wuxian, was the most fascinating character in the whole drama, and the best part was really the '16 years ago' section where his character gets established, then develops, grows and evolves. His journey and his relationships with the people around him and how they end up influencing his decisions and actions made for one very compelling character arc. A lot of what he went through was also very reminiscent of the ugly reality in the world and I liked how the show used this as a mirror to reflect some of the flawed and faulty sides of humanity to us. The 'present day' sections were less compelling due to the all that wuxia-adventuring and murder-mystery plotline but there were still some key scenes which landed with emotional impact and I liked how the show executed them.

So, overall, for having one amazing main character and for giving him one of the most interesting, compelling and complex life journeys around, and for surrounding him with some seriously heartwarming and heartbreaking relationships, all while giving us some philosophical and psychological things to think about, this drama's a winner for me.

Totally agree with you that the best part of the series was the 16 years ago where we could see WWX’s past and how he ended up being the most hated person in their world.  After that I find the story too cliche and probably just made for fan-service since the story wasn’t really well written for me compared to the flashback of 16 years ago. Although I am happy that WWX finally can live happily again.

When I first watched the series, WWX reminds me of Bidam from QSD. After watching QSD it made me want to know about the real Bidam, he was a popular minister and loved by the people but for whatever reason he suddenly instigated a rebellion and became the most hated person in Silla.

So seeing the first episode where they talked about WWX’s past reminds me of him.

Also I wanna talk about Xue Yang, Yi City arc. His character is so fascinating. I saw this comment before, no credible source though this time :(

XUE YANG

He is, evidently, a result of childhood trauma and abuse, and while he is psychotic, it can be interpreted that he genuinely began to care for Xiao Xingchen. Xue Yang doesn’t have anyone, do not have one Jiang Cheng who helped him drive away dogs,  do not have one sister who would comfort him,  do not have and one lan zhan who would wait for him for 16 years,  no one to show him what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s black and white, so he can’t handle suddenly having someone that cared for him and vice versa, he doesn’t know any better and he’s also a little crazy (you can’t tell me I’m wrong). A young boy that was treated in the wrong way and had no one to support him, developed into a sadly and sick mind mind. 

It’s just so interesting how he hates Xiao Xingchen, but in his attempt to deceive him, his enemy became the only one who’s ever shown him true kindness. He stuck around because he liked it. Maybe he believed he liked tricking Xiao Xingchen, but probably a part of him also liked the positive attention.

And then when things go wrong, he tries to get back into getting revenge by using Song Lan, but it backfires when Xiao Xingchen commits suicide and ruins his fun. Xue Yang ends up destroying the one who gave him the only trust and love (platonic or not) he’s ever had.

No matter, he tells himself in denial, “the dead are more obedient.” He probably doesn’t fully realize it himself, but his reaction to Xiao Xingchen not reviving as a puppet really shows he wants Daozhang back—except he wants the kind, unsuspecting one. The one who liked him for who he was and didn’t know of his backstory enough to condemn him. The one who took care of him and laughed at his jokes and helped him. The one who gave him candy and didn’t question or judge him. The one who didn’t hate him.

Which is probably why Xue Yang is so desperate to turn Xiao Xingchen into a controllable, mindless puppet. He might actually even end up hating it later when he realizes Daozhang won’t ever treat him with the same human kindness as before. But when Xiao Xingchen dies, his only thought is to clean Daozhang up and revive him. To try and pretend things are “back to normal.”

I do think he cared for Xiao Xingchen, and maybe he could’ve been reformed if his house of cards hadn’t fallen down. But at the same time, he may always have these psychopathic tendencies: the need to control, destroy, and get revenge.

I also think he felt despair because he lost something he never thoughts he would have - someone who cares. And it was all his fault because even if someone showed him kindness the only response Xue Yang could give back was hate because it's the only emotion he knew his whole life.  

It doesn’t justify what he’s done, but I just find him such a fascinating, interesting character—And of course “good character” doesn’t have to equal “good person.”

Song Lan is a man that entire lost his companion, we must remember that he also had a small conflict with Xiao XingChen, but soon regretted the words after he was given the eyes of his comrade. He now roams with the broken soul fragments of Xiao XingChen, Fuxue and Shuanghua, carries them with him for all eternity, making his and the blind man’s goal come true, helping people without asking for anything in return. He had everything, then life decided to slap him and take everything from him.

Xiao XingChen, a man, that is/was so selfless and humble, too good for his own good, always been a soft soul, he gave Song Lan his eyes, after he got poison in his eyes because of Xue Yang, even though the two comrades had a conflict. This person was just too good for this world, because this world is cold and twisted. And so the world also left a stain in this situation. I feel like Xiao Xingchen's and Wei Wuxian 's story is almost same. Both sacrificed something essential for their friends, both were accused by the same, both being heartbroken and in the end the choice to end all. Both version of stories are so heartbreaking that is so realistic and uncommon at the same time. 

I've gotten permission to post this :) Thanks @eiph_S on twitter for allowing me to do so :D

Original source: https://www.reddit.com/r/MoDaoZuShi/comments/i5r3w7/jiang_cheng_needs_a_hug/

https://twitter.com/eihp_S/status/1303635041717805056

https://twitter.com/eihp_S/status/1282311924588273664

Character Analysis from Both the Novel and the Drama (95% novel with some drama comparison)

Jiang Cheng Needs a Hug

Warning, extremely long character analysis incoming. After reading the post about Lan Qiren, I wanted to write one about Jiang Cheng too! He’s someone who I think is severely misunderstood by certain parts of the fandom (for reasons I can understand.) Jiang Cheng is a very interesting character to me, probably my favourite danmei character ever. MDZS is from Wei Wuxian’s perspective, which is why I find so many people biased against Jiang Cheng’s actions because well... we don’t get his point of view and his treatment of Wei Wuxian is admittedly pretty bad at first glance.

First, Jiang Cheng’s childhood shaped his personality just like all of our other beloved characters. As the youngest child, but also the future sect leader, Jiang Cheng was already under ridiculous expectations, but if you include the fact that Wei Wuxian was basically a prodigy, then you can already see why Jiang Cheng is so insecure. However, his parents make it so much worse. Jiang Fengmian showed no interest in his own son. One of the saddest things to me is that Jiang Cheng can count on his hands how many times his own father has ever picked him up, and that Jiang Fengmian showing Wei Wuxian a small amount of parental love sets up the stage for Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng’s tumultuous relationship. Jiang Fengmian favouring his adopted older brother over his own son leads to Yu Ziyuan disliking Wei Wuxian and putting even greater pressure on Jiang Cheng. I’m sympathetic to Yu Ziyuan, because she’s in a loveless marriage and her son who is extremely similar to her -personality wise- is ignored by her husband. It’s worse when you realise that Wei Wuxian is the son of Cangse Sanren who people believe that Jiang Fengmian was in love with; so Yu Ziyuan has to live with the fact her husband dislikes her so much, he can’t even stand his own son for resembling her. While I sympathise with Yu Ziyuan, her treatment of Jiang Cheng is one of the reasons why Jiang Cheng has so little faith in his own abilities. I read a post saying that when you’re not sure if your parents love you, what happens is that you stop loving yourself and it resounded so strongly with me for Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng hides his true feelings through anger, and isn’t able to communicate freely because this is what he learned. Jiang Cheng doesn’t have faith in himself or his own abilities because he’s lived his whole life in Wei Wuxian's shadow. Jiang Cheng is scared to love because everyone who he has loved has ended up dying or leaving him. This is just a recipe for a poorly adjusted adult Jiang Cheng who hides his true emotions behind anger.

Next, as sect heir, Jiang Cheng has a duty to Yunmeng and to Lotus Pier. A duty to save and to protect it with all his being. I think if you’re not familiar with the family values of ancient china (and even present day china), it’s hard to understand how important it is. Your sect is ALWAYS the utmost priority. Everything you do reflects back on your sect but even more so for JC who would become sect leader. As children, Jiang Cheng always believed that Wei Wuxian would be beside him all his life to help him lead- which is why he took Wei Wuxian choosing to save the Wen remnants so hard. For one, Jiang Cheng has to make the decision to prioritise Yunmeng Jiang or to help his brother - but there’s no decision to be made. Both he and Wei Wuxian know that Yunmeng Jiang is the only choice he can make. Lotus Pier needs to literally be rebuilt from the ashes. Jiang Cheng is now the youngest sect leader... like ever. He’s basically still a child, and he lost his parents and all of his sect because of the Wens. There is no way that Jiang Cheng would ever be able to face his parents and ancestors let alone the entire cultivation world and assist the Wens. Wei Wuxian knows this too which is why they both put on that show of “kicking Wei Wuxian out”. This is one thing I often see brought up against Jiang Cheng, which doesn’t make sense. It’s a mutual decision by both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng to do this.

Next, the issue of Wei Wuxian’s death is a bit funky because of the novel vs drama differences. For those who have seen CQL only, Jiang Cheng clearly attempts to kill him. However, this was right after Jiang Cheng watched Jiang Yanli die to save Wei Wuxian. Jiang Yanli is the light of Jiang Cheng’s life quite literally. She’s the only person to treat him kindly and to show him the love he lacks from his parents, so watching her die, because of his brother (who lowkey killed his sister’s husband, has not told him a word as to WHY he’s suddenly a demonic cultivator, is the reason they’re all at that location fighting, and to Jiang Cheng, has abandoned him to go save the family of the people who killed his own family), it is understandable why Jiang Cheng reacts the way he did. I’m not condoning killing your sibling, but I can understand the reasoning behind it. HOWEVER, in the novel, Wei Wuxian ends up dying because he loses control and ends up being attacked by his own army of corpses. Jiang Cheng did NOT kill him, in fact, he probably watched his brother die- right after watching his sister die. Jiang Cheng was indeed part of the siege but as a young, new sect leader, Jiang Cheng had no power to be going against the other sects. Furthermore, Jiang Cheng is isolated by all the other sects, and can only listen to them all brainwash him into thinking that it’s Yunmeng Jiang’s own fault for not being able to control WWX. In the span of a few years, Jiang Cheng loses everything including his family, most of them dying right in front of his eyes, and all he has left is newborn Jin Ling. He’s essentially still a child and now he has to raise a child on his own.

Next, the golden core. This such a huge turning point for Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian’s relationship. Both of them unknowingly gave up their cores for each other, solidifying that they really are brothers after all, but their relationship never recovers from this. Jiang Cheng gives his up because he doesn’t believe that he can lead and protect Yunmeng Jiang (and especially Jiang Yanli) as well as Wei Wuxian can due to a lifetime of insecurity and always being second best. Wei Wuxian gives his up because he knows that Jiang Cheng IS Yunmeng Jiang, he’s the only person who can rebuild it, but wouldn’t be able to adapt to life without a core, when his whole life was his future as Sect Leader. Unfortunately, this brotherly gift and sign of love, is never taken like that. For Jiang Cheng, it just negates the one sacrifice he’s made for Wei Wuxian and it’s just confirmation that everything he’s accomplished is because of Wei Wuxian and not through his own ability. To make things worse, he had no knowledge of it, and it’s thrown into his face by Wen Ning. Wen Ning, of course means well, he’s trying to defend Wei Wuxian, but for Jiang Cheng to hear this news from a Wen, THE Wen who killed Jin Zixuan, it’s probably 10x worse. I strongly dislike when people say Jiang Cheng is ungrateful about the golden core - it’s not fair to force him to be grateful for something he never asked to receive, and something he didn’t even know he received.

To add to that, Lan Wangji is there and this is right after they all argued in the ancestral hall. This ancestral hall scene is one which people use to say Jiang Cheng is a homophobe. However, Jiang Cheng is the type to say what he knows will hurt the most when he’s hurt. He’s angry because Wei Wuxian is no longer apart of Yunmeng Jiang, so he has no right to be in that ancestral hall. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it was a common belief that your ancestors’s spirits would linger to provide guidance and protection. A family’s ancestral hall is where the tablets (similar to gravestones) are displayed, where you provide offerings and pray to their spirits, and it is a private, sacred place. Generally, ONLY family is allowed in there. For Wei Wuxian to go in without permission, and to also bring in Lan Wangji, he’s disrespecting Jiang Cheng’s ancestors but also parading his cutsleeve, unmarried relationship. I’m not saying what Jiang Cheng said is okay, but he’s angry and he’s trying to get back at them by targeting their relationship. I’m not entirely certain which specific time period MDZS is set in, but from the treatment of Mo Xuanyu, you can see that Cutsleeves aren’t 100% accepted in society. It’s a HUGE disrespect to Jiang Cheng as sect leader, and as the only remaining member of the Jiang family.

In addition, to expand on Lan Wangji, it’s clear that Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji mutually dislike each other for good reason. Lan Wangji does not defer to Jiang Cheng as a sect leader by calling him Sect Leader Jiang or even just having any sort of politeness. He does not treat Jiang Cheng with the respect he deserves, well, because he doesn’t think Jiang Cheng deserves it. However, this is part of the reason why Wei Wuxian’s return only to run straight to Lan Wangji (and to bring Lan Wangji into the Yunmeng Ancestral Hall) hurts Jiang Cheng so much and is why Jiang Cheng reacts so badly to them.

After Wei Wuxian dies, Jiang Cheng is isolated. He has no one to rely on, and if you think about it, the other three sects are linked by the Venerated Triad (Nie Mingjue, Jin Guangyao, Lan Xichen). Of the four great sects, Jiang Cheng is the only one who isn’t included. He’s also the youngest, with no experience, and his sect has been decimated. Furthermore, Wei Wuxian was a former member of his sect, so while Lan Wangji partly blames him for Wei Wuxian’s death, the other sects probably partly blame Jiang Cheng for Wei Wuxian’s actions. Jiang Cheng is alone with no support, and Lan Wangji constantly derides his authority publicly, which really doesn’t help Jiang Cheng at all in his fight to restore Yunmeng Jiang. In return, Wei Wuxian runs off with Lan Wangji with not a second thought for Jiang Cheng or Yunmeng Jiang when he comes back from the dead. To Jiang Cheng, this is the biggest sign that Wei Wuxian didn’t need him, and has completely abandoned his promise to him and Yunmeng Jiang. We know Lan Wangji mourned but I think Jiang Cheng did too, in his own twisted way by hunting down those demonic cultivators and trying to find Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng who doesn’t know how to process his grief or his emotions properly just channels it all into anger which he misdirects at Wei Wuxian. He’s grieving his family and everything he’s ever known but no one ever gave him the time or means to properly do that.

This was super long and a bit all over the place, but Jiang Cheng is a character that I love from the depths of my heart. He’s someone who lost everything but lived up to his sect motto, and really achieved the impossible. He raised Jin Ling, returned Yunmeng Jiang to it’s former glory as a great sect and is THE Sandu Shengshou who you should never cross, but he’s lonely. He misses his family.

By way of being the main characters, both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji get a certain amount of leeway from the fandom for their actions that aren’t really extended to the other characters. The beauty of MDZS is how morally gray the characters are. It makes them human. Few people are inherently good or inherently bad. Good people can do bad things too. Jiang Cheng is no angel, but neither are Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. In my heart of hearts, our Yunmeng Shuangjie eventually reunite properly and rekindle their relationship. I Cannot See the ending of MDZS with Jiang Chengaccepting that they’re going their own separate ways because that means that Jiang Cheng is once again all alone with Jin Ling about to be the Jin sect leader. All Jiang Cheng needed in his life is some reassurance that he’s good enough and deserves love from other people.