Today I Am Going To Be Rambling About One Of My Most Favorite Things About Tgcf & Xie Lian As A Protagonist,

today i am going to be rambling about one of my most favorite things about tgcf & xie lian as a protagonist, its the fact that despite everything, despite all his severe horrific trauma, hes able to be a good person. and i know thats a pretty like general blanket statement, but let me explain:

usually i hate protagonists who go through one bad event & then choose peace and love, usually its boring and unrealistic to me (especially as someone who has gone through traumatic experiences and has been thoroughly messed up by them) but with xie lian it's different, its different because throughout his whole life after being banished he has really bad luck. the man literally cant catch a break !!!

and i empathize with that !! i understand how it feels to have life seeming to constantly be against you, and although xie lian doesnt always have the most healthiest mindset, (which is to be expected) like for example how he views his relationship with physical pain, how he constantly demeans himself, how his self esteem is horrific, but he's able to enjoy the little things in life !!! he seems like the type of guy who would sit in the sun for a few hours after a hard day of work to relax, he seems like he would take his time living very slowly (when he has the chance)

and i think this is why tgcf is like. one of my all time favorite book series ive read, its how human all the characters are, its the contrasts between xie lian being portrayed as this washed up trash god who was a former prince when in reality he's only looked down upon because hes behaving like a human, not a well-respected immortal who's lived more than eight centuries.

and i think thats what life is all about, its not being a good person, but its deciding to choose kindness and mundanity because where is the joy in life if you can't savor a sweet snack? or enjoy a warm meal with loved ones? godhood & power mean nothing when you're constantly miserable. like there's already so much cruelty in the world, and xie lian has already experienced such harshness, so he chooses kindness instead. like that one quote that waymond wang from everything everywhere all at once said where hes like:

"You tell me that it’s a cruel world, and we’re all just running around in circles. I know that. I’ve been on this earth just as many days as you. When I choose to see the good side of things, I’m not being naïve. It’s strategic and necessary. It’s how I’ve learned to survive through everything. I know you see yourself as a fighter. Well, I see myself as one too. This is how I fight."

okay thats all. i needed to get this off my chest before i exploded

peepaw xie lian

we don’t make enough grandpa xie lian jokes like that man literally gave out advice on alleviating creaky backs and legs after his third ascension, collapsed on his straw mat from fatigue after the banyue arc, and then lamenting on why everyone treats him like he’s so old when he is, in fact, always acting like an elderly man who’s seen a bit too much of the world

Meaning of 陈情 Chenqing

This is going to be a rehash of the old Taming Wangxian footnotes, but I’ll be adding a little more. 

The term 陈情 Chenqing has two meanings.  The first would be to reminisce past relationship (former friendship), and the second would be to provide a full account of (an issue).  

To gain further context about this term, let us look at where it originated from.  It was first originated from Wenxuan (‘Selections of Refined Literature”) compiled by 萧统 Xiao Tong, the Crown Prince of the Liang Dynasty.  In the Wenxuan, there is a segment called the 陈情表 Chenqing Memorial (to the throne), which is a letter written by Li Mi, a scholar of the Western Jin Dynasty to the Emperor Wu of Jin.  The Emperor Wu of Jin had employed him to work in the palace stables but Li Mi wanted to take care of his elderly grandmother.  His father died, his mother remarried and he lived with his grandmother.  So he wrote this heartfelt letter about his family circumstances and the hardship that he’s facing.  (It’s basically a resignation letter lol). The story didn’t end well and he was removed from his post, defamed and he died at home.

This term is also used in the modern context of confessing before a court.  Hence, a 陈情 Chenqing is almost like a plea of sorts.  It fits so well as firstly, Wei Wuxian is essentially treated like a criminal throughout the entire book and everyone in the series expects a “confession” from him.  The confrontation at Nightless City was almost like a court that wanted to trial him.  And secondly, from the historical context of the word, it could have hinted that it wouldn’t make a different no matter what he said and he wouldn’t have ended well.  

陈情 and 随便 are commonly thought to depict the shift in Wei Wuxian’s character. 随便 (suí biàn) represents his youth; he is carefree, relaxed and without worry.  陈情 on the other hand, is a depiction of his loss and loneliness. Chenqing was created from his time in the Burial Mounds - it’s a turning point for him because at this juncture, he had no means to give his own account or prove his “innocence”, simply because he has walked the demonic path. He’s unable to tell his loved ones that he lost his jindan, and as much as he misses his past relationships, he’s unable to relive them because he’s labelled a “demonic” Yiling Laozu.  

An interesting titbit can be found in the title of the Untamed, 陈情令 (chén qíng lìng). There are two possible interpretations to this. 

(i) The main focus of the story is on Wei Wuxian and his character growth, hence placing 陈情 in the title puts the emphasis on him. 

(ii) 陈情一曲令天下 (chén qíng yī qū lìng tiān xià) - According to a forum, the producers have  used this line to describe the drama’s title. It can be translated to, “a song from Chenqing commands the world”, aptly depicting Chenqing’s power.  

THIS !!!!! OH MY GOD THIS THIS THIS !!!

jiang cheng did not kill wei wuxian. like that is a pretty significant thing that did not happen but for some reason people keep stating as fact. and also quite significantly the reason he did not kill him is because he loves him.

jiang cheng's hatred towards wei wuxian is a defense mechanism born from his trauma and anger and fear of abandonment. his hatred is a construct designed to minimise emotional pain. his hatred only exists because it's trying to cancel out the love in order to protect him from rejection and abandonment and the extreme emotional pain that comes with them. there's actually a psychological term for this coping mechanism: it's called splitting. it's a distorted way of thinking that is black and white in nature and often caused by trauma. it means you are unable to hold opposing thoughts and feelings and you see people as either all good or all bad. jiang cheng is incapable of seeing any grey area so he does a very extreme swing from love to hate because he simply cannot process the complexity of his own polarising emotions. he cannot reconcile his love for wei wuxian with the pain wei wuxian has (unintentionally) caused him. he does all of this unconsciously too because splitting is not a conscious decision you make. he does not even realise it's happening.

for years it keeps all those messy and complex and painful feelings jiang cheng has for wei wuxian at bay. splitting is inherently self-destructive but it is considered a coping mechanism for a reason. for a long time it's the only thing that allows jiang cheng to keep going. it isn't until guanyin temple that all those complex emotions that the hastily put together hatred has been trying so hard to cover up come spilling out and jiang cheng starts to acknowledge them. the love and the loss and those gutwrenching feelings of abandonment and rejection and not being good enough. and he says desperately "shouldn't i hate you? can't i hate you?" because he wants so very much to hate him but he's now realising that he never has. because the hate was always just a mask for love and all its painful and contradictory complexities. the fact that acknowledging all of those feelings has him emotionally ruined and sobbing on the temple floor is exactly why the splitting happened in the first place. this is the pain and loss that he was unconsciously trying to protect himself from.

THIS IS SONCOOL

The ghost who rejected godhood

In this life I give all my loyalty to you.