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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 18 days

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MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 7/?

Mo Xuanyu and Xue Yang were Jin disciples at the same time

Rating: FANON – SUPPORTED

There's a not insignificant amount of fanworks that depict Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu interacting during their time as guest disciples of the Lanling Jin sect. While we do not have any concrete evidence that the two characters ever met, it is (mostly) possible to discern whether they were guest disciples at the same time.

The timeline of Mo Dao Zu Shi is often hard to follow because specific years and dates are rarely given in the books, but using context clues, I can piece together a rough estimate of when both characters were present at Golden Carp Tower and use that to identify any points they may have overlapped.

Xue Yang:

Xue Yang's time as a guest disciple is easier to define, so I'll start with him. The earliest time we see him, chronologically, is during the flower-viewing banquet that Lanling Jin held directly following the end of the Sunshot Campaign:

Xue Yang was extremely young at this point in time. Although his face still had a boyish cast to it, he was already very tall. He also wore a Sparks Amidst Snow robe, the very picture of carefree youth as he stood beside Jin Guangyao, like a spring breeze caressing the willow. (Seven Seas Ch. 10, Part 2)

He is already a disciple of the Jin sect, although he hasn't been one for long, according to Nie Mingjue's reaction:

Nie Mingjue frowned. “Xue Yang from Kui Prefecture?” Jin Guangyao nodded. Xue Yang was already infamous at a young age. Wei Wuxian could clearly sense Nie Mingjue’s frown deepening. (Seven Seas Ch. 10, Part 2)

Note that at this point, both Wei Wuxian and Jin Zixuan are alive (and attending the flower-viewing banquet as well). We can assume that this happens approximately 1-2 years before Wei Wuxian's death, due to factors such as time skips and a reference to the Sunshot Campaign from when Xiao Xingchen leaves the mountain, which we know is about a year after the Siege:

At the time, it had only been a few years since the end of the Sunshot Campaign, and the Siege of the Yiling Burial Mounds had just concluded. (Seven Seas Ch. 7)

and

Twelve years ago happened to be the year right after the Siege of the Yiling Burial Mounds, so they had just missed each other. (Seven Seas Ch. 7)

We can also approximate when Xue Yang's time as a disciple ended. He had to have been a guest disciple of the Lanling Jin until between one and two years after Wei Wuxian's death. We know it was at least one year afterwards, because he meets Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan while still associated with the Sect:

Xiao Xingchen smiled, seemingly well aware that it was in Jin Guangyao’s nature to speak in an ingratiating way. “Lianfang-zun speaks too highly of me.” His gaze then turned to Xue Yang. “He may be young, but since he ranks among the guest cultivators, he must still exercise self-discipline and restraint. The Jin Clan of Lanling is distinguished, after all, and should strive to set an example in many aspects.” (Seven Seas Extra 3)

And it must have been up to two years or less because Xue Yang was both imprisoned and exonerated for the crime of the Chang Clan massacre (and therefore no longer a disciple) while Jin Guangshan was still alive:

“I’m not shielding him,” Jin Guangyao defended himself. “The incident with the Chang Clan of Yueyang shocked me greatly as well. How could I have anticipated Xue Yang would slaughter a family of over fifty people? But my father insists on keeping him…” (Seven Seas Ch. 10)

and

Jin Guangshan began thinking of ways to pull Xue Yang out of jail ... until finally, the Jin Clan of Lanling successfully persuaded Chang Ping to change his story. He withdrew all the grievances he had stated before and announced publicly that the clan extermination case had nothing to do with Xue Yang. (Seven Seas Ch. 7)

And we know Jin Guangshan died eleven years before Wei Wuxian was resurrected, from Sisi's story.

“I’ll go first, then!” She casually curtsied to the crowd. “What I’m about to tell you is an incident that happened roughly eleven years ago.” ... And the half-dead man on the bed must have been Jin Guangshan! (Seven Seas Ch. 19)

Therefore, Xue Yang's time as a guest disciple lasted anywhere from two to four years in total, beginning at the end of the Sunshot Campaign and ending approximately a year (give or take) before Jin Guangshan dies.

Mo Xuanyu:

Mo Xuanyu's timeline is harder to define, because we never actually see him while he's a disciple, and have to rely on rumors and circumstantial evidence. The only reliable information we have, date-wise, is that he was fourteen when he was called to Golden Carp Tower by his father:

And sure enough, when Mo Xuanyu turned fourteen, that clan leader sent over a grand party to officially take him back. (Seven Seas Ch. 2)

Although knowing he's fourteen isn't particularly helpful, we do know that Jin Guangshan was still alive at the time. As for the exact time frame in which Mo Xuanyu could have been accepted as a disciple, Jin Guangyao says this:

“Did you think that I would rise in position with Jin Zixuan’s death? Jin Guangshan would rather bring back another illegitimate son than have me succeed him!” (Seven Seas Ch. 10)

This implies that Mo Xuanyu was accepted into Lanling Jin after Jin Zixuan's death so that Jin Guangyao would be further down the line of succession. This sentence is said when Nie Mingjue confronts Jin Guangyao about sheltering Xue Yang from the consequences of the Chang Clan massacre. Therefore, Mo Xuanyu could have (theoretically) entered the Jin sect at any point between Jin Zixuan's death and Nie Mingjue's confrontation, the latter of which took place after Xue Yang's imprisonment.

However, I believe it is more likely that Mo Xuanyu was brought in during the aftermath of Jin Zixuan's death, for the sheer reason that it would shunt Jin Guangyao out of the line of succession quicker.

We do know that Mo Xuanyu was present at Golden Carp Tower after Wei Wuxian's death, because Jin Guangyao gave him access to Wei Wuxian's manuscripts on possession:

He had written plenty of these manuscripts back then, all penned on a whim and tossed aside just as easily, scattered all around the cave where he slept in the Yiling Burial Mounds. ... He’d wondered where Mo Xuanyu had learned such forbidden magic. Now he knew. Never in a million years would Jin Guangyao have allowed unimportant people to glimpse the remains of a manuscript on forbidden magic. (Seven Seas Ch. 10)

And although we don't know exactly when Mo Xuanyu was kicked out of Golden Carp Tower, we can infer that it happened before Jin Guangshan's murder, simply because it would make the transfer of power to Jin Guangyao easier without that obstacle in the way. During the events in the Sword Hall of Lotus Pier, after Sisi and Bicao's testimonies, one unnamed cultivator says this:

"He spent the last few years before Jin Guangshan’s death busily clearing the land of his father’s illegitimate sons, for fear that someone would suddenly pop out of nowhere and challenge him for the position. Mo Xuanyu was probably one of the lucky ones. Had he not gone crazy and been booted back home, he would likely have ended up disappearing like the others." (Seven Seas Ch. 19)

This implies that Mo Xuanyu's expulsion from the sect happened at some point before Jin Guangshan's murder, as he would be a potential threat to Jin Guangyao's legitimacy (and have gotten killed) otherwise. However, this cannot exactly be taken as reliable evidence. As Wei Wuxian says about this exchange,

If they’re just rumors, why so quick to believe them? If they’re secrets, how would you even know of them? This was not the first time these rumors had spread. While Jin Guangyao was in power, they had been suppressed so well that no one took them seriously. But tonight, the rumors all seemed to have become hard facts with irrefutable evidence. They became a solid foundation for Jin Guangyao’s multitude of crimes, proving just how unscrupulous he was. (Seven Seas Ch. 19)

So while it's possible that the timeline here is correct, we know that (as established earlier in the books – see Chapter 1) rumors in the world of Mo Dao Zu Shi are unreliable at best and often contradictory. For the purposes of this post, though, I am choosing to assume that this is at least partially true.

So taking the assumptions I've made into account, we know that Mo Xuanyu's time as a Jin disciple could have lasted up to approximately three years, anywhere between directly following Jin Zixuan's death to just before Jin Guangshan's death.

The timeline:

Now that I have a rough estimate of when both characters were present at Golden Carp Tower, I can try to find places where they overlap. Unfortunately, even with all this sleuthing, I cannot say for sure if they were present at the same time. The chance that they just barely missed each other, though, is unlikely.

Given the most generous interpretation of their respective timelines, Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu could have been Jin disciples together for almost three years at maximum. This assumes:

Mo Xuanyu was accepted into the Jin sect almost immediately following Jin Zixuan's death.

Both Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu's expulsions happened soon after one another, within the same year as Jin Guangshan's death.

This means Mo Xuanyu would have been a disciple since before Wei Wuxian died, and that Xue Yang's imprisonment and exoneration happened on a very tight timeline right before Jin Guangshan's death. This is the interpretation that gives both characters as much time to interact as possible.

Given the least generous interpretation, however, Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu just missed each other. This assumes:

The massacre of the Chang Clan happened very soon after Xiao Xingchen descended from the mountain.

Mo Xuanyu's acceptance into the sect happened just before Nie Mingjue confronted Jin Guangyao.

This means that Mo Xuanyu's call to join the sect would have happened in between Xiao Xingchen apprehending Xue Yang and Nie Mingjue confronting Jin Guangyao about it, which is presumably a very short amount of time. This is also the least likely interpretation, as it wouldn't make much sense for Mo Xuanyu to have been accepted so late and during such a controversial period for the sect.

The most likely interpretation is somewhere in the middle: that Mo Xuanyu and Xue Yang were, in fact, Lanling Jin disciples at the same time, but that they did not have much overlap. I believe it is probable that Mo Xuanyu would have been accepted into the sect within a year or so of Jin Zixuan's death, and that the Chang Clan massacre happened at least half a year after Xiao Xingchen descended, meaning the two would have had around a year of overlap between them.

In conclusion, I can say with relative confidence that Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu would have been Jin disciples at the same time. However, I cannot confirm this as canon, as there is not enough evidence available in the books. Therefore, this must be rated as SUPPORTED FANON: the text does not directly state this is true, but it is a distinct and likely possibility.

#mdzs meta #xue yang #mo xuanyu #mo dao zu shi #as always‚ if you have any corrections or comments‚ please don't hesitate to let me know!#this one. might have gotten out of hand a little bit #fanon vs canon #rating: supported #long post

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 24 days

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MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 2.5/?

Jiang Cheng has a list of requirements for his ideal wife

Rating: FANON – SUPPORTED

Jiang Cheng's "wife requirements" are commonly seen in Jiang Cheng-centric romance plots in fanfiction, and are taken as canon, but surprisingly, they do not actually appear in the books themselves.

Most of this post was originally part of another (seen here), but the topic of that post was not focused on the list itself, so I'm posting this individually as well.

In terms of the official adaptations, Jiang Cheng's requirements for his perfect wife seem to be Untamed-only canon, as part of the Jiang Cheng/Wen Qing subplot the drama invented. However, the MDZS Fandom Wiki (which, as a fan wiki, is not a credible source) credits the following list of requirements to a since-deleted Tumblr post:

Naturally beautiful, graceful and obedient, hard-working and thrifty, coming from a respected family, cultivation level not too high, personality not too strong, not too talkative, voice not too loud and must treat Jin Ling nicely. (source)

Using the Wayback Machine, I managed to find the original Tumblr post in question (seen here). According to the user who posted it, this is a translated excerpt from a Weibo post written by MXTX herself, listing 10 supplemental facts about the books – supposedly posted a year before The Untamed was first announced.

I do not have Weibo and cannot verify this claim, but regardless, I do not consider "word of God" to be canon for the purposes of this blog. Whatever MXTX's intentions were when writing this list, Jiang Cheng's requirements are not mentioned anywhere in the actual text, and so I cannot rate this suggestion as anything but fanon. However, because MXTX herself (supposedly) said this, I chose to rate it as supported fanon. You, the reader, are free to choose whether you believe MXTX's supplemental material is canon-accurate.

#fanon vs canon #jiang cheng #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #this is hard to define bc its canon for all intents and purposes EXCEPT for specifically the context of this blog #so. pseudo-canon. mostly canon. canon on weekends and every other tuesday

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 25 days

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MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 6/?

Jiang Fengmian was in love with Cangse Sanren

Rating: RUMOR

Some characters, notably Wang Lingjiao and Madam Yu, bring up the gossip that Jiang Fengmian was in love with Wei Wuxian's mother in order to reason why he seems to favor Wei Wuxian over his own wife and son. Despite the idea originating in the text, however, there is no concrete evidence either way, so it cannot be considered "canon." Instead, this is only an in-text rumor.

Supposedly, "the entire cultivation world knew" the rumors surrounding the Jiang marriage drama, but as we learn in the very first chapter, the information spread throughout the cultivation world is incredibly inaccurate and relies on misinformation (Seven Seas Ch. 1, Ch. 12).

We do know that even at the time, people thought Jiang Fengmian and Cangse Sanren were romantically involved:

Speculation abounded that Cangse-sanren was extremely likely to become the next mistress of Lotus Pier. To everyone’s surprise, it was around this time that the Yu Clan of Meishan proposed a marriage alliance with the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng. (Seven Seas Ch. 12)

But as established above, while the popularity of this rumor implies that it may have been based in fact, the assumptions that the "cultivation world" makes are not a reliable source of information.

Crucially, of the few characters who mention the rumor aloud, it is Madam Yu herself who first brings it up with her husband:

"I refuse to believe you haven’t heard the gossip—that after so many years, Sect Leader Jiang is still obsessed with a certain Sanren and sees his old friend’s son as his own. Everyone speculates whether Wei Ying is your…" (Seven Seas Ch. 12)

But only a few pages later, Wei Wuxian refutes this "nonsensical bullshit":

“My mom and dad are real people and have names. I can’t stand when people blindly assign me to other families!” (Seven Seas Ch. 12)

With all this contradictory evidence in the books and no first-person account from someone who witnessed their relationship (Wei Wuxian wasn't born yet; Madam Yu only refers to the gossip as if she learned it second-hand; Jiang Fengmian never confirms nor denies), there is no way to know for sure whether Jiang Fengmian had feelings for Cangse Sanren.

However, canonically, multiple characters labor under this assumption. In the end, because of the complicated nature of this topic and its roots in the text, the idea that Jiang Fengmian was in love with Wei Wuxian's mother has to remain a rumor.

#fanon vs canon #mdzs meta #jiang fengmian #cangse sanren #madam yu #rating: rumor

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 3 months

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How about the famous “LWJ played Inquiry every night while WWX was dead” for one of your inaugural posts??? Good luck btw!!!

posted here!! thank u :)

#asks and answers

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 3 months

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MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 5/?

Lan Wangji played Inquiry every day for 13 years

Rating: FANON - UNSUPPORTED

This belief is a big one in the fandom, since it's commonly held to be canon or implied canon. It's both romantic and tragic to think of Lan Wangji playing Inquiry for Wei Wuxian every day during his thirteen years of mourning, whether he thought Wei Wuxian would respond or no. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), there is no proof in the novel that Lan Wangji ever tried to contact Wei Wuxian after his death.

In the first place, Inquiry is the wrong method for to search for Wei Wuxian:

"Inquiry" was a famous song composed by the forebears of the Lan Clan of Gusu. It was different from "Evocation" in that it was used in circumstances when the identity of the deceased was unknown and there was no medium. (Seven Seas Ch. 5)

As Lan Wangji knows Wei Wuxian's identity, Inquiry is not applicable. There is another GusuLan method for summoning souls that would be more likely:

The song they played was called "Evocation." Using the corpse, a part of the corpse, or a beloved item of the deceased as the medium, the soul of the dead would come forth at the sound of the music. (Seven Seas Ch. 5)

By default, Inquiry would not have been Lan Wangji's soul-summoning song of choice. Even if we assume that Lan Wangji had to resort to Inquiry because he didn't have a suitable medium (e.g. Wei Wuxian left no body/Lan Wangji didn't have access to a "beloved item"), there is no indication in the text that he ever attempted it or Evocation. We do know that after the siege of the Burial Mounds, Lan Wangji "searched the mountain for days," which may have included one or both methods, but neither is specified:

Although he had found the unconscious, feverish Wen Yuan tucked inside the hollow of a scorched tree, he had found nothing of Wei Wuxian. Not even a bone, a chunk of flesh, or a frail wisp of soul. (Passage and quote above: Seven Seas Ch. 23)

Without a soul to communicate with, there would be no chance of Inquiry working. We as the reader know that Wei Wuxian's soul was intact and able to be summoned back eventually, but Lan Wangji didn't know that. Faced with his own inability to find Wei Wuxian's soul, the years of failed attempts from the major clans, and the assumption that an un-summonable soul must have been ripped apart or dispersed (Seven Seas Chs. 5, 7), it's incredibly unlikely that he would have continued to play regardless.

At best, we can assume it's possible that Lan Wangji played Inquiry briefly at the Burial Mounds, but there is no canon basis for the idea that he played it every day until Wei Wuxian was resurrected.

If anybody is big into fandom history and knows where this idea might have originated, please let me know! I'm curious and it would be an interesting addition to this post. I know that the Lan Wangji character song from The Untamed, "Bu Wang," contains this verse:

The qin plays in the Jingshi A song of inquiry, unanswered (Genius Lyrics)

If not the original source for the "13 years" theory, this official song may have popularized it until it was assumed to be canon to the novels as well as the drama; it wouldn't be the first time that something like this has happened.

#fanon vs canon #mdzs #mdzs meta #lan wangji #wangxian #inquiry #rating: unsupported #i've seen some sources claim this originated from a chinese fanfic but i can't speak chinese so i have no idea how to confirm that #also reminder that submissions are open again if anyone has an idea lol

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 3 months

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hey y'all! i've got a few things i wanna say:

first, my askbox is open again! feel free to send in anything you've been sitting on since i closed them - submissions, clarifications, etc. are all welcome. if you've sent a submission that i haven't gotten to yet, don't worry - i'm working my way through them now.

related: a quick reminder that my posting schedule is intentionally sporadic. if you don't see a response for a while, i haven't forgotten about it. thank you all so much for your patience!

finally, just some quick housekeeping: i've been adding read-mores to most of my posts so they don't take up space on the dashboard, but they can get a little clunky sometimes and i know some blogs don't add them for fear of deactivation making them unreadable. i don't have any plans to delete this blog, but i just wanted to throw this out there in case anyone has a strong opinion. if there's any formatting or readability issues with my posts, i'd love to hear from y'all.

thanks for reading! :)

#cultivation conference call #i haven't been very active on this blog besides working on my draft backlog so i guess a secret fourth topic is #is there anything yall want to see from this blog that im not doing at the moment?

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 3 months

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Hi! Thank you so much for this! We desperately needed this kind of blog for MDZS!

Anyways, here's my question: Is Zidian a weapon from the Meishan Yu sect? I've always thought it is but there's not really too much information other than Madam Yu's maids, whom she brought from Meishan, also fight with whips against WZL.

posted! thank YOU :)

#asks and answers

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 3 months

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MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 4/?

Zidian is a weapon from the Yu Clan of Meishan

Rating: FANON – SUPPORTED

Because Madam Yu and her handmaids (and later, Jiang Cheng) are the only characters to use electric whips in Mo Dao Zu Shi, there is speculation that this type of whip is a traditional weapon of the Yu Clan of Meishan. Unfortunately, there is no mention of Zidian's origins in the novels.

However, it is not unlikely that the whips are exclusive to MeishanYu. The only other characters to carry lightning whips are Madam Yu's handmaids, who grew up alongside her, indicating that while Zidian is not the only one of its kind, it is not an oft-used weapon in the rest of the jianghu:

Jinzhu and Yinzhu each drew long whips sizzling with electricity and began to engage him in combat. The handmaids had been very close to Madam Yu ever since they were young, and trained under the same teacher, so their combined attacks were a force to be reckoned with. (Seven Seas Ch. 12)

Some clans are shown to have specialties – for example, the Lan Clan's musical cultivation and the Su Clan's knockoff – so the idea that the Yu Clan specializes in the use of electric whips isn't too farfetched. Another possibility is that electric whips are a specialty of the teacher Madam Yu and her handmaids trained under, who may or may not have been affiliated with the clan.

In conclusion, while electric whips are not canonically from MeishanYu, it is the simplest explanation, considering their relative exclusivity and the origins of their wielders. Therefore, it remains a likely possibility that Zidian is either a traditional weapon of or an heirloom from the Yu Clan of Meishan.

#fanon vs canon #mdzs #madam yu #meishan yu #zidian #rating: supported

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 4 months

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silly question from a cql fan who's unfamiliar with the novel but curious about it. ive seen a trend of fics who claim xiao xingchen is a bad cook, i was wondering if this is just popular fanon or is there something about this in the novel? thank you for doing this blog btw! bc there are so many different 'canons' for mdzs (depending on which one you like) and a lot of fandom creations that mix canons, it's sometimes difficult to differentiate fanon from canon unless you've consumed all of mdzs lol (maybe i will someday just been too busy rn). so having someone just directly address what is/isnt canon in a non-judgy way is honestly awesome. thank you :D

posted here!

thank u sm for the kind ask :)

#asks and answers

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 4 months

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MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 3/?

Xiao Xingchen is a bad cook

Rating: FANON – UNSUPPORTED

It seems to be a popular trope in Yi City-centered fanfiction to make Xiao Xingchen a bad cook. However, nothing in the book concretely states that Xiao Xingchen is either good or bad at cooking.

One of the only passages that directly mentions Xiao Xingchen in relation to food is this one, from Wei Wuxian's Empathy session:

Xiao Xingchen took care of their food and board in Yi City. Being blind, he couldn't pick out good vegetables and was too abashed to haggle prices. (Seven Seas Ch. 8, p. 129)

In the Exiled Rebels translation, the first sentence is translated as:

Xiao XingChen had always been responsible for the three's meals. (ExR Ch. 40)

From this we know that Xiao Xingchen takes care of meal preparation, and that the ingredients he uses are often subpar. However, we are never shown Xiao Xingchen's process for cooking, and nothing in this passage indicates that the use of bad vegetables drastically impacts the taste of his food.

Later, A-Qing shares a tense meal with Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen, but although she pretends not to be hungry, there is no mention of the food's taste.

Too frightened to eat, she conveniently pretended to have lost her appetite from anger. She spat out every mouthful she took, pushing the bowl around hard, mumbling strings of curses under her breath. (Seven Seas Ch. 8, p. 143)

However, there are other reasons why she may not have mentioned the taste of the food; in this scene, A-Qing is preoccupied with the realization that Xue Yang is a notorious criminal and her furious/indignant act, and not whether the food is cooked well. Wei Wuxian also never mentions the taste of the food in his narration, despite being able to feel A-Qing's senses, but it's not unlikely that he simply didn't deem that information relevant.

We do know that when Xue Yang is confronted with Wei Wuxian's food, which multiple characters are unable to eat, he reacts negatively:

However, when he lowered his head and partook, the corners of his lips started to twitch. It was only by firmly pursing his lips that he managed to not bring it right back up. . . . "However, upon further consideration... if I must eat this every day, then I choose death." (Seven Seas Ch. 8, p. 64-65)

But when he eats with Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing, he does not have any reaction, whether positive or negative.

The neutrality with which the characters interact with Xiao Xingchen's cooking imply that he is at least a passable chef, and I believe it is highly unlikely that he's bad at cooking, but there is nothing in the text that directly contradicts this by stating that he is good at it.

#fanon vs canon #mdzs #xiao xingchen #yi city arc #rating: unsupported #i forgot i had this one in my drafts...........

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 4 months

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i have no clue what prompted you to say this to me but honestly? i respect you for it

#asks and answers

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 4 months

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A recent one I've seen is that wen ning fits jiang cheng's list of requirements for a wife.

It gave me very 'that doesn't sound right but I don't know enough about mdzs canon to dispute it' vibes so... hoping you can do the work for me lol

posted here!

#asks and answers #this ask made me laugh when i got it

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 4 months

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MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 2/?

Wen Ning fits Jiang Cheng's list of requirements for a wife

Rating: FANON – NEUTRAL

A lot of ships involving Jiang Cheng will use a list detailing the characteristics of his ideal woman as evidence for one pairing for another, and the character brought to me to evaluate as a suitable match was Wen Ning. Unfortunately, I have to rate this as fanon because Jiang Cheng's wife requirements... aren't canon to the novels.

In terms of the official adaptations, Jiang Cheng's requirements for his perfect wife seem to be Untamed-only canon, as part of the Jiang Cheng/Wen Qing subplot the drama invented. However, the MDZS Fandom Wiki (which, side note, is a horrible source for anything) credits the following list of requirements to a since-deleted Tumblr post:

I do not have Weibo and cannot verify this claim, but regardless, I do not consider "word of God" to be canon for the purposes of this blog. Whatever MXTX's intentions were when writing this list, Jiang Cheng's requirements are not mentioned anywhere in the actual text, and so I cannot rate this suggestion as anything but fanon. You, the reader, are free to choose whether you think MXTX's supplemental material is canon-accurate.

As for Wen Ning himself: Canonically, Jiang Cheng "could never tolerate" him (Seven Seas Ch. 19, p. 251), and so unfortunately this ship cannot officially sail. Even if Wen Ning does fit every entry on this list, Jiang Cheng would not consider him a prospective match. I do not consider the list canon, and so any attempts to figure out if Wen Ning fits the letter of the list (if not the spirit) can not be anything but subjective.

But, well, this post is about the list itself, not Jiang Cheng's feelings about it. So while I'm here, I might as well have some fun with it.... Feel free to use the notes to debate whether or not you think Wen Ning is secretly right for Jiang Cheng's dubiously-canon standards.

Naturally beautiful: Wen Ning is ADORABLE and I LOVE HIM. You can't look at him and NOT call him cute; even Wei Wuxian thinks his "side profile [is] delicate and refined" (Seven Seas Ch. 12, p. 141). Would Jiang Cheng think this? Um,

Graceful and obedient: He's pretty meek and he's described as a yes-man (Seven Seas Ch. 16, p. 22), and he does what Wei Wuxian says a lot (under magical flute coercion or otherwise), but he can be pretty stubborn when he wants to be. I wouldn't call him falling off a roof "graceful," but I suppose that was after he was zombified.

Hard-working and thrifty: Yes – I can't imagine he got all those Wen subordinates by being completely lazy. And if anything he's kind of the pack horse for the Burial Mounds crew lol.

Coming from a respected family: Technically? Yes. The Wens have historically been a powerful and influential family, and Wen Ning is the younger brother of someone of "a rank on par with Wen Chao" (Seven Seas Ch. 12, p. 148). Functionally? Uhhhh

Cultivation level not too high: This one is debatable, but probably a yes. We don't receive much information about Wen Ning's cultivation level, since his fighting prowess isn't really plot-relevant until he dies, but he is described as "unremarkable" in comparison to Wen Qing. Just like, in general, I guess. (Seven Seas Ch. 12, p. 149)

Personality not too strong: See #2. I would say yes with some caveats. Especially (and ironically) when Jiang Cheng is involved.

Not too talkative/voice not too loud: Also a match! Wen Ning stutters a lot and doesn't really raise his voice unless he's angry, so he's pretty quiet. Remember that time he and wangxian were on that boat and Wei Wuxian straight up didn't notice him for like five minutes? Poor guy. Can you believe this happened to him twice.

Must treat Jin Ling nicely: Do we count murdering his dad? Because if we don't, then Wen Ning treats Jin Ling very nicely. He even saves his life multiple times!

In conclusion: ?????????

#fanon vs canon #mdzs #jiang cheng #wen ning #rating: neutral #i am not going to provide sources for every part of my breakdown of the list bc it is so much just me fucking around with it #but yall are welcome to take this and run with it. tell me all the reasons u think ur fav character is actually jc's perfect match #*wen ning voice* if i had a nickel for every time i was on a boat with lwj and wwx (give or take assorted juniors)#and i wasn't noticed for a weirdly long amount of time #i'd have two nickels. which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 4 months

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Hello! In the visual adaptations and a lot of fanart WWX wears black and red as a Jiang disciple but I think it makes more sense for him to wear purple. As far as I know, the novel never explicitly says what color he wore, so how would you rate it?

Posted here! Thanks for the submission :)

#asks and answers

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mdzs-fanon-exposed · 4 months

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MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 1/?

Wei Wuxian wore black and red as a Jiang disciple

Rating: FANON – NEUTRAL

Almost all the visual adaptations and official art for Mo Dao Zu Shi depict Wei Wuxian in black and red clothing during his days as a Jiang disciple, despite the other disciples wearing sect colors. However, this design choice is not canon to the novel, as the color of his robes during this time period is never stated.

In all the flashbacks to Wei Wuxian as a Jiang disciple, the only time the color of Wei Wuxian's clothing is mentioned is in the Xuanwu's cave:

The inner robe was his undergarment, which wouldn't normally have been appropriate for Lan Wangji to wear, but his outer robe was filthy. ... Wei Wuxian tossed the dry white inner robe to him and draped the outer robe around himself before silently making himself scarce to give Lan Wangji space. (Seven Seas Ch. 11, p. 64)

Wei Wuxian has canonically worn a white inner robe at least once. However, the color of his outer robes are never stated until after Lotus Pier is sacked and Wei Wuxian returns from the Burial Mounds for the first time, at which point he is "dressed entirely in black" (Seven Seas Ch. 13, p. 179).

Personally, the emphasis placed on how much black Wei Wuxian wears after the Burial Mounds implies to me that it is a brand-new fashion choice. In my opinion, as the head disciple of the Jiangs, Wei Wuxian was much more likely to have worn the sect's official color:

Jiang Cheng had yet to reply when a man clad in the Jiang Clan's purple came rushing out of the woods. "Sect Leader!" (Seven Seas Ch. 3, p. 80)

Notably, even in the scenes before his official separation from the Jiangs where he does wear black, Wei Wuxian does not appear to wear red either, except for one "accessory":

He saw himself, dressed all in black, standing with his hands clasped behind his back. A black flute with a bright red tassel hung at his waist. (Seven Seas Ch. 10, p. 310)

This prompts the question of why exactly the visual adaptations and fanart depict Wei Wuxian in so much red. My guess is that the red from Chenqing's tassel was used as an accent color in order to make Wei Wuxian's design distinctive, but I don't know for sure.

In conclusion, it is impossible to say what color Wei Wuxian's clothing was when he was a Jiang disciple, as it is never mentioned in the novel. The color of his clothing is left to the audience's own interpretation.

#fanon vs canon #mdzs #wei wuxian #yunmeng jiang #rating: neutral

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