#not to imply too much christian mythos but wth mihoyo what do you mean by all of this

[miralia]

The lore in Genshin Impact is so cryptic and the fandom so large that almost every part of it has been dissected a dozen times by a dozen different people, with no clear-cut answer to any question. But there was something I noticed that no one else seemed to have thought of yet and I just wanted to share!

I know a bit about Chinese mythology, but I'm not a firsthand source by any means. I started thinking about it in connection with Genshin because the game is Chinese-made and thus may have some elements of the traditional mythos in it. And after thinking about it probably longer than necessary, I think it does!

One of the main features of traditional Taoist cosmology, which shows up a lot in Chinese mythology, is the concept of the five heavenly beasts. Each of them corresponds to a cardinal direction and one of the elements in the Chinese five elements system (in which I didn't find any noticeable connections to Genshin lore). The Beasts, however, seemed to have a much greater connection: the Black Tortoise/Warrior of the North, the Azure/Green Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Yellow Dragon of the Center.

Already, there is a connection. Stormterror is referred to as the "eastern dragon" or "dragon of the east", and his coloration just so happens to be blue-green. In addition, the Azure Dragon represents life, spring, sunrise, vitality, luck, and fertility, among others. Is this or is this not what Venti/Barbatos, and, by extension, Mondstadt represents as well?

The second connection I could find with the Beasts and the countries of Teyvat was the connection between the White Tiger of the West and what we know of Snezhnaya and the Tsaritsa. The White Tiger embodies femininity and is the polar opposite of the Azure Dragon. In addition, she is said to be headstrong, proud, a loner, and difficult to control - therefore, she should always be kept in check by the Azure Dragon, who is said the be the stronger of the two, and if they are separated, the world is thrown into imbalance. (This in itself is interesting, as the Tsaritsa is explicitly stated to have "severed ties" with Venti, and Venti states quite clearly that he is the "weakest of the Seven", and by no means stronger than the Tsaritsa. Take that as you will.) Further, the Tiger is a fierce warrior and dangerous to outsiders, but is known to be gentle and caring to relatives and children. Much like a certain major character from Snezhnaya...

The third and final connection I made was between the Golden Dragon of the Center and, naturally, Zhongli/Rex Lapis. I mean, come on. One of his forms is literally a golden dragon, and he keeps a second one as a pet (Azhdaha). Furthermore, the Golden Dragon is said to be the most powerful of the five Beasts and represents earth.

Now, as there are seven elements/prospective countries in Genshin Impact and only five Heavenly Beasts, this isn't a definitive theory. It was just a connection I made that I thought was interesting. Please let me know if any information I stated was incorrect!

Source (likely not firsthand either, but it had similar information to other, more firsthand sources I've seen in the past but wasn't able to access at the time)

#genshin impact #random stuff #genshin impact theory #genshin venti #the tsaritsa #genshin zhongli #genshin childe #i feel like the dude from always sunny in philadelphia #surrounded by pins and red string #it's almost a nice feeling tho #always sunny in mondstadt! #and don't get me STARTED on kaeya #or the connections between dainsleif childe and paimon #spoiler it's the galaxy cloak #they all have something to do with the abyss #is my idea #albedo is just. cryptic?? i've already partially dissected him but it's taking a while #four pointed stars...star of bethlehem...scapegoats...khaenriah... #not to imply too much christian mythos but wth mihoyo what do you mean by all of this