You guys know I've been getting really interested in the real world ties to Teyvat. I've talked about things like the evolution of Japan's oni and onmyoudou and how it relates to Inazuma not to mention all the stuff about Sumeru and the other regions. You might also remember that I pointed at some inaccuracies with Genshin's China to show that they weren't playing favorites with regions.
But at the same time while I was doing all that it never occurred to me what the real world tie-in was for Liyue from a story sense. A god retiring and letting the people take over.
If you guys have played the newest Archon Quest it finally hit me while playing it.
Ningguang notices they are being watched by Cloud Retainer. The adepti is keeping watch over this new human ruled Liyue because they are still skeptical. But in the battle against Beisht we see that humans have figured out their own way of dealing with an Archon. (supposing Beisht is also one since she's the wife of one) In this event no adepti helped. Even including Shenhe it counts as an all human achievement because adepti trained or not Shenhe's still human. And this part even stumped me because I assumed Zhongli would lend a small helping hand. But it looks like gramps was right all along and that's when it clicked.
Ok ok so what does this have to do with the real world? Think on your ancient history. What role does religion play? As this guy puts it, on our side of the world the gods are all powerful. Everything depends on their will. This is true from Greek Antiquity all the way to the modern day. (We literally have a clause for canceling public events because of "an act of God." This also plays out a ton for insurance claims.) But China is very different. The gods are all there and they can bless the humans but it's up to humans to solve human problems.
I talked about how Genshin treats the Heavenly Principles as a villainous virtue. The Sustainer upholds it and attacks our Travelers unprovoked. The gods destroyed Khaenri'ah as far as we know because they violated its tenets. And we oppose Ei because she believes in them.
The Heavenly Principles is originally 天理 in Chinese. That felt like a parallel to 天命 or the Mandate of Heaven in the Chinese philosophy of rulership but it's not. Many explanations from scholars on this side of the world relate it to Divine Right but there's a big difference. Divine Right is about how a person born royalty has a god-given right to rule. But the Mandate of Heaven states that only if a person can do a good job do they then have a right to rule granted by the gods. If at any point they fail to solve their people's problems they'll lose that right.
The original Liyue Archon Quests didn't really point that out clearly enough for me but this one definitely did. The "gods" are literally watching the Qixing to see if they can handle it. If not then they prove they are not fit to rule and as Cloud Retainer stated the adepti would swoop in and forcibly remove them from power. But since they succeeded she applauds them. (and then tries to tell embarrassing stories about another Cryo girl in her care. This is how you know she's satisfied! [emoji])
Anyway this is really cool because the concept of humans solving human problems without following the gods is a major plot point of Genshin. In fact I think that's why it is necessary for all of the Archons to step down and the way they do so defines their characters.
For example Venti is likely a very important character because he gave up his rulership on day 1. He wanted the humans to choose their own path since the beginning. Meanwhile Zhongli is much more structured. He wanted to give the humans their freedom but first made sure they could manage on their own strength as proven from both battles at sea. This dynamic feels like a major focus. Is it better to give the humans their space and watch them rise and fall naturally or should you nurture them first and let them go once they are strong enough to prevent their fall for as long as they can.
This is also why the changes forced on Inazuma has played out poorly for the region. With Ei still in charge it essentially means that Inazuma and its people are still held back. Now if no other region needs these changes they'll end up being the only humans stuck at square 1 while the rest of Teyvat progresses to the next step. (But with Yae coming out this could easily be fixed. And even if MiHoYo did change Yae they could still push a future event to depose Ei so Inazuma doesn't get left behind.) See Japan. This is what you get for rewriting your history too much. [emoji]
What was your take on this new Archon Quest? Also would you want Beisht as a new Weekly Boss and do you think that's what MiHoYo will do?
Tips and Tricks from a Super Casual Genshin f2p
