Mo xiang tong xiu interview.
Gods , also known as Heavenly Officials (神官, Shénguān ) are exceptional humans who ascended to the Heavenly Court.
Contents.
1 Mythology 2 Canonical Setting 3 Heavenly Court 3.1 Upper Heaven 3.2 Middle Heaven 4 Martial Gods 5 Civil Gods 6 Elemental Masters 7 Trivia 8 References.
Mythology.
The Gods and Heavenly Court of Heaven Official's Blessing are based on the Chinese belief that the heavens are constructed just like Chinese bureaucracy. The heavens are led by the Jade Emperor ( yùdì ) just like the mortal realm is led by the Son of Heaven ( Tianzi , another name for Emperor of China). The Jade Emperor then divided his administration into bureaus to take responsibility for a certain domain or function. [1] In Heaven Official’s Blessing , these domains consist of Civil Gods (also known as Scholar Gods or Literature Gods), Martial Gods and Elemental Masters . As they are acting as officials in the court of the Jade Emperor (or, in this case, Jun Wu's) these ascended beings are known as Heavenly Officials .
These gods can be described as being of the xian archetype which is described by as the following:
They are immune to heat and cold, untouched by the elements, and can fly, mounting upward with a fluttering motion. They dwell apart from the chaotic world of man, subsist on air and dew, are not anxious like ordinary people, and have the smooth skin and innocent faces of children.
Canonical Setting.
In Xianxia novels, notable humans commonly can reach the status of godhood through cultivation. However, in the setting of Heaven Official's Blessing , cultivation does not seem to be a condition as one could ascend through outstanding merits reached while being a mortal. There are those who ascended purely through their cultivation like Mu Qing [2] , those who ascended through their incredible deeds like The Rain Master and those who ascended through both like Xie Lian.
The Heaven itself is full of these outstanding people. Everyone is the beloved child of heaven, many of them are princes, princesses or great generals. As such everyone called each other with their respective titles to be polite.
Gods are powered by the faith and worship of their believer, so much so that the currency used in heaven are the number of incense sticks burnt in the temple of each official. These incense sticks are called "merits" [2] . Without the faith and worship of their followers, gods would simply fade away into nonexistence [3] while gods with a high number of followers will become stronger.
As they live and die by the belief of humans, Heavenly Official needs a good reputation to survive. This means sometimes using deception to maintain their followers; for example, a female Civil God like Ling Wen has to disguise herself as a man whenever she visits her believer's dream as the people believed no woman could become a competent Civil God and thus worshiped her as a man [4] .
This means that the mythology created by and the perception of one's god follower might not be accurate. The chief example is the relationship between Water Master Wudu and Wind Master Qingxuan. Though they are blood brothers and usually worshiped in the same temple because of their close relationship, their followers found it distasteful to worship two male gods in one temple and Shi Qingxuan is changed into a female god by popular culture. This twisted their original mythology from a pair of brothers into brother and sister or even wife and husband. [4] [5] Consequently, as more people believed in a female Wind Master, Shi Qingxuan is more powerful in female form just like Ling Wen is more powerful in male form.
The gods/Heavenly Officials of Chinese beliefs are not all-powerful like the western conception of God. Rather, they too are bound by the dao (道) which has many meanings in Chinese culture but can be understood in layman’s terms as "fate". [6] Though powerful and immortal, whether these gods have the potential to ascend or not are decided by the dao and it cannot be controlled (though, in certain situations, can be tricked). This bondage can be clearly seen in Xie Lian’s incapability of killing Lang Ying in book 2 at the height of Xianle civil war. Lang Ying has been chosen by fate to become king and thus are untouchable by the divine hands of gods.
Heavenly Court.
The Heavenly Court (天庭, Tiāntíng ), also simply called Heaven or Heavenly Realm, is a term used to refer to the collective of all Gods and the realm of deities. It is divided into the Upper Heaven and the Middle Heaven. The Middle Heaven used to be called Lower Heaven, but they changed it due to Lower Heaven sounding too cheap when Gods of that rank would announce it to mortals. [7]
Upper Heaven.
Humans who have ascended due to their own capabilities and talents are referred to as part of the Upper Heaven.
Middle Heaven.
When Heavenly Officials of the Upper Heaven come to fancy certain mortals due to their potential or simply because they were people close to them in their mortal life, they have the ability to appoint them to the Heavens, making them part of the so-called Middle Heaven or Middle Court. Heavenly Officials of the Middle Court are usually referred to as deputy generals or deputy gods and their main duty is to serve the main god of their palace. [7]
Should their ruling Heavenly Official be banished, so will they be, but they will not receive a Cursed Shackle and are capable of being reappointed by other gods without complications. Despite already being part of the Heavenly Court, they still have the ability to ascend on their own and rise in status.
Known Deputy Gods Name Palace Fu Yao Palace of Xuan Zhen Nan Feng Palace of Nan Yang Former Deputy Gods Name Palace Pei Xiu Palace of Ming Guang Jian Yu Palace of Yin Yu.
Heavenly Officials who used to be deputy gods but have ascended on their own later on include Mu Qing, Ling Wen, Quan Yizhen and Shi Qingxuan.
Martial Gods.
The Martial Gods are Heavenly Officials who ascended through their military might and/or cultivation height. They are the vanguard of heaven and their duties towards their followers are to ward off evil ghosts and bring protection and peace. [8] Naturally, most of the people ascending into this position have high physical capabilities and many have achieved high cultivation.
They are chiefly worshiped for protection against evil spirits, though sometimes there are rare instances of Martial Gods being worshiped for other reasons, such as Nan Yang temples being frequented by women praying for satisfaction in their marital beds. [9]
Some of the strongest Martial Gods are assigned great chunks of regions that cover the four cardinal directions with the exception of General Nan Yang and General Xuan Zhen who share the South.
Flower-Crowned Martial God (former)
General Ju Yang (former)
Civil Gods.
Civil gods are Heavenly Officials in charge of reports, paperwork, and logistics in the heavens. The most well-known of the Civil God Palace is the Palace of Ling Wen.
The Civil Gods are patrons of scholars and civil workers. Thus many of their followers worshiped them asking for a promotion, for successfully passing the civil service examination or gaining insight to be better at their jobs.
The Civil Gods commonly ascend to heaven through an appointment. [10]
Known Civil Gods Title Real Name Affiliation Ling Wen Nangong Jie Ling Wen Palace Former Civil Gods Title Real Name Affiliation Jing Wen Jing Wen Palace.
Elemental Masters.
The Elemental Masters are Heavenly Officials in charge of the five natural elements. They are Water, Wind, Earth, Thunder and Rain.
They are worshiped for luck relevant to their element; Water Master worshiped for a safe voyage, Rain Master for plentiful rainfall, Thunder Master for no destructive thunders and so on. The Elemental Masters has control over the element under their jurisdiction and are naturally very powerful. The control of their power is chiefly channeled through their spiritual weapon without which some of them are completely defenseless.
The Elemental Masters commonly ascends without the need for cultivation or physical strength. Rather, it seemed like they are chosen for their affinity with their relevant elemental. Traditionally when one ascends as an Elemental Master, they would change their first name into their titles (ex: Shi Qingxuan (师青玄, Shī Qīngxuán ) into Lord Wind Master Qingxuan (风师青玄, Fēng Shī Qīngxuán )). [4]
List of Elemental Masters Elemental Title Real Name Spiritual Weapon Other Titles Wind Lord Wind Master Qingxuan Shi Qingxuan Wind Master Fan The Young Master Who Poured Wine Water Lord Water Master Wudu Shi Wudu Water Master Fan Water Tyrant God of Wealth Earth Lord Earth Master Yi Ming Yi Earth Master Shovel God of Infrastructure Rain Lord Rain Master Huang Yushi Huang Yulong The Princess Who Slit Her Own Throat Goddess of Agriculture Thunder Lord Thunder Master.
The above mentioned 'Masters' are the chief God of each element. Other than the five Elemental Masters, there are lesser Elemental Gods that reside in smaller temples and have fewer believers like the Earth God living in a small street-side shrine in the Yu Jun Mountain region. [11]
REVIEW | The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System Delivers Top-Notch Comedy and Wrecks the 4th Wall.
If you have to read one of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's novels, read this one.
The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System is a Chinese web novel written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. It was posted on jjwxc in 2015 and is Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s first novel. If the author’s name sounds familiar you’ve probably heard of her most notorious work, Mo Dao Zu Shi. Having read Mo Dao Zu Shi and both loved and hated it, I decided to delve into Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s other novels, as her works are well-received and have garnered attention even among readers new to web novels.
Albeit my gripes with Mo Dao Zu Shi will be addressed in another review, I think it’s fair to say that the title of this article spoils what my thoughts on The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System are.
The story’s main character is Shen Yuan, a loyal anti-fan of the popular stallion novel, Proud Immortal Demon Way . Although Shen Yuan hates the one-dimensional characters and innumerable plot holes in the novel’s narrative, he finds charm in the initial potential of the story. As a plus, he’s obsessed with the cool monsters encountered by the main hero throughout his adventure. Due to this, Shen Yuan follows Proud Immortal Demon Way throughout its long run and… is inevitably disappointed by the ending.
Let’s take a short detour to talk about the fictional Proud Immortal Demon Way . Its main character, Luo Binghe, is a hero with a tragic backstory that prompts him to become evil. Thus, Luo Binghe becomes a demon overlord that brutally murders everyone who ever wronged him. He later continues wreaking havoc among the human race. As the “hero” of the novel, he also has what I’d like to call the Kirito factor, which makes every female character fall for him and join his harem.
Why do we need to know Proud Immortal Demon Way ’s plot? Because after voicing out his complaints about the ending, Shen Yuan is suddenly transmigrated into the body of Shen Qingqiu, Proud Immortal Demon Way ’s main antagonist. Who, by the way, is dismembered by Luo Binghe and turned into a human stick.
In the wise words of our protagonist, “F**k. ”
Thankfully, not all hope is lost. Shen Yuan becomes Shen Qingqiu from the start of the novel and is informed by the “system” that it’s up to him to shape the story of the novel. For obvious reasons, Shen Yuan is determined to be nice to the protagonist. Still, he’s puzzled as he gradually realizes that… his choices seem to have made Luo Binghe asexual? His harem is nowhere to be found!
Oh gee, I wonder why.
The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System’s narrative is highly captivating from the get-go. Shen Qingqiu’s personality is hilarious, and the clash between his actions and fourth-wall-breaking thoughts never failed to make me laugh. Gamers will definitely get to enjoy the story even more than normal readers—all the gaming references including stat-raising, quests, side-quests, and the constant presence of a system that follows the player are eye candy for us nerds.
Not only is Shen Qingqiu’s narration unique and funny, but his ever-growing attachment to Luo Binghe and every other character in the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way follows the reader’s own investment of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System. We, the readers, start off seeing these characters as extras in Shen Qingqiu’s journey. As Shen Qingqiu spends more time in his new world we, along with him, get to know each character’s personal quirks and traits, which encourages us to see them as individuals.
I’m going to give it to you straight chief. I fell in love with all the good guys in this novel. Even the less prominent side-characters are memorable thanks to the wholesome relationships they build with Shen Qingqiu. Our protagonist goes from feeling like an outsider to fitting right in among his friends and disciples.
Concerning the main romance—its development can be summarized as one-sided love to enemies to lovers. Luo Binghe has strong abandonment issues that make him behave like a yandere at times. However, he becomes a starry-eyed sheep around Shen Qingqiu. This eventually changes because of the latter making a ruthless, paranoia-induced choice that leaves Luo Binghe heartbroken. A good chunk of the novel explores the deep cracks in the couple’s relationship, provoked by a broken trust from both parties. Still, the journey taken to mend this bond is interesting and highly rewarding to the reader. When it comes to their endgame dynamic, despite encountering individual characters with similar traits before, I have never read this specific kind of dynamic in a relationship. Luo Binghe is a loyal, overgrown dog, and Shen Qingqiu, usually a high-maintenance diva, loves to spoil him rotten.
If you disliked the author’s clear fetishizing of the gay relationship in Mo Dao Zu Shi, I assure you her rape fetishes don’t make an appearance here. This is very much a tale of two men learning to communicate and getting into a healthy relationship. The extras that follow the ending are a safe zone too. In fact, the extras don’t only give us further insight into the evolution of Shen Qingqiu’s and Luo Binghe’s romantic relationship, they also expand on the side-characters that we fell in love with.
The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System may be Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s first novel. Regardless, the quality of its writing is more consistent than that of her second work. Like in the author’s other stories the main cast is brimming with life. It’s worth noting that the characters aren’t as numerous as in Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s other works, which actually helps the reader build a stronger attachment to them. It’s much easier to pay attention to characters when you’re not having forty different newcomers shoved in your face at the same time.
Among the novel’s genres, its main selling point is the raw, down-to-earth comedy. No matter the situation, you’ll always have Shen Qingqiu’s narration to brighten things up with his panicked swearing and constant one-sided fights with the logic of his unreasonable new world. Shen Qingqiu’s commentary makes every step of the way entertaining. In fact, although my praise is focused on the protagonist, the side-characters often play a big role in the comedy. Keep an eye out for Liu Qingge—he’s not your typical happy-go-lucky comic relief, but he undeniably brings a lot of fun to the table with his grumpy and dramatic attitude. I’d die for him.
I strongly recommend reading The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System if you want to have a fun time mixed with some light angst here and there. Beware that book readers shouldn’t go in expecting top-notch literature; it’s a casual and light-hearted experience.