Yanli

Yanli was a Chinese merchant who lived in the Norse settlement of Ravensthorpe in Mercia during the 9th century.
==Biography==
Yanli was born in Zhongzhou during the Tang dynasty and grew up enthused with the prospect of travelling. At some point, she became a merchant and was granted passage on a trading boat. Leaving behind her family and friends, Yanli travelled west from China and eventually wound up in England.Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – A New Home Around 873, Yanli travelled to the Ragnarssons' Encampment in Ledecestrescire after receiving a trading request from Halfdan Ragnarsson. However, by the time she arrived, the settlement had been abandoned by the Sons of Ragnar and became a hideout for a group of Saxon bandits. Yanli and a stablemaster by the name of Rowan were subsequently captured and held at the longhouse, meant to be sold as slaves to the nearest bidder.Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Unwelcome
Sometime later, both Yanli and Rowan were found by Sigurd Styrbjornsson, Eivor Varinsdottir, and Dag Nithisson, members of the Raven Clan from Norway. The Vikings freed both Yanli and Rowan and invited them to rebuild the settlement and make it their home, which they accepted. Eivor was later appointed as the settlement's leader during Sigurd's absence and built a proper trading post for Yanli to reside in and trade.
Over time, Yanli also bore witnessed to numerous major events in the settlement, including Dag Nithisson's death in a against Eivor around 875,Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – A Brewing Storm and later Eivor's return from Norway in 877.Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – A Quiet Homecoming
===Joining the Hidden Ones===
Around 889, Yanli, alongside Eluric, Rowan, and Tove, joined the Hidden Ones and trained under Hytham in Ravensthorpe.Assassin's Creed: Valhalla — The Last Chapter – Fare Thee Well, Young Eagle
==Behind the scenes==
The exact explanation for Yanli's birthplace of Zhongzhou is not given in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. In addition to being an alias for China, Zhongzhou can also be written in four different forms of place names in Chinese characters in the Tang dynasty, as documented in the (新唐書|):
#重州, established in 619 CE in modern , and abolished in 627;
#中州, established in 619 CE in modern day , and abolished in 627;
#忠州, established in 634 CE in , and abolished in 1913; 
#種州, established in 631 CE in , and occupied by the in 764
As both Zhongzhou formed in 619 CE were abolished two hundred years before the events of the game, this leaves out the two Zhongzhou from the 630s. Of these two, the last one appears most likely. At the time, the main resident of the area was the Tangut Yeli (野利) clan. According to works by linguists Li Huazhen (李華珍) and Zhou Changji (周長楫) (1999). 漢字古今音表. [Ancient and Modern Chinese language pronunciation tablet]. . Retrieved 17 September 2023. and Li Fang-Kuei (2015). 上古音研究 [Studies on Archaic Chinese]. . Retrieved 17 September 2023. in translating , Ye is presumed to be Jǐa, and Yan is presumed to be Jiän. Further, Yanli does not follow the typical Chinese naming conventions but is a separate surname or given name. Therefore, Yanli is likely to be a sound change of Yeli, and Zhongzhou is likely to refer to 种州 rather than China proper.
==Gallery==
ACV Unwelcome 4.png|Yanli and Rowan found by Sigurd, Eivor and Dag
ACV Unwelcome 6.png|Yanli and Rowan joining the Ravensthorpe settlement
ACV A Brewing Storm 11.png|Yanli and the residents surrounding Eivor after she defeated Dag
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed: Valhalla 
**The Last Chapter
*The World of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North – Logs and Files of a Hidden One 
==References==
Category:Individuals
Category:Tang people
Category:Merchants
Category:Residents of Ravensthorpe
Category:Assassins
Category:British Assassins