Wei Xiang

Wei Xiang (), also referred to as Master Wei Xiang (), was a former student of Grand Master Oogway and former classmate of Master Shifu. After he finished his studies, Wei Xiang moved from the Valley of Peace to Xiangling City with the hope of spreading kung fu to other regions of China, and it was here where he would found the School of Power and Virtue and adopt his son, Zhu Miao. Later in life, he would grow insane from paranoia, and turn his top five students, whom he referred to as the Five Immortals, into skilled and ruthless assassins; a decision that would later result in Zhu Miao killing him.
==History==
A long time ago, and alongside other students like Shifu, there was a student named Wei Xiang who practiced under Master Oogway. Wei Xiang turned to kung fu with a noble desire to defend the weak after he himself was bullied for his own weaknesses, and in seeing his potential, Master Oogway took him in, but warmed him that with potential and power such as his, he should be be wary of it and getting attached to it. Eventually, Wei Xiang finished his training and developed a grappling-based style called “Eagle Claw,” then set out to spread his knowledge, settling on the eastern coast in Xiangling City outside the Valley of Peace.
Wei Xiang initially struggled to find students, as many were not initially interested in kung fu, lacked the determination for it, or did not join due to Wei Xiang being an outsider, but all of that changed when an infant wolf arrived as an orphan on his doorstep on a rainy night. Due to the weather and location of his house, which was situated on the coast, and the fortune that he wasn’t dead yet, he named him “Zhu Miao.” Wei Xiang then took Zhu Miao as his prized pupil and son, teaching him well and even allowing him to develop his own style, which he named “Wolf Claw” as a reference to his father’s. The two were inseparable, and through their interactions with the town, word spread and soon, Wei Xiang began to have new pupils and became a popular Master within the town and some smaller neighboring ones over the course of a couple of years. To assist him further in his goal of spreading his teachings, he gathered his top five students and formed the Five Immortals, "the pinnacle of kung fu."
Eventually though, Wei Xiang gradually started becoming irrationally paranoid, and in fearing that people were becoming jealous of him and his abilities, began to change due to not wanting to risk losing all he had. Wei started treating his students less as people and more as weapons he could use to defend himself, especially Zhu Miao and other top students, and Zhu Miao became worried for his father. At the height of his paranoia, Zhu Miao asked what was the matter, Wei Xiang then told him that he feared enemies were out to get him and Zhu Miao, but when Xin Miao tried to console his father, stating that even if he lost his students and his success, Wei would always have him, but Wei snapped at him. While Zhu Miao was stunned into silence, Wei Xiang then gave him a list and told him to kill each of the people on the list, and so he did.
Zhu Miao became a skilled assassin, murdering each person Wei Xiang asked quickly and efficiently, but eventually, the guilt of what he was doing and the anger towards his father made him mad with rage. After killing yet another Master in the dead of night, while yet again it was raining, Zhu Miao stormed into their home to find his father staring into the coast as the moon hung above them. Zhu Miao told his father then that he had had enough, and pleaded to stop the senseless killing, but Wei Xiang refused and renounced himself as Zhu Miao's father. This led Zhu Miao to finally snap, and kill Wei Xiang in a fit of rage, only realizing what he did after his father was dead and as he held him while he spoke his last words. Scarred by what he did and what he had become at the hands of his father, Zhu Miao fled into the shadows after burying his father, swearing that he would kill every kung fu master he could to overthrow them.
Later, the other members of the Five Immortals found his body and not only reported it to Empress Feng Lin, but also warned her that Zhu Miao was most likely the one who killed him. Based on this information, as well as an attempted revolt within the city, not only was kung fu banned within the city, leaving it to become a taboo, but the School of Power and Virtue was torn down, the Five Immortals were arrested, and Zhu Miao became the most wanted criminal within the city.
==Personality==
Originally, Wei Xiang was an honest, fatherly, and determined person who sought for people to become the best they could. He was wise and caring to all people, as well as sophisticated and polite. This was best shown when training with his students, as he would often guide them carefully and point out where they messed up so that they could learn from it. Wei Xiang was also empathetic and gentle, especially towards his son, whom he cared for deeply. The most notable trait of him, however, is that he was a firm believer of noblesse oblige due to his own experiences with having been bullied.
This all changed, however, when he started becoming paranoid of the other masters within Xiangling City, believing them too be out to not only sabotage the success he had built, but also, to hurt his students and the other members of the Five Immortals. This led him to become cold and distant to his students, and become solely focused on his goal at any expense. This continued until he was nearly insane with paranoia and renounced himself as Xin Miao's father, only realizing the full extent of what he had done after the final blow had been struck, and using the final moment of clarity to apologize to a now-traumatized Xin Miao.
==Appearance==
Wei Xweiang had an athletic build fitting of a kung fu master and word a silk, jade green hanfu with a blue wave pattern on it and black pants. He also had golden feathers and orange eyes, as well as a yellow beak and yellow feet with gray talons. He is around the same height as Tai Lung and also has a qiang that he uses as his weapon of choice. The qiang he uses has a gray, leaf-shaped blade and a blue tassel, and is made out of wax wood. It has a length of 2.7 m (8'2").
==Fighting Style==
Eagle Claw style is a unique style of kung fu that focuses on grappling, takedowns, joint locks, long-distance combat, and aerial techniques. It was the first style of kung fu brought to Xiangling City, and is the one from which the other arts within the city descend, including the rumored "Wolf Claw." Despite looking like a purely defensive style, Eagle Claw is actually versatile and well-rounded, suited to fighting most opponents. Practioners of this style must be patient and strike precisely, yet with power and ability; effortlessly using the opponent's strengths and weaknesses against them, and punish them.Wei Xiang is a skilled martial artist and one of Xiangling City's most adept fighters. During his time as a master, he faced many opponents, as well as occasional matches were at least two people fought him alone, and was able to beat them easily due to his technique. This is because when he fought, he not only used his own skill, but also kept in mind the teachings of his master when he fought, and combined these teachings into his overall fighting style. On top of that, the various grappling techniques within the style allowed him to defend against, and successfully counter, nearly any offensive techniques thrown his way. In his entire life, the only one to ever truly beat him in a fight, was his own son, who succeeded him in his training and abilities.
==Trivia==
*Wei Xiang was inspired by Jindiao, Master Shifu, and Junjie from Kung Fu Panda, the creator of this character's own martial arts master, a backstory for a proposed lemur villain by Anuj Chatterjee, and his design was inspired by Tigress and the video essay titled “The Color Theory of Kung Fu Panda” by Lucky.
*Wei Xiang was originally going to be a Stellar's sea eagle.
*The first character of Wei Xiang's name means "towering" or "lofty," while the second character means "soar."
*Originally, Wei Xiang was going to be born in the Xiangling City, but, this was decided against since it wouldn't make sense for him to be born there.
*Wei Xiang's favorite food is lo mein, just like his son, and the two would often eat it together when they took breaks from training.
Category:Kung fu masters
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Category:Characters
Category:Characters from Xiangling City
Category:Characters from Valley of Peace
Category:Villains
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