Zhou Zishu

Zhou Zishu (周子舒) is the main character of the Chinese danmei webnovel Faraway Wanderers and its live-action drama adaptation Word of Honor. In the drama adaptation he is played by Zhang Zhehan.
Together with Wen Kexing, he is one half of the most popular ship in the fandom, Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu or WenZhou.
==Canon Background==
Zhou Zishu first appears as a secondary character in the novel Qi Ye by Priest, where he is the leader of Tian Chuang, or the Window of Heaven, a royal assassin/spy organisation. He is a martial arts master and an expert at disguises. He is friends with Jing Beiyuan, the main character, and has a naive disciple who admires him--named Liang Jiuxiao in the novel, Qin Jiuxiao in the drama. Zishu and Beiyuan commit multiple murders of innocent people (among other heinous crimes) to ensure the crown prince (Helian Yi) ascends to the throne. Jiuxiao dies toward the end of the novel. In the sequel, Faraway Wanderers, set a few years later, the story starts when Zhou Zishu, now the main character, escapes Tian Chuang by driving seven nails into his own body that will kill him in three years. There are some differences in Zhou Zishu's motivations and backstory between the novel and the drama; although it is implied in the drama that his criminal past is the same, he appears to regret it more, and he realizes that his efforts were in vain because the prince he backed (now called Jin Wang) was not good. They are cousins in the drama, and no relation in the novel. His original motivation in working for the prince is also changed--he took his 81 disciples from the martial arts sect Four Seasons Manor to start working for his cousin because they were promised safety (all the disciples die), but in the novel he seems to have acted alone and was motivated by ambition. 
In Faraway Wanderers/Word of Honor, Zhou Zishu intends to relax and enjoy his last years wandering the martial arts world, but ends up involved in jianghu drama, adopting a new disciple, Zhang Chengling, and meeting and falling in love with Wen Kexing. In the drama Wen Kexing turns out to be another long-lost disciple. At the end of the novel, Jing Beiyuan's husband Wu Xi cures him, and he lives happily ever after with Wen Kexing, but at the end of the drama, Wen Kexing cures him.
==Shipping==
By far the most popular ship in the fandom is Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu, the end game canon relationship in the novel and heavily implied in the drama. A few rarepair ships also include Zhou Zishu. 
On AO3 as of September 24, 2023: 
*Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu (5,637 fanworks)
*Helian Yi/Zhou Zishu (151) - includes Jin Wang/drama fics
*Han Ying/Zhou Zishu (108) - Han Ying is a drama-only character
*Han Ying/Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu (75)
*Wen Kexing/Ye Baiyi/Zhou Zishu (56)
*Ye Baiyi/Zhou Zishu (31)
*Liang Jiuxiao/Zhou Zishu (30)
*Zhang Chengling/Zhou Zishu (28)
*Jing Beiyuan/Zhou Zishu (25)
==Tropes and Fanon==
*"Hoboxu" - Zhou Zishu's canonical disguise as a sickly hobo, alias "Zhou Xu", is a subject of interest for fanartists, some of whom have developed their own interpretation of the novel version of his appearance.
*In Modern AUs, Hoboxu is often translated as just dressing in as slovenly a manner as possible: hoodies, crocks, wearing socks with sandals, etc.
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanfiction and Podfic===
*Chinese New Year AU and prequel by aubreyli (May, August 2021), podficced by mulberry_graceful and lunatique (early 2022). Features Zhou Zishu as a retired hitman who doesn't usually dress very well.
===Fanart===
* by mtkay13 on tumblr. Two versions of "Hoboxu", Zhou Zishu's disguise as a hobo. (November 22, 2022)
* fancomic by snarkspawn on tumblr (Mar 17, 2022)
* by jeriafterdark on tumblr (March 21, 2023)
* by xieliancore on tumblr (12 Sep 21)
* by ailee-art on tumblr (Nov 18th, 2021)
* by Moose on instagram (May 31, 2021)
===Video===
===Other===
* by atomzi on lofter (2021-03-28)
* by intyalote (Apr 30, 2021)
* by verycharismaticdragon (May 9, 2021)
==Fannish Resources==
*Zhou Zishu fanworks tag at AO3
*Zhou Zishu at Faraway Wanderers wiki
Category:Word of Honor