Jiang Cheng

Jiang Cheng (江澄) is a popular character in the serialized danmei novel Mo Dao Zu Shi (MDZS) and its audio drama, manhua, donghua, and live-action drama adaptations. Although he has the courtesy name Wanyin (晚吟), in English-speaking fandom he is usually referred to by Jiang Cheng or the abbreviation JC. He is the younger adopted/martial brother of the protagonist Wei Wuxian.
==Canon==
Jiang Cheng is the heir, and after his parents are killed, the Sect Leader of the Jiang sect based in Lotus Pier, in the area of Yunmeng. Lotus Pier is surrounded by lakes, so the Yunmeng Jiang sect symbol is a lotus; they primarily wear purple robes. His title is Sandu Shengshou (三毒圣手), a reference to wielding the three poisons of Buddhism. Although he has a sword as a spiritual weapon like other cultivators in MDZS, he is most famous for using Zidian (紫电), a spiritual weapon he inherited from his mother Yu Ziyuan - a ring that transforms into a whip of purple lightning in battle.
During the surprise attack on Lotus Pier when his parents are killed, Jiang Cheng's golden core is destroyed by Wen Zhuliu, "the Core-Melting Hand" (化丹手). Wei Wuxian arranges to secretly transfer his own golden core into Jiang Cheng, and as Wei Wuxian begins to act differently than the gentry-cultivators are expected to act, this leads to a growing rift between the martial brothers.
==Chinese Fandom==
* Jiang Cheng/Lan Wangji (ZhanCheng) is a popular pairing for Jiang Cheng in Chinese-language fanworks.
==English Fandom==
====Sibling Relationship====
Part of the plot of all MDZS adaptations is the ever-growing rift between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian. They are very close when the flashback timeline begins, but Wei Wuxian's actions throughout the story push them further and further apart. Ultimately this culminates in Wei Wuxian's death, which is at least in part Jiang Cheng's doing - though exactly how much Jiang Cheng is to blame varies between adaptations. After Wei Wuxian's death, Jiang Cheng spends more than a decade hunting down - perhaps torturing and killing - demonic cultivators. By the end of canon there's less outright animosity between them, but they still haven't repaired their relationship. Many fans therefore take it upon themselves to create fanworks about Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian mending their relationship and re-discovering their sibling love. Many of these stories are set post-canon, though some take place in canon divergence AUs.
====Bashing====
Because many English-speaking fans joined this fandom through the live-action series The Untamed on Netflix, in which Jiang Cheng is more to blame for Wei Wuxian's death, many fans do not like Jiang Cheng. This is worsened by Jiang Cheng hunting down demonic cultivators, while Wei Wuxian was dead, and being brusque and harsh to other characters such as Lan Wangji or Jin Ling, or Wei Wuxian when he returns.
====English-language Pairings====
* Jiang Cheng/Nie Huaisang (SangCheng): Nie Huaisang is his friend from his teenage years and, in adulthood, a fellow sect leader of the Nie sect in Qinghe.Rankings of these pairings on AO3 in June 2023: the 3 most popular ships in Chinese works are JC/WWX, JC/LXC, and JC/LWJ, with only a handful in any other pairing. The 5 most popular ships in English works are JC/LXC, JC/NHS, JC/WWX, JC/NMJ, and JC/WQ.
* Jiang Cheng/Nie Mingjue (MingCheng): Nie Mingjue is the sect leader of the Qinghe Nie sect when Jiang Cheng is a teenager. Nie Mingjue dies in canon, so these works may be set AUs, mid-canon, or canon divergence.
* Jiang Cheng/Wen Qing - a F/M pairing with Wen Qing, an offshoot of the Wen family and a doctor. Wen Qing also dies in canon, but Jiang Cheng is attracted to her as a teenager (in The Untamed) and they both have pragmatic personalities.
====Other Common Tropes====
* Kidfics. In canon, his sister Jiang Yanli and her husband Jin Zixuan are killed when their son Jin Ling is only a couple months old, so Jiang Cheng helps raise his nephew from infancy until he eventually succeeds as sect leader for the Jin sect in Lanling. There are often uncle/nephew kidfic dynamics in modern AUs too, whether Jiang Cheng is solo parenting (as in canon) or at least close to his sister's family. 
* Pets, accidentally or purposefully acquired. In his canon childhood, Jiang Cheng had several puppies to whom he had given names like Jasmine, Princess, and Little Love. When Jiang Fengmian brought an orphaned Wei Wuxian home to raise alongside Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng was forced to give up his puppies because of Wei Wuxian's extreme fear of dogs.Jiang Cheng/History on the MDZS fan wiki So, often as a small bit of fix-it in fics, Jiang Cheng has pets as an adult, especially dogs.
* Sexuality. Jiang Cheng has some canonical distaste and/or bad luck regarding romance, being blacklisted by a couple matchmakers, so some fans headcanon that he is asexual or aromantic, or both.
==Common Pairings==
These are popular pairings in both Chinese and English-speaking fandoms.
===Gen===
* Jiang Cheng & Wei Wuxian: The gen relationship between Jiang Cheng and his martial brother, Wei Wuxian. They were known as the "Twin Prides of Yunmeng", the common English translation of Yunmeng Shuangjie.Twin Prides of Yunmeng Dyanmics and Twin Prides of Yunmeng Feels tags on AO3.
===M/M===
* Jiang Cheng/Lan Xichen (XiCheng): Lan Xichen is the older brother of Lan Wangji, and Jiang Cheng's eventual brother-in-law. The most popular Jiang Cheng ship on AO3 in English-language works, but the 3rd most popular pairing in Chinese-language works.
* Jiang Cheng/Wei Wuxian (ChengXian): The protagonist and his martial brother. The most popular Jiang Cheng ship in the Chinese-language works on AO3, but it is less popular in the English-language works because it is sometimes interpreted as incest.
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanfic===
* by ryfkah, a post-canon, 5+1 things gen fic on the popular theme of Jiang Cheng acquiring pets. (2020-07-19)
* by cafecliche, a series of gen fics about Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian, and "the very long road to reconciliation." (2019-12-27 - 2020-07-02)
* by Ariaste, wherein Jiang Cheng goes to Cloud Recesses to try to fix his relationship with Wei Wuxian and discovers a gaggle of nieces and nephews he had never been told existed. (2020-06-14)
===Fanart===
* of Jiang Cheng wielding Zidian (2020-03-16)
* of Jiang Cheng (2020-03-29)
* fanartzazrichor: no matter which clan you choose to offend, you shouldn’t offend the Jiang clan (accessed September 8, 2020) (archive link) by zazrichor of Jiang Cheng as portrayed by Wang Zhuocheng in The Untamed (2020-08-01)
* screencap redraw by lupinchopang27lupinchopang27: untitled post (accessed September 8, 2020) (archive link) showing teenage Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian early in the Cloud Recesses study arc (2020-03-09)
* !! SHOCKING NEWS !! by bimmykimmy,bimmykimmy: !! SHOCKING NEWS !! (accessed September 8, 2020) (archive link) fanart that lovingly pokes fun at Jiang Cheng's apparent disinterest in romance (2020-05-05)
* Lemon and Grape by itsyasyall,itsyasyall: Lemon and Grape (accessed September 8, 2020) (archive link) fanart of Jiang Cheng and a young Jin Ling (2020-04-15)
* of Jiang Cheng with rabbit ears holding Rabbit!Jin Ling (Jul 18, 2018)
===Vids===
* by NKZephyr (2020-01-26)
* by talitha78 (2020-11-05)
* by sisabet (2020-11-27)
===Meta===
* by tumblr user relatetonothing (2020-01-04)
* by tumblr user huanxi-guillai (2020-05-18)
* by tumblr user mercyandmagic (2021-12-08)
* tag for character costumes: jiang cheng from tumblr user korpikorppi (multiple dates)
===Gallery===
jiujiu by yutaan.jpeg|Jiang Cheng as jiujiu (maternal uncle) with Zidian and baby Jin Ling by yutaan|alt=Frowning Jiang Cheng in purple and black robes, holding frowning toddler Jin Ling in yellow robes in one hand and Zidian in the other.
==Links and Resources==
* Jiang Cheng character page at MDZS wiki
* Jiang Cheng character tag, Jiang Cheng-centric tag, Jiang Cheng POV tag at AO3
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Mo Dao Zu Shi Characters