Reading about the cultural and social importance of bathing throughout Chinese history (because I am exactly the kind of person who spends hours reading about the cultural and social importance of bathing throughout Chinese history for no particular reason on a Tuesday night) and obviously now I'm imagining the sects all lowkey competing with regards to their public baths -- or at least the ones meant for visiting disciples and dignitaries.

The Jin are obviously doing The Most and being incredibly tacky about it. The floor of the bath is made of gold tile that dull super quickly and the whole tub needs to be frequently drained so the tiles can be deep cleaned and polished, and of course once they're shiny they reflect light up and through the water in a way that's actually really distracting. The bath bean has crushed pearls and seventy four different types of flowers in it. The benches are intricately engraved and inlaid with gems in places that pinch your butt when you sit on them.

The Nie have a natural hot spring that they have turned into their main public bath. The massive cavern houses a number of varying-sized pools, some of which interconnect and others of which are freestanding. The free standing pools are typically treated with different soaks to give the water various medicinal properties (most often for things like muscle aches or minor injuries, but also for skincare and such.) I imagine the Nie recipe for bath-bean would include animal fat and pancreas, making it very rich and cleansing.

Part of me wants to say the Jiang would just bathe in the lake but that seems cheap to me, so instead: Through a combination of well-placed pipes and clever array work, the Jiang bath house feels like a mini indoor rainstorm, with water falling in thousands of warm droplets from the ceiling above to fill the pools, which are more shallow that a typical bath would be. There are built-in overhangs you can sit under to get out of the "rain" while still being in the water. If requested the rain can be "turned up" and the lights dimmed, and cymbals crash so you feel like you're really standing out in a raging thunderstorm, which some people find incredibly soothing and others find terrifying. I can't think of anything unique for the bath bean other than lotus flowers but I do think, given the proximity to the river, that mud wraps would be a common treatment offered.

The Lan... probably have the worst public baths, actually. They may not even actually have a public bath at all. If they do have one, it's not meant to be a place of luxury or entertainment, although of course it would be tastefully decorated and comfortable. Rather they'd find some way to make public bathing less about socializing and more about silently meditating while pretending you aren't surrounded by other naked people. I guess the cold springs kind of sort of count as a public bath but not really. Bath bean smells distinctly medicinal, but obviously whatever is in it works, because the Lan all look Like That.

The public bath in Qishan stopped being a popular attraction when Wen Ruohan stopped having visitors, but for years their bath was one hell of a marvel. Massive, bronze statues of phoenixes would be heated until glowing-hot and then lowered into the stone tub, filling the air with thick steam. Patrons would sit around the room on their benches, sweating it out until the statues had cooled enough for the water to be safe to enter. If you wanted a cold bath, the adjoining room was also home to a massive bronze statue, this one of a dragon that sat in the center of the tub and poured cool water out of it's mouth. Bath bean was made with plant ash rather than rice or soybean powder, and the water was all treated with volcanic ash.

And, because I am Me, the Wei sect: I'm imagining a dark hall deep in the cave systems, the floor lined with man made in-ground pools of varying sizes not entirely unlike the Nie baths, however these pools aren't connected to an outside water source or each other. There are illusion arrays carved into the walls that send out glowing, ghostly shapes of fish and otters and other river creatures swimming through the air. The pools are filled through overhead pipes that pour water, oils, and herbal mixtures into the pool, and each pool has access to it's own set of labeled levers, so a person or group of people can customize their bath while they're having it, adding more cool water, hot water, or various add-ins. The bath bean is more of a paste due to the addition of a ton of collagen. (They get it from the kitchen's bone broth. The bones are not human, but that doesn't stop visiting disciples from scaring each other about it. Don't piss off the Yiling Louzu or you'll end up in the soap.)

We don’t talk enough about Sizhui, the last living member of the Wen clan, trying to learn and reconnect to his family and heritage after the events of the story.

I am glad that we got to know about his trip to Qishan and that he learned the Wen style of swordsmanship from his uncle.

SLUUUUUUURP PART #3!!!!  🌸💖

Still reading MDZS (I’ve been taking my time) and I have a question that I was wondering if anyone could answer about colors, as someone who wishes to draw fannart. Is the blue often drawn in Lan uniforms book-cannon??? I can find no textual evidence that Lans having any details in their robes that aren’t white, and would like some. Personally, rn I have the inclination to draw the forehead ribbon embroidery in silver/grey. Additionally, I can’t find Wei Wuxian’s outfit description, and definitely can’t find him wearing a red ribbon. WWX definitely wears black as the Yiling Patriarch, and is probably wearing it during present timeline given ch 14 his description of his father and mother and comparing them to him and Lan Wangji (his father wore black and his mother wore white), but I can’t find any explicit mentions of colors for his robes. The red seems to come from chenqing’s tassle. I can’t even find the color of WWX’s sword glare :(

Further color questions/comments below:

Also only note I could find on WWX eye color is that they were originally dark. In Mo Xuanyu his eyes are described as bright but I can’t find any other mentions. Additionally, it’s unclear if they look alike to me; ik WWX described Mo Xuanyu’s face as definitely not the face of the Yiling Patriarch but this seems to be more about the fact that his face has pristine and bright and youthful vibes. Also he’s shorter lol.

Also for the Jin’s robes the only one that specifies a single flower that I can recall was Jin Guangyao’s, and I think Jin Ling was introduced with flowers (plural) on his robe, so I want to know if anyone knows about this discrepancy. This feels like this could be a translation discrepancy though as according to my minute google search Chinese doesn’t have plurals. “The embroidery on his robes was indisputably exquisite, swirling together into extraordinary white peonies.” Is Jin Ling’s robes vs “the full bloom of the Spark Amidst Snow family insignia embroidered on the chest of his round-collar robe, matched with a nine-ringed belt and a pair of tall boots.” For Jin Guangyao.

I also can’t figure out if WWX wears Jiang’s purple robes when he was head disciple.. I can’t even figure out for certain if all Jiang disciples wore purple, as the mentions of it I find are associated with Yu Ziyuan or her kids (Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli). Because WWX’s robe gets specified as black post burial mounds but I can’t find it before it I’d assume he wears Jiang colors, if they were Jiang colors. If not, and he wears black otherwise, I think this would be because it’s the color his father wore not because Yu Ziyuan is particularly jealous. Actually, it could just be that bells were what indicated being a sect member instead of clothing color, but idk if not color coding sect members is common??

Also can’t figure out if the studying disciples at The Cloud Recesses wore white. My guess actually leans towards yes as at the archery competition all the disciples had to wear Wen red, so if that’s the standard I’d assume they’d have to wear white in the cloud recesses (though the Wens may have been doing a power play).

Also if anyone has a chapter/page number for a description of Wen robes that would be appreciated. I started this post like 30 minutes ago and spent a long while looking for textual evidence (luckily I’m on kindle so I have a search feature) of each clan’s robes but I’m feeling done. .. same with what the burial mound Wens were wearing bc I always see them in Wen robes which in my mind kinda makes sense but also kinda doesn’t, but I haven’t reread to that point.

If anyone has any clothing information of sects/characters that hasn’t been mentioned from book cannon and wishes to share with me I’d appreciate it so much I’m going insane. Or if you have any particularly good resources on embroidery/robes/swords/instruments/hair/other things that understanding would give better idea on how these babies actually dress. MDZS isn’t trying to exist in a particular time period is it? I’ve seen guestimations on the internet of like 2nd century to 6th century, but my understanding is that it’s kinda like high fantasy novels which just get set in vaguely-Western Europe and unmodern.

I’m just gonna assume Wen Chao’s wife just ran off somewhere and is living her best life with a new husband in some small tiny village.

K you know what I want to know about MDZS? You know what I’m still upset about? That it was never followed up with that Madam Yu and Wen Zhuliu knew each other when they met at Lotus Pier! There’s just a moment of “Wen Zhuliu? Didn’t your name used to be Zhao?” And then “Violet Spider??” (I don’t know if this is the exact dialogue, I’m just writing it how I remember.) And it’s really obvious that they have some kind of history with each other, and it SEEMS like that’s going to get explored, and then nope! They’re both dead now so you’ll never find out!

That could have been such an interesting thing to explore! Both of them were super interesting characters! And it seemed like it was going to turn into something! What was up with that? Why was it never followed up with? Anyone got any headcanons?

Sé que Wen RuoHan estaba bien maniacote, pero ese we fue de los pocos que no era un clasista de mierda con Meng Yao, -además de que le daba ciertos tratos especiales, ojo ahí-.

WIP Wednesday again: today, I give you.... An OC (dramatic gasps). Okay not quite an OC, it's simply that for the third Dynasty extra, I do need a few OC to uh. Flesh out the Wen Sect (since I killed pretty much all existing character in the main fic xD).

So. Meet Wen Minzhi. Friend or enemy? Who knows :)

--

Right in front of him, sitting on the opposite side of the table and drinking her tea with her eyes closed as if this is simply her usual afternoon teatime, is Wen Minzhi. She looks like a noble from some imperial court rather than a cultivator, covered with delicate make-up and wearing heavy robes made from silk and velvet, with golden brocades depicting flying firebirds. She wears jewelry as well and her golden claws clink on the teacup when she finally puts it back down.

Not even a simple noble then — now that Wen Ruohan is dead, Wen Minzhi seems as if she fancies herself the empress.

He has never met Wen Minzhi but he knows of her. Yunmeng Jiang has its Madam Yu, Lanling Jin has its Madam Jin and Qishan Wen has Wen Minzhi. Not a Madam but what does it matter when she is just as powerful, if not more?

She used to teach the young disciples, and the stories say that she is the one who noticed Wen Ruohan’s talent when he was only a young boy and trained him until he finally surpassed her. The more disdainful ones suggest that she taught him everything in the hopes that he would take her as a wife or a concubine, despite being much older than him. A few suggest that she is the one who gave young Wen Ruohan, only Sect Heir back then, his thirst for power. Behind a tyrant, after all, must be the wiles of a woman too weak to seize power for herself. Wei Wuxian scoffs at the idea. Wen Ruohan was born into power and needed no one’s help to crave for more of it.

Still, Wen Minzhi certainly is cunning and old enough to know the dance of politics better than most at this table. She retired from teaching shortly after Wen Chao started his own studies — perhaps, if one is uncharitable, to avoid having to teach him — and has instead taken on the duties of leading the more scholarly branches of the Wen Sect. She is effectively the head of the teachers, of the librarians and of the researchers.

If she decides to oppose him, she will be his greatest adversary.

He smiles at her when she finally looks at him, lifting his own cup as a silent toast.

She smiles back, her eyes glinting like the gold of her bracelets. It is a much colder color than Lan Zhan’s eyes, he thinks.

Wen Ning A6? If you’re feeling it? (your art is wonderful btw)

my sweet boy deserves a day out in the sun, looking cute, and being unbothered 💁‍♂️

outfit prompt here! ☀️

Based on what I've read, is it safe to assume that a wen sect is a place that is open to lgbtq+ community?

On Ao3, I got asked "How are cutsleeves thought of in this society?", so I'm going to copy and paste the answer here:

Okay, so what sets this apart is that Wen Ruohan was already sect leader when he met Jinwoo; Wen Ruohan is well respected and regarded for his cultivation prowess and he's considered a genius. He's the top boss and there aren't Wen elders who have the power to stop Wen Ruohan. Who will have the guts to mock or disdain Wen Ruohan (and by proxy, his male lover) as a result?

Plus, with China's emphasis about continuing the family line, Wen Ruohan just has to be willing to take in a female concubine or two to produce children sometime in the future and no one will really care that his main lover is male. Given that cultivators have longer lifespans (since they have stronger immune systems and all that good stuff), Wen Ruohan doesn't have to rush to have kids either. It's not like anyone is strong enough to kill him anytime soon, especially given Jinwoo's shadow summons are protecting him in the shadows as an extra precautionary measure to his safety.

Other male couples aren't willing to involve female concubines into the relationship, but this is the benefit of Jinwoo coming from modern Earth. He sees the concubines as just surrogates (who need to be married in as concubines so the children are seen as legitimate) AND there's no actual sex involved between Wen Ruohan and the concubines. Hana was very confused why Jinwoo needed a turkey baster. Just one turkey baster. 😉 (Hana: you sure you don't need a dozen turkey basters? I thought you had over a dozen cooks in the kitchen??)

Each sect will have different thoughts about homosexuality, but the Wen sect is a-okay with it coming from Wen Ruohan

-o-o-o-

So the answer here about the Wen Sect's views on homosexuality is very confusing.

Gay marriage is fine as long as the men involved still continue their family lines - and the children would be considered legitimate enough as long as the mother of the children are official concubines. Jinwoo has introduces a method of artificial insemination which makes it even easier for gay men to deal with their duties of continuing family line.

Unless the men in the gay relationship are of high status (in terms of wealth, noble background, whatever), not many women would be willing to marry in as a concubine instead of wife. Being a concubine is like being a second class citizen - it's not that great in terms of prestige, so there better be enough benefits for it to be worthwhile.

Of course, each person's level of what is considered enough as "worthwhile" varies. A commoner woman (or her family) in a desperate enough situation might be happy enough with guaranteed food and shelter. (Or maybe the family doesn't care about their female children that they just want to get rid of said female children because that means less mouths to feed.)

-o-o-o-

As for sapphic relationships, they have no hopes of being officially acknowledged. This is still modern China with strong patriarchal system.

But you know, if a woman finds a gay couple and volunteers to be their concubine, once they finish popping out a couple babies, she's basically done her job and the gay couple should (theoretically) not care if she starts sleeping with other women. It's not like she's going to get pregnant lol. Would be extra great if her female lover ends up in the same harem that she is.

(What also works is if there’s a class difference so that one is the lady and the other is her maid. Not great to have such imbalanced power dynamics for a romantic relationship, let’s be real, and I personally think private shouldn’t mix with business relationships, but hey, they don’t have many options.)

Wen Sect still has a lot to improve on in LGBTQ+ policies and societal views.

Read more worldbuilding notes in #the married life of sung jinwoo and wen ruohan au

On occasion I write something and absolutely adore the imagery.

It’s kinda macarbe imagery, but I like it nonetheless.

This time it’s the Lans in battle during the Sunshot Campaign, specifically the Lans in white. Battles are bloody things, and those hems sweep the floor.

Imagine the pure white of the Lan robes, hems so sodden with the blood of the battlefield that the red is soaking up the fabric in uneven waves.

Now look at the Wens’ uniform of red flames on white hems.

I wonder how the Lans would feel if they realised they were inadvertently wearing a grotesque copy of Wen robes after every battle?

To spend the day fighting against the puppets Wen Ruohan has made of your friends, family, and allies, only to return, exhausted physically and mentally, and find yourself faced with the image of yourself looking like your enemy.

Ok so random prompt I don’t have the energy to write but def wanna read is this:

Nie sect are invited to some competition idk just anything and for some reason NMJ can’t compete in the combat sections and to everyone’s surprise they send MY and NHS to fight and they kick ass just to brag that even the “weakest” of the nie are stronger than the Jin/Wen ya

Anyways feel free to take this as long as u put a link in for me to see the fic/ art or existing stuff y’all found :))))

Stay safe and healthy everyone :))

PRIDE ICONS 🏳️‍🌈❤️ 5/7

Lesbian Wen Qing

These are made based on *MY* headcanons, stay tuned to see the rest ✨

Wen Xu, seeing a whole mysterious corpse army invade GusuLan and start to kill all the Wens:

I would like to imagine that Wen Qing and Wen Xu had a rivalry on whose little brother was the cutest (it’s wen Ning, it’s always him) and would just glare at each other when passing by