XiCheng
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Lan Xichen/Jiang Cheng |
| Alternative name(s): | ChengXi |
| Gender category: | M/M |
| Fandom: | Mo Dao Zu Shi, The Untamed |
| Canonical?: | no |
| Prevalence: | popular |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
XiCheng is the portmanteau for the popular slash pairing of Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen of the Chinese danmei novel Mo Dao Zu Shi and its many adaptations. Jiang Cheng is the adopted/martial brother of Wei Wuxian, the protagonist and half of WangXian the juggernaut ship, while Lan Xichen is the elder brother of Lan Wangji the deuteragonist, the other half of WangXian.
XiCheng is the second-most popular pairing in the MDZS fandom on AO3.[note 1] In the English-speaking fandom, it is the most popular relationship for both Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen. In the Chinese-speaking fandom, it is the 2nd most popular relationship for Jiang Cheng and the most popular for Lan Xichen.[note 2]
Another smushname for this ship is ChengXi.
Canon
In the different canon versions such as the novel, audio drama, manhua, donghua, and live-action drama, Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen hardly interact. Jiang Cheng does attend lectures at Cloud Recesses in his teenage years, where Lan Xichen's clan is based, and it is consistent in the various versions of canon that they both fight in the Sunshot Campaign.
In many variations of canon, it ends with Lan Xichen in seclusion (private meditation) but retaining the title of Gusu Lan Sect Leader. However in the donghua (animation), Jiang Cheng enters seclusion, not Lan Xichen.[note 3]
However, the two do have many parallels in the various adaptations:
- Both have sibling(s), specifically a brother or a close martial brother.
- Both are orphaned before adulthood.
- Both are sect leaders.
- Both face betrayal by people close to them (Jiang Cheng's rift with Wei Wuxian, and Lan Xichen's ending betrayal with Jin Guangyao)
Chinese Fandom
| International Focus Request: Help! Editors need some assistance with including international and/or non-English perspectives on this page. |
English Fandom
Many English-speaking fans enjoy this pairing because the two have temperaments that balance each other: Jiang Cheng speaks bluntly and has a sharp temper, while Lan Xichen is gentle and kind.
For Jiang Cheng, he may perceive Jin Guangyao (Meng Yao) as a rival; there was a sworn brotherhood between Jin Guangyao, Lan Xichen, and Nie Mingjue in canon, so Jin Guangyao may still be Lan Xichen's friend, ex-lover, or unrequited love in AUs. For Lan Xichen, he may have to deal with Wei Wuxian feeling territorial regarding Jiang Cheng, since they grew up as brothers, or jealousy from Jin Ling, Jiang Cheng's nephew.
Popular Tropes
- Animal characteristics, especially Jiang Cheng as some form of feline and Lan Xichen as a dragon.
- Emotional hurt/comfort, since both suffered losses and felt betrayed during canon.
- They may have a fling while fighting together during the Sunshot Campaign.
- Jiang Cheng may correspond with Lan Xichen in seclusion post-canon.
- Modern AU, including meeting through their brothers.
Example Fanworks
Fanfiction
- Upon Our Silver Bridge by TheWanderingHeart, 444k. (2019-2020)
- Visiting Cloud Recesses by shirasade, 8k. (2019) Since the sunshot campaign they haven't interacted a lot outside of sect business, but Jiang Cheng has always found the First Jade of Lan gracious and pleasant to be around. Especially in comparison to his younger brother, who would never smile at Jiang Cheng the way Lan Xichen is right now, as if he's genuinely happy to see him. Rated Explicit.
- Emergency Help Wanted by Piyo13, 77k. (2019-2020) Jiang Cheng and A-Ling meet Lan Xichen's random post on Craigslist.
- A Small Measure of Peace by Sandstone112, 123k. (2020) With his brother in seclusion, Lan Xichen finds himself in temporary custody of his nephew with little to no expertise in the child-raising department. Uncertain and alone, Zewu-Jun is willing to do everything to be the person Yuan needs—even if it means inviting Sandu Shengshou to a playdate.
- Running Our Hands Through Embers by MarvelousMar, 136k. (2020) ... In which Jiang Cheng discovers that even death can't help him escape from his trauma, so he embarks on a quest to save the people he loves, fix what he can, make the love of his life fall for him, and maybe, somewhere along the way, do a little bit of healing. Rated Explicit.
- Spilled drinks and comfy sweaters by syriala, 2k. (2020) ...Jiang Cheng tries to figure out why the hell Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue keep glaring at him.
- The Trials and Tribulations of a Modern Father by Bgtea, 25k. (2020) ...Yu Ziyuan turns around and gives him a long, quiet stare. “Fengmian,” she enunciates slowly, carefully, “are you telling me that our son is a magnet for perverted old men?”
- Utterly Inevitable by sami, 20k. (2020) Lan Xichen is ready to spend the rest of his life in seclusion, lost in guilt and self-recrimination. Wei Wuxian is less ready to spend the rest of his life watching Lan Zhan miss his brother. Lan Wangji wants his loved ones to be happy. And Jiang Cheng just wants what's his.
- Viper in the Grass by elegantflipflop2, 130k. (2021-2022) Jiang Cheng didn’t want to die, but he also never wanted to wake up in the body of a fifteen year old Second Lady Jiang. He’s not sure what to do, but as long as he’s stuck reliving his teenage years, he’s going to make sure that the looming Wen threat is eliminated. Now if only everyone around him would stop concentrating on his love life.
- When The Clear River Meets The Morning Sun by Wafsi and ouphhu, 11k WIP. (2021- ) For as long as Jiang Cheng remembered he'd been betrothed to Lan Xichen. Until he wasn't. Lan Xichen was relieved to have his betrothal broken. Until he wasn't. (A Yanli/Zixuan relationship role reversal). Rated Explicit.
Fanart
- Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen by Katarina Sky, based on mobile game character design. (2021-04-16)
- Forbidden Love by Rowein_, with JC wearing canon robes and spattered in blood, embraced by a ghostly LXC. (2021-10-04)
- comic-style art OwlTails, with a gruff Jiang Cheng bringing a dessert to Lan Xichen to cheer him up. (2021-10-09)
- Lan Xichen with dragon antlers and Jiang Cheng with cat ears by LionaMoe. (2022-05-27)
- Buns & Guns by aneshb25, where LXC is holding a machine gun and JC is in a purple apron holding a basket of bread, based on a threadfic by Wafsi. (2022-07-03)
- Building a Snowman by meiji_yk40, a chibi-style drawing. (2022-12-20)
- Modern Valentine's Day by lio_smol22, with LXC in a suit and JC in a hoodie. (2023-02-13)
- Date Night by retiredpeach, a modern couple out to dinner. (2023-03-01)
Watercolor-style fanart reflecting their robes’ styling and colors from the novel.
Jiang Cheng with a tiger's tail and Lan Xichen with dragon antlers, illustrating the animal characteristics often portrayed with these two characters.
Fannish Links and Resources
- The #XiCheng hashtag on Twitter is active
- XiCheng fanworks at AO3
- XiCheng stories on Wattpad
- There may be a few stories on FanFiction.Net or Quotev.
Notes
- ^ As of June 2023, when viewing fanworks in the MDZS fandom on AO3 without filtering by language, there are almost 33k WangXian works. XiCheng is the second-most popular ship but far below that number, at almost 6k works.
- ^ The Jiang Cheng tag and the Lan Xichen tag filtered by English, and the Jiang Cheng tag and the Lan Xichen tag filtered by Mandarin.
- ^ In the episode Return to Seclusion, the anime adaptation Jiang Cheng enters seclusion.