Mingcheng

Pairing
Pairing:	Nie Mingjue x Jiang Cheng
Alternative name(s):	MingCheng
Gender category:	Slash
Fandom:	Modao Zushi, The Untamed
Canonical?:	No
Prevalence:
Archives:
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Mingcheng is the slash pairing of Nie Mingjue 聂明玦 (also known by the title Chifeng-zun 赤锋尊) and Jiang Cheng 江澄 (courtesy name Jiang Wanyin 江晚吟, title Sandu shengshou 三毒圣手) from the novel Modao zushi and it's adaptations.

Canon

Despite their similar social standing and roles, Nie Mingjue and Jiang Cheng have little to none interaction and connection in canon, depending on the adaptation. Both are heroes of the Sunshot Campaign and leaders of one of the four remaining Great Sects. Nie Mingjue is part of a sworn brothership of three (the 3Zun or Venerated Triad), consisting of the three Great Sect Leaders excluding Jiang Cheng: him, Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen. Besides this, Jiang Cheng and his brother, Wei Wuxian, attended the Cloud Recesses Lectures with Nie Huaisang, Nie Mingjue's younger brother.

The fandom has latched on to the hole in the narrative this lack of interaction has left.

Fanon

Fans have used the holes canon left to fill in the gaps of Mingcheng's relationship. It can be assumed that the two of them have at least some kind of relationship based on their roles in the war and in the post-Sunshot era while they are both Sect Leaders.

Different examples of fanon about their relationship:

• Developing relationship during the war
• Jiang Cheng helping Nie Mingjue manage his difficulties resulting from his cultivation with Jiang Sect techniques
• A pact (often an arranged marriage), to avoid excluding the Jiang Sect from the Four Great Sects and correct the power imbalance born from the 3zun sworn brotherhood

Fandom

The pairing has gained popularity in 2021-2022, based on the works published on AO3 under the tag. Counting from January 1st of each year, the number of works are as follows:

• 2019: 10 works (it is important to note that the Modao Zushi / The Untamed fandom had not appeared, especially in the western community [and on AO3] until the liveaction's premiere in late 2019)
• 2020: 173 works
• 2021: 315 works
• 2022: 347 works
• 2023: 121 works

Western Fandom

One of the first and most prominent Mingcheng authors in the English-speaking fandom is Syriala. They have published over 250 works for the pairing, nearly a quarter of all works published in the tag as of 2024 autumn.