Despite drawing heavily from Japanese media and anime, Genshin Impact is a wholly Chinese creation. Developed by the Chinese company miHoYo, Genshin Impact quickly became the biggest international release of a Chinese game in history. The game boasts gorgeous graphics, an open-world concept, and a gacha mechanic for exclusive characters. However, it’s free to play, and players can easily advance through Genshin Impact without spending money.

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Though Mondstadt — the first region of Teyvat — is heavily based off of Germany and/or Switzerland, Liyue takes inspiration from China. Here are a few Chinese cultural influences you never noticed in Genshin Impact.

10 Dendro As Wood

Klee, Lumine, and Dendro Slime

Most of Western culture acknowledges four elements as pillars of the world: fire, water, earth, and air. However, some cultures and peoples recognize up to 12 different elements. In the Chinese philosophy of Wuxing, five elements are considered: fire, water, earth, metal, and wood.

For the most part, metal refers to gold. Though Genshin doesn’t have metal as an element (opting to use ice — Cryo — instead), it does contain the wood element: Dendro. Wood can be used as a decently loose term since the Chinese word mù is occasionally translated as “tree.” Wood represents growth in all forms. Players can see this in action when fighting the large Dendro Slimes, as their primary attack is spawning more slimes.

9 The Power Of Constellations

razor's constellation

Many cultures emphasize and rely on constellations for a variety of practices. Whether it be for directing seafarers in the night or part of local folklore, the stars are a constant across the world.

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China is no exception to this, as Taoism views the constellations as the power of the gods. Taoist priests oftentimes have depictions of constellations sewn onto their robes. This symbol of godly power is its own mechanic in Genshin, which makes sense since the whole concept of Visions and Ascension rely on the gods of Teyvat deeming a mortal worthy of joining them.

8 Zhongli’s Symbolic Name

chinese zhongli banner

Zhongli’s name reveals so much about his story and questionably secret identity as Rex Lapis. For one, the name Zhongli itself is something of a pun. “Zhong” is often used as the word for clock and “li” is commonly used as the action of leaving. His name comes out to mean something like “clock leaving” or “clock away.” Localized, it can be taken to mean “off the clock,” referring to Zhongli leaving his position as Rex Lapis.

It can be a bit of a stretch, but considering the heavy Chinese media influence on Genshin Impact, it’s entirely likely.

7 The Liyue Qixing

keqing, ningguang, and ganyu

The Liyue Qixing, or the Seven Stars of Liyue, are a collection of seven merchants and business leaders within Liyue. They have a scary amount of power, leading to the Traveler becoming a fugitive from the Millelith for a short while during the main Story Quest.

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Interestingly enough, the word "Qixing" refers to the seven stars that make up the Big Dipper. Each member of the Liyue Qixing has a title directly named after each star. Foreshadowing future roles in Liyue even more, Beidou is the Chinese name for the Big Dipper constellation. If intentional, Beidou will surely play a major role for the Liyue Qixing.

6 Rex Lapis’ Honorific

murdered rex lapis

Honorifics are usually lost in translation when media from East Asian cultures is localized for English speaking countries. Chinese does indeed have its own set of honorifics, including those referring to gods and immortals.

In the Chinese version of the game, Rex Lapis holds the honorific title of dìjūn. This is usually added to the names of Taoist deities. However, there’s stronger ties to Taoism than this sprinkled throughout Liyue.

5 The Adepti And Taoism

aether and mountain shaper

The adepti of Liyue are specifically referred to as xiān in both the Chinese and Japanese versions of Genshin Impact. Within Taoism, the definition of xiān changes depending on the context of the word. Nevertheless, it can be boiled down to an immortal. Most likely not by coincidence, xiān can also refer to supernatural animals, such as Mountain Shaper, Moon Carver, and Cloud Retainer.

The English translation of the game keeps with the Taoist themes. Those who pursue and devote their lives to Taoism are referred to as adepts. This is most likely where the translation of xiān to adepti comes from.

4 Ascension To Godhood

ganyu and celestia

Though mortals becoming gods isn’t an inherently Chinese concept, Genshin Impact contains a direct reference to this phenomenon in Chinese mythology. Venti isn’t the most straightforward character in the game and that trait crosses over into the Genshin Impact manga. When Aether asks Venti if mortals who ascend to Celestia truly become gods, Venti instead shares an anecdote of those who ascended in their own, distant worlds. One of the names he mentions is Pangu of Chinese mythology.

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Though not a true mortal, Pangu is said to have separated heaven and earth. Upon his death, every part of his being contributed to the world - his breath became the wind, his eyes became the sun and the moon, etc. Despite ultimately dying, Pangu’s lifespan was at least 54,000 years.

3 Zhongli’s Namesake

zhongli

Furthering how much thought went into Zhongli, he may indeed be named after one of the Taoist xian. Taoism recognizes the Bāxiān, or Eight Immortals, following the tradition of mortals ascending to godhood. One of the eight members is Zhongli Quan, who is often associated with death and the ability to create silver and gold.

Zhongli runs the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor in Liyue Harbor and, as Morax, has Teyvat’s currency named after him. All things considered, that’s pretty on the nose.

2 Qiqi The Jiangshi

Qiqi holding down her talisman

Referred to as just a zombie in the English translation, Qiqi is actually a specific type of zombie known as a jiangshi. The jiangshi, or “hopping zombie,” is actually a somewhat recent folklore development, dating back to the late 1700s in the middle of the Qing dynasty.

The “jiang” part of jiangshi literally translates to “stiff,” implying that rigor mortis has already occurred. According to Qiqi’s handbook, she has instructions for calisthenics, most likely to help combat rigor mortis. Her appearance matches that of popular jiangshi depictions, including the round-top hat and talisman. Within one of her character stories, Qiqi is depicted as a more traditional jiangshi, flying into a murderous fit before being sealed in amber by Mountain Shaper. Now, she seems to be benevolent and is a wonderful asset to the Traveler’s team.

1 The Twins’ Chinese Names

aether gliding

The male Traveler’s Chinese name is Kong, which translates to “air” or “sky.” Lumine’s translates in a similar way too, with Ying meaning fluorescent. Aether’s English name is more of a nod to the game’s Chinese origins. Going back to the traditional Chinese elemental system, Void (or Null) is also considered an element. Guess what’s another name for void? Aether.

Chinese philosophy also breaks down the universe into heaven and earth. Arguably, either of the twins could fulfill the concept of heaven since both have names with connections to the sky, or heavens, and at the beginning of the game, have the ability to fly.

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